I-Division Upon Us -- Parents | Teachers Vote: YES

Parents, Teachers Taking Over Westchester High
By Paul Clinton

Parents and teachers at Westchester High School have voted to put themselves in charge of academic reforms in an effort to take the low-performing school where Los Angeles Unified couldn't.

Working with Loyola Marymount University under the banner of the district's new Innovation Division, they will try to turn around a school that ranks in the bottom fifth of the state academically.

With the votes, the school is signing up for a five-year partnership with the Catholic university - known as the Family of Schools - to improve achievement and draw local students back to LAUSD classrooms.

"I am very optimistic about what is going to happen here," Superintendent David Brewer told an audience at the school Friday. "I expect a lot of students to go all the way through and become graduates of college, especially LMU."

The division, which was created in mid-2007, now reviews proposals from schools hoping to hook up with universities, governments or other community partners looking to guide schools toward reform.

Crenshaw High also voted to join the Innovation Division this week.

Like many LAUSD high schools, Westchester High graduates a lower percentage of students than schools in many other Southern California districts.

Three out of four students attending the school score below proficiency in basic subjects such as algebra, geometry, English and science.

Discipline and truancy issues also have plagued the school for years. On a typical school day, as many as 10 percent of the students arrive late to class.

Many of the details of the reform plan for the school must still be worked out, but the university will begin placing student tutors in spring mathematics classes. Also, an exploratory committee of parents, teachers, administrators and others will begin formulating goals for improvement.

During voting on Wednesday and Thursday at Westchester High, parents and teachers voted overwhelmingly (89 percent and 75 percent, respectively) to seek greater control to set budgets, hire staff and change curriculum.

The work won't be easy, said board member Marlene Canter, who represents the area.

Read entire story here: http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1230951/parents_teachers_taking_over_westchester_high/

2 high schools join LAUSD reform effort
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 25, 2008

Westchester and Crenshaw parents and teachers vote to take the low-performing schools in a new direction.


Parents and teachers at two venerable but struggling high schools voted this week to put themselves in charge of crucial academic reforms.

Crenshaw High, south of Leimert Park, and Westchester High, on the Westside, will join the Innovation Division, a new reform initiative of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The results of school elections were obtained early Thursday evening by The Times, minutes after the counting was completed. Under the rules, parents had to approve the move in a simple majority. That election was conducted Wednesday.

Teachers also had to approve in separate balloting that took place over two days.

Parents voted in low numbers, but overwhelmingly in favor of the reform plan. At Crenshaw the count was 95 to 6, a turnout of about 5%. At Westchester, the tally was 100-12, a turnout of about 6%. The parent results surprised no one -- most observers assumed that only the motivated parents would vote and they were far more likely to vote yes.

Read entire story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-innovation25jan25,1,6271160.story

Westchester High School to Join iDivision
Source: LMU

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25, 2008 — Westchester High School voted yesterday to join the Los Angeles Unified School District’s newly formed Innovation Division, in partnership with Loyola Marymount University Family of Schools. The high school joins Orville Wright Middle School’s community and magnet programs and Kentwood Elementary School, which both joined the LMU iDivision Partnership last December.

With LMU as the Westchester schools’ external network partner, this partnership moves budget authority and decision-making over instructional and staffing choices to each school locally. The LMU Partnership will support teachers, staff, parents and community in decision-making roles.

The Westchester High School community showed their commitment to reform and improve student achievement through overwhelming support from teachers, school staff, parents, community members and local community organizations.

Read entire story here: http://www.lmu.edu/pagefactory.aspx?PageID=41981


Other area musings...

Westchester High School moves into the iDivision
Posted on January 24th, 2008 by westchester dad

I’ve received word that Westchester High Schools parents and teachers voted to remove themselves from the authority of LAUSD District 3 and into the LAUSD’s Innovation (iDivision) Division. The unconfirmed vote were that teachers voted 68-30 to approve and parents voted 106-7 for approval. (Note: L.A.Times reports this morning that the teacher vote was 72-24.)

I’m sort of surprised by the extremely low parent turnout but that may be because there are so few neighborhood families with students attending there and parents in the lower grades who might have a stake in the school in the future weren’t allowed to vote. A news conference is planned for tomorrow.

Joining the iDivision is good news.. however the devil is in the details since everyone was really voting for a concept. The details of the relationship and governance between the neighborhood, LMU and the LAUSD have yet to be hammered out.

Community support will depend on how much control or oversight the community is given in the Loyola Marymont/Westchester Family of Schools (LMU/Westchester FoS) operations. So far the iDivision is a very abstract concept.

The only given is that the schools will:

• Retain 80% of their average daily attendance money compared to the 50% they get now. Not nearly as good as charters, but better that regular LAUSD schools which are on the poverty scale because of district overhead.
• Teachers are still represented by the UTLA and the district will continue to negotiate their contracts.
• Schools may contract out for facility services if they choose and/or they may choose from a menu of district services. (This is a good development)
• The availability of school resources including enrollment and facilities are still available to those outside of the local enrollment area and managed by the district. (this could very well be a deal breaker if the schools has to continue to allow high levels of open enrollment, opportunity transfers and program improvement transfers).
• There is some kind of undefined partnership between the schools and LMU. Not even LMU knows what it is.
  

On the discouraging side, Superintendent Brewer’s comments at WHS a month ago downplayed how much influence the neighborhood would have. He said that the community would have only 1 vote among many which could be something like 1:4 or 1:8 or 1:10. It all depends on how many stakeholders they want to see at the table.

Drew Furedi noted that the LMU/Westchester FoS will still have to conform to LAUSD enrollment policies.

What this all boils down to is that the district will continue to have a pretty firm grip on many critical aspects of the LMU/Westchester FoS operations. Will it follow previous unsuccessful attempts at reform such a School Based Management (SBM) and LEARN?

On the flip side will the LMU/Westchester FoS mean more electives for our kids? Will there be more academic and sports opportunities for Westchester’s families and their kids? Will it result in higher academic performance? Will the school once again have a band?
We’ll just have to see. The devil is in the details and so is its success.

Source: http://westchesterparents.org/

Get Out The Vote Support Rally: Tuesday, January 22nd!

Parents of Westchester With Orville Wright (POWWOW) and the Crenshaw Cougars Coalition (CCC) has organized a "Get Out The Vote Support Rally" on Tuesday January 22, 2008 from 7pm to 8pm.

Please join us at...

Windsor Hills Magnet School
5215 Overdale Drirve
Los Angeles, CA 90043
(Near the intersection of Overhill and Northridge)


REMINDER: The VOTE is WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23RD from 7am-8pm at Westchester High School and Crenshaw High School. (See you there!)

Parent Information Meeting @ WHS: TONIGHT @ 6.30pm

We strongly encourage all PARENTS of students attending Westchester area schools to participate. (Another Parent Information Meeting will be held next Wednesday, November 14th at 6.30pm at Orville Wright in the event you can't make this Wednesday's meeting.)

Representatives from LMU and LAUSD will be prepared to field your questions and concerns regarding:

Autonomy &
the I-Division (Innovation Division)

Be sure to formulate your questions and concerns NOW; write them on a note pad and be prepared to seek answers to them. In addition to a parent's main area of concern like...How does autonomy guarantee and/or ensure my student-child obtains a first-rate education in a safe and clean environment?...some sample questions may include the following, but feel free to ask any question.

1. Governance. Who will make up the governing body?


2. Who are the players and what role will each play?


3. Where do Parents fit into the equation?


4. Where does Community fit into the equation?


5. Should the Parents, Stakeholders etc. vote in favor of autonomy, when will implementation occur? Target date?


6. Are there any lessons learned to-date that Westchester can benefit from?


7. Are there models that closely resemble the plans for Westchester area schools? (Something in LAUSD; no out-of-state models, please.)


8. How can we view the models, i.e., school tour, datasets --What tangible results can we view...API scores, graduation rates, college acceptance rates?


9. What are the promises and perhaps perils that an autonomous structure might have on my student-child specifically?


10. What are the short-term goals and benefits of autonomy?


11. What are the long-term goals and benefits of autonomy?


12. Will students become displaced, i.e., over the short-term and long-term? What measures, if any, are in place to ensure displacement doesn't occur?

Again, these are just some questions that come to mind. Think methodically and ask any questions that come to your mind, or ask for clarification on anything that might be ambiguous or unclear to you.

PARTICIPATE, PARTICIPATE, PARTICIPATE!

Various News Articles on Brewer's and Villaraigosa's Reform Efforts

DAILY NEWS: School reform facing hurdles
Read entire article here: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_7334829

Just two weeks after announcing an ambitious effort to reform Los Angeles Unified middle schools, Superintendent David Brewer III finds his plan already foundering amid fierce opposition from the politically powerful teachers union.

Brewer, who proposed creating a special district of 44 low-performing schools, already has had to eliminate 10 of the sites and still faces opposition from teachers over the remaining schools. Only one San Fernando Valley school remains on the list.

And new rumblings have surfaced that union leaders and teachers in the proposed schools intend to kill the plan entirely.

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LA TIMES: Idea for failing schools fails to please educators
Read entire article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd1nov01,1,5272754.story?coll=la-headlines-california

The L.A. Unified chief says his plan to group lagging campuses into a district is now 'only an option.' Among the many complaints from critics is that his proposal would stigmatize such schools.

Faced with stiff opposition from the teachers union and little support elsewhere, Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer has backed away from his plan to put nearly four dozen poorly performing schools into a separate "transformation district."

The superintendent's retreat comes only about four weeks after he unveiled the plan, which was widely viewed as an answer to critics who said the retired Navy admiral had accomplished too little in the year since accepting the top job at the Los Angeles Unified School District.

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DAILY NEWS: LAUSD drops five of six Valley schools from reform list
Read entire article here: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_7283026

Just a single San Fernando Valley school is in the running to participate in two key reform efforts widely touted by the mayor and schools chief as a key to boosting performance at Los Angeles Unified.

Superintendent David Brewer III said Thursday that he has cut five of the six Valley schools named in his original reform effort targeting 44 low-performing sites.

Sigifredo Lopez - president of the Parent Community Coalition, which represents 1,800 parents in the Valley and the rest of the district - said parents don't trust the mayor or Brewer.

"Reforms are coming out, but parents are saying nothing makes education better for children and brings more parent participation - that these reforms are political," he said.

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THE EDUCATION REVOLUTION BLOG: Brewer Reform: Dead in the Water?
Read more blog entries here: http://www.insidesocal.com/education/

UPCOMING MEETINGS ON AUTONOMY

Daily News: De facto LAUSD breakup

Daily News Article...
http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_7178278


De facto LAUSD breakup

If it works, it doesn't matter what it's called
10/14/2007 05:13:51 PM PDT

LOS Angeles Unified School District Superintendent David Brewer's plan to create a separate district for low-performing schools and to target middle schools for reform is an acknowledgment that something drastic needs to be done to improve education.

Brewer says that this is a step toward improving the LAUSD by empowering this new mini-district of the 44 worst-performing schools to be more flexible and to have the autonomy to tailor solutions to meet the students' needs. In addition he will create "personalized learning environments" at all of the district's 92 middle schools, which he said have been long neglected.

It seems the de facto breakup of the country's second-largest school district, begun with the mayor's breaking up two school clusters, is accelerating.

No one, of course, would call it such. That word carries too much political baggage.

"It's our way to try to create more smallness out of largeness," one district official said.

Whatever. But it doesn't matter what words people use to describe this important decentralizing of the power of the LAUSD. All that matters is the principles of breakup - such as empowering schools, the principals and the communities to take charge of their schools and educational needs, and not cede them to the vast and often uncaring LAUSD bureaucracy.

When it comes to schools, smaller is always better. It's what district secessionists have been saying for years.

Still, what counts is that this carving out of special districts be more than just a public-relations stunt. There's a real danger of ghettoizing the special district full of low-performing schools once they've been removed from the rest of the district.

If this breaku- er, reform effort, has a chance of succeeding, it needs more than just a separation. It needs sustained commitment to the ideals of smaller, more autonomous and innovative schools.

LA Times: Brewer unveils 'innovation' unit for LAUSD

Supt. David L. Brewer advocates longer school days, same-sex campuses and the creation of an innovation unit to effect change in L.A. Unified.

He talks about his innovation unit, which is headed by Kathi Littman, LAUSD, Director, School Building Planning. Kathi distributed the transformation timeline that was in one of our earlier posts.

He talks about "cluster of schools." The Westchester schools are headed toward this cluster.

Want to be INCLUDED? Get Involved and become informed! Join POWWOW today to learn of the impending changes to Westchester schools.

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Read 6/14 article, "Brewer unveils "innovation" unit for LAUSD. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd15jun15,1,2194858.story

The Argonaut: Westchester Schools explore self-governance

Westchester Schools explore self-governance
BY GARY WALKER

A comumunity meeting hosted by the Westchester/Playa del Rey Education Foundation Thursday, June 7th, to discuss the concept of autonomy for Westchester area schools took a contentious turn after several area educators complained that they had not been properly informed of the proposed reform.

Education advocates, parents, teachers and key members of the Los Angeles Unified School District addressed a packed auditorium at the community room at the Westchester Municipal Building regarding establishing "zones of autonomy" at area campuses, which they feel would improve the level of education, particularly at Westchester High School.

The concept of giving members of the community whose children are currently attending schools in the Westchester neighborhoods more local control, direct community involvement in school policies and a stronger voice in decision-making is an idea that Kelly Kane is excited about exploring."

Autonomy is coming to Westchester," Kane proclaimed prior to the meeting. She is director of the Westchester/Playa del Rey Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the enhancement and advocacy of public schools in Westchester. "This is just the beginning," Kane continued. She said that she was "inspired and encouraged" by what she called "enthusiastic" support for the possibility of creating zones of autonomy from Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) superintendent David Brewer and LAUSD board member and president Marlene Canter, whose district includes Westchester.

The school district, by outward appearances, seems to be receptive to the plan outlined by Westchester parents and some area teachers, unlike the proposal by Green Dot Public Schools, an organization that is seeking to wrest control of Locke High School away from LAUSD and transform the inner-city school into several charter schools, independent of district oversight.

"Everyone who has a stake in making our schools better is being invited to participate," said Kane.

The Westchester/Playa del Rey Neighborhood Council approved a motion to back the autonomy plan, which is still in its nascent stage, on Tuesday, June 5th. Terry Marcellus, a Neighborhood Council director who heads the council's education committee, said that his organization supports the concept of self-rule in principle, with certain conditions.

One of the most important considerations for Marcellus is having governing councils for the schools.

"In my mind, a governing board that has broad representation of all of the stakeholders is essential," he said.

The Westchester/Playa del Rey Neighborhood Council also believes that any autonomy plan should include "best practices of charter schools or another autonomy model."

At the community forum, which was the regular meeting of the Westchester/Playa del Rey Education Foundation, Kane repeatedly asked the audience to "open your minds, open your hearts," and "think big."

"We're going to move away from fear, and into beautiful, wonderful, amazing education," she proposed. "Nothing is written in stone, and every voice here will be heard. All of us are on the precipice of greatness, and we can only get there together."

Kathy Littman, who will head LAUSD's new Innovation Division, which has been created to "develop and implement educational models to support effective educational practices," according to the district, spoke in favor of the concept of autonomy zones.

"It's time to do something different," she said. "This is a magic moment that we can take advantage of.

"While Kane and Littman spoke in positive tones about the possibilities of self-governance, several teachers in the audience appeared disgruntled about the reform proposal.

At least three times during comments by Kane, teachers interrupted her to inquire why they had not been notified about the meeting, which several of them learned about at the last minute via word of mouth or from representatives of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), the union that represents the majority of the school district's educators.

Various teachers also alleged that parent volunteers have threatened to replace them if the autonomy reform is successful.

A.J. Duffy, the president of UTLA, said that by not notifying the educators in the Westchester area schools, Kane's organization had "scared the hell out of the teachers," which drew applause from many of the assembled faculty members."I made it as clear as I could possibly make it to teachers that if they do not want to be in an autonomy zone, they do not have to be in an autonomy zone," Duffy continued. "I believe passionately in autonomy, and the idea of a family of schools was a concept that we developed at UTLA in agreement with [Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa].

"All of those concepts were about percolating from the bottom, not putting it down from the top."

Kane told the angry teachers that the district had promised to send out a letter to all area school principals informing them of the meeting and highlighting the specifics of the autonomy plan.

She also attempted to assuage the angry teachers' fears that her organization had any ill will toward them.

"What happened is, the information didn't get (distributed) at the right time by the right people," she reiterated. "That is why this meeting tonight is a little tense.

"I'm hoping that we can all step over that, and get to the place where we know where we can be; which is, let's make our schools the best that they can be, for the kids that are in them," she added.

Barbara Stern was one of the teachers who challenged Kane during and after the meeting. She and some of her colleagues took issue with what they believe is the foundation's attempt to squeeze them out of the reform process, and impose its standards on both the faculty and students.

"I specifically asked [Kane] why the teachers had not been invited to this meeting," the teacher told The Argonaut. "Pretty much every teacher that is here came only because they heard about it through word of mouth.

"Stern also wanted to know why Kane did not acknowledge elementary school educators if the scores at those schools have improved.

"The teachers feel like this is coming down from the top, and being thrust upon us," Stern asserted. "As a veteran teacher, I've seen a lot of these programs, and we've been through all of these different reforms, and then the board has dropped nearly every innovation.

"They stop funding them, dissolve them or they just drop them."

Kane said she believes that a lot of the "panic and rumors" that were on display at the forum were the result of misinformation that emanated from teachers union circles and the failure of the school district to distribute the letter that would have explained the plan in more detail.

"We felt that they dropped the ball," the foundation director contends, referring to the fact that the letter of explanation to the school principals about the community meeting and the autonomy proposal was not mailed.

"It was important that the letter come from the LAUSD chain of command. They left it up to us to tell the community."

Kane said that Canter, who also spoke at the foundation meeting, agreed to make sure that the letter was distributed, and denied telling any member of her group that teachers might be replaced if the proposed reforms take place.

Kane stated that her organization later heard that the letter had been "held back" by the school district.

"Principals were told by our district leaders to not distribute the information," Kane alleged.

During an interview subsequent to the community forum, Kane repeatedly stated that she and her advocacy group believe that teachers are invaluable to their mission of improving Westchester schools.

"We love our teachers," she reiterated. "How can we expect to have good teachers without good schools?

"To be accused of trying to take away teachers' benefits makes me absolutely irate."

Duffy says that he has great respect for Kane and other parent volunteers.

"I believe that they are pure of heart, and want what's best for their kids," he acknowledged. "But even though they say that they have no desire to force people to go along with their plan, [not being included in discussions about autonomy] makes it appear to the teachers that it is mandatory."

He took umbrage at what he felt was an attempt by Brewer and Canter to hijack an idea that he says his union initiated.

"They have talked about a 'family of schools' that doesn't exist," he said.

"It has to be created, and teachers have to play a critical role in any kind school reform, and I will not allow that family to be created for another top-down organization," Duffy vowed.

He alleged that Brewer and Canter brought forth "an amalgam of ideas, none of which were theirs."

"(Duffy and I) agree that our ultimate goals are the same; that we want better schools and more local control, so that our kids can have the best education possible," said Kane.

However, she said she was surprised that Duffy would make the statements that he did at the community meeting.

"I think that Duffy does not like the speed at which I travel," Kane speculated.

The Neighborhood Council's Marcellus, a longtime education advocate and a graduate of Westchester schools, concurs that teachers are a valuable part of any new reform.

"Teachers are one of the key stakeholders in this autonomy plan," said Marcellus, who attended the gathering. "They want to make sure that they get the benefit of their seniority and the benefit of their contract."

Loyola Marymount University (LMU), which is involved in an educational partnership with Westchester High, plans to be an important participant of any reform plan that is created, said LMU's dean of education Shane Martin.

There will be additional forums on the topic of autonomy zones and education reform throughout the summer. LMU will host a community discussion Saturday, June 16th.

From Kane's point of view, school autonomy is not a matter of how; it's a matter of when."Autonomy in this generation started on May 18th with Admiral Brewer," Kane asserted.

"The autonomy train is coming to Westchester."