.jpg "Rally against the cuts to Adult Education, Early Education, School Nurses, and Counselors")
All the Pieces Matter
Join us at LAUSD headquarters on Beaudry next Tuesday, May 12, for UTLA's "All the Pieces Matter!" rally against the RIFs. Come together and show support for our students and Adult Education, and other programs being cut such as Early Education, and counselors. As educators, we are all an important piece in the fight for the Schools L.A. Students Deserve: Parent-enriched Early Education to K-12 to Adult Ed to every classroom to Health and Human Services.
First published on K12NN Wire on April 8, 2015
In How to even the educational playing field for Latino kids The Los Angeles Times discusses the work of UC Berkeley's Professor Bruce Fuller, but draw several wrong conclusions. They get it half right when they say "The discrepancy starts much earlier, and even high-quality preschool makes up only about a third of the deficit." It's not that this isn't true, it's that most preschools don't focus on language development. That's a big part of the problem. Here I reproduce my commentary, that was also submitted as a letter to the editor.
I realize that none of the members of the Los Angeles Times editorial staff have backgrounds in pedagogy, or even read anything more complex than "executive summaries" of the papers they cite, but you would think that School Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP) might have been appropriate to mention in this editorial? That, and the fact that Superintendent Cortines is threatening to gut SRLDP so that he continue to pay for Rupert Murdoch's DIBBELS program? SRLDP is a research proven, award winning program that addresses all of the issues brought up here, let's expand it.
One Los Angeles news source did write about the SRLDP issue. See KPCC's Los Angeles Unified considers killing preschool program.
SRLDP supporters have a facebook page. The official, Los Angeles Unified School District page is here.
SAVE Early Childhood Education in LAUSD!
SAVE Early Childhood Education in #LAUSD! @SRLDP1 https://t.co/a3qbwkJOKg pic.twitter.com/0S4Z98780E
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) March 21, 2015Because we know that language learning doesn't occur in one year or even in a few months, it's over time.—Becky Palacios, Ph.D.
The School Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP) is an amazingly effective Pre-K program for English Language Leaners. This isn't the first time that Broad and Gates' Superintendent John Deasy has tried to kill the program, it was on his neoliberal chopping block last year along with Adult Education and other vital programs.
This only serves to highlight a key problem with Governor Brown's just passed Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). When your local controller is little more than an incarnate version of the "corporations are people" school of aberrant thought, you will see local control prioritizing profits over people. Deasy has already been diverting Title I and Title III dollars to projects that don't benefit students. LCFF gives Deasy more money, but without the constraints of categorical funding. Money for SRLDP Preschools, school libraries or Adult Education? Nope, sorry. Money for Rupert Murdoch's DIBELS® or Laurene Powell Jobs' iPads? Sure we've got that.
Save LAUSD's SRLDP Preschools for English Language Leaners by Robert D. Skeels
WHEN? Tuesday, June 18th WHERE? The LAUSD Beaudry Building 333 S. Beaudry Ave. L.A. 90017 (In front of the Board Room) TIME? Get there as early as you can – before 9:00 a.m. Plan to be there the entire day. WHY? In protest of the proposed drastic SRLDP changes WHO? All SRLDP teachers, parents, and friends Wear yellow, bring posters, signs, flags, hats, musical instruments and anything you can think of that is pro SRLDP. Also bring water and a sandwich for yourself. This will be a big push to save our program. Let’s stand together in unity. This program is too valuable for the children and parents in our communities. If you don’t stand up for them, who will? We must be proactive to be productive. Be there on Tuesday! All is not lost! We are still in negotiations! EVERY SRLDP TEACHER MUST BE THERE TO MAKE AN IMPACT. BRING PARENTS & FRIENDS. SPREAD THE WORD!
This image and introduction are courtesy of my favorite Social Justice Educator. Nothing like a Superintendent and School Board that place profits before pupils!
Please share with others. Don't let Monica Garcia and friends fool people into thinking they are ending the school to prison pipeline when they don't spend money on the classroom and Health and Human Services. Nothing helps end criminalization like great schools! That is where resources need to go!
Follow the money and you will see the LAUSD School Board's priorities.
On the morning of Friday July 13, 2012 wealthy charter corporation heads, billionaire funded 501c3 "non-profits," and well heeled business leaders celebrated a "Decade of Corporate Education Reforms" courtesy of LAUSD President Mónica Garcia.
Community members, students, educators, and social justice activists showed up on last minute notice to let Ms. García know that her tenure has been, and continues to be, unbearable to those suffering under her neoliberal regime of privatization and school closures. Several members of United Adult Students were on hand to remind everyone that García has stolen many students' futures have closed so many of our Early Education Center, Adult Education Schools, and SRLDP programs!
The Chamber of Commerce was the perfect place for the chief school privatizer—Mónica García to join her fellow one-percenters, profiteers, privatizers, and poverty pimps, since none of them are about education, they're all about business and revenues instead. Joan Sullivan, Marshall Tuck, Angelica Solis, Elise Buik, Veronica Melvin, and a host of other charter school bandits were on hand to salute Eli Broad and Philip Anschutz's avatar.
We're fighting back. http://www.recallmonicagarcia.com
This Sunday, July 15, 2012 from 9:00am — 1:00pm, South Central, Trinity Park, corner of Wall Street & 25th Street (3 blocks from Santee Educational Complex), 90011
Information: Vera Padilla marver69@hotmail.com or (323)236-0595
See the complete summer schedule
Students, Parents, and Community Activists provided an update on the recall campaign and other activities to save LAUSD SRLDP, Early Education Centers, Adult Education, and to prevent further privatization, reconstitution, and closures of our local neighborhood schools. http://recallmonicagarcia.com
Want to see the schoolboard member most responsible for privatization and cuts to services crucial to immigrant and impoverished families get her own personal pink slip? All it will take is FIFTEEN of your Dollars, FIFTEEN Hours of your time, and for you to Tell FIFTEEN of your Friends.
Donate 15 Dollars to the recall campaign
Of course we won't be mad if you add a zero or two to that figure, but we'll take what we can get. It costs money to print petitions, and we don't have any "big funders" like Mónica García does. Donate now at recallmonicagarcia.com. If you want to donate offline, we can do that too.
Donate 15 Hours to the recall campaign
We need volunteers to collect signatures, help organize, and a host of other tasks. If you are a registered voter, we'd love to have you circulate the recall petitions. We have a bunch of jobs that need community members driven by their pasion to restore School Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP), Early Education Centers (EEC), Elementary Arts, and the Division of Adult and Career Education (DACE). Sign up as a volunteer at recallmonicagarcia.com
Share the recall campaign with 15 friends
Share the recall website recallmonicagarcia.com, our facebook page, and our twitter account. Talk to your friends, colleagues, and family members. If you're an activist or educator in District 2, let parents know that people are fighting back against the budget cuts and privatization. The more people we can get to give 15, 15, and 15, the better chance we have of successfully recalling the Board President.
This campaign is about sending a clear message!
The recall campaign isn't about García as an individual. Instead it's a repudiation against budget priorities and policies that are not in line with our community. All of the LAUSD Trustees need to know that they will be held accountable for decisions that are harmful to the ninety-nine percent. We want LAUSD to answer to every nieghborhood, not just 10900 Wilshire Boulevard!
