Clark Baker » Education

Restoration of Black America

Clark — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:44:00 +0000

Economist Thomas Sowell on the restoration of black America: 1) Fire teachers who don’t teach and, 2) promote competition (vouchers & charters) within school districts. Video

Former LAUSD Teacher Speaks Out

Clark — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:34:00 +0000

When President Bush spoke of the faith based private schools that are closing down throughout America, he proposed to provide millions of dollars to support them and the parents of struggling students. Republicans jumped to their feet while Democrats sat on their hands.

Ari Kaufman writes that, as a public school teacher in the LAUSD;

The path of self-preservation would have been to button my lip, work hard for two years, get tenured, then start writing opinion pieces about how California’s educational system needed change. But rather than hypocritically accepting what I saw around me, I spoke up, and paid the price.

It seems like every teacher who disagrees with me speaks the same mantra: They aver that I should not be allowed tell a veteran how to teach. But, lo and behold, if these folks were ambitious and new to a company in the “real world” or an enterprise such as the military, they would be the first to tell their superiors to stop doing things the old-fashioned way and come up to speed in the 21st century. Only when their jobs are being critiqued do they rely on the conservative notion that veterans of an organization always know best.

His eye opening report helps explain why so many public school teachers quit in frustration.

Is Admiral Brewer Another Big Empty Suit?

Clark — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 18:29:00 +0000

LA Weekly has written another great expose – this one about Admiral David Brewer’s inability to fix LAUSD. The crux of the article says it all:

… Brewer arrived at the meeting “eager to take on the challenge” of improving L.A. Unified and “very interested in the nature of the work.” But Crew also noticed that he was “very much overwhelmed, in some ways, by the things going on around him.” A newbie coping with the remnants of an unsuccessful mayoral takeover, Brewer was falling behind in important ways: He had failed to fill key positions on his senior management team, and to fully develop a coherent academic vision for a district with 878 schools and 694,288 students…

And after successful reformers told him how they turned things around in their districts, Brewer:

…went off in a completely different direction that left the übersupes uneasy: Working with politicians in Sacramento and Los Angeles, he told them, was his major focus.

As I feared, it looks like Brewer is LA’s newest Willie Williams –

The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train ain’t comin’.

Thought Police Attack School Children

Clark — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:46:00 +0000

Rebecca Segall-Wallace describes the frustration, mediocrity, and heartache of competition without winners or losers in this troubling WSJ commentary:

Monday: After a long day at his New York City private school, Ben, 16, heads to my creative writing lab to work on his heartfelt memoir about his parents’ bitter divorce. Tuesday: Alison, 15, rushes from her elite private school in the Bronx to work on her short screenplay about a gifted, mean and eccentric boy. Lily, 13, pops in whenever she can to polish her hilarious short story narrated by an insomniac owl.

Ben, Alison and Lily, along with another few dozen who attend my afterschool writing program, also attend top-notch New York private schools that cost upwards of $25,000 a year. So why, one might wonder, do these kids need an extracurricular creative writing coach? The answer is simple, though twisted: Their schools — while touting well-known athletic teams — are offshoots of the “progressive education” movement and uphold a categorical belief that “thought competition” is treacherous…

For decades now, psychology and pedagogy researchers have been debating the impact of competition on young people’s self-esteem, with those wary of thought competition taking the lead. Most New York parents of public or private school students have felt the awkward reverberations of this trend — which avoids naming winners — when Johnny takes home a certificate for “participation” in the school’s science fair. (Do you hang that one up on the wall?)

But some, and ironically those who attend some of the most desirable schools in the region, feel the reverberations in deeper, more painful ways. “Two years after my son left a school that prohibited him from entering a national math competition,” says one mother, “he still writes angry essays about why the jocks in his former school were allowed to compete throughout the city while he wasn’t allowed to win the same honors for his gifts.” Sam, her son, felt uncool in the eyes of his peers, and undervalued (and sometimes even resented) by the administration.

“We don’t want kids to compete individually, put themselves in vulnerable positions as individuals,” explains a leading administrator. “They can compete within teams,” explains another. “So the focus is on community building rather than on personal value.”

But what about Sam’s sense of personal value? Aren’t human beings fabulously varied in their gifts and sensibilities? Excellent teamwork can be important, but is it the only admirable achievement? Should any school in the United States prevent broader acknowledgment of a young, creative mathematician?

More here…

Union Teachers Draft NEW “Reform Plan”

Clark — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:17:00 +0000

The LA Times reports that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) union teachers (UTLA) have drafted this new reform plan.

Presented by the UTLA’s High Priority Schools Work Group, the plan recommends that LAUSD provide for “grass roots control over schools” to give instructors “more breathing room to formulate curricula.”

Sounds great, right?

First of all, taxpayers should always be suspicious when organizations suddenly support ideas they have traditionally opposed. In this case, the “work group” poisons their plan by requiring UTLA involvement on many critical issues.

Real reform requires complete independence from the union that created most (if not all) of LAUSD’s problems. Union teachers oppose charters, vouchers, and private schools because they (unions) fear competition. UTLA’s retirees and short-timers fear reform because they rely on a continuous stream of new union employees to fund their promised, but unfunded, pensions and political ATM.

When parents have alternatives to the institutionalized retardation that characterizes LAUSD’s drug- and gang-infested asylums, LAUSD cannot compete.

Some work group recommendations:

The length of the school day or year should be decided by the school site and negotiated with UTLA.
The year-round schedules should be ended as soon as possible.

This should be left to the discretion of break-away teachers and parents.

School services should not be privatized. Such practices are usually more expensive, yet provide lower quality, less accountable services.

Really? If this is true, why have LAUSD’s union-controlled dropout factories trailed so far behind California’s private and charter schools throughout the past 30 years?

UTLA does to the LAUSD what the United Auto Workers have done to America’s auto industry. The difference is that GM and Ford have closed their failing plants and exported jobs far from union influence, while LAUSD has more than doubled their budget demands and hiring to the further detriment of students, teachers, and taxpayers.

Other “work group” recommendations:

Schools have the resources for full time security personnel, Intervention Counselors, Psychiatric Social Workers, more deans, gang/drug intervention and incentives for good behavior.
Provide funding for personnel to coordinate Psychological Services.
Provide the option for schools to have Mental Health Service Providers on site (outside agencies with multi-disciplinary team)
Enforce the Williams Consent Decree

… E.G., more union employees, waste, and bureaucracy.

The length of the school day or year should be decided by the school site and negotiated with UTLA.

Anything negotiated with UTLA will not help students, teachers, or parents.

To grasp the enormity of LAUSD waste, compare these numbers:

The City of Los Angeles employs 40,000 to serve LA’s 4,300,000 residents with a $6.5 billion budget: 107-1 resident/employee ratio at $1,500 per resident.
The County of Los Angeles employs 90,000 to serve 11,500,000 residents with a $15.4 billion budget: 127,000-1 resident/employee ratio at $1.33 per resident.
LAUSD employs 80,000 union workers to serve 652,000 students with an operations and construction budget of over $32 billion: 9-1 student/employee ratio at (somewhere under) $49,000 per student.

And yet, many LA schools receive something closer to $6,000 per student classroom dollars. By comparison, LA’s exclusive Harvard-Westlake School charges parents about $25,000/yr.

It’s not that UTLA “doesn’t get” the charter movement. UTLA hopes to slow or derail the charter movement by pretending to embrace it.

David J. Eagle, founder of New West Charter Schools, responded with this note:

It’s funny to me that after opposing charter schools since their inception almost 15 years ago, and doing everything in their power to prevent the further growth of charters, now the teachers union wants reform that gives them “local, grass roots control of their schools,” a say in curriculum, hiring and firing power of administrators and a disconnect from much of the authority from the district downtown… hmmm, sounds a lot like charter schools to me!

The teachers could have ALL of the things they want in their reform plan, and more by going charter. This is something I’ve advocated to teachers for years. Since it only takes 51% of the teachers in a school to authorize going charter, each school in the district could theoretically determine its own destiny with a vote of its current teachers. And with the help of the onsite staff and local parents and communities, they could write charters and achieve the very thing they strive for, including continuing to be unionized and reserve the right of collective bargaining, if that is what they choose, by the beginning of next school year.

Yes, this could be accomplished by any group that really wants to do it in less than a year. The guidelines, which include accountability for all parties, are already laid out in the Charter School Act and there are some 600+ proven, successful charter schools already in California from which models and inspiration can be drawn. There are also numerous organizations, companies and individuals that could help the effort.

But this won’t happen because (teachers) don’t see or understand how this could work – not only in their favor, but in favor of all concerned, particularly the students. The unions fear that teachers, who discover they can play a major roll in governing and running their schools and determine their own destinies, will also realize that they no longer need the UTLA.

Just ask the UTLA faculty at Palisades Charter High and Granada Hills Charter High – two terrific schools, filled with (former) UTLA members who decided to go charter a few years ago. I believe most of those teachers will tell you they are very happy they went charter and that they and their students have benefited from that decision. If the teachers union is truly concerned about quality education for students, respect for teachers and the profession, excellent salaries and benefits, then let them prove it by encouraging and assisting their members to start their own charter schools, or convert existing schools with the assistance of the parents and communities who will most be affected by their action (or inaction).

Regardless of their demographic, most parents want the best education available for their children. Charters consistently outperform union schools, and the waiting lists attest to their popularity.

If UTLA and LAUSD truly seek reform, they need only to get out of the way.

LA Times Blogs Fall Short on LAUSD

Clark — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:00:00 +0000

When the LA Times recently rolled out their blogs, I wondered whether they would echo the same leftist tripe as their regular bird cage liner. It seems I was correct.

When teacher-blogger Nick Giulioni posted this story about a teacher who diffused an on-campus fight, I posted a comment. After an hour or so, my moderated comment was up. Within hours, others challenged my information. You can read those comments. I responded within an hour.

After 24 hours, my new response is not yet posted, leaving the appearance that I was unable to answer their questions. Ask yourself why the Times refused to post them… exlib

Evelyn, Clay, & Guy:

I’ll answer all your questions.

My grandson attends a WASC-approved private school with standards FAR ABOVE NCLB. I wouldn’t send him to a lower-performance school. Here’s one of MANY links regarding the educators who send their children to private school.

I’m not sure where Nick teaches, but his description was consistent with LAUSD’s ongoing disaster. While I agree that the criminals are not the teachers, only 25 percent of LAUSD’s teachers vote on union issues. Teachers can turn LAUSD around or they can acquiesce. Most acquiesce because those who make waves are subjected to freeway therapy and classrooms filled with psychopaths, addicts, and gang members.

For more anecdotes, feel free to read my earlier LAUSD posts.

Having lived and worked in cities like Calcutta, San Salvador, Pacoima, and South LA, I’ve found that MOST parents, regardless of economic status, care deeply about their child’s education. While some do not, many parents I know get tired of being blamed for school problems. Yes, it would be better if Joe’s parents were more responsive, but that’s not my problem unless Joe’s behavior begins to affect my son’s learning environment. Most (if not all) private and charter schools maintain high standards.

Take a look at Vaughn Street Charter Elementary, in the heart of Pacoima. Surrounded by gangs and illegal aliens, this school outperforms area schools, maintains high standards, and pays their teachers above LAUSD union wage! They succeed because the principal can fire teachers and remove disruptive children. And parents WANT to participate with their children.

Parents have a stronger voice when they control school funding. As long as union teachers continue to support/fund Democrats who won’t fire your wasteful bureaucracy, teachers are part of the problem. In 2005, unions spent tens of millions to defeat the Governor’s reform proposals. Where did impoverished union teachers get that kind of cash?

As for LAUSD’s Academic Decathlon, yes I know about the Valley’s award-winning schools. But as I said, schools like North Hollywood, El Camino, and Taft are not representative of schools like Santee, Manual Arts, Venice, or Dorsey High School. If teachers truly cared about their students, they’d demand fully-funded vouchers so parents can decide where their child attends school.

Unions loathe competition because they cannot compete. Great teachers need unions as much as great basketball players do. Jaime Escalante (Stand and Deliver) admits that unions care nothing about education or children. If you doubt this, ask yourself where UTLA’s union contract describes accountability or children. The contract is all about protecting bad teachers. Union dues are the lifeblood of the Democrat Party that began to destroy LAUSD before I graduated in 1975.

As for “dropout factories,” that characterization was from Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project (2005), not me. According to them, half of all black and Latino 9th graders would not graduate high school in California – an achievement that segregationists like Gov. George Wallace (D-ALABAMA) would have envied. Whether it was their specific intention or not, America’s teacher unions have effectively circumvented Brown vs. Board of Education – keeping low income minorities far from their own children’s private classrooms.

I know many active and former teachers. While many work hard, their bloated school administration is the biggest obstacle to teaching in America. Teachers can keep the status quo, or they can become agents of change. Teachers can support the vouchers and charters that will make that happen. Good teachers have nothing to fear, while mediocre teachers have much to fear.

So Clay, I’ll be glad to visit you and your classroom sometime under one condition – that you also tour one or two Green Dot schools with Steve Barr and me. I’ll also be glad to tour a private school with you.

Believe it or not, teachers and cops share similar frustrations, particularly what I call “responsibility without authority:” e.g. we have tremendous responsibility to accomplish the mission but no real authority to do so. And the bureaucracies that control cops and teachers enjoy tremendous authority but share no responsibility to perform.

As for the numbers… yes, LAUSD’s $19.2 billion is a multiple year number. But why are we building more public schools when LAUSD’s enrollment is declining?

According to the LA Times story last month, enrollment was at 653,215. (You’ll have to scroll down– the Times no longer offers a link to that story).

Yeah, the $13.367 billion is big, but that was Romer’s own numbers before LAUSD took down that link. I won’t get into the weeds of LAUSD’s amorphous numbers. I know where every dollar is spent at my grandson’s school, and I didn’t have to pay for a $100 million payroll system. LAUSD’s budget depends largely upon the date, time, and location, and who you talk to. And if a link embarrasses the LAUSD, it mysteriously disappears.

As for LAUSD’s real budget and enrollment, I’d trust Enron’s numbers before LAUSDs. As for the difference between LAUSD’s $13 billion 2005-2006 budget and their proposed $7.5 billion budget, to what do you attribute that drop? Will teachers get paid half? Are layoffs pending? How do you explain that? As for enrollment, Julie Korenstein told me that many Latino dropouts were probably just returning to Mexico! If Julie doesn’t know, how would we know?

What’s wrong with letting parents control education funding with vouchers? Vouchers are usually set at a few thousand for the same reason LAUSD granted a charter to Academia Semillas – to discredit the charter and voucher movements. Yeah, getting back $2000 will defray part of my education costs, but why am I paying taxes to support public schools that my grandson won’t attend? It’s MY money! Take your $10K/year number… what’s wrong with giving parents that kind of power? If LAUSD offers a better plan than area private schools or charters, why not let parents choose?

More here

LAUSD’s Image Makeover

Clark — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:07:00 +0000

The Daily News reports that Los Angeles Unified School District officials have quietly hired two consultants to help improve their public image.

The recent hirings come in addition to a six-person communications staff with a nearly $1.4 million budget, an overall $10 million communications budget, and a separate consulting contract with Darry Sragow, who helps LAUSD develop communications strategies and policy issues.

Their online poll asks whether hiring consultants help improve LAUSD’s image. So far, more than 90 percent of respondents say NO. But the question is not whether consultants will help improve LAUSD’s image, but why LAUSD and UTLA would bother to provide the education that our taxpayers and children deserve.

After doubling their budget during thirty years of decline, why would they? So far, their formula for failure has delivered nothing but ever-increasing budgets.

LAUSD’s 50 percent drop-out rates, bloated bureaucracy, hemorrhaging budget, abysmal test scores, drug- and gang-infested campuses threaten hundreds of thousands of children each day, and Admiral Brewer plans to waste $10 million to promote their image? Why do lipstick and pigs come to mind?

Q-Tips, Honda, and LA’s private schools don’t sell because of their advertising, but because they provide superior products and services at a reasonable price. Spend $10 million to promote OJ and, no matter how slick the campaign, you still end up with a double murderer. Spending $10 million to report that no one was shot at Venice High today is NOT progress…

The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but that train ain’t comin’.

h/t AJK

Westchester Parents also weigh in…

LAUSD’s Image Makeover

Clark — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:07:00 +0000

The Daily News reports that Los Angeles Unified School District officials have quietly hired two consultants to help improve their public image.

After doubling their budget during thirty years of decline, why would they? So far, their formula for failure has delivered nothing but ever-increasing budgets.

The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but that train ain’t comin’.

h/t AJK

Westchester Parents also weigh in…

LAUSD’s Image Makeover

Clark — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:07:00 +0000

The Daily News reports that Los Angeles Unified School District officials have quietly hired two consultants to help improve their public image.

After doubling their budget during thirty years of decline, why would they? So far, their formula for failure has delivered nothing but ever-increasing budgets.

The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but that train ain’t comin’.

h/t AJK

Westchester Parents also weigh in…

Putnam Picks Up LAUSD Story

Clark — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:46:00 +0000

Broadcast legend George Putnam has picked up Migdia Chinea’s story.

You may recall that her LAUSD classroom was burglarized and she endured an on-campus assault last month. According to Chinea, the burglar used a school district key to remove her laptop, wallet and glasses. Anyone check Sandy Berger’s socks lately?

And why does the LA Times fail to cover violent and property crime from LAUSD campuses? LAUSD students and teachers endure more crime most US cities! Hello! Times! Daily News!

Is anyone there!!!