Managing one's way around the LA Unified School District (LAUSD) takes some doing and requires such because, as a rule, LA public schools suck. We have regular neighborhood schools, charter schools and magnet schools. Sometimes the charters or magnets are within regular schools. Getting into the magnets or charters is a bit of a lottery where you get points for, among other things, the number of times you apply and get rejected.
When the HB was kindergarten age, we applied to a local (1/2 mile away) charter school that we did want him to go to. But, he kept losing out in the lottery. So, we sent him to private school and kept acruing points, thinking that eventually we could use them when applying to a good middle or high school.
Well, last year the school accepted him. But, even though it meant we lost our points, we decided not to send him. The administrators were jerks and didn't really seem interested in us--we were just a number. Plus, he only would have been at the school for 2 years (it only goes K-5).
So, we lost our rejection points and decided to start over. This time, we applied to a school with the highest number of applications to seats. Wouldn't you fucking know it--he got accepted. So, we turned it down (it's an academically poor school) and we're back to square one.
This only really matters after next year if we try to get into one of the good middle school magnets/charters. Our out is that his current school goes through 8th grade. So, our hand isn't forced until he's ready for 9th grade. Saving the private school tuition would be nice, but not at the expense of sending him to a shitty school. Especially given CA's budget mess and how that's going to affect school spending.
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The World's Largest Rudderless Ship
Two years ago, the LA Unified School District (LAUSD) made a HUGE deal when it hired David Brewer to be superintendent. Mr. Brewer was an admiral in the Navy, but had never run a school district, though we was responsible for many training initiatives at the Navy College program. Only 2 years into a 4 year contract, it looks like he's on his way out. Why on earth would the board that just hired him be so sick of him already? Let's just say it's not due to great strides being made at LAUSD.
It comes down to a lot of politics. The mayor of LA, Antonio Villaraigosa, has lots of big plans for the city. Outside of helping developers revitalize the area around Staples Center, not much has oe to fruition. One of his big plans was to make the LA schools better. But, the mayor in LA doesn't really have that much impact on schools as they are run by an elected board. It's also tricky because some other cities' schools are part of LAUSD. So, he tried an end run through his friends in the legisature, but only got some crumbs. The next best thing, in his eyes, was to get his friends elected to the school board, which he was able to do. None of these new school board members had any loyalty to Brewer and didn't have much interest in working with him since he's not their guy.
So, some stuff must have been in the works because earlier in the week Brewer said that he wouldn't quit, but if the district bought out his contract (for about $500k) he would just walk. There was more than a little martyrdom in his statement. Then he busts out with, "I don't want to make this a racism thing. That would be too painful for the students, so just pay me." Hunh? He's a black superintendant of a majority Latino overseen by a multi-racial school board. Why in the world would a guy who has achieved so much in his life, and not by making excuses, play the race card? To use as leverage for the buyout?
Let's assume that racism is part of it. Isn't that a last lesson he would want to teach the under achieving students in his district? Or, if black-Latino racism is preventing the district from performing well, shouldn't we know about it?
The fact of the matter is that a school district the size of LAUSD is nearly impossible to manage. The school board's insistence on keeping the district so large so they can keep power while saving a few dollars is preventing it from being effective. The beauracracies are so intrenched and calcified that they greatest school district administrator in the world won't be able to turn it around. And with CA's budget problems, there's gonna be less money to do what needs to be done.
Yes, I'm going to keep writing those private school checks.
It comes down to a lot of politics. The mayor of LA, Antonio Villaraigosa, has lots of big plans for the city. Outside of helping developers revitalize the area around Staples Center, not much has oe to fruition. One of his big plans was to make the LA schools better. But, the mayor in LA doesn't really have that much impact on schools as they are run by an elected board. It's also tricky because some other cities' schools are part of LAUSD. So, he tried an end run through his friends in the legisature, but only got some crumbs. The next best thing, in his eyes, was to get his friends elected to the school board, which he was able to do. None of these new school board members had any loyalty to Brewer and didn't have much interest in working with him since he's not their guy.
So, some stuff must have been in the works because earlier in the week Brewer said that he wouldn't quit, but if the district bought out his contract (for about $500k) he would just walk. There was more than a little martyrdom in his statement. Then he busts out with, "I don't want to make this a racism thing. That would be too painful for the students, so just pay me." Hunh? He's a black superintendant of a majority Latino overseen by a multi-racial school board. Why in the world would a guy who has achieved so much in his life, and not by making excuses, play the race card? To use as leverage for the buyout?
Let's assume that racism is part of it. Isn't that a last lesson he would want to teach the under achieving students in his district? Or, if black-Latino racism is preventing the district from performing well, shouldn't we know about it?
The fact of the matter is that a school district the size of LAUSD is nearly impossible to manage. The school board's insistence on keeping the district so large so they can keep power while saving a few dollars is preventing it from being effective. The beauracracies are so intrenched and calcified that they greatest school district administrator in the world won't be able to turn it around. And with CA's budget problems, there's gonna be less money to do what needs to be done.
Yes, I'm going to keep writing those private school checks.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tutoring
I really enjoy my Rotary Club's tutoring program at a local school. It's fun to do and it makes at least a small difference for the kids and the teacher.
Fortunately, I get to work with the same teacher as I did last year. You can tell the difference a new year makes in her face. A little more makeup and a little less stressed. We'll see how long that lasts.
She sent me this last week after the assignments were made:
"hi chat! i was so happy to see that you were assigned to me, and hadn't requested to change rooms. my kids did fantastically on last year's spring testing, thanks in part to you. 92% passed the math portion, and 76% scored Advanced! that's what i like to see.
unfortunately, this year i have a very low bunch. however, they are low not because they are not capable, instead because they are very, lazy and uninspired. so, just to give you the heads up. i have made some inroads, but is is drudgery.
your son is in 4th this year no?"
Yikes. Forget about the compliments, but a teacher describing a room of 4th graders as lazy and uninspired!? Now, it is entirely possible that this description is spot on and with 30-some students she has a big job. I think it shows the challenges that LAUSD teachers face. Still, the lack of optimism is troubling. I would think that an effective teacher needs to have on at least slightly rose-tinted glasses. Not in terms of a students current ability level, but when viewing their potential to succeed.
I worked with a girl today on negative numbers. She's interested in science, so we did examples of adding and subtracting temperatures to help her understand how it works. Though, I think when we used examples of owing her parents allowance money because she borrowed some to buy a game made a little more sense to her. She seemed genuinely excited when it stated sinking in.
Fortunately, I get to work with the same teacher as I did last year. You can tell the difference a new year makes in her face. A little more makeup and a little less stressed. We'll see how long that lasts.
She sent me this last week after the assignments were made:
"hi chat! i was so happy to see that you were assigned to me, and hadn't requested to change rooms. my kids did fantastically on last year's spring testing, thanks in part to you. 92% passed the math portion, and 76% scored Advanced! that's what i like to see.
unfortunately, this year i have a very low bunch. however, they are low not because they are not capable, instead because they are very, lazy and uninspired. so, just to give you the heads up. i have made some inroads, but is is drudgery.
your son is in 4th this year no?"
Yikes. Forget about the compliments, but a teacher describing a room of 4th graders as lazy and uninspired!? Now, it is entirely possible that this description is spot on and with 30-some students she has a big job. I think it shows the challenges that LAUSD teachers face. Still, the lack of optimism is troubling. I would think that an effective teacher needs to have on at least slightly rose-tinted glasses. Not in terms of a students current ability level, but when viewing their potential to succeed.
I worked with a girl today on negative numbers. She's interested in science, so we did examples of adding and subtracting temperatures to help her understand how it works. Though, I think when we used examples of owing her parents allowance money because she borrowed some to buy a game made a little more sense to her. She seemed genuinely excited when it stated sinking in.
Friday, October 17, 2008
School Daze
Today I spent 3 hours on the campus of the middle school where the HB would attend if we didn't have him in private school. There's a group of local parents who are trying to improve the local schools, including this one, so that more local kids will attend them. I'm here to say that they are failing.
I found a classroom nearly bereft of computers and other learning aids. Not only that, the walls were almost bare. Very few group projects (although one seemed to be based on a local pizza place's menu) or other evidence of creative thinking. When the students got unruly when I was speaking, as the guest I had to bring order as the teacher (who was essentially having a vacation day) couldn't be bothered.
At lunch we ate in the teacher's lounge. Lots of posters about UTLA goings on, but, like the website, nothing about improving the quality of education. OK, if you got to the BOTTOM of the webpage there is some information about professional development.
I'd rather not spend the money on private school, but I think that's going to continue to be in the cards.
Tonight we went to the NZS's football game. I gotta say, the team impressed me. The fell behind 17-0, but came back to win 35-17--on the road. Once they cut down on the turnovers and protected their QB, things really turned. The only bad part was that the NZS didn't play (bum knee).
Tomorrow the HB starts on a new theater production. This is a good thing. He's got a bit too much time on his hands during the weekends. Unfortch, while he's there I need to got to a memorial for a guy in my Rotary Club. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but he cared about the kids in our neighborhood like nobody else. He's already missed.
I found a classroom nearly bereft of computers and other learning aids. Not only that, the walls were almost bare. Very few group projects (although one seemed to be based on a local pizza place's menu) or other evidence of creative thinking. When the students got unruly when I was speaking, as the guest I had to bring order as the teacher (who was essentially having a vacation day) couldn't be bothered.
At lunch we ate in the teacher's lounge. Lots of posters about UTLA goings on, but, like the website, nothing about improving the quality of education. OK, if you got to the BOTTOM of the webpage there is some information about professional development.
I'd rather not spend the money on private school, but I think that's going to continue to be in the cards.
Tonight we went to the NZS's football game. I gotta say, the team impressed me. The fell behind 17-0, but came back to win 35-17--on the road. Once they cut down on the turnovers and protected their QB, things really turned. The only bad part was that the NZS didn't play (bum knee).
Tomorrow the HB starts on a new theater production. This is a good thing. He's got a bit too much time on his hands during the weekends. Unfortch, while he's there I need to got to a memorial for a guy in my Rotary Club. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, but he cared about the kids in our neighborhood like nobody else. He's already missed.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
School Daze
Before I started blogging, my wife and I went on the great school search for the HB. This is a ritual among families in LA because while the public schools generally suck, there are some islands of good schools and a fair amount of school choice (charter schools, magnet schools and private schools). My wife and I, being analytic types, poured over school data and visited what seemed like 20 schools. One of the ones we really liked is actually very close to us. It's a charter/magnet, which meant we had to apply to a lottery where points are awarded in a fairly byzantine way. Oh, and you lose your magnet points if you turn down an official invitation to a magnet school. We're not sure if this includes being called from a wait-list.
Of course, we didn't win the lottery. This was not a surprise as when I looked at the ratio of applications to spots, well, let's just say the HB has a better chance of getting into Stanford. But, one of the the private schools we liked accepted him and that's where he's been. The school is excellent and we're happy with it, but it ain't cheap. Also, as he got rejected each year by the charter/magnet, we accrued the points so that, theoretically, he would eventually get accepted there (which we had lost hope in because the school has a transfer rate of nearly zero) or we could use for high school (his current school goes through 8th grade).
So, I get a call from my wife yesterday. The charter/magnet school called and said, "We have a spot for the HB, but you have to let us know by 2 pm tomorrow." So, my wife and I rush around and get together for lunch. Funny, she never calls with an urge to get together for lunch so we can have sex, but that's a different story.
I had this HUGE rush of anxiety as I had put the school search stuff in the deep recesses of my mind. I figured the HB would stay at this school until 8th grade, then we'd do the great search one more time. But trying to decide in 24 hours made my head hurt.
So, we decided to call the school back to see if we could get a tour, etc. and also have our cool neighbors over as their kids both went there. We also wanted to pick their brains about middle schools (their daughters ended up going to different ones). At this point, she's leaning towards moving him and I'm leaning towards keeping him where he is. From her perspective, she's concerned about the money and her constant state of dread that she'll run out of work. I'm thinking that moving him would put us on a path with fewer choices for middle school.
My wife calls the school and the assistant principal who called her is a total bitch. First, she puts her on hold a couple of times and holds a side conversation or two. Then she says that she can't meet with us or arrange for a tour because they are so busy. IHU LAUSD. So, before our neighbors come over, we decide to cruise by the school (the HB was a kindergartener the last time we were there) and take a look around. Turns out that they are having an end-of-the-year open house. You'd think that Ms. Cranky Pants would have been more than happy to have someone take us around...but noooooooooooo.
The big reminder of going through there was that it's a pretty good school, has an innovative curriculum and has class sizes that are way too large (about 30-35 per class at his grade). The kids learn mostly through projects and it's pretty self-directed. The HB doesn't always focus as much as he should, so I'm thinking this might not be the best place for him.
Our friends came over with their kids and we talked about the charter/magnet and the middle schools. The girls' mom does some special ed work with LAUSD, so she knows a lot about the schools and the system. The most interesting thing that came out of the conversation was how much the LOVE the middle school where their youngest goes to. It's public, but is also a magnet. So, if were were to keep our magnet points we could apply there in a couple of years. She seemed to think that you don't lose the magnet points for turning down a wait-list spot, but said that she would call the district and check for us.
So, as of now here's what we're gonna do: Keep the HB in his school for the next two years. Apply to the good magnet middle school. If he gets in, great. If not, we'll stay at the current school.
Whew....
Of course, we didn't win the lottery. This was not a surprise as when I looked at the ratio of applications to spots, well, let's just say the HB has a better chance of getting into Stanford. But, one of the the private schools we liked accepted him and that's where he's been. The school is excellent and we're happy with it, but it ain't cheap. Also, as he got rejected each year by the charter/magnet, we accrued the points so that, theoretically, he would eventually get accepted there (which we had lost hope in because the school has a transfer rate of nearly zero) or we could use for high school (his current school goes through 8th grade).
So, I get a call from my wife yesterday. The charter/magnet school called and said, "We have a spot for the HB, but you have to let us know by 2 pm tomorrow." So, my wife and I rush around and get together for lunch. Funny, she never calls with an urge to get together for lunch so we can have sex, but that's a different story.
I had this HUGE rush of anxiety as I had put the school search stuff in the deep recesses of my mind. I figured the HB would stay at this school until 8th grade, then we'd do the great search one more time. But trying to decide in 24 hours made my head hurt.
So, we decided to call the school back to see if we could get a tour, etc. and also have our cool neighbors over as their kids both went there. We also wanted to pick their brains about middle schools (their daughters ended up going to different ones). At this point, she's leaning towards moving him and I'm leaning towards keeping him where he is. From her perspective, she's concerned about the money and her constant state of dread that she'll run out of work. I'm thinking that moving him would put us on a path with fewer choices for middle school.
My wife calls the school and the assistant principal who called her is a total bitch. First, she puts her on hold a couple of times and holds a side conversation or two. Then she says that she can't meet with us or arrange for a tour because they are so busy. IHU LAUSD. So, before our neighbors come over, we decide to cruise by the school (the HB was a kindergartener the last time we were there) and take a look around. Turns out that they are having an end-of-the-year open house. You'd think that Ms. Cranky Pants would have been more than happy to have someone take us around...but noooooooooooo.
The big reminder of going through there was that it's a pretty good school, has an innovative curriculum and has class sizes that are way too large (about 30-35 per class at his grade). The kids learn mostly through projects and it's pretty self-directed. The HB doesn't always focus as much as he should, so I'm thinking this might not be the best place for him.
Our friends came over with their kids and we talked about the charter/magnet and the middle schools. The girls' mom does some special ed work with LAUSD, so she knows a lot about the schools and the system. The most interesting thing that came out of the conversation was how much the LOVE the middle school where their youngest goes to. It's public, but is also a magnet. So, if were were to keep our magnet points we could apply there in a couple of years. She seemed to think that you don't lose the magnet points for turning down a wait-list spot, but said that she would call the district and check for us.
So, as of now here's what we're gonna do: Keep the HB in his school for the next two years. Apply to the good magnet middle school. If he gets in, great. If not, we'll stay at the current school.
Whew....
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Zot, Zot, Zot
Besides the usual reminders to give them money, I've had a couple of opportunities to think of my undergrad alma mater UC Irvine this week. Irvine was an odd school to go to. It was right in the middle of VERY conservative Orange County but attracted its fair share of non-conformists, most of whom seemed to congregate at the campus radio station and newspaper, which shared the same floor above the cafeteria.
A couple of days ago I heard from the guy who was the music director at KUCI while I was the program director. He came from a well-to-do family, so he always had plenty of money and drugs. He was good looking enough that he also attracted some excellent female attention. We didn't hang out a ton, but we enjoyed some of the same music and was a fun dude to be around. He was on the few who made his way into the music business after graduating. So, it was a surprise to hear that he was now doing film work. He didn't share any details of this, but the advent of music downloading has really shrunk the size of the record companies. Since he's still in LA, I look forward to having a couple of beers with him and getting caught up.
In other Anteater news, the basketball team is in the Big West tournament finals against Cal State Fullerton. The winner goes to the NCAA tournament, something Irvine has NEVER done (Fullerton had a great run in the tournament about a million years ago. OK, 1978). One of the cool things I got to do at the radio station was be the play-by-play announcer for the basketball games. There were a couple of years that the team was really good, but there was always someone better (usually UNLV) even though they had some players who made it to the NBA. Who knows, maybe this year is the one (we'll find out at 8pm).
A couple of days ago I heard from the guy who was the music director at KUCI while I was the program director. He came from a well-to-do family, so he always had plenty of money and drugs. He was good looking enough that he also attracted some excellent female attention. We didn't hang out a ton, but we enjoyed some of the same music and was a fun dude to be around. He was on the few who made his way into the music business after graduating. So, it was a surprise to hear that he was now doing film work. He didn't share any details of this, but the advent of music downloading has really shrunk the size of the record companies. Since he's still in LA, I look forward to having a couple of beers with him and getting caught up.
In other Anteater news, the basketball team is in the Big West tournament finals against Cal State Fullerton. The winner goes to the NCAA tournament, something Irvine has NEVER done (Fullerton had a great run in the tournament about a million years ago. OK, 1978). One of the cool things I got to do at the radio station was be the play-by-play announcer for the basketball games. There were a couple of years that the team was really good, but there was always someone better (usually UNLV) even though they had some players who made it to the NBA. Who knows, maybe this year is the one (we'll find out at 8pm).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Things Diverge Quickly
Once a week I tutor 4th grade kids in math and reading at a local elementary school. Academically, it's an average school in the LA school district, which means that overall it is not so great. I enjoy working for the teacher (late 30s/early 40s, not completely burned out yet) but she clearly has her hands full with her class of about 35.
As I walk in today I noticed that the kids had done topographical maps of CA. The HB just got done doing the same thing in his class. Here's the rub: He's a 3rd grader and these kids are 4th graders. Not only that, but the 4th grade class only had to identify the ocean, CA and the bordering states (Oregon, Nevada and Arizona for you scoring at home). In the HB's class they had to identify those things as well as three different mountains, five cities, cultural landmarks, etc.
I'm a big believer that kids will meet your expectations. So, why is it that LAUSD (or, to be fair, perhaps the state of California that controls the curriculum) has such lower standards for students than my son's school? Doing the map is a homework project, so it doesn't take classroom time. And everything he was expected to find was located on a common AAA map (or all over the internet).
If the expectation differences are so big for grades 3/4, imagine the gulf in high school. Keep that in mind next time you're asked, "Want fries with that?"
As I walk in today I noticed that the kids had done topographical maps of CA. The HB just got done doing the same thing in his class. Here's the rub: He's a 3rd grader and these kids are 4th graders. Not only that, but the 4th grade class only had to identify the ocean, CA and the bordering states (Oregon, Nevada and Arizona for you scoring at home). In the HB's class they had to identify those things as well as three different mountains, five cities, cultural landmarks, etc.
I'm a big believer that kids will meet your expectations. So, why is it that LAUSD (or, to be fair, perhaps the state of California that controls the curriculum) has such lower standards for students than my son's school? Doing the map is a homework project, so it doesn't take classroom time. And everything he was expected to find was located on a common AAA map (or all over the internet).
If the expectation differences are so big for grades 3/4, imagine the gulf in high school. Keep that in mind next time you're asked, "Want fries with that?"
Friday, March 16, 2007
Fitting In
After the HB was accepted (for lack of a better word) to the school he's in 3 years ago, they sent us tickets to their annual fund raiser, gratis. I have to tell you, their process of bringing on new families is awesome (my clients could learn from it when getting new employees acclimated to the company). But, I digress. The first thing we noticed about the tickets was that they were $125 a pop! Clearly, we were not in Kansas anymore.
Both the wife and I grew up in middle-class families. Both of our dad's were engineers. My mom worked part time while my brother and I were in school. Her mom stayed at home to raise the four kids she was emotionally unsuited to take care of (but that's another entry). Until we started looking for school's for the HB (to save him from the morass that is the LA Unified School District), neither one of us had ever set foot in a private school. I won't go through that whole process, but I'll be happy if I only have to do it one more time (his school is K-8).
My wife and I both have six-figure incomes and we have no debt, so we are not paupers. However, the opulence of some of the school functions definitely gives us pause. For instance, I received the following in an e-mail about the upcoming silent auction at the annual fundraiser:
The silent auction committee is trying to put together some trip packages and we need your help with some plane tickets and hotels. Anyone who might be able to help us should contact...
Wish List:
100,000 airline miles or 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii
3 nights at a hotel in Hawaii (we have 2 nights already)
5 nights at a hotel in Tokyo
dinner at a restaurant in NYC
Oh, and I just got this for the pre-event items:
I should mention that everyone we've met at the school is very nice and we haven't run into any spoiled fucking brats who run amok. But still, the big dollars make my wife and I uncomfortable (we'll be passing on the big event this year). It makes me wonder if you are where you came from or who you roll with.
BTW--I went 12-4 in my NCAA picks yesterday. Hopefully today will be better.
Both the wife and I grew up in middle-class families. Both of our dad's were engineers. My mom worked part time while my brother and I were in school. Her mom stayed at home to raise the four kids she was emotionally unsuited to take care of (but that's another entry). Until we started looking for school's for the HB (to save him from the morass that is the LA Unified School District), neither one of us had ever set foot in a private school. I won't go through that whole process, but I'll be happy if I only have to do it one more time (his school is K-8).
My wife and I both have six-figure incomes and we have no debt, so we are not paupers. However, the opulence of some of the school functions definitely gives us pause. For instance, I received the following in an e-mail about the upcoming silent auction at the annual fundraiser:
The silent auction committee is trying to put together some trip packages and we need your help with some plane tickets and hotels. Anyone who might be able to help us should contact...
Wish List:
100,000 airline miles or 2 round trip tickets to Hawaii
3 nights at a hotel in Hawaii (we have 2 nights already)
5 nights at a hotel in Tokyo
dinner at a restaurant in NYC
Oh, and I just got this for the pre-event items:
(1) 24 - Visit the set of this hit series and meet Jack Bauer! Meet and greet with Kiefer Sutherland and take home a basket of show merchandise. Limited to four people. Subject to Availability. Contact So-and-so for arrangements.
Like I said, this thing is totally over the top and will probably raise more than $250K. The LA Times recently had a story about the crazy jack that these school fund raisers bring in (tho' I can't find the link to save my life). When I read the story I thought, "I am SO glad they didn't mention the HB's school, or else I'd never hear the end of it from my parents."I should mention that everyone we've met at the school is very nice and we haven't run into any spoiled fucking brats who run amok. But still, the big dollars make my wife and I uncomfortable (we'll be passing on the big event this year). It makes me wonder if you are where you came from or who you roll with.
BTW--I went 12-4 in my NCAA picks yesterday. Hopefully today will be better.
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