The Argonaut: Westchester Parents Forge Bond...

Westchester parents forge bond in efforts to improve schools through autonomy from L.A. school district
BY GARY WALKER

Read entire article here: http://www.argonautnewspaper.com/articles/2007/09/06/news_-_features/westchester/w1.txt


After a summer of intense discussions and heated debates about the need to improve the level of academic instruction for Westchester students, two parental education advocates have joined forces to seek autonomy from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Kelly Kane of the Westchester Playa-del Rey Education Foundation and Crissina Johnson of Parents of Westchester With Orville Wright, with the help of dedicated teachers, business leaders, local residents and Loyola Marymount University educators, are determined to create a new paradigm for educational success in Westchester through advocacy for autonomy from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Along the way, there have been a few stumbling blocks. Not all parents and teachers are certain that they want to see autonomy from the district in Westchester, although the majority of those who have spoken with The Argonaut have indicated that they would welcome some type of reform effort.

How and when educational reform arrives is still being debated, and the challenge of balancing the need for all interested parties — teachers, parents and district officials — have shown signs of improvement, but they are still a work in progress.

"The reform train is coming to Westchester," Kane declared in an interview this summer, "and everyone is welcome to ride along with it."

Adding to the sometimes contentious movement to bring education reform to Westchester schools are rumors that surfaced recently implying that there was tension between Johnson, who is black, and Kane, who is white.

"The idea is absurd," Kane responded when questioned about the rumors over friction between the two parent support organizations. "For anyone to use that as a way to slow down change in Westchester is unacceptable."

Johnson, whose three sons attended Westchester schools, also sought to quell the rumors, which were heard at a teacher conference earlier this summer.

"Race War Hyperbole" by Westchester Dad

Race Wars In Westchester???

Dear David,

Enough Is Enough!

My phone has rung numerous times this summer with individuals expressing that our group (POWWOW) and the other community groups in the Westchester area are divided and at odds based on the racial composition of our perspective groups. Please allow me to personally shed some light on this matter and PLEASE feel free to QUOTE me.

Thank you so very much,

I have to admit, I was a little floored by the title and the first two sentences of a POWWOW email I received this morning. The email was sent out to subscribers (parents, teachers, admins) affiliated with Westchester High School, Orville or people participating in the local reform movement.

A little hyperbole? Yep. It’s important to not use a few instances of some event (phone calls) and try to apply it to a scale the size of a community. A few gang banger wannabes might catch wind of the email, believe it, and try to finish a war that never was.

Read Westchester Dad's entire 8/27/07 post at http://westchesterparents.org/?p=174

WPEF Community Meeting: September 6th at 6.30pm

Open to all Stakeholders -- that's you!

Save the Date: Saturday, October 13 from 9am-12pm

www.kidkulture.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Karen Grace-Baker
Kid Kulture™ Marketing
Contact: kgracebaker@kidkulture.com
Phone: (323) 936-7671 -office or (323) 791-0628-mobile
Fax: (323) 938-1089

CONSORTIUM OF AREA HIGH SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT FREE COLLEGE RECRUITING FAIR AND WORKSHOP SERIES

West Los Angeles College-Saturday, October 13, 2007-9am -12 noon

Objective is to increase applications to colleges and to demystify the college application process

(Los Angeles, Ca-August 29, 2007)-A consortium comprised of local area high schools in the Los Angeles area (including Venice and Culver City) have joined forces to promote their first “Westside College Fair” college recruitment and workshop series arriving just in time for the college application season. Presented by the Los Angeles Unified Local District 3, Culver City Unified and the Star Prep Academy with support from West Los Angeles College, this FREE one day event will be held on the campus of West Los Angeles College on Saturday, October 13 from 9am to 12 noon. With representation from over 80 colleges and universities across the country, college test preparation companies and financial aid and college scholarship representatives, both parents and students will have the ability to do ‘one stop college shopping’ in one location. Participating colleges who will be sending representatives include colleges from the California State and University of California college systems as well as West Los Angeles and several other community colleges. Representatives from both public and private colleges from both within and out of the state of California will be represented and representatives will also be present to distribute admissions materials and answer questions about their college admissions process.

The Westside College Fair will have something for everyone and is geared towards both middle school and high school students as well as parents. An added feature of the fair will be a series of “hands-on” comprehensive college preparation workshops including topics such as ““Show me the Money: College Financial Aid Tips”, “Preparing for the SAT/ACT”, “Middle School 411-The Right Steps to College”, and “Interviews and College Essays” as well as a host of other informative workshops designed to demystify the college application process. Representatives will also be on hand to assist students in completing online applications to California State University and University of California colleges. The workshop series presented will feature the latest methods and information and will be relevant to both the novice or more experienced students and parents.

The Westside College Fair is sponsored by Crenshaw High School, Culver City High School, Dorsey High School, Hamilton High School, Los Angeles High School, LACES, Star Prep Academy, Venice High School, University High School and Westchester High School.

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Tips for Helping High School Students Prepare for College

A U.S. News & World Report: Nation & World...

What Parents Should Ask High School Counselors
Tips for helping high school students get ready for college

Between baseball practices and play rehearsals, it can be hard to find time to talk to your kids about college much less chat with their high school counselor. But with the number of applications to college setting records every year, it's more important than ever. So we asked a few counselors from different types of schools across the country some of the questions they get asked most often. And because they also are parents of kids that have gone off to college, our three counselors have an extra-sharp focus on what you should be discussing in your next appointment in the guidance office.

Read entire story and more here: http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/student-center/

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A U.S. News & World Report: Education

America's Best Colleges 2008

National Universities

To rank colleges and universities, U.S. News first assigns schools to a group of their peers, based on the basic categories developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2006. Those in the National Universities group are the 262 American universities (164 public and 98 private) that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees; many strongly emphasize research.

Read entire story here: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/ranknatudoc_brief.php

Interdependence | Synergy

in·ter·de·pend·ent (adjective) mutually dependent; depending on each other.

(Excerpt from Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.)

Interdependence: Rather than being dependent upon other people, or trying to be totally independent, we learn how to be more effective by effectively working with others.

------------------------------------------------

syn·er·gy (noun) 1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. 2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.

Covey writes: "What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

To be successful you should learn to leverage the strengths of others.

LA Mayor & LAUSD Announce Historic Partnership: August 29

Mayor Villaraigosa, LAUSD to Announce 'Historic' Partnership

Nation's 2nd Largest School District
(Source: ABC7.com)

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29, 2007 (CNS) - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Unified School District will announce a "historic" partnership Wednesday that would give him control over two clusters of schools.

The plan, which is subject to approval by the LAUSD Board of Education and the parents and teachers of the selected schools, would allow the mayor oversight of two low-performing high schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed into them.

The two high schools will be among the 20 lowest-performing schools in the city. LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer indicated the high schools will be chosen in the coming months.

"We'll be announcing a historic agreement, creating a partnership for L.A. schools, which we think will change the culture and conditions of our schools, both in the family of schools that we'll be focusing on but also the whole school district," Villaraigosa said on the eve of today's announcement.

"I used the word `family' of schools because essentially what we're creating is a network of community support around schools, much akin to a family."

Since taking office two years ago, Villaraigosa has attempted to take control of the nation's second-largest school district. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation last year that would have shifted some of the decision-making authority from the seven-member school board to the mayor.

The law, however, was unanimously rejected this spring by a state appellate court panel, which questioned its impact on voters' rights.

Three days after the mayor's two chosen candidates won seats on the LAUSD Board of Education, giving his allies a 4-3 majority on the panel, Villaraigosa said he would not appeal the ruling.

Read the entire story here: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5614912

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Deal would give L.A. mayor say on some schools
A partnership is expected to be announced today. The deal would take effect in 2008...
(Source: LA Times)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his former adversaries from the Los Angeles Unified School District are expected to announce a partnership today that will provide the mayor with a scaled-back version of the authority he has sought over city schools.

Villaraigosa and his senior education aides will play a major role in overseeing two of the city's lowest-achieving high schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed them under an agreement with the Board of Education and schools Supt. David L. Brewer.

"I think you'll see a change in the culture of our schools almost immediately," the mayor said Tuesday of the partnership that would begin to exert its influence over schools in the fall of 2008.

Read entire story here: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-schools29aug29,1,5912416.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

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Mayor-LAUSD partnership detailed
Villaraigosa has 5 years to get results at troubled schools
(Source: Los Angeles Daily News)

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A. Unified will unveil a partnership today that calls for the mayor to oversee two families of schools under a five-year contract that will not be renewed if the schools don't meet goals for test scores and graduation and dropout rates, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

The partnership - which if successful can be expanded to include more low-performing schools - appears to model charter schools, giving each campus greater control over budget, hiring and curriculum.

The schools in the partnership will report to a nonprofit created by the mayor - the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools - rather than the local districts, but the LAUSD board and the superintendent will maintain ultimate control.

"Nowhere in the country will we have this kind of partnership," Villaraigosa said Tuesday, adding that he expects to see improvements by the end of the first year. "We're excited about this effort. It's a long time coming.

LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer said the schools he eventually will propose for the partnership will go to the school board for approval in the coming months.
Read the entire story here: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_6745104

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Villaraigosa-LAUSD Partnership
(Source: KNX 1070 News)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Unified School District are expected to announce today a partnership that will give the mayor control over two clusters of schools.

The mayor would take over two low performing high schools and the grade schools that feed into them. The exact school will be picked over the next few months.

The Board of Education, the parents, and teachers of the selected schools have to approve the plan. The head of the teachers union (Duffy) has expressed hesitation on how the plan will be implemented.

http://www.knx1070.com/pages/875896.php?contentType=4&contentId=855508