THE NEW LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT RECENTLY APPOINTED TO COVER THE DISTRICT’S SOUTHERN REGION SAID HIS NEW POST CAUGHT HIM BY SURPRISE: HE’S ALREADY SET THREE LONG TERM GOALS FOR THE SCHOOLS IN HIS AREA

By Diana L. Chapman

Caught by surprise that he was about to be promoted as the southern regional superintendent for Los Angeles schools, Michael Romero said he humbly accepted the new job in June assuming one of the top administrative posts in LAUSD.

He will oversee large portions of South Los Angeles, called District Eight, which includes a giant chunk of the Harbor area and a region that houses 95 schools.

Romero was originally slated to take over as the superintendent of instruction for kindergarten through eighth grade when the 22-year LAUSD veteran said he received a call from Los Angeles Unified School Superintendent Ramon Cortines asking him to visit.

“I wasn’t sure what it was about,” Romero explained during an interview. “When I sat there, it was a bit of surprise when (the superintendent) said: “I’m assigning you as the Local District Eight Superintendent.

“I said:’ “I’m honored to continue supporting the families of District Eight (where he currently worked).’”

The Harbor City resident replaces Linda Del Cueto, who headed the region which stretches from northern Los Angeles above Gardena and stems all the way south to the cliffs of San Pedro; it encompasses Wilmington, Carson, Rancho Palos Verdes, Harbor City and Lomita.

“Michael Romero is the ideal leader to oversee Local District 8,” Cortines said. “First, he is an exceptional educator from this community, he believes in this community, and he has set high expectations for the students, teachers, administrators and staff at all of his schools.

“And lastly, Mr. Romero’s positive relationship with members of the local communities and individual cities that are served by Local District 8 will go a long way towards ensuring his success, as well as the academic success of his students.”

Already visiting schools – in particular San Pedro High during the summer – Romero said he’s now working across the board to raise students understanding in math from as young as pre-kindergarten to their senior years --in Algebra in particular.

Due to the low proficiency in an area that should have scored much higher, Romero said he spent a good portion of his time this summer at San Pedro High where only 13 percent of the students currently are proficient in math.

The struggling school, expected to gain enormous ground under the supervision of new and popular principal, Jeanette Stevens, suffered from overcrowding, entrenched teachers, revolving top leadership, low test scores and a poor accreditation rating that forced the campus into “the public school choice,” option.

This meant outside operators could pursue the campus, including charter agencies. Although none applied, the school has already showed signs of significant turnaround and received another year in accreditation until spring 2011.

Under Steven’s leadership, Romero said, he’s fully confident the school will improve dramatically and added he’s so impressed with Steven’s collaborative skills that he will seek out future principals with her abilities.

“They are on the right path,” Romero explained of San Pedro High, “and I am confident about her work with the teachers and administrators. The public school choice provided them options to reflect on what they were all about. What Jeanette does well is that she has positive, constructive conversations (with her staff). We all need to grow in our practices and it’s done in a constructive manner.”

Three of Romero’s top priorities include:

· Math: All his schools will review how they teach math and go far beyond offering programs to students. He expects that math teachers not just present the material, but now break it down and put it to practical use having students divide into small groups and discussing what they’ve learned. In addition, teachers are expected to promote how these equations can be applied in the real world, not just the classroom.

· Truancies: Schools will be asked to focus on students who are missing several months of school and become more aggressive at contacting parents, making home visits and encouraging parents to reduce the number of days a student misses. Once a student is gone for more than ten days, the schools “procedures and routines,” will now include successfully interacting with families to bring children back. When he did this as a principal, he said, absences went down dramatically. “It’s not a real scientific thing,” he explained. “Every school should do this,” adding it provides the student with much more instructional input and increases the students chances to learn.

· Suspensions: Romero wants to reduce the number of suspensions and plans to have district officials work with school campuses on finding ways to reinforce positive behavior in an effort to reduce the number of students removed from schools. Again, taking students out of school mars their learning capabilities dramatically, he said.

Over the next several years, Romero will also oversee the building of the controversial High School 15 – an annex of San Pedro High School at Angel’s Gate – which is slated to open in 2012, along with the openings of several new facilities: Carson High School to open in 2011, Harry Bridges Span School in Wilmington -- a kindergarten through eighth grade program scheduled for completion in 2012 -- and the $20 million building of the first permanent Harbor Teacher’s Prep School, which is now on bungalows at Harbor Community College. It will remain there as a new facility.

Romero came to the superintendent post with a wealth of experience, starting out as a teacher at Ninth Street Elementary. Beginning in 1988, he taught third through 6^th grade for nearly five years. After that, he moved into several administrative jobs before becoming a principal at Fletcher Drive Elementary in 1999 and Gardena Elementary in 2001.

In 2005, he took a leap into administering all of LAUSD’s reading programs – before becoming a support services director in 2006 for District Eight.

Kristin above veiled with a friend and her drawing of a camel during her visit in Morocco.

THE THINGS KIDS WILL DO TO US! TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE: THE 19-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF FORMER SEVENTH ^TH STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL COMES HOME AND SAYS: OH, PARENTS, BY THE WAY: I’M MOVING TO MOROCCO TO STUDY ARABIC FOR A FEW MONTHS

THAT’S WHERE SHE IS NOW-- STILL UNMARRIED--DESPITE A FEW PROPOSALS; YOU CAN VISIT HER FASCINATING BLOG AND READ ABOUT HER ADVENTURES WHICH WILL CONTINUE ON TO CASABLANCA, MARRAKECH AND THEN GREECE: NEXT SUMMER, TURKEY, JORDAN AND WHEREVER ELSE SHE SEE FITS

By Diana L. Chapman

She’s worked her way around the marriage proposals, ignored the grabs and accepted the “male-dominated” society she currently lives in.

She doesn’t wear veils since she is not Muslim, fearing it would insult residents of her hosting country; And she tries to steer clear of thinking like a Long Beach coastal gal -- and a bit more – while like a Moroccan.

Not always an easy approach for a single, young westernized woman, who has discovered a large part of her plans to study Arabic wound up being more about learning to live within someone else’s’ culture and attempting to think like them.

Getting a grip on the cat calls, the proposals and men following her wasn’t easy, but it came with the territory. As an American, she stood out and she knew it.

“The harassment is hard to explain,” emailed Kristin Colazas Delfs, who announced to her parents a year ago that she was headed for Morocco alone to study Arabic and had found a small school there she could afford to attend in the country’s capital, Rabat. “It seems terrible from a Western perspective that I've dealt with that at the age of 19, but by Middle Eastern standards that treatment is sort of mild. It has never gotten violent, and I really do believe that it has more to do with me not being Moroccan than anything else.

“…Usually a "la shukran" (no thank you) is enough, but if not I just leave the situation. I've only been stuck once or twice; I was in a cab once when the cab driver kept trying to hold my hand, asking me to marry him, and took me the long way home. It's times like those when I'm glad I speak some Arabic, glad I know Rabat, and glad I'm not just a tourist.”

Her fascination with languages started when she was young and also being a product of two parents who left their own country to study Spanish in Mexico and became fluent speakers. But Kristin found her four years in Spanish classes frustrating, especially as they were taught in English, and “I never really felt a connection.”

North Africa and the Middle East fascinated her, however, especially after reading books like A Thousand Splendid Suns, Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Saffron Kitchen. Having earned a year’s worth of college credits through AP classes in high school, Kristin forged ahead at Long Beach State University and saved all year long working weekends at the Long Beach Aquarium and becoming a crew-leader for the U.S. Census to pay for her upcoming trip.

Knowing her parents would be nervous about her traveling anywhere in some of the nations that were facing war or other disruptions, Kristin, said: “I tried to chose one that was somewhat less turbulent and narrowed my search down to Morocco, Jordan and Syria.”

Discovering a small language institute called Qalam wa Lawh in Rabat would cost her less than three months of Arabic schooling in San Bernardino, she settled on Morocco.

Going abroad made her parents nervous, she admitted, but she didn’t want to be deterred from her goal.

Her father, Zan Colazas, the former principal of Seventh Street Elementary School, agreed having his daughter go to North Africa alone made him fret.

“I was a little apprehensive of course with all the things going on in North Africa,” he said. “But I have a lot of trust in her. She’s mature beyond her years and has a good head on her shoulders.

“Sometimes, you have to let them go into adulthood.”

Not that it was easy. Even Kristin, feeling somewhat strained with intensive study of Arabic for eight hours each day for two months. She found herself ready to cut back her schooling by a month and will extend her travels to Casablanca, Marrakech and Greece.

She wouldn’t change what she’s learned in Morocco for all the tea in North Africa, she exclaims.

“Through my reading and research I have discovered that both the East and
the West have their own traditions and an intense sense of pride and
individuality,” she wrote. “It’s their pride and commitment to tradition and values
that keeps them from understanding one another. Each is set in their own ways,
and neither is willing to change those ways for the other.

“Growing up in America, I always only understood things from the Western perspective. I wanted to understand the other side, and I knew that the best way to do that was to learn the language, communicate with the people of the region, and try to interact with them on a level that we could both understand.”

For the most part, she found the people loving and friendly and she made plenty of friends. She followed a dress code wearing no shorts and making sure her shirts were at least elbow length or long sleeved and that her skirts were knee length.

Moroccan women, she said, could get away with wearing less attire, but they didn’t stand out like a young, visiting American woman who had no “fathers or brothers nearby to protect their honor.” Because the city is filled with politicians, ambassadors and business professionals, she said, “not veiling” was much easier than if she was visiting smaller villages.

In the states, she studied Modern Standard Arabic. She explains, however, it is not a spoken language and is typically used in university settings and in writing. Arabic is broken down into different dialects, which also differs from country to country. Egyptian Arabic is the mostly widely used and understood. In the future, she hopes to pursue a Master's degree in Middle Eastern Study and head into international development.

She attempted to learn the Moroccan dialect, which residents found amusing.

“ Moroccans generally laugh when I try to speak their dialect, but they always smile, tell me welcome and shake my hand--- men and women alike,” she said.
“There is nothing else like speaking to them in their own language and being able to communicate clearly with the people of this country. They are some of the nicest people I have met in my life.”

For more about Kristin’s adventures, visit her blog at: http://berriescastdarkhooks.tumblr.com

A HALF HOUR WITH BAXTER: WELCOME: STEP INTO OUR HOME AND REMEMBER WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE A BUBBLY, BOUNCY, BOISTEROUS PUP

By Diana L. Chapman

“No, Baxter, NOOOO!”

I’m running down the hallway with Baxter at my heels, digging his teeth deep into my pants leg. I try to pry our darling new puppy loose from the heel of my foot. It’s not working.

“No, Baxter! That hurts! Ouch!” Those yelps go to no avail as his baby teeth hit skin, setting off a rippling, prickling sensation.

I’ve never raised a puppy before. Can you tell? Typically, we’ve gone for adult animals. Even this time, we were planning on another veteran until our son spotted a curly, white-haired mop with a black eye patch, black ears and a skinny rod-shaped tail that looked like it was pinned on as an afterthought.

We found this 9-week-old pup at our favorite pet rescue facility--Hearts for Hounds--in an open pen with brothers, sisters and a variety of other small dogs. They waddled about barking and chirping, looking for someone to take them home.

The day was sunny but cool in the parking lot near the Long Beach Marina where we dragged along Ryan--the 16-year-old-son--to pick out a new canine for our family. Already, our clan included Buddy (a brute of a cat who, if human, would be riding a Harley with chicks, beers and tattoos) and an 8-year-old shepherd/collie mix, Boo, who believes in herding animals and people--especially me.

All those words of age and wisdom flew off the leash the moment Ryan pulled Baxter out of the pen. “No,” Mom and Dad said promptly, in unison. But Ryan wouldn’t let go of Baxter, no matter what we said. We finally convinced him to put Baxter down so we could talk as a family.

“A puppy is a lot of work,” we told him.

“I’ll do it,” Ryan said with all the genuine assuredness a teen-ager can muster.

“You’ll clean up the poop?”

He nodded.

“Play with him?”

He nodded.

“Take him for walks?”

He nodded.

The list went on. And you know how this works with teen-agers. Their guarantees come with a caveat you should never forget, but always do: They are rarely home.

At last, we agreed. Bonnie Sheehan, the founder of Hearts for Hounds, was delighted when we selected one of her eight bearded collie/miniature poodle pups – especially since we have a large backyard. The doggy deed was done. Soon, Baxter was driving home with his new family. What a surprise!

Here’s a composite of one half-hour with Baxter. All of these stories are true; the names have not been changed. I’ve read enough of Cesar Millan’s “Perfect Dog” book to know that I’m not a dog whisperer, but I’d better learn quickly.

· Baxter stands playfully in front of the water dish so Buddy the cat can’t get any. The other dog, Boo -- irritated he’s become a puppysitter -- rushes over and herds Baxter into his crate, standing guard until our feline has a chance to drink.

· Baxter races over to Boo’s dish (even though there’s food in his own bowl), grabs a few bites and flees – knowing that this action could trigger chaos. Which it does: Boo doesn’t quit a barking for 10 minutes. Manners, Baxter. Manners!

· ”Oh, Baxter, you pooped again,” I remark while cleaning up the kitchen floor. Going around the corner, I spot a giant puddle just before I step in it . Cleaning that up, I turn again and find wet footprints traipsed across the living room. Baxter apparently figured he should walk through the pool and stamp his mark on the hardwood floors. Out comes the Lysol, along with the paper towels. This happens daily.

· ”Play with me! Play with me!” Baxter seems to say, standing with his head down on his front paws, furiously wagging his tail. First he tries to convince Boo, but the old grump ignores him. Then he chases Buddy all over the house until the cat jumps onto the back of the couch. Buddy doesn’t want to play, either. Now, it’s my turn. He tugs on my pants! He leaps onto my legs until I pick him up! I can’t wait for Ryan to come home to take Baxter out and play ball. That, of course, will be a long time from now, so I realize I’ll have to stop writing and take him out myself.

· ”Give me that, Baxter! Give it to me! Thank you very much,” as I wrestle my shoe from his mouth. Slyly, he moves behind me into the closet and grabs the other shoe, running for dear life to the living room. At last I retrieve it before I realize Ryan’s socks are wound tightly in his mouth.

As I’ve been told, these puppy moments fly by quickly until the dog is an adult. Baxter, already stretched to twice his size, eats like a horse. The rescue gal thinks he won’t grow larger than 20 pounds. I’m not so sure.

Amid these exhausting baby moments, there are bright stars such as the mornings that the bickering dogs, still getting used to each other, surprise me. I awaken to find them curled up, sleeping side-by-side.

Then there are the quiet moments when Baxter, tired from playing puppy all morning, just wants to be held in my lap, which he soon won’t fit in. Or the more joyous moments when he thinks he’s in a rodeo, leaping around the living room floor like a bucking bronco, waving his toy duck.

All in all, we love our Baxman, even when he’s chewing my jacket, snapping at our toes, barking madly into Boo’s face or gloriously chasing the cat.

Perhaps the truth is this: Although we believed we adopted Baxter for Ryan, we unwittingly took him home for all of us. Because all too soon Ryan will be off to college, and we’ll be empty-nesters wishing our son would come home.

Instead, we’ll have Boo, Buddy and our youngest--the adorable but sometimes bad Bax.