40 yrs of Chicano Studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

kjl kjl is online now
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Originally Posted by ilbegone View Post
LAUSD BOARD OF DIRECTORS



Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte

Of all the biographies, Lamotte's is the least self serving, least self promotional. A black woman, she has impressive early achievement and graduated with a Masters degree in Education at LSU in 1965. LaMotte has been involved in the LAUSD from one end of the spectrum to the other since 1973.

******

Monica Garcia

“MS” Monica Garcia is the “unanimously elected by her peers as president of the Board of Education”

Her biography is actually a resume which could suck chrome off a bumper.

While she has worked in the school system, it doesn't appear she's ever been a teacher.

“Ms. García was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She attended local schools and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Chicano Studies and Political Science. She later earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of Southern California.”

How would Ms Garcia respond to a white male holding a door open for her?

*****

Tamar Galatzan

“Tamar is a tireless advocate on behalf of civil rights, excellent public schools, social justice, and safe neighborhoods.”

Buzzwords which leads one to believe she would create a race issue if one wasn't handy to focus on.

A graduate of Birmingham High School in the San Fernando Valley, UCLA, and Hastings College of the Law in 1994,

“From April 1996 through June 2002, Tamar served as Western States Associate Counsel for the Anti-Defamation League.”



Reading Galatzan's Biography/Resume, it seems she is a self appointed one woman EEOC enforcer, civil rights activist, and criminal prosecutor. Probably someone to be “politically correct” with or else.

“...her conviction that the education system is failing many of our children. As evidence, she points to a high drop-out rate; mediocre test scores;”

*****

Steve Zimmer

According to his Biography/Resume, Steve is a very busy white man, but this sums him up:

“He is a long time supporter of immigrant rights and progressive labor in Los Angeles. Steve was the founder and leader of a teacher’s group that led opposition to Proposition 187...”

Steve doesn't seem to have very many schools in his district 4. Untrusted Gabacho?

*****

Yolie Flores Aguilar

Augilar's Biography/Resume is more down to earth than the other “Latinas”.

“A nationally-renowned and tireless advocate for children”

“Aguilar served as CEO of the Los Angeles County Children’s Planning Council”

“Aguilar received her B.A. from the University of Redlands and her master’s in social welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles.”

And more.

Lincoln High School is in Aguilar's district 5.

*****

Nury Martinez

From her Biography/Resume, she seems like she could be very pushy.

“Nury is an exemplary role model for young Californians – especially for young
Latinas seeking to make a difference in their communities. She is a tireless young
warrior for public education, working families, environmental justice and human
rights.”

All the "activist" buzzwords which indicates she arrives with stir paddle in hand, with a racist to be found under every rock.

“she is a product of the public schools, from Pacoima Elementary to San Fernando High. She was the first in her family to graduate from college.”

“The child of immigrant parents...” Three guesses as to where she stands on illegal immigration?

“Before being elected to the LAUSD Board, Nury served as the Mayor of the City of San Fernando.”

I've worked in San Fernando. The place struck me as trashed and way overstocked with illegals and gangbangers. Historically the place of two very different Latino American worlds from mostly English speaking in Richie Valens' 1950's to the Y2K Bastion of illegal migration and Rey Berrios “Cholo Style” gang bangers.

“Nury Martinez [actually] lives in the City of San Fernando”.

*****

Dr. Richard Vladovic

“Dr. Richard Vladovic has been involved in the education of children since the late1960s.”

Vladovic has been a teacher and has worked his way up from the trenches.

"Dr. Vladovic also proudly served in the Army and retired from the United States Army Reserves at the rank of Infantry Major. During his time in the military, he also served as a Commander, Brigade Race Relations Officer, and Staff Officer". [Vladovic has to be a couple of centuries old]

Vladovic seems to be involved mainly with educational programs.

Vladovic's Biography/Resume doesn't strike me so pushy like most of the others.

http://laschoolboard.org/

*****

Forty years of Chicano studies
Well the results, as far as their input into LAUSD, speaks for itself. With all their finger pointing and never the thought of looking at themselves as the problem, this failed system will continue, and at the taxpayer's expense. They keep pushing the 'victim' mentality social injustice theme, all the while excusing the lack of true school with a focus on marketable and usable skills. It matters much less if a student can read, do math or comprehend common sense situations. Just as long as they have 'pride' and can argue that it's the system and the country's fault. Being a victim is such a noble cause, who needs those pesky skills like reading and writing.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-03-2009, 07:01 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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For curiosity, I thought I would check out the Crystal City Independent School District where the now long defunct race oriented political party La Raza Unida took over the School District and County government in Texas during the early 70's and essentially fired all the white employees. Many changes were made, including mandated bilingual education

The Crystal City ISD's Board of Trustees is composed of all Hispanic names.

RAYMUNDO VILLARREAL SUPERINTENDENT
MARICELA GUZMAN BOARD PRESIDENT
ANITA CUEVAS-LOMAS BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT
FRAILAN SENDEJO BOARD SECRETARY
BOBBY CASTILLO BOARD MEMBER
NERISELA FLORES-BALBOA BOARD MEMBER
ALFREDO GALLEGOS BOARD MEMBER
VICTOR LOPEZ BOARD MEMBER

******

Student population is 99%Hispanic, 87% economically disadvantaged.

11% are English language learners, 93.3% are Limited English Proficient. Also listed is a contradictory average English Language Arts score at 90% with the Texas average being 92%.

This puzzled me at first, but I suppose there is a difference between being a learner and being fluent, and how is English Language arts actually tested? Something is unexplained here.

[A friend employed by my local school district (Ca.) told me that the money for the district is in claiming English Learner dollars. Even if a kid is fluent in English, if the parents state that Spanish is the home language, the kid is used by the district for sucking in ELL money]

9% of students have an IEP (Individualized Education Program).

8% are migrants, moving from school to school.

Some sources exclude migrant data.

Test scores are below the Texas average.

******

The drop out rate At Crystal City High School has varying figures, depending on the source

>Crystal City ISD drop out rate of 4%

>2006-2007 drop out rate All Students 8.8%

>Dropout rate: 9.2%

>Dropout rate for Hispanic students: 9.3%

>High School graduation rate: 80.7%

>HS graduation rate for Hispanic students: 81.3%

The 4% rate is unlikely, and there is about a 10 % discrepancy between the other listed drop out rates and the listed graduation rates. And how are those rates actually calculated?

As in earlier examples, would this make a four year derived drop out rate of 30% to 40%? [Lincoln High School drop out rate 8% with a derived 4 year dropout rate of 33.4%]

Have the numbers been misrepresented?

******

Teacher turn over rate has been high in the past, reaching 17 percent one year. Latest figures I saw were for 2001. Perhaps ancient history by now.


The “Great Schools” website rating for Crystal City High School is a 3 out of ten, ten being best.

******

National dropout rates for Hispanics 1972 - 2007

32% 1972 36%1988 22% 2007

National dropout rates for blacks 1972 - 2007

22%1972 24% 1975 9% 2007

National dropout rates for White, non-Hispanic 1972 – 2007

13% 1972 6% 2007

I was surprised to find that the average graduation rate in Texas is higher than California.

2007 Texas 72.5% California 69.2


http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009064.pdf.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/...8839#from..Tab

http://www.education.com/schoolfinde...district/high/

http://www.schools-data.com/schools/...STAL-CITY.html

http://www.crystalcityisd.org/pages/...ort%20Card.pdf

Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-03-2009, 07:56 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Originally Posted by kjl View Post
Well the results, as far as their input into LAUSD, speaks for itself. With all their finger pointing and never the thought of looking at themselves as the problem, this failed system will continue, and at the taxpayer's expense. They keep pushing the 'victim' mentality social injustice theme, all the while excusing the lack of true school with a focus on marketable and usable skills. It matter much less if a student can read, do math or comprehend common sense situations. Just as long as they have 'pride' and can argue that it's the system and the country's fault. Being a victim is such a noble cause, who needs those pesky skills like reading and writing.
A few years ago when the May Day skip school BS was going on, a reporter asked a high school girl from Rialto or Ontario why she ditched school.

The only reason the girl could come up with was "I'm doing it for my pride!", with little other notion of what it was all about - amnesty for illegal aliens.

It's just "socially permissible" racism. Let a white person even think of doing what they get away with concerning racism and watch how fast the race card gets thrown on them.

You can't really blame the gabacho anymore for Latino illiteracy. It's pretty hard to yell "the white man is holding me back!" when the people running the show have Spanish last names, south of the border family origins, and an education filled with Chicano studies.


Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

AyatollahGondola AyatollahGondola is offline
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You know ilbegone, you may have a good theme for a public effort here. Maybe we should strategize on this a little, and bring this to our seerless leaders at the schools administration. I see a billboard event in the future....(insert cartoonlike Nostradamus icon here)

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 06:03 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Default Larry Aceves Educator
This appeared in a local newspaper yesterday as a letter to the editor.

The author is a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction in 2010.

Quote:
Gaps have grown
Larry Aceves
Posted: 10/02/2009 08:16:48 PM PDT

RE: "SAT scores dip for high school class of 2009," Aug. 25.

The news that this year's SAT scores dropped an average of two points from last year should come as no surprise considering our schools have suffered severe budget cuts in recent years on top of decades of inadequate funding.

The news for Latino, African-American and low-income students is even more disconcerting, as the long-standing achievement gaps affecting these groups have widened.

The governor and legislators bemoan these disparities, yet they agreed to additional budget cuts for the coming year that will exacerbate these divides. While Sacramento has raised expectations for our schools and students to the highest in the country, they've driven school funding to the lowest per-pupil level in the country.

I am not a politician but a former teacher, principal and superintendent with 30 years' experience, and I know that our students have paid the price for the state's budget disarray for too long.

As state superintendent, I will be our schools top advocate for the adequate and equitable resources needed for all of our students to be successful in college and the workplace.

LARRY ACEVES
San Francisco

The author is a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction in 2010.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 06:38 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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A whole thread could be devoted to Mr. Aceves. Lots of material.

Mr Aceves presided over Franklin-McKinley Elementary School District in San Jose for 13 years, retiring in 2006 when his district was nose diving in educational performance. The district is predominately "Latino" which seems to be of either the very recently arrived or unassimilated community derived of sudden mass migration. I believe the district is near state receivership, it's educational performance is beyond dismal.

However, the man has expended a lot of shoe leather over a 30 year career meeting people and seems to have created a network of alliances.

Just a few of the organizations he has participated in; California City Superintendents Association, the California Association of Latino Superintendents, and the Association of California School Administrators. He has achieved leadership position in several educational associations.

Lots of Latino contacts. Lots of Latino Superintendents out there.

Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 07:15 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Besides the racial bias towards "Latinos" (regardless of national origin or legality of residence) in our school system, there are tons of other problems associated with the unassimilated or uncaring.

I'm not sure exactly what the apples versus oranges are in some of this discussion.

Mr Aceves and other like minded people want to throw more money at whatever the problem is, and in self interest concerning employment they have a further reason to deplore the recent cuts.

However, I believe that classroom education, for the most part, consumes over 60 cents out of every dollar in California. I believe in Texas, it's around 50% of the same dollar. And Texas has a higher graduation rate than California.

Both have a high ratio of Latinos in the schools, and I believe the schools which have those high ratios have a high drop out rate in both states.

Where are the apples and oranges here?

Quote:
According to Larry Aceves, a retired schools superintendent who is running for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the information on graduation rates put out by the state is far from accurate.

"I don't want to paint everything with a broad brush," he said, but speaking generally, the way schools count how many students graduate from high school is "not an accurate process."

Aceves said he believes the official graduation rates suggest California schools are doing better than they really are.

"I think we're giving ourselves credit for more than is due," he said. "We don't have an accurate way of learning what happens to kids when they don't show up. We need to have a system that says if a child doesn't come back, every effort is made to find out what happened." 9-27-09
http://www.chicoer.com/lifestyle/schools/ci_13431762
Quote:
Aceves notes that the job of superintendent is an increasingly political, high-profile position that must answer to business leaders, parents, teachers, students and the community at large. Finding men and women with the personality and stamina to take on so many challenges is no easy task. http://www.cftl.org/pressroom_clipvi...c_12_11_06.php
Quote:
The future for leadership in public education looks bleak,” said Wes Smith, 37, superintendent of the Cascade Union Elementary School District in Anderson, near Redding. “A lot of experienced people are retiring, and a lot of people who are qualified don't want the job. But if we want to have great schools, they demand and deserve great leadership.”
And, in spite of the performance of Franklin-McKinley under Acevas' stewardship,

Quote:
In 2005 Larry was awarded the Association of California School Administrators Marcus Foster Memorial Award. In 2001 he was named Santa Clara County Superintendent of the Year as well as Catholic Charities’ Top Community Partner.
What happened? Aceves will say that it was a lack of funding.

Quote:
While the dropout rate for Santa Clara County is about 15 percent, for Latino students it is 26.6 percent, also higher than the state's.

Local teachers were at a loss to explain why Silicon Valley's Latino and African-American students are doing worse than their peers in other parts of the state.

Weis said educators must radically rethink classroom instruction and replicate the strategies that appear to be succeeding: working with students in small groups, making sure students never fall behind and bringing families into the conversation.

"We need to change the way we are teaching," Weis said. "The fact that we are least effective with our fastest-growing demographic does not bode well for the future. It's the No. 1 issue of this decade."

Alum Rock and Franklin-McKinley, along with 10 other districts in Santa Clara County, are now on the PI list. If they don't improve, they face a possible state takeover of their schools. 2009

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=106951955
Forty years of Chicano studies