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Skip Howard May 9, 2013 at 12:23 am
LAUSD should hang their heads in shame. Green DOT needs to take control of all of LAUSD.
Anne Arikian March 22, 2013 at 07:52 pm
Congratulations Grand View students!! Kudos for a job well done.
Lisa Chapman March 5, 2013 at 05:29 pm
John...you are absolutely correct. But Steve Zimmer has no good record to run on, so this is what he…Read More is reduced to doing....shameful. Kate Anderson all the way...let's reform this wretched school board....
Lisa Chapman March 5, 2013 at 06:42 pm
I also have to say that I really resent Mr. Zimmer's comments that Bloomberg's donation to reform…Read More candidates is an attempt to "buy" Mr. Zimmer's seat. Mr. Bloomberg has seen drastic reform efforts work in New York, and believes, with a majoriy of others, that this can happen in Los Angeles as well. When you are anti-reform, anti-charter, and anti choice, then you are not the right choice for the LAUSD board. Tiem has come, and is long overdue for change. Stand with you, Mr. Zimmer? I believe we will stand for ALL LAUSD students needs being met, and we will stand for imminent reform of LAUSD and their fiscal ineptitude, we will stand against the all too powerful UTLA union that only serves to stagnate change and reform in this system. We do not stand for the status quo. You are the status quo, and it is time that you leave us.
John Milbauer March 5, 2013 at 08:14 pm
Lisa......and anyone else who will read this......My concern about this posting is that we depend on…Read More Hollywood Patch to give us news. If people want to post their opinions, so be it. But an internet site that purports to be a news site, has no business allowing a headline with an article to run that advances anyone's candidacy. It is just not ethical journalism nor is it appropriate.
Deborah Lashever March 4, 2013 at 05:25 am
Read this about why billionaires form other cities are funding Kate Anderson:…Read More
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/los-angeles-public-education_b_2798894.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#.UTQc_h3Jamc.facebook
LA Momma March 5, 2013 at 01:32 am
I met Steve Zimmer a few months ago when he was feeding homeless kids. There was no press, no major…Read More donors around, much less parents - these were throw away kids and Steve was there for them. I think that says a LOT about his character and how you can expect him to care about *all*of the students. Not jus a few, not just those whose parents complain the loudest, but those for whom NO ONE speaks. Plus, he was a teacher. If goodness and public service don't earn your vote, then public education is really in trouble.
lydia ponce March 5, 2013 at 11:07 pm
-Special needs students are not being properly served at charters, especially here in the Westside.…Read More
- does or has Ms. Anderson ever acknowledge the students in the pockets of poverty that exists over here?
- culturally and socio-economically diverse students should have fair and equal access to a quality education.
- it's not a choice when you have WIN a spot in a lottery for a child' s seat at a school....
- we aren't going anywhere. Our homes are here. Even when people do not see us it does not mean we cease to exist.
Lydia March 5, 2013 at 11:09 pm
-Special needs students are not being properly served at charters, especially here in the Westside.…Read More
- does or has Ms. Anderson ever acknowledge the students in the pockets of poverty that exists over here?
- culturally and socio-economically diverse students should have fair and equal access to a quality education.
- it's not a choice when you have WIN a spot in a lottery for a child' s seat at a school....
- we aren't going anywhere. Our homes are here. Even when people do not see us it does not mean we cease to exist.
Jack Covey March 5, 2013 at 08:50 pm
Diane Ravitch on the results of Bloomberg's control of NYC schools:…Read More
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/03/05/proof-that-bloomberg-reforms-failed/
"The other 95% (of students/parents) have been forgotten, adrift in a system that has been reorganized four times, with all regional and district supervision eliminated, with the loss of large numbers of excellent principals and the hiring of large numbers of ill-prepared principals, left on their own and judged by test scores.
"What have the 95% gotten? Tests, pre-tests, test prep. School closings. Overcrowded classes.
“ 'Tweed,' as the central bureaucracy is called, operates with slavish devotion to 'data,' but cold indifference to human beings. The young MBAs at Tweed have spent a decade wiping out institutional memory and attempting to create a bureaucratic, efficient, computer-driven system that churns out higher test scores.
"The Bloomberg example reveals the shortcomings of corporate reform. It sets parent against parent in battles for choice and space. It destroys neighborhood schools. It gives preference to schools under private management. It shatters communities so they will be unable to organize and fight back. It lacks any vision of what education is or should be. It has neither reformed the public schools nor provided better education for all students."
Do the citizen-taxpayers of LAUSD want this here?
Jack Covey March 5, 2013 at 08:54 pm
One more bit from Diane that I can't leave out:
"Los Angeles already has more charters than…Read More any other city in the nation. School board member Steve Zimmer had the temerity to propose that the board develop a policy for oversight of charters before creating new ones. Zimmer enraged the charter lobby, which wants no oversight and no moratorium.
"Zimmer, who started his career in Teach for America and remained in the public schools as a career teacher, is in his first term. He is known as a moderate who is independent, belonging to no bloc.
"The billionaires don’t want independents on the L.A. School board. They want people who will support more charters, more onerous teacher evaluations, more high-stakes testing, more closing of public schools.
"With Mayor Bloomberg’s time in office coming to an end, and the possibility that his reforms will be tossed out by the next mayor, the corporate reformers don’t want to risk losing control of Los Angeles."
It's at:
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/03/05/breaking-news-more-into-los-angeles-race/
Deborah Lashever March 3, 2013 at 08:39 pm
It is a crime that SMC--the state's best Community College--that successfully funnels the most…Read More students into the UC system-- has such HUGE cuts! BAD planning!
The sequester is BS! They KNEW it would come to this. It is their way of making these drastic cuts without anyone to really take the blame. TOTAL political CRAP.
Sonja Luchini March 3, 2013 at 09:22 pm
I'm condensing a comment I made on another site about this election:
"Steve Zimmer is an…Read More honest man who has worked with his constituents – many who have (or provide supports for) students with special needs, English Language Learners, Foster and homeless youth. When he realized, by looking at data, that charters were not doing a proper job of serving these students, he suggested wisely that more oversight was needed. In order to provide more data, we need information.
Oversight is not a bad word. Compliance is not a bad word. It’s his job to ensure that ALL children, not the select few that are “hand-picked” for “reform” efforts are provided an education with the supports they need. Charter schools tend to use exclusive and discriminatory enrollment practices. What little data we can access backs this up. Why the mayor would be angry with a school board member who is trying to create transparency and accountability to better serve his constituents is beyond me.
We will soon have the best school board that outside, special-interest money can buy. Whether it will be in the best interests of students and families, or those special interests remains to be seen. I'm not betting on it being too positive for our children, tho. Anyone who is being backed by the Coalition for School Reform is NOT for ALL children as those backers do NOT support ALL children in charters. It's a business, baby...and to succeed - they must weed.
Karen Wolfe March 2, 2013 at 12:32 am
What a wonderful story. I didn't know you worked for Bill Rosendahl too. Two dedicated public…Read More servants and role models.
Erika Kirsten Beck March 2, 2013 at 02:15 am
Steve Zimmer’s decision to move the Mandarin Immersion program out of Venice and locate it on…Read More the Marina Del Rey Middle School (MDR) campus was made without adequate assessment or planning, and an insufficient consideration of other options that could prove far better for the school, the local Venice community and the district. The incoming kinder parents were never included in the discussions to relocate to a middle school campus and have strong opinions about their child co-locating with 8th-graders. Steve Zimmer never vetted the MDR space prior to suggesting it as a suitable and sustainable location. A recent tour of the MDR facility by LAUSD Planning and Demographics, and the Local Area Superintendent confirmed that the facilities available at MDR are inadequate and inappropriate for elementary school children and cannot support the future growth of the BMI program, potentially even with massive financial investment. There is insufficient and unsuitable classroom space, administration offices, restrooms, age appropriate library facilities, safe play areas and safe staff parking. Therefore the proposed move is unacceptable. As a taxpayer, I find it fiscally irresponsible of Mr. Zimmer to recommend spending over $2.1 million dollars to bring the proposed MDRS site up-to-code. This is a conservative number that will at most, create a campus that meets the bare minimum for what LAUSD deems “code” but was never intended to be a cohesive elementary school space.
LA Momma March 3, 2013 at 03:20 am
The bottom line is that Steve Zimmer is good for our children. Thank you Daniel for your testimony!
D. Jude January 29, 2013 at 04:29 am
ERIC GARCETTI IS A PABLUM PUKER....HE, LIKE HIS OTHER 2 OPPONENTS, JAN PERRY AND WENDY GREUEL ARE…Read More THE MAIN REASON LOS ANGELES IS IN THE TOILET AND VOTERS WHO SUPPORT THEM ARE LIKE SHEEP BEING LED TO SLAUGHTER~~! WAKE UP LOS ANGELES VOTERS AND VOTE THESE 3 STOOGES OUT OF OFFICE~~!! THEY ARE NOT THE SOLUTION BUT MERELY THE POLUTION IN LOS ANGELES POLITICS~~!!
ruth simmons January 8, 2013 at 01:15 am
My daughter got whooping cough with all the vaccines and the booster. It was very prevelent in her…Read More age group 12 years and up. Since the outbreak was so specific I think there was a flaw in the vaccine.
Michelle Ford January 8, 2013 at 11:51 am
I agree with Ruth above. There is something wrong with the vaccine...the toxic ingredients and the…Read More misinformation that vaccination = immunization. Last I heard, immunity meant immunity, period. In the article above, Dr. Schuchat above says "We realize that by age 10 immunity can wane from the early-childhood vaccines kids get..." duh! That's because vaccines DON'T CAUSE IMMUNITY NO MATTER HOW MANY BOOSTERS ONE GETS!! 60+ doses of these toxic chemicals is hazardous to our children. They (media) never talk about the epidemic of the vaccine injured...they never talk about how The Supreme Court acknowledged that vaccines are "unavoidably unsafe." Wake up people!!
Michelle Ford January 8, 2013 at 02:27 pm
Furthermore, Ruth's daughter apparently survived her bout with whooping cough (assuming an accurate…Read More diagnosis), and can now boast true, lifelong immunity. Outbreaks should occur to allow for natural lifelong immunity to be restored in our communities.
Tom January 16, 2013 at 04:26 pm
Good teachers of course matter and I think most of them are quite good. I have kids at SRVHS and…Read More CWMS and for the most part am pleased with how professional they are. Sometimes though we do run into a bad one. When that happens my kids are strong enough to work through it and be fine but the weakers ones suffer.
In our school system it is MUCH easier for the teachers because you have VERY involved parents. We are a team and work with eachother. I hate the teachers union but respect the teachers. I also think there are many things we could do to improve things for students and teachers but we lack the backbone to do it.
Sylvia Jones January 16, 2013 at 06:24 pm
I am responding to Shlripathi Kamath's post of January 15 which takes exception to a teacher who…Read More receives a 78% pension for 12 years of teaching based on a salary in her/his last year in the classroom of $78,912. The writer cites no source for the information, and as a retired teacher I am concerned that readers will take this claim as fact.
Please consider the following: teacher retirement in the State of California is administered by the state, not by school districts. It is based on teacher age at retirement, number of years taught, and birthdate.
Here is an estimate of what a California teacher might receive based on the profile the writer uses. It is based on the formula as I came to understand it in going through my own retirement process.
Using the writer's data, here is what a California teacher might receive If she/he
retires this June with 12 years of experience, a birthdate of 1946 and an age at retirement of 64 years and seven moths, her/his retirement stipend would be approximately $1,869.89 per month or $22,438.68 per annum. That equates to 28% of final compensation, not the 78% that the writer decries.
Shripathi Kamath January 16, 2013 at 06:40 pm
"I am responding to Shlripathi Kamath's post of January 15 which..."
http://bit.ly/U1OGkP
Moyuoylcahn December 29, 2012 at 05:49 am
Max The Paper Boy, you are correct, I am not your voice... I am the voice of the voiceless! fyi,…Read More these are the top contributors/PAC to this year's National Election. The NRA is not among them. They are: Friends of John Boehner,RepublicanGovernors Assn,Club for Growth,EMILY's List,League of Conservation,FreedomWorks,Every Republican Is Crucial PAC,Arcus Foundation,Americans for Limited Government,Freedom Project,Susan B Anthony List,Senate Conservatives Fund,Hoyer for Congress,Friends of Jeb Hensarling,Nancy Pelosi for Congress,Blue Dog PAC,AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America,Majority Cmte PAC,Votesane PAC,Environment America...
The NRA makes it influence known primarily through campaign donations. In 2012 they spent a little over 2 million dollars. $1,845,000 of that came from The NRA itself, $360,000 came from it's subsidiary, NRA Institute for Legislative Action. The total amount spent lobbying for gun rights was only $5,535,651 for 2012. In a National Election that cost ran into the billions! Not everyone who supports The NRA is a dues paying member. Not all of us are even gun owners. We support the Right To Bear Arms just the same.
Tim Sole December 29, 2012 at 01:40 pm
David, it is not as far fetched as you might believe. I'm simply looking at what those in power in…Read More prewar Europe did and stating that I'm not going to allow mankind to repeat those mistakes here in America. Every 60 or 70 years, we simply forget what happened and then repeat the same mistakes that earlier generations made.
Jock December 29, 2012 at 01:56 pm
Agreed. Any advanced alien race reading this would happily skip this planet. Perhaps in the future…Read More this thread may be a teaching tool showing the discord, arrogance and ignorance of 21st century Americans. Angry rantings, most displaying the logic of children. Puke
Spirit Of Venice December 20, 2012 at 04:16 pm
"Sigmund Freud" only has 1 post, his pointless insult of Linda Lucks. The "Blue…Read More Meanies" (remember Yellow Submarine? The guys who ate roses instead of smelling them?) strike again. One of the prices we pay for preserving Freedom Of Speech is that it allows malicious and hateful morons to say mean-spirited, untrue and unkind things anytime they want. It is up to YOU to see them for who they are and to see what they say for what it really is.
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Thanks, Linda Lucks, for decades of selfless, devoted service to your beloved community of Venice.
Anna Freud January 3, 2013 at 08:56 pm
I concur with the analysis of Sigmund Freud, that Linda Lucks is out to lunch.
John hacker December 21, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I say we arrest anyone that has ever driven past a school. No wait, everyone that has ever gone to a…Read More school. Lets just arrest everyone everywhere. They are all a potential threat against our children. All humans need to be arrested. Now. We also need to remove all threats. Let arrest all germs and bacteria. Lets ban bicycles and cars. In fact we need to ban life, because being alive means you might die. Oh yea, while we are at it, lets vote to support Israel who slaughters children on a regular basis. I really do get a kick out of you stupid people.
Olga Hall December 19, 2012 at 12:41 am
Have you read anything about the greatest scam perpetrated on us? The Libor Scandal which is an 800…Read More TRILLION dollar scam that involves the too “big to fail” banks, the Federal Reserve, etc. Why I mention it is because the father of James Holmes the Colorado shooter, and the father of Adam Lanza the Connecticut school shooter were to testify on the Libor Scandal. A coincidence?????????????
nonoise December 19, 2012 at 12:56 am
http://www.economist.com/node/21558281
Is this what you are referring to?
catman December 18, 2012 at 08:55 pm
I'd like to add that in the one instance where a group of 16 Jewish teenagers were able to get their…Read More hands on a few guns (and some homemade explosives) that it enabled them to hold off the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto for a full month before they were ultimately outgunned and killed.
Daniel Cooper January 9, 2013 at 06:06 pm
The right to bear arms was not given to us so that we could go duck hunting. The right to bear arms…Read More was given to us so that we would have the ability to rise up and take back our constitutional rights when the Government became corrupt and was acting outside of the powers that were given to them. The writers of the Constitution said it was our duty to do so.
There are many examples of Corruption. I will give you 1 example for arguments sake.
We were given the freedom of information act. When Dr Shirley Moore and Richard Fine discovered and exposed that the L.A. Superior Court Judges were excepting money that was not authorized by LAW and Sturgeon vs. Los Angeles County 1 declared those payments to be UNCONSTITUTIONAL the Judges paid a lobbyist to pass SBX211 that granted themselves (Retro Active Immunity from Prosecution).
When Government and Corporations are held to the same standards of the rule of LAW as the people are held. Then and only then could there be meaningful discussions about gun control.
When Government stops taking money from the people and giving it to banks and corporations and prosecutes blatant acts of corruption then gun control could be an option.
Always Right December 16, 2012 at 11:36 pm
First of all, not every American can buy and own a gun. Our constitution gives those that can the…Read More right to do so. Sure you may be able to,with the help of liberal progressives, ban certain types of weapons. To ban all guns you would have to change the constitution. That will never happen period nor should it. If you don't want a gun, don't buy one.
Galactic Cannibal December 16, 2012 at 11:45 pm
I voted twice for Pres Obama and would do a 3rd time if allowed.
But I will agree that his cry…Read More looked a bit unreal. the very few times I have cried tears roll down my cheek.
I saw no tear on Pres Obama's face.. why was that ?
Matthew Sanderson (Editor) December 17, 2012 at 02:07 am
Thanks for your contributions. We are now closing this discussion. You are welcome to view the…Read More conversation about gun legislation over here http://patch.com/A-0wNV
Your Chance to Win a New Car at the Venice High School…
Comment Recommend Kelly Hartog (Editor)