Retired Teacher asks that the race card be put away

[ilbegone]

The schools are a large part of the problem

We worked next to an LAUSD elementary school today. They had the kids singing Spanish songs rather than singing songs which would help them learn English.

[Patriotic Army Mom]

My car radio would have been blaring country western.

[ilbegone]

Originally Posted by Patriotic Army Mom

My car radio would have been blaring country western.

Along with several million other car radios, which doesn't matter the slightest concerning school children being taught Spanish songs in an American elementary school rather than being taught how to speak fluent English.

[ilbegone]

Federal agency to investigate L.A. schools

The focus of the Education Department probe will be the district's services for students learning English.

By Howard Blume

March 10, 2010

The federal government has singled out the Los Angeles Unified School District for its first major investigation under a reinvigorated Office for Civil Rights, officials said Tuesday.

The focus of the probe, by an arm of the U.S. Department of Education, will be whether the nation's second-largest district provides adequate services to students learning English.

Officials turned their attention to L.A. Unified because so many English learners fare poorly and because they make up about a third of district enrollment, more than 220,000 students.

"This is about helping kids receive a good education, the education they deserve," said Russlynn Ali, the department's assistant secretary for civil rights. She plans to announce the inquiry at a news conference Wednesday.

L.A. school officials said they welcomed the federal examination.

The probe would provide an outside evaluation to help the district identify and expand successful programs, said Supt. Ramon C. Cortines. "And if there are egregious areas of misconduct by the district, I will move on it immediately."

Federal analysts will review how English learners are identified and when they are judged fluent enough to handle regular course work. They'll examine whether English learners have qualified, appropriately trained teachers. And they'll look at how teachers make math and science understandable for students with limited English.

The ultimate goal of federal officials is to exert pressure on L.A. Unified and other school districts to close the achievement gap that separates white, Asian and higher-income students from low-income, black and Latino students.

Federal authorities aren't accusing L.A. Unified of intentional discrimination, but the civil rights office seeks to uncover policies and practices that result in a "disparate outcome." Enforcement options include withholding federal money; more than 23% of the district's $7.16 billion operating budget comes from the federal government.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan launched the ramped-up enforcement effort Monday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where law enforcement officers beat and drove back 600 civil rights marchers on March 7, 1965. Without naming school systems, officials said 38 faced compliance reviews; on Tuesday it became clear that L.A. Unified was among them.

Some observers hailed a resurgent civil rights office they said had languished under the George W. Bush administration.

"This is a big deal after eight years of lackluster enforcement," said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the locally based Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Less impressed was Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Institute, based in Washington, D.C.: "School districts are going to see this announcement and freak out, take shortcuts and just push minority kids into Advanced Placement whether they are ready for them or not," he wrote on his blog.

In L.A., second grade is the apparent high-water mark for English learners. At that level, 33% test as proficient in English. By eighth grade, proficiency levels decline to 2%, although that includes recent immigrants and excludes students who have moved into the "fluent" category. But even among newly fluent students, only 35% test as academically proficient in English in the 11th grade.

Language problems ultimately contribute to high dropout rates as well as the inability of many graduates to complete college and compete for jobs, researchers say.

The federal action comes two years after L.A. Unified convened what it billed as a historic summit on educating English learners.

"There was a litany of recommendations," said school board member Yolie Flores. "Then nothing happened."

She called the federal action "way overdue," adding, "unless we get external pressure or a mandate or a lawsuit, we are derelict in what we need to be doing for some students."

An internal district report cited numerous accomplishments, including the recent training of 15,000 teachers in English-language development strategies.

In other districts, the division also will look at equal access to college-prep classes, equal opportunity for African American students, sexual harassment, violence and services to the disabled.

[ilbegone]

Poor performance of LAUSD prompts feds' probe

District's statistics - not complaints - spur review of English learners

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer

03/10/2010

Federal officials who plan to launch a probe of Los Angeles Unified's English-language learner program next week said Wednesday they targeted the district because of its size and low performance, but not because of any complaints or violations.

The investigation of Los Angeles Unified will look at whether the district is honoring the civil rights of English-language learners and providing them equal access to educational opportunities.

The compliance review, focusing initially on schools in the west San Fernando Valley and southeast Los Angeles, is the first of 38 planned nationwide by the federal Office for Civil Rights.

"I believe this review could have a tremendous impact not only in Los Angeles, but across the nation," said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights with the U.S. Department of Education.

She said LAUSD was chosen because of the high proportion of ELL students and their dismal academic performance compared to their counterparts in other districts.

About a third of LAUSD's students are English-language learners. In fact, the district educates 11 percent of the nation's population of students learning English. But only 3 out of 100 of LAUSD's English learners score at the proficient level in English and math in high school.

She said the review will start in the West Valley and southeast Los Angeles because those areas best represent the district as a whole, but other areas may be included later.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines, acknowledging that the district's English-language learner programs need improvement, welcomed the probe.

"I believe this investigation will find best practices that need to be spread," Cortines said. "But I also believe we are not consistent. Many of our children and young people are falling between the cracks. We need to address that."

Ali said the review would begin next week and involve interviews and data analysis.

She stressed that it was not triggered by any complaints or violations, but said the agency has never evaluated LAUSD for this issue.

"Data alone doesn't constitute a violation," Ali said. "We are going to examine if there has been a denial of equal opportunity and if discrimination, as defined by the Supreme Court, exists."

Among factors that federal analysts will examine: how English-learning students are identified; what programs allow them to learn fluent English; how students get extra help in math and science; whether students are properly evaluated; whether they have qualified teachers; and if parents have been included in the process.

If LAUSD is found to be out of compliance with civil rights laws, penalties could include a withholding of federal funds, referrals to the Justice Department and possible court injunctions.

The compliance review comes as the district struggles to close a $640-million budget gap.

Some local education experts said studies have already proven that the district has not provided these students with a fair and equitable education.

A study last fall by the Thomas Rivera Policy Institute found that 30 percent of children who start as English-language learners in kindergarten fail to leave their remedial courses by the time they are seniors in high school. Of those students, about 70 percent are native-born U.S. citizens.


[This doesn't say where their parents were born, and what ideas their parents have concerning their children learning English or becoming educated]

"If you had any program that you could think of where 30 percent of the people, after nine years of treatment, still showed no results you would consider that a failure," said institute president Harry Pachon. "The question to ask now is why, and I think this investigation will be very key in determining the answer."

Pachon added that while this issue can become politicized, an investigation would only benefit LAUSD if it finds solutions to the problem.

"It is easy to say there is a problem, but the solutions are harder to come by and will require creative thinking at a time when the district is having budgetary cutbacks, increasing class sizes and losing teachers," he said.

[ilbegone]

We stood up, and it mattered.

By Luis Torres

The Chicano walk out of 1968 was about dignity and fundamental change that we're still striving for...

We also wanted to protest the conditions that led to a drop out rate hovering around 45%. Barely half of us were making it out of high school. Something was desperately wrong and we wanted to do something about it...

I gained a pride in my heritage that made me more comfortable with who I was -- a young man whose parents were from Mexico. I overcame the shame that I used to feel as a kid when my mother "spoke funny" in public. ..

In those times, I remember reading that "the best way to get the Man off your back is to stand up." We stood up on that day...

Forty years ago, the Los Angeles school board was the Man. Today it is an ally with the community in the effort to improve education...

The drop out rate at my alma mater, Lincoln High School, and the other Eastside high schools is still about 45%...

PDF:

http://classjump.com/mrcilker/docume...20mattered.pdf

HTML:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...,5135201.story

So, Mr Torres, what are you trying to say?

In 1968, the LAUSD board of education was white. Now, it's mostly brown, and those representative of other races on the board are mostly sympathetic to the Aztlanista program.
The race game has gained them nothing in all these years, and now it's about to come crashing down around their ears.

Some "Aztlan".

[ilbegone]

How's this for a self serving resume which could suck chrome off an Aztlanista bumper while representing race obsessed narcissism presiding over a failed project?

Mónica García - LAUSD Board President

Mónica García was elected to the Board of Education in June 2006, becoming the third Latina to serve on the Board in its 155 year history. As a board member, she gives voice to the hundreds of thousands of children and families that rely on education for access to good jobs, healthcare and a sustainable quality of life. In affirming her commitment to a quality and equitable educational system, Ms. García supports initiatives that provide all students access to a college preparatory curriculum and to career and technology pathways. She has earned a reputation as a bold, optimistic, and aggressive leader in education reform.



In July 2007, Ms. García was unanimously elected by her peers as president of the Board of Education on a mandate of change. She was re-elected in July 2008 to a second term as Board President. In her time in office Ms. García has made tremendous strides. She introduced a set of eight resolutions for concrete reform, including the Diplomas for All Resolution that for the first time sets into policy the goal of 100% graduation by 2015. Ms. García has also begun shepherding in reform through promoting the Innovation model for greater school autonomy and responsibility, through the Belmont Zone of Choice, and through partnerships with the larger community to support student success. She has led the charge to develop and implement a comprehensive instructional strategy that includes, at its core, a focus on English Learners and Standard English Learners.



Ms. García comes to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with experience from the school site to the boardroom. For six years, Ms. García served as an Academic Advisor at in South Los Angeles at Foshay Learning Center and Edison Middle School through the Volunteers of America’s Educational Talent Search Program. Through her work as a guidance counselor, Ms. García developed a keen insight into the individual needs of students and their families. More importantly, she solidified her belief that when given the opportunity and access, every child CAN learn.



Ms. García has deep roots in the community and has devoted her life to making Los Angeles a better place to live, work and raise a family. As Director of Community Services for Eastmont Community Center, Ms. Garcia provided direct social services, referrals and opportunities for community education. As the co-founder and co-director of Comadres In Action and the Soy Inteligente Project, Ms. García designed and implemented college readiness skills workshops for first generation college students and their families. She was also a founding member of Camp College Los Angeles, which provided high school and college counseling to hundreds of LAUSD middle school students.



Prior to joining the Board of Education, Ms. García served as Chief of Staff to LAUSD Board President José Huizar throughout his four-year tenure. As Chief of Staff, Ms. García was an effective leader and focused her efforts to reduce dropout rates and improve academic achievement. Ms. García worked side by side with Mr. Huizar to increase opportunities for all students and their families. Their efforts contributed to creating safer schools, laying the groundwork for building new schools to ensure all students attend two-semester neighborhood schools by 2012, and establishing a policy that guarantees every student in the district graduates college-prepared and career-ready.



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.

http://laschoolboard.org/garciabio

BA in Chicano studies, head of among the largest school districts in the nation. Says it all right there.