- Fritch e-mail of 12/16/09
- GHS Plan area solicitation outlines
- Contact: Will Adams, UTLA
- Contact: Roberta Ikemi, Design Team writer
Friday, December 18, 2009
Your help needed. Your presence wanted.
Mr. Fritch put out an e-mail this week detailing several items of interest with respect to our work completing the Garfield Plan and submitting it in January, including a six-point outline of areas in the plan needing immediate faculty input, and contact information for the UTLA point person for preparing the final draft. Here are links to the pertinent elements.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Bell Schedule Decision Time
The Design Team is working to complete the Garfield Plan for submission to the superintendent's office in January. At present, they are deciding on a bell schedule that will promote intervention programs while best serving the needs of Garfield High School as a whole institution.
Faculty are asked to select a bell schedule for the Design Team to adopt by voting in the online survey at http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/21D98CBEA035E116/. The revised deadline is Friday.
Here are the three bell schedule options currently on the table for the Design Team.
Additionally, Mr. Rico on Track B, supported by Mr. Gonzalez, the Athletic Director, suggested that Garfield look at the 6-period-day intervention schedule in use at La Serna High School in the Whittier Union school district (along with several other California high schools holding the Distinguished Schools designation). He included a link to their PowerPoint in his LAUSD Webmail to the faculty, Dec. 11. Here are some of the main items he located on the La Serna website (www.wuhsd.k12.ca.us/whittierlshs/):
Finally, some of the discussions and arguments that have been raised about the various options can be reviewed at the links here:
Voting will be open through Friday, December 18. Again, faculty members can access the poll online to vote directly on the survey website:
Faculty are asked to select a bell schedule for the Design Team to adopt by voting in the online survey at http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/21D98CBEA035E116/. The revised deadline is Friday.
Here are the three bell schedule options currently on the table for the Design Team.
Additionally, Mr. Rico on Track B, supported by Mr. Gonzalez, the Athletic Director, suggested that Garfield look at the 6-period-day intervention schedule in use at La Serna High School in the Whittier Union school district (along with several other California high schools holding the Distinguished Schools designation). He included a link to their PowerPoint in his LAUSD Webmail to the faculty, Dec. 11. Here are some of the main items he located on the La Serna website (www.wuhsd.k12.ca.us/whittierlshs/):
Finally, some of the discussions and arguments that have been raised about the various options can be reviewed at the links here:
- Mr. Bommarito's summary of the three Design Team options
- Mr. Gonzalez' comments on the La Serna alternative (pro)
- Mr. Fritch's comments on the La Serna alternative (raises questions/objections)
- Mr. Konzelman's comments on Design Team options (ranking and analysis, favorable to Option C)
Voting will be open through Friday, December 18. Again, faculty members can access the poll online to vote directly on the survey website:
http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/21D98CBEA035E116/
Questions about the process should be directed to Brian Fritch at brian.fritch@lausd.net.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Letter of Intent approaching completion
Here is the most recent draft of the Letter of Intent. Current changes focus on enhancing the profile of the instructional plan, along with other changes suggested to the Design Team.
Again, the deadline is November 16, not November 15 as the draft still gives.
Again, the deadline is November 16, not November 15 as the draft still gives.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Current Letter of Intent draft
Here is the most recent draft of the Letter of Intent, along with Brian's Nov. 10 e-mail to the faculty. Most members may already have seen these items.
Be advised again that the superintendent's timeline, per his November 6 e-mail, marks the deadline at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16. Brian and Roberta are confirming this to update the date given on our Letter of Intent draft, which currently still says November 15. Happy reading.
Be advised again that the superintendent's timeline, per his November 6 e-mail, marks the deadline at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16. Brian and Roberta are confirming this to update the date given on our Letter of Intent draft, which currently still says November 15. Happy reading.
Monday, November 9, 2009
There has been a very great deal of activity tonight! Brian put out an important update on the progress of the unified proposal, and his own perspective on the prospects we have before us. You may have received his e-mail already, but just in case, here it is:
Also, Brian distributed copies of the School Choice brochure and the district's comparison chart of the various models. For the record, the deadline for Letters of Intent is Monday, November 16, at 5:00 p.m. per the superintendent's timeline, not November 15 as Brian writes, a discrepancy he acknowledges! Here are the documents he asked to be placed on the blog, along with the current draft of the Garfield unified Letter of Intent:
Finally, in the spirit of fair-mindedness, here are two e-mails: one that Inner-City Struggle distributed to their supporters about the press conference they are attending tomorrow, November 10, in front of UTLA headquarters, and a second from another group, as you will see.
ICS says that their position is "pro-union," and we take them at their word, but the same event is being promoted by that second group (ABC, the Alliance for a Better Community, as they call themselves), that is telling their members in their own e-mail that they will be there (along with their featured speakers, board president Monica Garcia and board member Yolie Flores-Aguilar) to "denounce" what they present as intimidating tactics by unnamed persons (could they mean teachers?) to "deter parents and community members" from taking part in the present process.
For the record, Garfield Unites supports students, parents, teachers, and the larger community in their combined efforts to improve our school in every sense of the word. Here's the text of what both ICS and ABC are saying. You get to be the judge:
Students deserve better than this sideshow. We all have real work to do.
Also, Brian distributed copies of the School Choice brochure and the district's comparison chart of the various models. For the record, the deadline for Letters of Intent is Monday, November 16, at 5:00 p.m. per the superintendent's timeline, not November 15 as Brian writes, a discrepancy he acknowledges! Here are the documents he asked to be placed on the blog, along with the current draft of the Garfield unified Letter of Intent:
Finally, in the spirit of fair-mindedness, here are two e-mails: one that Inner-City Struggle distributed to their supporters about the press conference they are attending tomorrow, November 10, in front of UTLA headquarters, and a second from another group, as you will see.
ICS says that their position is "pro-union," and we take them at their word, but the same event is being promoted by that second group (ABC, the Alliance for a Better Community, as they call themselves), that is telling their members in their own e-mail that they will be there (along with their featured speakers, board president Monica Garcia and board member Yolie Flores-Aguilar) to "denounce" what they present as intimidating tactics by unnamed persons (could they mean teachers?) to "deter parents and community members" from taking part in the present process.
For the record, Garfield Unites supports students, parents, teachers, and the larger community in their combined efforts to improve our school in every sense of the word. Here's the text of what both ICS and ABC are saying. You get to be the judge:
Students deserve better than this sideshow. We all have real work to do.
On October 29, the SLC leads, the administration, and the Garfield UTLA rep created the Design Team for the unified proposal. Here is the link for the memo.
All interested parties need to remember that, per the superintendent's letter of November 6, Letters of Intent are due to LAUSD at psc@lausd.net by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16.
All interested parties need to remember that, per the superintendent's letter of November 6, Letters of Intent are due to LAUSD at psc@lausd.net by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 16.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
As the dust settles
From a couple of e-mails from Brian, 8/25/09
Hi Everyone, thanks for all your support today. Despite the vote we need to stay united and find a way for us to move forward. I do believe we need to look at options. I have included two links here. One is the Expanded School Based Management agreement between UTLA and the district, please look it over and let me know what you think. I have also included a link to the school that uses this model, Woodland Hill Academy. Please study both of these ASAP so we can discuss it and see how we would like to move forward.
http://www.utla.net/node/796
http://www.whacademy.com/
Here are other options to look at. This is the Belmont model. As I stated before, we need to be out in front on this one as a school. We need to set the example that something we can choose can work. However, given the tight timeline, this needs to happen with the utmost haste.
UTLA/Belmont agreement: http://www.utla.net/node/793
Belmont High School: http://www.belmonths.org/
Brian Fritch
History Teacher, UTLA chapter chair
James A. Garfield High School, LAUSD
323-981-5500
brian.fritch@lausd.net
________________________________
Hi Everyone, thanks for all your support today. Despite the vote we need to stay united and find a way for us to move forward. I do believe we need to look at options. I have included two links here. One is the Expanded School Based Management agreement between UTLA and the district, please look it over and let me know what you think. I have also included a link to the school that uses this model, Woodland Hill Academy. Please study both of these ASAP so we can discuss it and see how we would like to move forward.
http://www.utla.net/node/796
http://www.whacademy.com/
Here are other options to look at. This is the Belmont model. As I stated before, we need to be out in front on this one as a school. We need to set the example that something we can choose can work. However, given the tight timeline, this needs to happen with the utmost haste.
UTLA/Belmont agreement: http://www.utla.net/node/793
Belmont High School: http://www.belmonths.org/
Brian Fritch
History Teacher, UTLA chapter chair
James A. Garfield High School, LAUSD
323-981-5500
brian.fritch@lausd.net
________________________________
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friends & press
We are making progress. Noted artist Harry Gamboa, Garfield class of 1969, has added us to his website.
Also, our Garfield parents and students made the news Friday evening on Telemundo Channel 22. We thought it was a terrific report, although there is a little confusion about charters and magnets. For the record, the magnet has been a proud member of the Garfield community for years!
Also, our Garfield parents and students made the news Friday evening on Telemundo Channel 22. We thought it was a terrific report, although there is a little confusion about charters and magnets. For the record, the magnet has been a proud member of the Garfield community for years!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Plan of action
Here's the plan for this week.
Duffy is mobilizing the union through the chapter chairs across the district. UTLA is planning an "eight-to-eight" strategy for Tuesday, which means that we will be at Beaudry from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night, and we will counter whatever strength Green Dot and its allies think they will have out there.
The alternate resolution sponsored by LaMotte and Zimmer was seconded, it seems, by Nury Martinez, which means that Tamar Galatzan is the only swing vote.
All we need to do, then, is to persuade her to support our vision for the future of our schools. And all she has to do is to vote for the LaMotte-Zimmer proposal.
If she isn't ready to do that, the board can vote to table both motions again, and give everyone more time to talk about the issues. With the traditional calendar schools and A-Track only just about to come back into session, that seems to be a reasonable option for any board member.
Here's the calendar:
Monday, August 24, 12:15 p.m. (lunch) - emergency whole-chapter meeting in GHS Library. We will detail the strategy for the week and marching orders for our mobilization there.
Monday, August 24, 4:00 p.m. - our GHS Statement of Principles will be faxed to board members. Be sure you have signed a copy by then. (Continue to circulate it to colleagues and friends at other schools.)
Monday, August 24, 6:00 p.m. - Yolie Flores-Aguilar, our board member and author of the Greeen-Dot-friendly motion, will be hosted by the GHS parents' community in the GHS Cafeteria. Teachers, students, and community members should be there. We endorse a civil discussion, but we want her to know that Garfield is united.
Tuesday, August 25, 8:00 a.m. - UTLA begins its mobilization at Beaudry. Track A and traditional calendar teachers, alongside community members and parents, need to be there early in order to match any show by Parent Revolution.
Tuesday, August 25, 2:00 p.m. - board debate is allowed to open on the Flores-Aguilar resolution. (The agenda is posted on the LAUSD Board site, http://laschoolboard.org/.)
Tuesday, August 25, 3:15 p.m. - two buses leave Garfield with Track B and C teachers along with more parents and community supporters to join the mobilization at Beaudry.
Tuesday, August 25, 8:00 p.m. - we hope to celebrate a vote for the positive future of schools in Los Angeles!
Finally, be sure to sign up as a "Follower" of this blog. You will need to set up a confidential free Google user account to do this. Numbers are important in this business!
Garfield stands united.
Duffy is mobilizing the union through the chapter chairs across the district. UTLA is planning an "eight-to-eight" strategy for Tuesday, which means that we will be at Beaudry from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night, and we will counter whatever strength Green Dot and its allies think they will have out there.
The alternate resolution sponsored by LaMotte and Zimmer was seconded, it seems, by Nury Martinez, which means that Tamar Galatzan is the only swing vote.
All we need to do, then, is to persuade her to support our vision for the future of our schools. And all she has to do is to vote for the LaMotte-Zimmer proposal.
If she isn't ready to do that, the board can vote to table both motions again, and give everyone more time to talk about the issues. With the traditional calendar schools and A-Track only just about to come back into session, that seems to be a reasonable option for any board member.
Here's the calendar:
Monday, August 24, 12:15 p.m. (lunch) - emergency whole-chapter meeting in GHS Library. We will detail the strategy for the week and marching orders for our mobilization there.
Monday, August 24, 4:00 p.m. - our GHS Statement of Principles will be faxed to board members. Be sure you have signed a copy by then. (Continue to circulate it to colleagues and friends at other schools.)
Monday, August 24, 6:00 p.m. - Yolie Flores-Aguilar, our board member and author of the Greeen-Dot-friendly motion, will be hosted by the GHS parents' community in the GHS Cafeteria. Teachers, students, and community members should be there. We endorse a civil discussion, but we want her to know that Garfield is united.
Tuesday, August 25, 8:00 a.m. - UTLA begins its mobilization at Beaudry. Track A and traditional calendar teachers, alongside community members and parents, need to be there early in order to match any show by Parent Revolution.
Tuesday, August 25, 2:00 p.m. - board debate is allowed to open on the Flores-Aguilar resolution. (The agenda is posted on the LAUSD Board site, http://laschoolboard.org/.)
Tuesday, August 25, 3:15 p.m. - two buses leave Garfield with Track B and C teachers along with more parents and community supporters to join the mobilization at Beaudry.
Tuesday, August 25, 8:00 p.m. - we hope to celebrate a vote for the positive future of schools in Los Angeles!
Finally, be sure to sign up as a "Follower" of this blog. You will need to set up a confidential free Google user account to do this. Numbers are important in this business!
Garfield stands united.
What are our challengers doing?
Ben Austin and Parent Revolution have been busy, and they are likely to be out early and in force at the board meeting on Tuesday. They have been organizing for a long time, and they have allies in many places. An e-mail from last week from Austin to his members tells the story.
While our members are making those e-mails and calls to our board members and the superintendent, we should also make some time to contact the Daily News and the L.A. Times, and get out our side of the story.
Here's the link to the Parent Revolution e-mail:
While our members are making those e-mails and calls to our board members and the superintendent, we should also make some time to contact the Daily News and the L.A. Times, and get out our side of the story.
Here's the link to the Parent Revolution e-mail:
Statement posted
We are posting the the text, in English and in Spanish, of the Statement of Principles. We are getting tremendous support for this campaign, and we look forward to presenting it to the board this week.
The statement is written as a declaration from individual members of the Garfield chapter of UTLA, but we are inviting support (in the form of signatures) from any member of the Garfield community, including our invaluable support staff, our parents and families, and any individual working with our school for the benefit of our students.
Garfield stands united.
The statement is written as a declaration from individual members of the Garfield chapter of UTLA, but we are inviting support (in the form of signatures) from any member of the Garfield community, including our invaluable support staff, our parents and families, and any individual working with our school for the benefit of our students.
Garfield stands united.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Links
informed_bulldogs is a student-created Myspace site. garfieldunites believes students should be allowed to build their own campaign, but we can all benefit by staying informed about what all members of the Garfield community are doing for this school!
- www.myspace.com/informed_bulldogs
saveourpublicschools is a teacher-created blog for discussing the background issues at stake in the small schools question. garfieldunites neither endorses nor opposes the views represented there, and we encourage readers to get involved in the conversation.
- savepublicschools.com
- www.dailynews.com/search/ci_13185224?source=email - Robert Skeel's op-ed in the August 22 Daily News, "Why school choice plan is a bad idea for our district"
- rdsathene.blogspot.com/ - Robert Skeel's blog
- 4lakidsnews.blogspot.com/ - blog by parent-activist Scott Folsom; we recommend the Letter to Board President Monica Garcia from August 20
- itsyolie.blogspot.com/ - Yolie Flores-Aguilar's blog, last updated July 10
- www.gse.harvard.edu/blog/uk/2009/06/charter-pilot-and-traditional-schools-in-boston-facts-to-refocus-the-debate.html - blog article from Harvard Graduate School of Education professer Thomas Kane, with analysis somewhat favorable to charters in the Massachusetts school system
Contact your representatives
The following items were part of a UTLA chapter bulletin posted to Garfield teachers this week:
UTLA is calling on all Garfield Faculty to contact the LAUSD Board Members, the Superintendent, UTLA leadership, and local representatives to voice opposition to the Resolution of “A NEW WAY AT LAUSD” proposed by Yolie Flores Aguilar, Monica Garcia, and Richard Vladovic. This proposition will “sell out” up to 50 new schools and hundreds of “underperforming” ones (such as Garfield) to private entities.
***A SUBSTITUTE MOTION has been proposed by Ms. LaMotte and Mr. Zimmer*** Please visit the Board of Education at www.lausd.net and READ the Board Meeting Agenda for August 25th!!!!!
The Board needs 4 of the 7 votes to pass the resolution.
Please call and/or email the contacts below, especially the swing votes (Galatzan and Martinez) letting them know THAT YOU OPPOSE THE RESOLUTION BUT SUPPORT THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION!!!!
School Board Contact Info:
Ms. Marguerite LaMotte (213) 241-6382 marguerite.lamotte@lausd.net
Ms. Monica Garcia (213) 241-6180 Monica.garcia@lausd.net
Ms. Tamar Galatzan (213) 241-6386 tamar.galatzan@lausd.net
Mr. Steve Zimmer (213) 241-6387 Steve.zimmer@lausd.net
Ms. Yolie Flores Aguilar (213) 241-6383 Yolie.flores.aguilar@lausd.net
Ms. Nury Martinez (213) 241-6388 nury.martinez@lausd.net
Mr. Richard Vladovic (213) 241-6385 Richard.vladovic@lausd.net
Superintendent Contact Info:
Ramon C. Cortines (213) 241-7000 superintendent@lausd.net
UTLA Contact Info:
A.J. Duffy (213) 368-6267 utlapresident@utla.net
(Ask Mr. Duffy why the union has not been more active in opposition to this issue)
Local Representatives
Sen. Gloria Romero (323) 881-0100 Senator.romero@sen.ca.gov
Supervisor Gloria Molina (323) 881-4601 molina@bos.lacounty.gov
Garfield Community Meeting
Save Our Public Education
Yolie Aguilar-Flores will be @ Garfield H.S. to talk about her Small Schools Resolution. Please join us to voice our opinions about her resolution and to tell her "NO ON SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION".
Host: Garfield H.S. Community Room
Price: Free
Date: Monday, August 24, 2009
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Garfield High School
Address: 5101 E. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Phone: 323-712-0635
Contact: fridajalisco@hotmail.com
Map: View Google Map
RSVP: View Facebook Link
Yolie Aguilar-Flores will be @ Garfield H.S. to talk about her Small Schools Resolution. Please join us to voice our opinions about her resolution and to tell her "NO ON SCHOOL PRIVATIZATION".
Host: Garfield H.S. Community Room
Price: Free
Date: Monday, August 24, 2009
Time: 6:00-7:00 pm
Location: Garfield High School
Address: 5101 E. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90022
Phone: 323-712-0635
Contact: fridajalisco@hotmail.com
Map: View Google Map
RSVP: View Facebook Link
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Statement of Principles
If you would like the digital file for the Statement of Principles being circulated to Garfield faculty, send an e-mail to the Webmaster at garfieldunites@earthlink.net, and you will be sent a copy.
We are currently collecting signatures to submit the Statement to the board. Until we have submitted the signatures, we will only distribute the digital file to recognized parties. We ask that you support us in this by only forwarding it yourselves to other recognized parties.
Yes, we know that it will get out, but we want to keep as much integrity in the process as possible. There have been examples of others interested in this process who have not been so respectful.
We expect to submit our signatures to the board on Monday afternoon, August 24.
Garfield stands united.
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