UPDATE www.aala.us Week of June 3, 2019 2019 GRADS WITH SWAG! IN THIS ISSUE On Thursday, May 23, AALA honored the 2019 2019 GRADS WITH SWAG! Administrators of the Year, the recipients of the LAST PUSH FOR MEASURE EE President’s awards, a special scholarship awardee, HEALTHCARE FAQs – ARTHRITIS CALPERS BENEFITS EDUCATION community volunteers, and the Friends of AALA PLLD BRANCH scholarship winners at the annual Scholarship and NICOLETTE CANLIAN, SCHOLARSHIP Community Awards Banquet held at the Millennium RECIPIENT Biltmore Hotel. ARE YOU AN ACSA MEMBER? CALENDAR CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY M.ED. Friends of AALA, our 501(c)(3) nonprofit CSUN M.A. & ADMIN. CREDENTIAL corporation, was established nine years ago under the POSITIONS leadership of Dr. Judith Perez, AALA’s immediate past president. Its mission is to support the association in awarding scholarships to LAUSD graduates and giving recognition to individuals or organizations for their generous volunteer service. This year, thanks to our outstanding sponsors and corporate supporters (click HERE), our fantastic Friends of AALA Board, our active and alumni members, and other friends we were able to award 30 scholarships to deserving LAUSD students. The banquet was a memorable affair with two Board Members, former and current District superintendents and senior staff, corporate sponsors, staff, parents, and community members in attendance. After introductory comments from President Juan A. Flecha and District greetings from Dr. Vivian Ekchian, Deputy Superintendent, representing Superintendent Austin Beutner, the evening continued with the presentation of the AALA Administrators of the Year: Juan Noguera―Assistant Principal, Abram Friedman Occupational Center, Adult Department Victor Sanchez―Principal, 93rd Street STEAM Academy, Elementary Department Dr. Travis Brandy―Principal, Los Angeles High School, Secondary Department Titus Campos―Director, Local District Central, School Support Administrators Department Cielo Christina “Christy” Guzman―Assistant Contracts Administration Manager, Facilities Services Contracts (Procurement Services Division) Next, five outstanding individuals were presented the AALA President’s Award for meritorious leadership and service to AALA. James W. Haigler III, Regional Director, NTA Life, for generously and continuously supporting AALA’s Fall Reception, the Awards Banquet, and the Fall and Spring Alumni Luncheons Dr. Lillian Utsumi, AALA Consultant, for her decades of leadership and service to LAUSD and AALA and serving on the Health Benefits Committee ensuring fair and reasonable healthcare for active employees and retirees Michael Hoy, Account General Manager, Pearson, for consistently sponsoring many AALA and Friends of AALA activities Gary Patton, Partnership Manager, Promethean, for the continuous support of AALA, Friends of AALA, and our LAUSD schools and administrators A s s o c i a t e d A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f L o s A n g e l e s AWARDEES (Cont.) Dr. Frances Marie Gipson, LAUSD Chief Academic Officer, for her passion and commitment to TEAM KID!, her positive attitude and sunny disposition even when facing adversities, and her generosity in establishing an AALA scholarship to honor and celebrate her beloved grandmother, Josephine Baker, Esquire A special scholarship was awarded to Dr. Oluwakemi (Kemi) Mustapha, an LAUSD teacher at 49th Street Elementary School, a Washington Preparatory High School graduate, a 2004 Friends of AALA scholarship recipient, and now receiving her Ed.D. at CSU Long Beach. Community Volunteer Awards were presented to five individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on the lives of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District through their generous volunteer service. They were nominated from a school or schools where they were volunteering and each received a commemorative plaque from AALA and a certificate from the Board of Education. Celina Enriquez―Glassell Park Elementary School (L. Jumie Sugahara, Principal) Gregorio Hernandez―Bravo Medical Magnet High School (Luis M. Lopez, Principal) Linda Zimring―Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (Deborah Smith, Principal) Inspiring Notes (Marge Roten, Coordinator)―Cardenas Elementary School (Ada Munoz- Yslas Principal), Saticoy Elementary School (Maria Awakian, Principal), and Coughlin Elementary School (Leticia Sanchez, Principal) Tierra Del Sol (Michael Hidalgo, Coordinator)―Canoga Park Early Education Center (Sara Vasquez) Principal The highlight of the evening was meeting the 30 outstanding scholarship recipients who each received $2,000 for his/her postsecondary education, a commemorative certificate from AALA, a portrait (gift from School Portraits by Rick Lindsey), and a certificate from the Board of Education. Special scholarships were awarded in honor of: Josephine Baker, Dr. William J. Johnston, Dr. Michelle King, Nellie and Bernard Kleiner, Jack Moscowitz, Dr. Judith Perez, Henry Ronquillo, and Jack H. Silas. Several organizations also sponsored scholarships: California Credit Union Schools Federal Credit Union Sanford Harmony at National University Team Heal (In honor of Dr. Clarence and Mrs. Barbara Shields) The 2019 Friends of AALA scholarship recipients are: Nayeli Jimenez Alvarado Garfield High School Brown University Benny Chung Fairfax High School U.S. Air Force Academy Saul Aleksandr Cruz University High School CSU Long Beach Jazmin De Luna Roosevelt High School UC Berkeley Yasmin Aline Domingo Diaz Public Service Community CSU Dominguez Hills School, Diego Rivera LC Keyrin Dutko Grant High School UCLA Linda España Belmont High School UC Riverside 2 A s s o c i a t e d A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f L o s A n g e l e s AWARDEES (Cont.) Tony Rafael Figueroa Manual Arts High School UC Berkeley Elisa Fonseca Garfield High School UCLA Cuauthemoc Frausto Wilson High School UCLA Lucia Gonzalez Panorama High School UC San Diego Juan C. Guerrero Grant High School CSU Northridge Eliannie Hernandez Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor UCLA Teacher Preparation Academy Allysa Howe City of Angels Independent Study L.A. Harbor College (Jessica) Ngan Huynh Lincoln High School UC Irvine Algernon Jackson King-Drew Magnet High School UCLA of Medicine and Science Ellis Kim L.A. Center for Enriched Studies UCLA Kim, Grace L.A. Center for Enriched Studies Brown University Florence Nalukwago Cleveland High School UC Irvine Shashine Nnachetam Venice High School UC Irvine Jennifer Nuñez Manual Arts High School UCLA Santa Estefania Pastor Academic Leadership Community, UC San Diego Contreras Learning Complex Esmeralda Rangel Reseda Charter High School UC Santa Cruz April Fernandez Rebolledo Wilson High School UC Berkeley Adriana Rosales King-Drew Magnet High School UC Berkeley of Medicine and Science Serena Ruiz Garfield High School Brown University Jose Sanchez Helen Bernstein STEM Academy UCLA Sundiata “Chaka” Tellem Monroe High School UC Berkeley Aramoni Gumbs Friedman Occupational Center San Bernardino College Jose Mateo Venice Skills Center Los Angeles City College LAST PUSH FOR MEASURE EE – VOTE ON JUNE 4! Everyone agrees that public schools are the back bone of our democracy and everyone also knows that California schools are woefully underfunded. That is why we need Measure EE, on the ballot on June 4, to pass. Our teachers, students, schools, and classrooms are counting on it. Please vote on June 4 or mail your absentee ballot no later than the 4th. This measure requires a 2/3 vote to be successful, so let's tell friends, neighbors, colleagues and others to VOTE YES ON EE ON JUNE 4. It’s not perfect, but Measure EE is an important start to help our students and public schools in LAUSD by providing needed funds to retain and attract more teachers, lower class sizes, and fund more support staff, such as nurses, librarians, and school psychologists. Remind everyone of the facts: Those property owners 65 years or older can exempt themselves from the assessment. 3 A s s o c i a t e d A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f L o s A n g e l e s MEASURE EE (Cont) The assessment on a house of 2000 square feet will be less than $1 per day. A house of 4000 square feet will see an increase of less than $2 a day. California schools are underfunded. The state spends around $12,000 per student compared to $23,000 in New York and Connecticut. Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times columnist, writes, “Voters need to ask themselves what happens if Measure EE goes down. Will decades-old buildings deteriorate further, will layoffs be unavoidable, will the students who get a cut-rate education end up costing us more as adults than they contribute?” (May 29, 2019) Something to think about. It is time for all of those who say they support public education to step up and put their money where their mouths are. We must emphasize that Measure EE needs 2/3 of the vote to pass, so it is crucial that we get every supporter of public schools to the polls. And in an election that analysts predict will have a very low turnout, every single vote will truly matter. Volunteers are needed from Saturday through Tuesday to knock on doors across Los Angeles to remind everyone to vote yes on Measure EE. It’s crunch time; please click HERE for locations and times where you can volunteer. HEALTHCARE FAQs― ARTHRITIS AFFECTS OVER 50 MILLION ADULTS Do you have pain in your joints or arthritis? Join the crowd—arthritis affects 54.4 million U.S. adults, about 1 in 4, over 18 years of age. It is the most common cause of disability in the United States. What are the most common types of arthritis? Osteoarthritis (OA) — This is the most common form of arthritis. This type of arthritis typically occurs in older adults. In OA, the top layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together. Most often affecting the fingers, knees, and hips, the rubbing causes pain or aching, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint.