solidaridad

Friday, February 20, 2015

Associated Administrators of Los Angeles LAUSD Endorsements 2015

[Bennett Kayser] is often a thoughtful voice on the Board and has been a strong supporter of programs for immigrant children, children with disabilities and children of color. — Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA)

From the February 23, 2015 issue of Update

As the March 3 primary election rapidly approaches, we urge AALA members to exercise their right to vote. Pollsters are predicting that the voter turnout will be unusually low, even though there are critical positions that need to be filled. Four seats on the LAUSD Board of Education are open for election—Districts 1, 3, 5, 7—and several candidates are on the ballot. District 1 is the only race in which the incumbent is running unopposed, Dr. George McKenna. The other three races are hotly contested in an election that will virtually determine the future direction of the Board. Once the election has been held, the winners will join the other Board Members in selecting the next Superintendent, balancing the budget and making decisions about the iPad program, new testing procedures and teacher evaluations, all while facing declining student enrollment as charter school numbers increase.

In the contest for Board District 3, AALA has endorsed former teacher and principal Scott Schmerelson (www.Scott4lausd.com), who is running against the incumbent and four other challengers. Scott, who is also Executive Director of ACSA Region XVI and has been endorsed by CSEA, identifies three priorities should he win the election: class sizes, school bond funds and fair wages. Reducing class sizes is his top priority. He experienced the need for this first hand while teaching Spanish last fall at Cleveland High School. His classes had between 42 and 45 students, reducing his ability to interact with the students and even to move about the classroom. Scott has taken the position that school bond funds should be used as intended—for construction and infrastructure upgrades. He opposes the use of bond money for the iPad program, saying, “The from textbook money and since LAUSD is the largest district in the state, we need to go to Sacramento and get the law The money for changed so we can use that money to purchase devices that hold textbooks.”

Current Board Member Bennett Kayser (www.Bennett2015.com) has received AALA’s support in his bid for reelection in District 5. This race has become particularly nasty, with the Charter School Association’s political action committee (PAC) distributing numerous flyers that attack not just Bennett’s politics, but his integrity, ethics and even his health. During his years on the Board of Education, Bennett, a former teacher, has been a dedicated, strong advocate for administrators and teachers and opposed to increasing the number of charter schools. He is often a thoughtful voice on the Board and has been a strong supporter of programs for immigrant children, children with disabilities and children of color. In addition to AALA, he has earned the support of all of the District’s major unions, including UTLA, SEIU and CSEA.

AALA endorses Board President Dr. Richard Vladovic (www.Vladovic4schoolboard.com) in his reelection bid in District 7. His priorities include proper distribution of money to schools that need it most, a MiSiS system that works, a teacher evaluation system that’s fair and a better use of best practices districtwide. Dr. Vladovic has spent his entire career in public education, beginning as a teacher and moving through the ranks to principal and superintendent. He has received the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times, Daily News, Daily Breeze, numerous elected officials, including Mayor Garcetti, and the majority of the labor unions, except UTLA. Dr. Vladovic fought to end the year round calendar and supported the maintenance of health benefits for all employees.

Robert D. Skeels, 2013 LAUSD District 2 Runner Up, Opposes Charter Amendments 1 and 2

VISIT SAVE OUR CITY ELECTIONS TODAY

@rdsathene Robert Skeels says NO to Charter Amendments 1&2! @rdsathene pic.twitter.com/Vujue6ekEI
— SaveOurCityElections (@SaveLAElections) February 20, 2015

Robert D. Skeels, runner up in the 2013 Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education election for District 2, had the following commentary on Los Angeles City Charter Amendments 1 and 2:

"These charter amendments would all but entirely consolidate power into the hands of plutocrats and corporations. Community based candidates would essentially be shut out of elections for good. Our school board would be reduced to a committee for large foundations, serving the whims of deep pocketed special interests (read privatizers)."

VISIT SAVE OUR CITY ELECTIONS TODAY

4LAKIDS (Scott M. Folsom's) LAUSD ENDORSEMENTS 2015

●●4LAKIDS ENDORSEMENTS:

Board District 1: GEORGE McKENNA
Board District 3: SCOTT SCHMERELSON
Board District 5: BENNETT KAYSER
Board District 7: RICHARD VLADOVIC

EXPLAINER: Three incumbents are endorsed here even though to would be hard to grade the performance of the board of education over the past few years above a low “C”. This may be “social promotion”: there is plenty of room for improvement. However one must apply the “What have you done for me lately?” test – and eventually, recently, tardily and with-much drama the board rose-up-and-removed Superintendent Deasy. Kayser was Deasy’s greatest critic – and as such may have not been as effective at other things as he could’ve been. McKenna has been the board less than a year. And speaking for the genre: It’s great to see a truly talented old dog learn some new tricks! Valdovic was one of the last to come around and sometimes his leadership of the board was been absent-or-ineffectual – but his experience trumps that of his opponents. Galatzan’s obstreperousness is the biggest catalyst for an “Anyone but Tamar Campaign” …but “anyone” isn’t on the ballot and Scott S. is the strongest one there. The challenge ahead for the Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles is to hire the next superintendent and all the other things in the article above. The voter’s job is to put together 4/7th’s – a potentially deciding majority - of the team to do that.

But mostly the voter’s job is to vote.

Monday, February 16, 2015

More Scott Folsom on the disreputable tactics of the California Charter Schools Association

“…the distribution of disability types within independent Los Angeles charter schools is skewed; for students with disabilities requiring extensive special education services, the likelihood they will be enrolled in independent charter schools is one-fourth that of traditional public schools.” — COPAA

We all read Scott Folsom of @4LAKids vivid account of California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez's latest vicious campaign against Students with Disabilities (SWD) and their champion on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board, the Honorable Bennett Kayser, in absolute horror. In his weekly newsletter summary, he added the following thoughts.

THE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: Later on in this issue I will make endorsements, to be taken with a grain of salt – or salt-substitute, if you are on that diet.

I need to rant a bit about the disreputable tactics of the California Charter Schools Association's political action committee CCSA Advocates’ locally sponsored independent expenditure committee: Parent Teacher Alliance.

(There are three degrees of separation – but they are attached.) Take a look at this: CCSA SPONSORED "PARENT TEACHER ADVOCATES" HITS NEW LOW IN ANTI-KAYSER TV SPOT | http://tl.gd/n_1skkv90 It is true that the CCSA never called Mr. Kayser a racist, but as Steve Lopez wrote: They implied it. Their TV ad last week doesn’t say that Kayser is a pro-pederast/”bad teacher” lover – or that’s he’s responsible for everything Dr. Deasy ever did-or-didn’t do. They don’t say he is given to dropping and breaking coffee cups as a metaphor for something a little darker …or something they don’t want to talk about like his Parkinson’s disease – but they imply it. They don’t claim to be The PTA, but they have the same initials.

On or before March 3rd please vote your heart, or your conscience or your professional affiliation. Don’t copy my homework, do your own! If the only reason you read this blog is to find out where I stand so you can vote the other way – more power to you! Just vote – let’s break the single digits on Election Day!

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf

Los Angeles activist Muffy Sunde on CCSA's vile ableist attacks on SWD and Bennett Kayser

“low incidence disabilities enrolled at LAUSD charters are significantly under-represented” — Office of the Independent Monitor

Long-time Los Angeles activist Muffy Sunde is a prominent member of Radical Women. She offered the following on California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez's vile campaign against Students with Disabilities (SWD) and their champion on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board, the Honorable Bennett Kayser:

One main point here is that charter schools are mostly specifically exempted from the federal requirements to provide access to education to all regardless of disability--and they are campaigning that all schools should be able to roll back that, because they envision a school system like New Orleans, which are all publicly funded private schools and/or military academies where profits are great but still non profit. My belief is that, with the support of the Obama administration, their target now is special education.

Their campaign is disgusting and pandering--and I suggest that folks who are close to Kayser urge him to issue a really direct response, defending access for the physically and otherwise disabled, advocating MORE, not less resources for the most needy, and then condemning this attack. Just urging the bad guys to "say it to my face" is really nada.

Something like "I stand for ......., what do you stand for"....besides belittling the disabled that is" My, admittedly limited, knowledge of Kayser, is that he won't do that, but it is worth a try. Does he demand that the rich (like, you know, Steve Soboroff and Eli Broad) pay more in taxes to fund quality public schools? That would be a campaign that could develop some momentum.

In solidarity,

Muffy

Friday, February 13, 2015

Board Member Galatzan says Let Them Eat iPads!

Street Theater and Rally Against Tamar "Antoinette" Galatzan

Board Member Galatzan says Let Them Eat iPads! by Robert D. Skeels

Tell @CALCharters that ableism is discrimination, a violation of civil rights!

Ref Rodriguez’s California Charter School Association (CCSA) backers have created a vicious attack campaign centered around the Honorable Bennett Kayser’s Parkinson’s disease, questioning his ability to continue serving the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Why? Because Kayser champions the rights of Students with Disabilities (SWD). What is CCSA’s record on SWD? The Office of the Independent Monitor finds that “SWD are disproportionately under-enrolled at charter schools”, and that “low incidence disabilities enrolled at LAUSD charters are significantly under-represented”. In other words, there’s a clear connection between the way Rodriguez and the CCSA attack candidates with disabilities, and the way the they treat children with disabilities. That’s unacceptable.

Shame on Refugio “Ref” Rodriguez and California Charter Schools Association

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Eli Broad is bored with giving prizes. Moving on to new top-down strategies.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Eli Broad is bored with giving prizes. Moving on t...: "No more prizes", says billionaire Eli Broad. If your school district is hoping for a Broad Prize to carry it over the hump, ...

Robert D. Skeels on Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez's hostile opposition to Ethnic Studies in LAUSD

"Bennett Kayser of Board District 5 authored the historic LAUSD Ethnic Studies Resolution!" — the Honorable José Lara

The more we learn of Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez, the more we realize that he's far worse than just another charter profiteer. Whether discussing his schools using money for advertising instead of classrooms; the astonishing 50% remediation rate of his so-called college-ready graduates; he and his backers' vile ableism and mocking of people with disabilities; or even his cowardly act of pretending he had no connections to the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) after they were called out on their reprehensible, scurrilous attacks on the Honorable Bennett Kayser, we're faced with the possibility that Rodriguez's compass is stuck somewhere between immoral and amoral.

Rodriguez's latest transgression? His outrageous attacks on the historic Ethnic Studies resolution just passed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). His diatribe against ethnic studies occurred during the LA32 Neighborhood Council forum. While Rodriguez has long dabbled in respectability politics, and seems to wear self colonization with pride (e.g. name change), the idea that a supposed "educator" of color would seemingly support a white supremacist stance against ethnic studies is disheartening and disappointing to say the least. I left the following commentary after a post in the Deasy (LA) School Report blog that contained Rodriguez's rant against Ethnic Studies.

The Los Angeles community has struggled mightily for years to win an Ethnic Studies requirement. This is especially important after bigots Tom Horne and John Huppenthal shut down Ethnic Studies in Arizona, and Marshall Tuck shuttered those selfsame programs locally at Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (PLAS). Our students have a right to study about their own languages, cultures, and histories! For Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez and Andrew Thomas to mock, and even belittle the importance of the historic Ethnic Studies resolution championed by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board Members Bennett Kayser, Steve Zimmer, and Dr. George McKenna speaks volumes about their politics and values. Rodriguez and Thomas' anti-ethnic studies statements above find them dangerously close to advocating the same book banning and cultural sterilization programs implemented in other states that should never be acceptable in California (or anywhere for that matter).

There is only one LAUSD District 5 candidate whose track record on Ethnic Studies sets the gold standard: the Honorable Bennett Kayser!

[Ableist] CCSA sponsored "Parent Teacher Advocates" hits new low in anti-Kayser TV spot

By Scott Folsom · @4LAKids

Feb 12, 2015 :: A few minutes ago at appx. 7:40pm the California Charter Schools Association's political action committee CCSA Advocates’ locally sponsored independent expenditure committee, Parent Teacher Alliance ran a campaign ad on MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell show that hit a new low.

Asking the question "Who is Bennett Kayser?" it showed a slow motion image of a coffee cup being dropped (In case you don't know it: Kayser suffers from Parkinson's and often trembles and appears clumsy) until it falls and breaks - while recounting horror stories about how Kayser voted to fire teachers and yet retained child abusers - in essence holding Kayser responsible for the failings of the economy, pedophiles, and CCSA's fair-haired-boy: Superintendent Deasy.

Lest we forget, the answer to the 'who is?" question is that Kayser was Deasy's - and the CCSA's - most vocal critic. But no good deed goes unpunished.

THE CCSA bogus "PTA" endorses Ref Rodriguez against Kayser - and Tamar Galatzan and Richard Vladovic in their campaigns. CCSA formerly endorsed George McKenna in his reelection bid ...but he has repudiated their support ...one would hope Galatzan and Vladovic will do the same. And Rodriguez also.

Today is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday - ...and 4LAKids guesses that the CCSA is attempting to fool enough of the people enough of the time, .At least until election day on March 2nd!

The appropriate quote here is from Joesph Welch to Joe McCarthy.: "You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

Tamar Galatzan Stop Failed Experiments TV Spot

LAUSD School Board member Tamar Galatzan was the chief backer of the school district's disastrous iPad program that the L.A. Times called a mess from the beginning to end. Tell Tamar Galatzan to stop the failed experiments and stand up for our kids.

Be sure to check out Corporate education reform privatizer Tamar Galatzan's greatest neoliberal hits at LAUSD

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Who is the California Charter Schools Association?

Who is the California Charter Schools Association? Founded by nativist Steve Poizner. Revenues of over $2.23-Million. Walmart fortune heir Carrie Walton Penner on their Board of Directors. Director Jed Wallace stuffing his pockets with over $.335-Million in "compensation." With those dark secrets and massive revenues to protect, it's no wonder they are attacking sitting school board members.

Who is @CALcharters? Founded by nativist Steve Poizner. Revenues: $2.23-Million. Walmart heir on BOD. #LAUSD #NPIC pic.twitter.com/EFE5D3n4uD
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) February 11, 2015

NOTES

CCSA founding by Poizner

Moyers on Carrie Walton-Penner

Form 990 see http://www.guidestar.org/ (cf. revenues and salaries)

CCSA Board http://www.calcharters.org/

That's all four facts stated in the image and caption above. Here are two examples of attacks by CCSA on LAUSD's Honorable Bennett Kayser.

L.A. school board election politics equal gutter politics

[Ableist] CCSA sponsored "Parent Teacher Advocates" hits new low in anti-Kayser TV spot

Schools Matter: Karin Klein and Los Angeles Times still supplying snake oil

First published on Schools Matter on February 09, 2015

"With the long-held popular notion that "private" schooling is better than "public" education, along with the conservative media assault on public education, parents were easily enticed to hitch their children onto the charter school bandwagon."—Professor Antonia Darder

The Los Angeles Times published their Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education endorsements for the March 3, 2015 primary election. I had the following to say:

You have to love the tenuous justifications behind those Los Angeles Times ‪#‎LAUSD‬ endorsements—particularly their repetition of the phrase "evidence based." Problem is that none of the policies that they and their endorsed candidates support are evidence based. Herein lies Karin Klein and company's most egregious fault, namely conflating policy papers with actual research. I recall two years ago during my LA Times LAUSD BOE interview when she said that VAM was research proven and I challenged her to produce a single juried (peer reviewed) paper demonstrating it was. All she could do is glare at me. What passes for research in neoliberal corporate reform circles is not recognized as such in academia. Since Klein and her ilk are little more than stenographers for the plutocrat class, I suppose it doesn't make much sense for me to get too riled up about this.

Monday, February 09, 2015

Principled Latino leadership stands with Bennet Kayser against CCSA's scurrilousness

"The idea [Ethnic Studies], brought forward by Board of Education members Bennett Kayser, George McKenna and Steve Zimmer, is aimed at narrowing the academic gap between minority students and their white and Asian peers by pushing students to achieve through the exploration of different perspectives in literature, history and social justice. More than 90 languages are spoken in the district." — Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times.

So impressed with the Honorable Councilman Gil Cedillo's statements in support of the Honorable Bennett Kayser this past weekend [1]. Cedillo, at an event that also featured fellow Kayser supporter the Honorable Henry Gonzalez—Mayor of Southgate, went on record saying "First we fought for immigration reform, then drivers licenses, then the Dream Act, and Bennett Kayser has been with us every step of the way." Mayor Gonzalez took a swipe at the Steve Poizner founded California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and the revenue minded Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez camp when he said "Racist attacks are by those who have nothing else to offer."

Bennett Kayser's longstanding record on supporting civil rights, communities of color, and immigrant rights is unassailable. That's why every time I challenge the CCSA and Rodriguez's supporters to back their reprehensible claims on their mailer with citations, references, evidence, or any credible substance, they produce nothing. The claims are malicious and reckless fabrications, intended to protect the revenues streams pouring into the lucrative charter school industry. One look at the CCSA's President/CEO Jed Wallace's annual compensation package of over $335,600.00 [2] should make it clear just whose interests Rodriguez and his charter school allies support. I'm sure it's all about a "kids first agenda," not the $.3-million salaries and lavish galas at the Disney Concert Hall with Elise Buik and Eli Broad that fuels those in the charter school sector.

The Honorable José Lara, Vice President of El Rancho Unified School District Board of Education, has spoken truth to the CCSA's power on these issues. First he called out Rodriguez on Twitter: "Shame on @DrRefRodriguez for Race baiting in #LAUSD school board Race!!! We need leadership not hate." Lara has also has been very forthcoming about Kayser's latest achievement: "Bennett Kayser of Board District 5 authored the historic LAUSD Ethnic Studies Resolution!"

One thing I know for absolute certain, because I worked on the Ethnic Studies campaign myself, is that neither charter king Ref Rodriguez, nor the CCSA's Carlos Marquez lent any support to our important struggle. Not so much as a personal endorsement for the research proven policy of providing culturally relevant curricula from those two. Perhaps if there was a resolution pushing respectability politics 101, or self colonization studies, we'd see those CCSA mailer creators jumping on board.

Kayser's leadership has provided a beacon of hope to those that want schools to be run by the community. Moreover, his principled support for Students with Disabilities (SWD) has made him unpopular with the charter school industry, which eschews SWD at every opportunity in order to protect their bottom lines. This is a widely, and carefully documented fact [4]. Combine that with the vile ableist slurs the CCSA and Rodriguez's proxies have been aiming at Kayser, a man with disabilities himself, and one gets the impression that the charter school industry's long record of open discrimination against SWD and their rank ableism are structural oppressions that will never change until the charter sector is abolished.

It is somewhat ironic that this Rodriguez, who made his fortunes in the charter school industry, can run for the public school board, but no members of the public can run for charter school boards, like those of his PUC empire. Sounds just the way the one percent likes it.

I support the Honorable Bennett Kayser for LAUSD School Board.

NOTES

[1] Disclosure: Cedillo and I are both UCLA alumni, and I am currently attending the same social justice law school he graduated from.

[2] 2012 Form 990 Part VII §A.

[3] Disclosure: Lara and I are both UCLA alumni, founding members of the Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC), and members of the Association of Raza Educators (ARE).

[4] (cf. "SWD are disproportionately under-enrolled at charter schools", and that "low incidence disablities enrolled at LAUSD charters are significantly under-represented")

Office of the Independent Monitor. Pilot Study of Charter Schools’ Compliance with the Modified Consent Decree and the LAUSD Special Education Policies and Procedures., Los Angeles: Modified Consent Decree., 2009.

Schools Matter: Student leader Hannah Nguyen speaks truth to Teach for America power in the New York Times

First published on Schools Matter on February 07, 2015

"Teacher turnover really destabilizes a learning environment. So having a model that perpetuates that inequity in and of itself was also very confusing for me." — Hannah Nguyen

Wendy Kopp's profitable neoliberal project has been having difficulty recruiting. Their corporate spin doesn't want to give any credit the social justice resistance to their project, but even the New York Times knew better. My comments on the piece:

I proudly participated in Students United for Public Education (SUPE)'s #ResistTFA movement at UCLA last spring before I graduated. Meeting educator Hannah Nguyen of SUPE National, when she was creating Teach for America (TFA) awareness at all Los Angeles universities, was an honor. Her ability to speak truth to power and privilege is peerless. I would start a #ResistTFA at my current school, but since it's a social justice law school, none of us would ever consider joining TFA in the first place.

Among its myriad failings, shortcomings, and the abject damage it has done to low income communities, TFA can count two accomplishments. First, it amassed a fortune for Wendy Kopp. Second, it provided the plutocrat class with yet another vector to undermine the remains of the public commons.

Big ups to educator @hbnguyen18 for keeping it 100! #ResistTFA http://t.co/KnhwqmtKs4 @supenational @USAS #NPIC pic.twitter.com/6enE1T0gIb
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) February 6, 2015

Professor Mike Klonsky's thoughts on this are worth reading as well. I'm so happy to see Ms. Nguyen beginning to get the credit she deserves for all her hard work. All I can say is that the Schools Matter staff have known her since back in the day.

Right to left, Hannah Nguyen, Robert D. Skeels, and Dr. Stephen Krashen. August 25, 2013 at University of Southern California.

Photo at top of post: Credit Monica Almeida/The New York Times

K12NN Wire: United Way Greater Los Angeles creates ad campaign for their biased LAUSD candidate forums

First published on K12NN Wire on February 7, 2015

"By what logic does United Way engage in an activity that is shunned by all the other charities?" — Professor Ralph E. Shaffer

Some of United Way Greater Los Angeles and United Way Worldwide's other "education" related activities:

* Mr. Broad is quoted in the New York Times

Schools Matter: United Way to market Scholastic's Reading Oasis (NASDAQ-SCHL)

First published on Schools Matter on February 06, 2015

"By what logic does United Way engage in an activity that is shunned by all the other charities?" — Professor Ralph E. Shaffer

If anyone is interested, I can forward them the press release email for this. United Way is essentially marketing Scholastic Corporation products through their "Club Connect Reading Oasis" project (www.unitedwayclubconnect.org). Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL) was noticeably excited by the announcement, and they claim they generate approximately $2 billion in annual revenues. I wonder if United Way Greater Los Angeles' Elise Buik will invite President and CEO of Scholastic, Dick Robinson, to join her at her next "education" round-table with Eli Broad, Casey Wasserman, and the discredited John Deasy?

Left to right: Monica Garcia, the disgraced John Deasy, Casey Wasserman, billionaire Eli Broad, and Elise Buik. Five of the greatest enemies to public education in Los Angeles under the aegis of the United Way Greater Los Angeles.

The above Scholastic deal was struck in conjunction with United Way Worldwide. Not all United Way organizations are active participants in the neoliberal corporate education reform project. On the other hand, some of them serve as a tax deductible public relations and lobbying firms for the Broad/Gates/Walton Triumvirate. The most egregious offender is United Way Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA). Some of UWGLA's other "education" related activities:

Friday, February 06, 2015

Patch: Ref Rodriguez and PUC's abject 50% CSU proficiency

First published on Echo Park Patch on February 4, 2015

PUC's 50% CSU proficiency. These are Ref Rodriguez's best results with cherry picked students and extra funding?

Rather than running for school board Ref Rodriguez and his corporate charter cronies should be more focused on their own schools, which despite their marketing claims of “college ready”, are doing far worse than LAUSD public schools as a whole. For example, in 2013 students from Rodriguez’s Early College Academy for Leaders and Scholars (ECALS) took the California State University (CSU) entrance exams. Half of those taking the test FAILED to test proficient in either mathematics or English. That fifty percent that failed had to take remedial high school classes. If that’s the best that so-called “high performing” chains like PUC can do, then we need to revisit this whole handing public money over to private entities. Fifty percent remediation rates isn’t about “lifting kids out of poverty”, it’s taking advantage of students so that charter executives can grow their bank accounts.

Bennett Kayser for LAUSD 2015 campaign kick-off events

Ultimately Coro is far more shadowy and cultish than even the Gülen charter school network

""Their real contribution is that they defuse political anger and dole out as aid or benevolence what people ought to have by right. They alter the public psyche. They turn people into dependent victims and blunt the edges of political resistance. NGOs [NPIC] form a sort of buffer between the government and public. Between Empire and its subjects. They have become the arbitrators, the interpreters, the facilitators. In the long run, NGOs are accountable to their funders, not to the people they work among." — Arundhati Roy

Caprice Young, Coro Fellow and school privatizer

Recently I wrote a piece on neoliberal corporate education reform operative Caprice Young. It discussed an exchange I had where I informed California Badass Teacher Association (BATs) members of some of Young's activities since she left ICEF: "…after she [Caprice Young] left ICEF she was doing consulting and working with her fellow right-wing CORO alum, Bill Jackson, at the disgusting "Great Schools" #NPIC". I then needed to add Jackson's name to the list of Coro operatives known to be working to eliminate public education in Los Angeles. I maintained a running list in a footnote of a 2011 Schools Matter piece, but realized that was becoming too unwieldy. Therefore, I've begun this new list. It's of Coro acolytes that have inflicted considerable damage on Los Angeles schools. It isn't intended to be a list of all known Coro operatives. When I get time I'll try to fill in backgrounds and details on those listed here.

Coro operatives menacing Los Angeles schools

Yolie Flores-Aguilar
Wesley George Farrow
Jordan Henry
Bill Jackson
Ricardo Mireles
Alex Padilla
Gabe Rose
Ryan Smith
Caprice Young: Currently Magnolia division of the Gülen Charter school fiefdom

Ultimately @CoroSoCal is far more shadowy and cultish than Gülen's network itself #LAUSD #NPIC http://t.co/50W67agg1g pic.twitter.com/jD8H4DYcqN
— RDSkeels4Schoolboard (@RDSkeels4LAUSD) February 4, 2015

What is Coro?

Information on Coro is hard to come by. Activists rarely get Coro operatives to talk about their organization, and when they do, there's nothing said of substance. During my last quarter at UCLA I reached out to them as a prospective fellow. They encouraged me to apply, but wouldn't provide any details without applying and committing first. I suppose that's like not learning about Xenu until one achieves OTIII (perhaps John Deasy's friend Megan Chernin can confirm that). You can't learn much about them by reading their literature either. The philosophically threadbare propaganda of neoliberalism is typically littered with vapid and vacuous prose, and Coro's explanation of who they are and what they do is no different. To wit:

Coro contributes a group of trained individuals whose personal skills and civic involvement promote broader civic engagement and expand the social capital of the community. By developing a network of local and regional organizations willing to create internship and project opportunities for program participants, Coro creates a safe space in which diverse organizations and leaders enter into dialogue with program participants and with each other.

That's sixty-five words of prose with no meaning whatsoever, putting it right along with "no excuses," or "work hard and be nice." Professor Noam Chomsky addresses these types of phrases best:

It doesn't mean anything... That's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? [1]

NOTES
[1] Chomsky, Noam. Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, Second Edition. New York: Seven Stories Press., 1991. pp. 25-26.

K12NN Wire: Ref Rodriguez doesn't get to claim he's never heard of California Charter Schools Association

First published on K12NN Wire on February 2, 2015

"There's never a short supply of People of Color willing to tokenize themselves, and prosper, at the expense of marginalized millions." — Professor Khaled A. Beydoun, Critical Race Theorist

The Deasy (LA) School Report blog posted an entry in which Ref Rodriguez tries to distance himself from California Charter Schools Association's widely condemned campaign literature. His equivocating quotes deserved a response. Here is an edited version of my commentary on that post.

The well-heeled Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez's PUC Corporation Charter Schools have been dues paying members of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) since their founding. In fact, CCSA lists 14 of Rodriguez's lucrative PUC schools as CCSA members. Moreover, Rodriguez is close friends with nearly all of the CCSA's board members, including their Secretary, Ana Ponce of the CNCA Corporate charter chain. So when Rodriguez talks about "the sponsors" of the reprehensible mailer attacking the Honorable Bennett Kayser, he isn't talking about some third party organization doing an Independent Expenditure (IE) that he has no relationship with. Instead Rodriguez is talking about an organization that he is a long standing member of, that his corporate charter chain pays dues to, and that is comprised of his business colleagues and close friends.

Rodriguez's weakly worded "criticism" of his trade association's repugnant and reprehensible mailer is nothing more than crocodile tears. How dishonest is it of him to pretend like he has no ties to the CCSA? His inaction in this regard amounts to a tacit endorsement of CCSA's mailer.

The only good faith means by which Ref Rodriguez could disassociate himself with his CCSA's IE is by following the example of the Honorable Dr. George McKenna. Namely, McKenna's principled and unequivocal condemnation of the mailer and the CCSA's SuperPAC, the demand that they withdraw their endorsement, and the demand that his name not be used in any more CCSA/Rodriguez campaign materials. Only then can Rodriguez claim that he opposes the deplorable and dishonest messaging his colleagues are mailing out to voters.

About California Charter Schools Association (CCSA)

Some background information on CCSA, the trade industry organization Rodriguez' schools belong to.

The California Charter Schools Association was founded by bigoted nativist Steve Poizner. Poizner is on record as saying he wanted to "resurrect Prop 187", and a quick perusal of his campaign materials from his failed gubernatorial bid reveals a platform not unlike that of the Minutemen or the Klan. Poizner served on the CCSA Board of Directors for many years, if I recall correctly, right up until he ran for governor.
The UCLA Project for Civil Rights has found that charter schools have revived Jim Crow style segregation. Los Angeles charter schools are particularly egregious in this regard.
The LAUSD Office of Independent Monitor (OIM) has found repeatedly that students with disabilities are "significantly underrepresented" at Los Angeles charter schools.
CCSA's Board Vice Chair is Carrie Walton Penner (her late father, John Walton holds an "In Memoriam" seat). These, of course, are the Waltons of Walmart infamy, an oppressive enterprise whose record on race issues is spotty at best.

Thursday, February 05, 2015

Millionaire extremist David F. Welch's reactionary lawsuit hurts kids, educators, and sticks CA taxpayers with his bills!

For more on anti-public-education extremist David F. Welch, see Capital & Main's David Welch: The Man Behind Vergara v. California. For updates on the appeal, and information from experts like Professors Linda Darling-Hammond and Jesse Rothstein refuting the groundless premises of Vergara, see CTA's site.

Millionaire David F. Welch's reactionary lawsuit hurts kids, educators, and sticks CA taxpayers with his bills #LAUSD pic.twitter.com/U9LvZkvaac
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) February 5, 2015

Reactionary millionaire David F. Welch's vile move hurt kids, educators and taxpayers by Robert D. Skeels

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Read NPE's Full Statement on NCLB Reauthorization Draft

Dear Robert D.,

Yesterday was the deadline for public comment on the NCLB reauthorization draft bill Sen. Lamar Alexander, Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released on January 13, 2015, leaving only 20 days for public comment.

In that short time, NPE developed a letter writing campaign to ask the HELP Committee to #EndAnnualTesting as part of their reauthorization efforts. Over 2,300 of our allies answered our call, and sent letters to Congress.

We thank you for taking action!

The NPE Board of Directors also drafted and sent a statement to the HELP Committee, offering their comments on the full draft.

You can read, view and download our full statement on the NPE website.

Background

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed in 1965 specifically to send federal aid to poor students. This law contained no reference to testing. Over the years, programs such as Title II and aid for homeless students have been added, again to support low-income students.

NCLB distorted the purpose of ESEA by creating federal mandates for
testing that affected every public school. These mandates are depleting resources and have a negative impact on the very students and schools ESEA was designed to help.

The current draft of the "Every Child Ready for College or Career Act of 2015" offers a choice between annual testing and grade span testing, and given that choice, we prefer the latter.

But our strong view as an organization is that ESEA should be restored to
its original intent: to send federal aid to schools and districts that have
large numbers of children who live in poverty. There should be no federal
mandates for annual testing of every student. This is a state function, not a federal function.

In addition, the authorization levels in this draft bill are inadequate to ensure that disadvantaged students are provided an education that provides them with an equitable chance to learn.

Statement Summary

We support option 1 to eliminate mandated annual testing, and we urge the Senate to remove high stakes attached to standardized tests, encourage flexibility in designing assessments, and provide the right of parents to opt their children out of standardized testing.
Restore reducing class size as option that states and districts can use with their Title II funds, which is a research-based reform that also works to lower teacher attrition.
Eliminate the use of federal funds for merit pay, which has consistently failed to improve student outcomes.
Add to the reporting requirements of districts, states and the federal government so they must report trends in average class size data, as well as the disparity in class size between high and low poverty schools.
Strengthen the language around student data privacy and limit federally mandated data collection of individual students.
Oppose the diversion of resources to private and charter sc hools through portability of Title I funds and expansion of federal funding to charters.
Require maintenance of effort, so that states and districts cannot cut back on their own support for schools while replacing their funding with federal dollars.
We strongly urge the Senate to increase overall funding for Title I, Title II, and Title X for homeless students, especially as more than 50% of the children in our public schools are now officially classified as low income for the first time in at least fifty years.

NPE will continue to follow the NCLB reauthorization process, and we will send regular updates via newsletters and on our website, as well as on social media.

If you don't already follow us on Facebook or Twitter, please take a moment to do so now.

WE ARE MANY. THERE IS POWER IN OUR NUMBERS. TOGETHER WE WILL SAVE OUR SCHOOLS.

Schools Matter: Turns out Caprice Young has been working for Gülen's charter network all along

First published on Schools Matter on February 01, 2015

"What's important here isn't which kind of religious group runs these schools, but that public funds are being used to support schools having overarching political and religious agendas like the Gülenist do. This is no different than the right-wing Milton Friedman inspired capitalism indoctrination American Indian Public Charter Schools and Green Dot Public Schools push on their hapless pupils. The former actually requires their charter school students to make daily pledges to our abject political economy. Nor is it any different than the charter school chain that teaches its students that Emmett Till's brutal murder was a just desert for what they termed his "sexual harassment.""—Robert D. Skeels

Caprice "Capricious" Young, Privatization Princess, CORO Fellow, CCSA Alum, ICEF Flunky, and Poverty Pimp. The announcement earlier this month that Caprice Young would be taking the helm of Fethullah Gülen's failing Magnolia corporate charter chain didn't surprise most of us that follow Young's machinations as a leading member of Los Angeles' neoliberal corporate education reform project. However, a local teacher, seeing the news posted in the California "BATs" message page said "I thought we had gotten rid of her." To which I responded: "No, after she [Caprice Young] left ICEF she was doing consulting and working with her fellow right-wing CORO alum, Bill Jackson, at the disgusting "Great Schools" #NPIC"

I've written about board members of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and California State Board of Education being on the take of the shadowy Gülen corporate charter network. I've also written about how Caprice "Young was…approached by the racist, bigoted, anti-immigrant nativist Steve Poizner and the two of them founded the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA)…". I've written some shorter pieces on Young's local activities on behalf of the plutocrat class.

The brilliant Sharon Higgins of The Perimeter Primate, Charter School Scandals, and The Broad Report reached out to me immediately following the announcement. She sent a bunch of materials based on her copious research on the topic and asked me if I'd like to write a new article. I responded that law school is killing me, and asked if I could just drop the contents of her email into a piece with a short introduction. She agreed, and the information follows. Bear in mind she didn't prepare it for publication, it was just to provide me with information.

A. Caprice Young's known pre-Magnolia-employment connections w/the Gulenists

In 2001, as LAUSD board president, Caprice Young voted to approve the very first Magnolia school

In 2009, she was the guest speaker at the Pacifica Institute's headquarters in LA (known Gulenist organization; over the years Magnolia has regularly involved students in PI-sponsored events)

In 2010, the 'Magnolia Foundation' listed Young among its references in a charter school application it submitted to LAUSD (for Magnolia Science Elementary, which never opened).

In 2014 (Sep), Young participated in an online interview w/Hakan Taymaz of Magnolia (“Exploring Careers for High School Students...”).

In Jan. 2015, Magnolia announced that it had hired Caprice Young to be its new CEO

B. Magnolia CEO history

2002 to 2008: Huseyin “Joseph” Hurmali

2009 to 2011: Suleyman Bahceci

2012 to 2014: Mehmet Argin

mid-2014 to early 2015: Murat Biyik (interim)

early 2015 to TBD: Caprice Young

1. Huseyin “Joseph” Hurmali returned to Turkey several years ago and is now the vice president of the Journalist and Writers Foundation (JWF), one of the Gulenists’ most important organizations. Its Turkish name is Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfı (GYV) and its headquarters is a common stop for groups that the Gulen Movement takes to Turkey. This piece describes JWF as “an Istanbul-based public-relations arm for Gulen’s followers”. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/magazine/whose-turkey-is-it.html

2. Suleyman Bahceci went on to become the CEO of the Accord Institute for Educational Research, a vendor that only serves a set of charter schools in AZ, CA, CO, NV, and UT, all of which are Gulen Movement-associated. As you might know, in July 2014 a judge barred two LAUSD Magnolia schools (MSA-6 and MSA-7) from doing business with Accord.

3. Mehmet Argin’s LinkedIn page says he is now a “Power Systems Researcher” at University of Northern Iowa. Argin had been working for the Gulen charter school network since at least 2009 (multiple Sonoran Science Academy schools in AZ, then for Magnolia).

4. Murat Biyik appears to most recently have worked for the Accord Institute. Before that he worked at Gulen charter schools in AZ, UT, and CA (all of which do business with the Accord Institute). Of special note is that when Biyik was vice principal of the Utah school in 2007, he loaned it an amount equivalent to his salary ($61,000). Other large loans were made to that school by people who have served on Magnolia's board or who have worked for Accord. http://www.sltrib.com/education/ci_12855515 The 990s (2010, 2011, 2012 ) for Beehive Educational Services (operator of the Utah school) list Biyik as an unpaid board member (vice president), not an employee. At that time he may have been employed by Accord, the school's longtime major vendor.

C. Magnolia's situation

In 2014 (Jul), the LAUSD board voted to close two Magnolia schools, based on the findings of an OIG audit (the report was a draft at this point). Magnolia takes them to court and the judge rules that the schools can stay open for the time being, but with stipulations.

In 2014 (Aug), a local assemblyman is successful with getting the State Auditor appointed to audit additional Magnolia schools (report expected to come out in April 2015)

In 2014 (Oct), final audit report is released by LAUSD's OIG. Among the findings are that some of the Magnolia schools are financially insolvent, but this is strongly disputed by Magnolia.

Early 2015, Magnolia hires Caprice Young (who at one point had been hired to bail out another financially troubled charter school chain, ICEF Public Schools). Young told the LA Times that Magnolia is not in financial trouble but suffers from weak management and a lack of transparency. She also claimed to not be "aware of any direct links with Gulen."

FYI, Gulen's tie to the Magnolia schools was reported to Turkish readers in 2010. http://gundem.milliyet.com.tr/walmart-tan-gulen-okullarina-bagis/guncel/gundemdetay/27.08.2010/1281603/default.htm

And the main pro-Turkish government, anti-Gulen newspaper notified Turkish readers that Caprice Young was hired by Gulen's Magnolia organization. http://www.sabah.com.tr/dunya/2015/01/13/gulenin-abddeki-okulu-iflasa-gidiyor

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

A District 5 LAUSD debate forum not ruled by Eli Broad's United Way Greater Los Angeles PR firm

"To glorify democracy and to silence the people is a farce; to discourse on humanism and to negate people is a lie."—Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

This event is being hosted by an elected Neighborhood Council, not by the billionaire funded Non-profit Industrial Complex (NPIC) like Eli Broad's United Way Greater Los Angeles PR firm. Therefore it should be more reflective of the community's agenda, rather than that of the neoliberal corporate education project.

School Board District 5 Candidates
February 11, 2015 6pm to 9pm
El Sereno Senior Center, 5818 Klamath Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90032

Invited: The Honorable Bennett Kayser (confirmed); Andrew Thomas; Ref Rodriguez (confirmed)

Council District 14 Candidates
February 13, 2015 6pm to 9pm
El Sereno Senior Center, 5818 Klamath Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90032

Invited: Mario Chavez (confirmed); Nadine Diaz (confirmed); Gloria Molina (confirmed); Jose Huizar; John ONeil

LA32 Candidate Forum by Robert D. Skeels

Jersey Jazzman: Howard Dean's Reformy Scream for TFA

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Saturday, January 31, 2015

Want the best turnout of candidates? Hold community, rather than corporate, LAUSD debate forums!

"I have also observed and experienced how these organizations, in order to protect their non-profit status and marketability to liberal foundations, actively self-police against members’ deviation from their essentially reformist agendas, while continuing to appropriate the language and imagery of historical revolutionaries."—Professor Dylan Rodríguez

Left to right: Eleanor Garcia, Annamarie Montañez, Isabel Vazquez, Abelardo Diaz, Michelle "HOPE" Walker, Robert D. Skeels, and Scott Folsom. Seven of the eight 2013 candidates for LAUSD District 2 at the CARECEN November 15, 2012 forum. Photo by Sean Abajian.

Last week's announcement that both the Honorable Bennett Keysar, and Andrew Thomas withdrew from United Way of Greater Los Angeles' charter school informercial being billed as a debate forum saw the many in the corporate media feign outrage.

When Monica Garcia skipped four (4) consecutive District 2 Neighborhood Coalition (D2NC) debate forums in 2013, the lucrative charter school industry supporters—including the Los Angeles Times—didn't say a word. All seven other candidates attended those forums. Sponsored by grassroots community groups including Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA), Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC), Parent Organization Network (PON), and others, the D2NC forum audiences were comprised of families and community members—not rooms full of charter school parents working off their "volunteer hours" like the ones privatizer Ref Rodriguez is featured at these days.

On the other hand, hold a forum financed by Eli Broad through his United Way Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) public relations firm, and suddenly Elise Buik and Steve Lopez are up in arms that only charter school candidates are showing up to their rigged forums. That kind of "selective outrage" on behalf of the interests of the rich and powerful really sums up those that support charter school greed over student need. Unfortunately these truths spoken to power don't have the neoliberal propaganda megaphone that is Steve Lopez at the Los Angeles Times.

It's time to take these forums out of the hands of the billionaire financed Nonprofit Industrial Complex. All the non-charter school candidates should withdraw from the UWGLA forums.

Community runs #LAUSD debate—all candidates except charter candidate attend! @LAUnitedWay runs—only charter shows up. pic.twitter.com/gNnKV25QIO
— Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) January 30, 2015

Who was the missing candidate in 2013? Corporate charter school sock puppet Monica Garcia. Why no Steve Lopez piece then? Why no outrage from Elise "1%" Buik?