Many of you may have recently received or viewed a flier produced by a POWWOW parent, distributed to a number of parents at Westchester High School and posted on this blog stating:
- Schools may not service students who live east of Aviation;
- Autonomy can mean anything a select few want it to mean;
- Experienced teachers may be replaced by novice teachers;
- The magnet schools will close; and
- Parents may have to find alternate schooling for your child as early as 2009.
"No child will be displaced", Kathi reassured the attendees.
Displacement of students
A. No students will be displaced as a result of this process. There are currently waiting lists and permits for students to attend higher-achieving schools. We want equitable access for all students. The schools should mirror the community demographics and provide access for all.
A. We are not anticipating any changes to the magnet program.
POWWOW: One of our parents specifically asked POWWOW how autonomy would affect the magnet school at Westchester High. In turn, POWWOW asked two individuals who we viewed as being reliable sources and was informed that there would be no need for magnet schools once reform took place. In light of the information shared during the LMU Town Hall Meetings, this information may not have been completely accurate. The fact is, the autonomy/reform discussions are just beginning. None of us know EXACTLY what the final outcome will be. The Innovation department of LAUSD headed by Kathi Littman and the LMU Family of Schools headed by Drew Furedi and Shane Martin are making every effort to provide information as it develops and becomes available; however, to date, nothing is etched in stone. For this reason, it is vitally important for ALL stakeholders (teachers, parents of students currently attending area schools, community leaders, administrative staff and residents) to actively participate in the reform process!!
A. The previous timeline (distributed last week) was a conceptual timeline that is very aggressive and only to show the progressive steps that we must take as a community: open dialogue and visioning, skill building, planning, mobilization and implementation. Each individual school will need to work through this series of steps on their own appropriate timeline, and the work could be phased as a community. For example, the Belmont Zone of Choice is beginning with only 10 small high schools out of a family of 41 K-12 schools.
(Information taken from LMU Town Hall Meeting Notes):
All stakeholders will be involved:
- 1 Teacher Representative from each school site selected via UTLA procedures for representation
- 1 Admin Representative from each school level
- 1 LAUSD Representative
- 1 Neighborhood Council Representative
- 1 POWWOW Representative
- 1 WPEF Representative
- 1 LMU Family of Schools Representative
- 1 Preschool representative
- 1 Continuing Education representative
- Each entity will make their own selection
- It will be volunteer-based and inclusive
- It will be research-based; an opportunity to gather information and present ideas to the Westchester community in the fall
- We also request the identification of an alternative for each entity
- Meetings will be open to interested guests, but again, will not be decision-making meetings
As one of the wonderful groups representing parents whose children currently attend Orville Wright Middle School and Westchester High School, POWWOW is committed to disseminating accurate information regarding all issues that concern our schools. Prior to the LMU Town Hall meetings, there was no system in place to secure such information.
As we move forward, POWWOW, along with LMU, LAUSD, WPEF, NCWPDR, UTLA, PTSA, BOOSTER CLUBS, etc.. commits to keeping you connected and involved.
