.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.
March 24, 2015, Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting. Over 2200 petition signatures collected in support of all classes beginning in the fall. The full text of the petition is: "The students and teachers urge the Division of Adult and Career Education (DACE) to give us a full and consistent schedule of classes for students beginning at the start of the school year, rather than holding back appropriated funds. DACE has established a pattern of holding funds, especially from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), until well after the beginning of the school year, despite the fact that the funds are appropriated by the state and available to the district before the beginning of the school year. This policy deprives the students of a full year of education and destabilizes programs. It drives away good teachers who cannot get health benefits, tenure, or make a living wage. This is not a good policy for the students or the teachers and we ask that you change it."
In memory of Benjamin Reyes, a champion of #AdultEd and Public Education. #LAUSD #RIP pic.twitter.com/W37VPknxWL
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) September 26, 2014
Gilberta Gonzalez of United Adult Students speaking at CCAE 2013 Conference in Sacramento. She is introduced here by CCAE Conference co-Chair, Branka Marceta. Holding the 10,000 petition signatures is Teacher and Evans Adult School graduate Juan Noguera.
Adult Education & CTE students presente! We need dedicated funding! #AdultEd #Literacy #LAUSD #DTLA #CApolicy twitter.com/AdultStudentsL…
— UnitedAdultStudents (@AdultStudentsLA) May 15, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
United Adult Students (UAS) to rally against Governor Brown's plan
Los Angeles, California - April 16, 2013 - United Adult Students (UAS) have announced that they will hold a student rally and present petitions containing thousands of signatures opposed to Governor Brown's plan to move adult education to the Community College system.
The details for the event are as follows:
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
7:00AM
Evans Community Adult School
717 N Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
UAS released the following statement.
"We are against Governor Brown’s plan to transfer the Adult Education program of LAUSD to the Community College system. We want our Adult Schools to remain open and accessible in our communities, and with dedicated funding streams.
Estamos en contra del plan del Gobernador Brown de trasladar la Educación de Adultos del Distrito Escolar (LAUSD) a los Colegios Comunitarios. Queremos que nuestras Escuelas para Adultos se mantegan abiertas y acesibles en nuestras comunidades, y con fondos dedicados."
The petitions and ten reasons provided by UAS for signing it can be found on their website at http://www.unitedadultstudents.org/petition_against_governor_brown_s_plan
Founded by students in response to Mónica García and John Deasy's threatened elimination of LAUSD Adult Education in 2012, United Adult Students (UAS) successfully defended much of the program. Through organizing, activism, and lobbying, UAS has proven the collective power of adult students. UAS is the voice of adult education.
Contact:
United Adult Students (UAS)
http://www.unitedadultstudents.org
(213) 986-2492
Monday saw Robert D. Skeels at the Northeast Democratic Club (NEDC) where he and three other candidates, including the incumbent, were asked a series of questions in addition to making an opening statement. The questions were challenging and policy oriented, allowing each candidate's fundamental principles to show. The incumbent, who easily thought she'd win the endorsement, lost heartily with only 70 of the 110 necessary votes to win. We believe that this vote of open endorsement along with the one earlier this month at the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, demonstrates that Los Angeles Democrats have grown tired of the harmful right wing policies embodied by Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) and anti-public education reform leaders like the incumbent School Board President. We think these open endorsements indicate people had been waiting for a progressive alternative to Los Angeles education politics long dominated by DFER and the like.
On Tuesday, Robert participated in the third of the candidate forums held by the grassroots organizations comprising the District 2 Neighborhood Coalition. Held at the Boyle Heights Senior Center, the forum was somewhat relaxed compared to the previous evenings' NEDC debate. Audience members were able to ask questions and the format allowed the candidates to flesh out their positions.
On Wednesday Robert D. Skeels learned that he had been endorsed by the Progressive Democrats of Santa Monica Mountains.
On Friday Robert received exciting news that he had earned another critical endorsement—The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), who represent administrators in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Only one District 2 candidate has been endorsed by the unions representing the vast majority of Certificated Personnel. Only Robert D. Skeels is endorsed by United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA). The professionals know who to trust on matters of policy and pedagogy. He has also been endorsed by a broad range of academia, education experts, immigrant rights organizations, veterans, and community groups. A list of featured endorsement appear on his campaign website. That evening Robert attended a meeting of Adult Education Teachers to learn more about Governor Brown's proposed changes that include folding adult education into the already overburdened and underfunded community college system. While a position paper will be released sometime in the future, Robert expressed that he opposes the plan that would make adult adult education less accessible to the community and pulls parents off of their children's K-12 campuses.
Saturday morning was an exciting time with the campaign's third precinct walk held in Boyle Heights. The first two were in Lincoln Heights, then Historic Filipinotown respectively. Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Chris Hume, captured footage and interviews from the Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board campaign's Boyle Heights precinct walking. Filmed on 1st Street in Boyle Heights at the location of our gracious sponsor, Purgatory Pizza, just prior to the group going out to talk to voters.
Featured in the video are two widely respected educators whose support is greatly appreciated.
Our group of over twenty-four volunteers canvassed Boyle Heights. We learned that the incumbent's event just south of us had fewer participants. That evening the candidate attended an event held by the Trinational Coalition, CEJ, and PEAC to see educator and author Dr. Lois Weiner and Chicago Teachers Union Staff Director Jackson Potter speak at UTLA.
Sunday afternoon consisted of a group of adult education student volunteers phone banking at Robert and Yoon Jung's house, which has become campaign central for many activities. Another documentarian came to interview Robert during that time. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed pupusas from Pupuseria Menchita, who are staunch supporters and are displaying our campaign placard.
Over the same weekend the campaign received additional endorsements from Anne Zerrien-Lee, Vik Chaubey, Marcy Winograd, Ingrid Villeda, and Martha Sanchez.
This weekend is shaping up to be as exciting as last. We're having a press conference and precinct walk in Koreatown on Saturday. Hope to see you there.
Award-winning documentary film-maker Chris Hume captured footage and interviews from the Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD School Board campaign's third weekend of precinct walking. Filmed on 1st Street in Boyle Heights at Purgatory Pizza just prior to the group going out to talk to voters.
Featured in the video are two widely respected educators whose support is greatly appreciated.
Dr. John Fernandez — Teacher, Theodore Roosevelt High School (Ret.) and former Director of the Mexican-American Education Commission for the LAUSD.
Martha Infante — 2009 CCSS Teacher of the Year, National Board Certified Teacher, Past-President Southern CA Social Science Association, proud public middle school teacher.
Now, our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality. For we know that it isn't enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't earn enough money to buy a hamburger and cup of coffee? — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Adult Education means so much to so many people, especially our immigrant and underprivileged populations. One of the most important priorities of Adult Education is to prepare students for living wage jobs. Nowhere is this more true than in the few remaining vocational schools in Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Adult Education division.
Recently LAUSD Superintendent Deasy and President Mónica García have once again expressed their willingness to axe an Adult Education program preparing community members for excellent, well paying jobs. On their chopping block this time is the North Valley Occupational Center's (NVOC) Aviation Center. Much like last year when the Deasy and García duo were all too eager to cut all the programs vital to our economic recovery, City Council Member Eric Garcetti has stepped up where the Superintendent and Board President have failed their constituents.
Last year in his eloquent save Adult Education speech Garcetti spoke about saving "the core" to "grow the economy," and he drove home the point that we grow the economy through adult education. Such speeches, support, and City Council Resolutions set the backdrop for an amazing campaign waged by adult education students, teachers, and community members, who were able to save Adult Education from complete destruction.
Thankfully Garcetti has stood up once again and is on the leading edge of the solution rather than the problem. Instead of accepting Deasy and García's logic that The NVOC-Aviation Center isn't as important as A-G Requirements or implementing more mind numbing standardized tests, Garcetti has been taking bold and innovative action to have the City significantly lower the rent to NVOC. He and the Council are working to get the Federal Aviation Administration to accept the deal. In other words, Councilman Garcetti is putting "students first" in practice.
As a School Board Member I will work hand in hand with leaders who want to serve the community instead of the interests of corporate plutocrats, privateers, and the testing-industrial-complex. I admire Garcetti's willingness to take a principled stand that doesn't just benefit Adult Education students, but benefits our communities at large by creating living —and better— wage jobs. It's sad that the current LAUSD leadership has neither the foresight, nor the concern for the community to care about saving such critical programs.
I commend Eric Garcetti and all the City Council Members who have stood up for LAUSD Adult Education. Real leadership doesn't reconstitute, close down, or privatize. Real leadership seeks local solutions that serve real people.
Eric Garcetti is a candidate for the Mayor of Los Angeles.
Robert D. Skeels is a candidate for the LAUSD Board of Education.
The student activists of United Adult Students (UAS) held their Summer Celebration on the last day of June 2012. Through their hard work and perseverance they were able to salvage a portion of their programs despite the fact that LAUSD President Mónica García and Superintendent John Deasy were hades-bent on shutting down all of adult education and many more programs for working class peoples. The students held multiple large demonstrations, gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures, obtained resolutions from many Neighborhood Councils, garnered support from many community leaders, endorsements from politicians, and so much more. Their efforts made it politically untenable for Deasy, García and the rest of the Anschutz Four to steal their futures. The Los Angeles City Council passed an unanimous resolution supporting adult education, and unsurprisingly Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — who postures as an 'Education Mayor' — refused to sign the resolution supporting over a quarter million working and immigrant families trying to improve their lot. While the students celebrated, they also thought of all the schools, educators, and opportunities that were lost through the missmanagement of LAUSD's resources and wrongheaded budget priorities. They resolved to continue the struggle to use our community's resources on classrooms rather than creating revenue streams from Pearson, plc.
