LAUSD SENDS LETTER HOME THAT SON IS TRUANT! BUT THE ABSENCES AND TARDIES DON’T ADD UP ACCORDING TO HIS REPORT CARD: THIS DOESN’T BODE WELL FOR THE FUTURE ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DISTRICT STARTS SCHOOL THIS YEAR MID-AUGUST

 What parents might want to know…A School Officials Response Tomorrow

By Diana L. Chapman

We had a pleasant vacation, warm and toasty, surrounded by the moss-green hills in the Napa Valley where we celebrated Christmas with our entire family for the first time in more than a decade.

That’s why there were no postings on theunderdogforkidsblog for so long. We were mesmerized with the wine valley and a reunion where all three sisters for once were home for Christmas with our mom – including all the grand kids. It was  nothing more than a miracle.

Looking forward to 2011, we braced to leap in the New Year with a sparkle of happiness. When we got home, instead, we got this letter:

“This is to notify you that your child has been reported to the Pupil Services and Attendance Supervisor as a truant from school as required by the provisions of Section 48260 of the California Education Code after having been absent from school without valid excuse 3 or more days or tardy for more than 30 minutes without a valid excuse of any combination thereof on the following dates….”

A variety of punishments can happen including prosecution of the pupil “under Education Code Section 48264” and/or subject to suspension of driver’s license and so on.

The letter was signed by our wonderful San Pedro High School principal – Jeanette Stevens, who I respect greatly for her abilities to collaborate that’s slowly turning around San Pedro High School, a campus coping with severe overcrowding and poor test scores.

However, I need not say this:

 It’s  not what you want to come home too after a warm and toasty holiday; And I want to point out that while LAUSD is finally cracking down on truancy – which is a good thing, good students can still find themselves in trouble. It doesn’t matter that your kid has fairly decent grades – and is pulling his weight. What matters now is ADA – average daily attendance, which pays the school district roughly $30 a day per student – and test scores.

Student absentees have been ongoing for decades, but it took a $1.1 billion deficit over the several years to slap the district in the face and say – aha! It’s costing us money if students aren’t here.

By gosh, we should go after our truants! (It makes you wonder why this didn’t happen years ago.)

So I have to put this into perspective, we are absolutely at fault partly for this. We forgot to write letters excusing Ryan when he was absent – all of which were legitimate.  But being spoiled, we are used to receiving phone calls telling us what we’ve forgotten.

This year, we didn’t receive one call. Instead, we got the letter, which prompted many more concerns.

The reason I’m writing this is pure and simple. Parents need to understand that when school starts on Aug. 15 this coming year – there may be no easy out for vacations or any other situation we manifest (unless life threatening). The school board pulled the early school year on us suddenly – with only one Los Angeles School Board Member, Richard Vladovic, covering the Harbor area and parts of central Los Angeles, saying it was too sudden for families who had already paid for vacations expecting school to start. School doesn’t typically start until Sept.5.

The board voted 6-1 recently to make it sooner, with all sorts of what I consider shabby reasons, but to sum it up easily,  it’s mostly about test scores. The sooner they get kids back to school, the better their test scores might be. Of course, this was not backed with any data from LA Unified. It was decided on data from other districts. Now many families and teachers are stuck with some difficult choices.

Some people I know get excited, thinking students will actually receive more time to study so we can compete on the global level from an educational point of view. We are failing miserably in education compared to other countries such as China and Singapore.

But that our students will be getting more educational hours is not the case. Kids will end school earlier, June 1 – rather than about three weeks later.

With the new changes, I’ve heard from many parents who have already spent their vacation money. They are going to skip the first two weeks of school. As they see it, they have little choice.

One family I know goes to Yosemite every August – and has already paid – to have their large family reunion. Their children will not return to school Aug. 15. And who can blame them?

Fortunately, I believe we can fix this “truancy” situation with our son, Ryan, 16, a junior, because we failed to write letters to excuse him for his absences – in which he was truly sick. Ryan copes with asthma, serious allergies and other health issues. But it was, frankly, bizarre that his report card only reflected this – he’s had no tardies and only three absences if we can read his report card correctly. We could have corrected this easily had we heard  before the letter went out.

Furthermore, the report cards that come home are barely legible. Has anyone noticed that? Ryan has tried to decipher them for us – but even with his better eyes – he can’t always tell what they say, the ink is so murky, flooded and drowned in gray. The ink bleeds so terribly, in fact, you can barely read the grades.

“I can’t read it either, Mom,” Ryan says with resignation.

I’ve covered LAUSD

And this recent decision to return students Aug. 15 told me this: LAUSD doesn’t care one bit about what its families think. I’m frustrated that even while we have an incredible principal at San Pedro High – much to our benefit – the school she came from John H. Liecthy Middle School, was flourishing under her tenure.  Since her departure, it has fallen behind miserably, beleaguered by layoffs of the many young teachers there.

It’s not as though principal Stevens could have changed anything. It was going to happen even with her there. The layoffs were inevitable and became part of a lawsuit.

But what’s happening now is the school board  – despite its discussions about parent engagement – shows me they really don’t care about what parents think – or students for that matter. In fact, I wonder if they care about anything involving families.

Perhaps they  care about the average daily attendance and the test scores, but any smart educator worth a bit of goods would realize quickly what I’ve learned in such a short period of time. Students, who have so much to offer, are virtually ignored by the system every single day. I know – because as a volunteer – I’ve been able to turn many around with such little effort. The middle-of-the-rung-kids, the students who need just an ever-so-slight push to make it, are bypassed every day.

And it didn’t include the kid’s test scores. What it included was their personal situations – what they were coping with in their daily lives. Just an ever so slight push of support changed the lives of those kids with backing from the Boys and Girls Club and – they are now in university and still sending me letters.

But those same students – who would so easily bring up the test scores with a bit of help – are often just another blip in the chart or “a flea on a wall,” as one student described it.

Here’s what I have to say to LAUSD board members. Do what you say you are going to do. You say you want parent support and input; then support us. Other than Vladovic, the rest of you are shameful. It’s not that changing the return date to school Aug. 15 is the worst idea in the world. What is problematic, is the board’s complete disrespect, to not even allow parents the time to give their input before reaching such a decision and the time to change their calendars.

It makes me believe that down the road – we will not be included in even more pressing issues.

What you are also wrong about is not gathering the data within the district first, and then persuading us this is a good idea. I worry. I worry a lot that there is such a chasm between families and the school board that it’s no longer worth the battle to decide whether our child should stay in an LAUSD school.

This is ironic as I believe it can all work, always have.  In the past, our son received a great education in LAUSD. But with the combination of layoffs, furloughs, and this last school board movement – a decision that is just ludicrous to me because it’s not accommodating anyone or anything but test scores and didn’t take an ounce of parent input – shows me more than ever that the board could care less with what we think.

Well some parents have told me it’s not a big enough issue to split hairs over, to me it’s a much bigger to-do than one would think. It reflects the future. It reflects that the board has few concerns as to what should happen with families, and that they are too concerned with test scores. What I suspect, over the next few years, they will lose the kids that actually bring test scores up.

 The only person currently worth voting for is Valdovic, who I know won’t be so charmed by this column, because he believes LAUSD still has value. While I never thought I’d say this, I’m really not sure anymore. Every time I walk onto the campus, more layoffs have occurred. Staff that were once the glue of the school have vanished. Librarians jobs are shot. People that worked in San Pedro have to drive to the valley to maintain a job for three hours a day, and vice versa. Next year, according to our new California Gov. Jerry Brown, education is only going to get worse and face more cuts.

Ouch. Be braced.

When we came home, our son, a junior at San Pedro High, asked if he could take a test that would allow him to leave the school district early and start community college if he passes.

We said adamantly: why not?

ONE 10-YEAR-OLD STUDENT CANTERS OUT A HORSE STORY THAT WHIPS UP A FEW INTERESTING MANES; CHECK OUT THIS MOTHER AND SON TALE

Dear Readers:

I look for stories that have a beginning, middle and an end and a plot. Shersten has been capable of this for as long as she’s been in the Seven Golden Secrets to Writing Workshop at the Corner Store. For such a young age, she is a true story teller. Diana

VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE

By Shersten Rosenfeld, 10

  My horse’s name is Chocolate. Chocolate is only two-months-old. He is out in the fields eating grass with his mother, Vanilla. He wants to run and run and run out of the fields into the country. He wants to find a human to take care of him and to meet new friends.

So Chocolate said: “Mother, I will run and run until I am out in the country. You may come with me.”

“Chocolate, don’t run out into the country. Nobody will want you. They will not want you because you still need a mother,” Vanilla said.

“But I want to run out in the country where I can make friends and eat beautiful green, juicy grass,” Chocolate said in a disappointed voice.

“I’m sorry, Chocolate, but you cannot leave me until you are 1-year-old,” Chocolate’s mother said.

That night, Chocolate couldn’t go to sleep. He thought of going out into the country so he could see the wonderful things there. So he got out of his mother’s grip and whispered: “I’ll be home for supper.”

Then he cantered through the fields. He went through the dark, horrifying woods. Before he knew it, he was in the country. It was dark and creepy this night, but Chocolate kept cantering. Finally, he reached a small village. They called that Village “The Little Village.” Chocolate stopped in his tracks. Then he went by a house and laid down. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next morning, Chocolate woke up. Villagers were around him. One yelled: “Kill the horse. We’ll feed him to the dogs!”

One said: “Let’s take him to the woods and let him die!”

But one, little rosy-cheeked girl said: “Let’s take it to the fields.” Everyone nodded in agreement. So they took Chocolate to the fields. The rosy-cheeked little girl said:  “Have fun in the fields.”

So Chocolate found his mother and cantered with her.

“I will never, ever leave the fields again,”  Chocolate said.

“Chocolate, I told you not to do that, but you took a risk and disobeyed me. Your consequence is that you almost got killed,” said his mother calmly. So Chocolate never left the fields again.

Veronica Gray has attended several sessions of the Seven Golden Secrets to Writing Workshop and has improved her story telling dramatically.

 THE LAST OF THE CHRISTMAS SERIES UNTIL NEXT YEAR; ENJOY A 12-YEAR-OLD'S STORY ABOUT A HOLIDAY PARTY AND HAPPY 2011!

Dear Readers: I ran out of time to put all these Ho-Ho-Ho stories up. So this is the last one for the year – at least until next year. I truly believe every child can write – and many of the students that come to the Seven Golden Secrets of Writing classes every Wednesday at the Corner Store – prove it. Here, a 12-year-old writes about a Christmas party.

Enjoy and Merry 2011!

Diana

The Christmas Party

By Veronica Gray, 12

 The girl woke up from the party.

 “Presents!” she said to herself. She got out of her bed and ran down the stairs. The table was littered with empty champagne and wine bottles. The smell of alcohol lingered in the room. Her cousin, Daniel, was asleep on the couch.  She crept to the Christmas tree and saw – pause -- no presents.

“Oh, my Gosh, I hope they didn’t forget to send my letter to Santa,” she thought. She sat by the Christmas tree feeling sorry for herself. She walked to the kitchen and served herself fresh egg nog. She sat by the fire next to the tree. “Christmas is ruined all because of that dumb party,” she decided. Her parents must have been too distracted to let Santa know what was on her list.

She searched the Christmas tree again and then she saw a piece of paper.

“Look under Daniel,” the piece of paper said, as she read it out loud. That’s puzzling.

She jumped when Daniel shifted positions and started to snore. She crawled over to him and slowly looked around. She found a gold paper and started to rip it off the couch. When she succeeded, it said: “Do not remove tag from couch.”

She got scared and stuffed it back into the couch. She saw another piece of paper, this time in Daniel’s pocket. She cautiously removed it and read: “In the place, shoes sleep….”

She ran upstairs and looked under her bed.

“Nope,” she sighed. She sat on her bed thinking.

Gasp! “The mud room,” she yelped. She quietly ran to the mud room and looked everywhere. No paper.

 “Gosh, where can it be,” she wondered.

 “The shoe closet!” She knew that a clue was in there. She looked inside the closet – and there stood a tall present. “OMG!” she spied a paper.

 Written on the paper were these words: “A place where spiders live…” she read.

“The attic!” She ran up the stairs and saw Santa’s Chair with Santa and huge pile of presents wrapped in different colors.

Her mom and dad were standing there next to the presents with a video camera.

“Merry Christmas,” her dad said.

And it truly was.

Kealan comes filled with enthusiasm to each writing class and gets better each time she picks up and creates with a pen.

 ANOTHER CHRISTMAS TALE, THIS TIME A 9-YEAR-OLD REVEALS A SNIPPET OF  A CHRISTMAS FAIRY’S LIFE; DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS  SUCH A THING AS A CHRISTMAS FAIRY?

Dear Readers: The countdown is here. I hope you’ve done all your X-mas shopping and that you’ve let Santa know exactly what should be on his list. One of the students wrote this in the Seven Golden Secrets to Writing class. I’m still wondering why I never knew about the Christmas Fairy. Merry Christmas  -- Diana

The Little Girl and The Christmas Fairy

By Kealan, 9

Once there was a little girl. Her name was McKenna. She loved Christmas because she believed in Jesus. It was Christmas Eve and McKenna stayed up late. Then all of a sudden, she saw an eerie, glowing light.

That’s when she saw the Christmas Fairy!

She asked: “What are you doing here?”

“I’m a Christmas Fairy,” the fairy replied in a sweet voice. “I’m here to give you all your Christmas wishes and gifts.”

“OOOh!” McKenna said with surprise.

“Go back to sleep or else you won’t get anything, but coal,” the Christmas Fairy told her.

So McKenna went to bed.

When she woke up, she saw presents filled her stocking sitting under the Christmas tree.

Don’t ask me about the stunning Christmas tree, because that’s another story. Fine, O.K. I will tell you that story, because I know you want to know it anyway. I’m the narrator and it’s my job to tell the whole story.

When McKenna, her mother, and her sister, Kealan, went to pick up a tree, they found the perfect fir. So they bought it and went home. They decorated it with sparkling and shiny ornaments. Suddenly – although no one noticed -- the same exact fairy showed up as the tree topper. When everyone was asleep – I mean fast asleep – the fairy got down from the tree and gathered up a ton of candy and fruit.

When she did that, a light twinkled in her eye and a bunch of presents appeared under the tree and all the stockings were filled. Before everyone woke up – and after her quick visit to McKenna --  she flew up to the top of tree again .

As always on Christmas morning, McKenna woke up last.

When she finally stumbled into the living room and looked at the Christmas tree she pointed up to the fairy and gasped:

 “She is real!”

Her parents just laughed. Only Kealan truly believed her.

Ava first came to the Seven Golden Secrets workshops only writing a single paragraph. Now she can tell a whole story.

HELPING A FISH HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS, A 9-YEAR-OLD SPINS HER WRITING FINS

Dear Readers: When I first read this, I had no idea it was going to be a holiday story. So I just told you the big secret. But it’s a fishy-good read anyway. Diana

Penelope the Fish

By Ava Pfannerer, 9

Penelope was beautiful. She had turquoise scales and was a fast swimmer. As a matter of fact, Penelope was the fastest swimmer at Deep Ocean High School.

So far, I bet you think Penelope is perfect. Well, she is not. Remember how I told you she was a beautiful turquoise color? Well, that’s the color of the ocean so hardly anybody could see her.

It is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is she doesn’t have to worry about being eaten by a bigger fish. The bad thing is she couldn’t have any friends, because they couldn’t see her!

She would try to flap her fins around to move the water, but everyone just freaked out and swam away because they thought the faint spot they were seeing was a ghost.

One day, Penelope was sitting on a patch of seaweed. Then she saw a big purple fish bossing around a poor, little pink fish. Penelope felt so bad for the little guy. Then she had an idea.

She swam over to the mean purple fish and she started flapping her tail around moving the water. The mean purple fish couldn’t see anything and got scared.

“What?” screamed the mean purple fish, swimming away as fast as he could.

Suddenly, Penelope heard:  “HO, HO, HO!”

“Santa?!” Penelope cried.

“Penelope, you were very nice,” said Santa, who sat on his sleigh with reinfish.  “Now I will give you your wish.”

He turned Penelope a green color, so all the other fish could see her.

“Thanks Santa,” she said.

“No problem,” barked Santa and whisked off in his sea sleigh.

From then on, Penelope was happy as a clam.

 MORE CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS TALES; MAY YOUR HOLIDAY SPIRITS BE BRIGHT WITH DELIGHT

Dear Readers: May your Christmas and New Year be full of joy. Enjoy more tales from young writers – who are learning to flourish with the spirit of  writing during Seven Golden Secrets to Writing Workshops at the Corner Store.

Happy Holidays – Diana

 

Creative Efrain Marquez,7, has some profound thoughts that he shares in his writing class -especially about Christmas.

Santa

By Efrain Marquez, 7,

Santa is the coolest man in the world, because he gives us toys under the Christmas tree. But he is old. Over 100 years ago, Santa was not there and Christmas was all about God’s birthday. ..I like Christmas. I love the toys. I love Star Wars. I love Legos. I love video games. I love my Mom. I love my dog. I love my brother.

Merry Christmas to God.

Katelyn Harris, 9, started out always forgetting her periods and thought ahead before most of us. She now is writing full sentences and telling a good yarn in her work.

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

The Opposite Elf

By Katelyn Harris, 9

Santa started yelling at me because if anybody, and I mean anybody, asked me a question, I would always give them the opposite answer instead of the right answer. I would do the opposite because, I am the Opposite Elf.

When I stepped in to make the toys safe, I did the opposite. I was supposed to make the toys safe, but I did the opposite because I am the Opposite Elf.

That year, all the kids weren’t so happy about what they got for Christmas. All the toys went bonkers. The toys chased the boys and girls until their batteries ran out, about six hours later. The kids hated their presents.

And their parents were tired because they were trying catch the toys so they wouldn’t attack their kids.

So Santa yelled at me and I cried. That was the year, he granted me a new name: the Right Elf.

From then on, all the toys were done correctly every Christmas. I am now the Right Elf for goodness sake.

 SANTA ARRIVES VIA STUDENTS STORIES: A GREAT WAY TO WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear Readers:

My overly creative writing students, who make me happy every Wednesday with their tales, put together some story shorts about the holidays. Until Christmas, I will be running some of their stories. Enjoy ringing bells, drinking  nog and waiting for the chubby, bearded guy to come down your chimney.  Merry Christmas. Diana

Marina works hard during class and consistently churns out stories.

The Real Santa

By Marina DuVernet, 9

The real Santa doesn’t drive a sleigh, with reindeer or dress in red. I know the true  Santa. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen him! If you believe he has elves, reindeer, and all that other mumbo jumbo, you must be joking.

Gee what do they teach you in school these days?

You know what? The real Santa  drivers a motorboat that flies. He has no reindeer or elves. He has a magic wand. And he really wears green and orange.

But I better not tell you more, because you know kids these days. They gossip about this, and gossip about that! Man, all this is giving me a headache. I’m going to sleep!

Goodnight! Wait! Wait! Wait! Don’t cry. Fine. Santa is just the way he is! Red suit, sleigh everything! Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah Blah.

Merry Christmas.

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

Sean has garnered his own writing voice after taking several sessions and always has a bit of humor.

Santa Claws

By Sean Rosenfeld, 8

Once upon a time, there was a weird guy named Santa Claws and he worked in the North Pole. I mean really. He even worked with these little people that are called elves and they make toys for children.

I personally think that this Santa Claws isn’t real. But people have been telling me his story for years.

Christmas Day

Oh, it’s Christmas day and three hours later, I suddenly hear “a-a-a-boo—boo-boom-boom-creek” on the rooftop and “Shh, reindeer,” and then a shout: “It’s me, Santa. The one you don’t believe in.”

“You’re real?” I said looking up at rooftop.  There was Santa. I fainted. When I woke up, I saw a note. It said: “By the way, you can spell my name, Clause, not claws. Now, maybe you’ll believe that I am real.”

LA TIMES

PRO-RAVERS SLAP THE UNDERDOG BLOG FOR KIDS WITH BITING COMMENTS DECLARING IGNORANCE, BIAS AND NO HEAVENLY BLISS FOR THE WRITER: ALL I CAN DO IS LOOK AT SASHA’S PHOTO AND DISAGREE

By Diana L. Chapman

I guess those who support the electronic music festivals must think they’ll change my mind if they douse my blog with nasty comments claiming I’m ignorant and a failure as a journalist.

Actually pleased when some sensible comments in support of raves rolled in,  I included them here. The initial piece must have hit some sore spots as it received 226,000 thousand views on City Watch in 24 hours and generated some angry words – many of them accusing me of bias.

There’s truth to that. I agree and can point out why a column – which allows opinion -- was written rather than a news article. I’m not changing my mind that raves need reining in. I just have to look at Sasha Rodriguez’s photo – the 15-old-girl who died from a drug overdose at the Daisy Electronic Music Festival at the end of June. In my view,  losing the life of any kid is not worth it. That does not mean I will dismiss out of hand those who made good arguments.

But as a mom, and a volunteer who works with scores of youth, the general dangers that exist for teens --who are too immature to attend these events in the  first place -- can be devastating to say the least.

We are short one girl because of what – a drug? Sasha apparently overdosed and died – her rescue partly complicated by the use of ecstasy when she attended the the carnival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. She was one among 185,000 patrons that attended.

For those of you who might not have read the story posted last week, I wrote a favorable response to Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Pat Gannon’s decision to come down hard on raves while waiting for Los Angeles County to come up with some tougher safety regulations.

He hauled out an additional two hundred officers at the next two raves in November at the Sports Arena. His decision was prompted by Sasha’s death and the Nov. 1 fall of an-18-year-old USC student.  The student, Jackson Roddy, broke nearly every bone  from the waist down after attending a two-day weekend rave, falling from the sixth floor of a dormitory Monday morning.

I supported Gannon’s decision – because public protection is his job and kids are one of his top priorities. Still do.

Of course, many who wrote anonymously claim that Sasha made her own decision. (She apparently took the drug ecstasy – which complicated her shot at her survival, according to news reports ). The angry comments were piping mad and I left them here the way they were written.

“Do your research,” implored one anonymous writer. “Find out what the stupid girl at the EDC died from. She did not overdose. It takes an extremely large amount of ecstasy to actually overdose. A lot more than what is found in one actual dosage…

“Tell the whole story, or don’t tell it at all. Stop picking and choosing what to say, to try to the scare the uninformed into thinking the close minded way you do.”

Another wrote this:

“People give a bad names to raves and its pathetic. Every person, children or not, are entitled to make their own decisions and if they don’t make the right one that’s not everyone else’s fault its theres!! It really is pathetic and everyone needs to look in different directions other then the fact that a 15 yr old girl died which by the way more then likely she made the decision to take!”

Raves are fun. With that I don’t disagree. One of my favorite kids that I work with loves them, and I don’t worry about her going for a second because her drug days are long gone, replaced with meditation, yoga and a horror at young girls wearing next-to-nothing at the festivals.

I also don’t want them  shut down completely, but controlled and regulated.In the meantime, the county Board of Supevisors will be looking at suggestions from a task force that include shutting down the festivals at 2 a.m., only allowing those 18 and older and having those of drinking age wear wrist bands so concession workers know who can legally drink alcohol.

While most of the comments were nasty, many sensible folks – who actually included their names – said they enjoy the concerts and wanted to share their views:

--Shahar Aframian, a 20-year-old who lives in North Carolina and will be returning to Los Angeles shortly wrote: “Where did anyone state that ecstasy usage was part of the package? Yes, you may be correct in the sense that the drug is a strong part of the scene, but no artist, promoter or any record label in this scene embraces it as something acceptable. The use of drugs is present in EVERY music event, regardless of genre.”

--Wrote Joe Martinez, 29, of Hayward: “I have been going to raves for nearly 12 years and to dance, and have a few drinks. I have seen young kids on drugs, it is a travesty! But that is not what most of us are about. If you look harder into our scene, we are not the ones pushing the drugs. We are the ones promoting love and unity through music. In the past few months, my group has had a warm coat or a blanket drive for the homeless…That is who we are. That is what most of us “Ravers” are!”

--Wrote David Taylor, 22, who lives in San Dimas and is a producer for House and Electro House Music, said the additional officers was an attack on civil liberties.

“That doesn’t mean you take away the rights of the American people,” Taylor emailed. “Is smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol bad for you? Yes! There is a direct death toll over a million people a year  in the United States alone. And that doesn’t even include all the murder, crime, drunk driving accidents that are associated with alcohol…Does this mean it’s the Government’s responsibility to protect us? Absolutely not. This is a free country and we have the right to the pursuit of happiness. And I’m not saying that drugs deals aren’t going on. I don’t think it’s a good thing. But it is not the government’s job to just shut down an event that draws 180k people when some of them are doing drugs.”

As always, the pendulum swings from one side to another. Hopefully, with new guidelines, we will land somewhere in the middle – in a much safer place for our youth.



To see additional comments, go to my earlier post about raves.

WITHOUT MUCH INPUT FROM PARENTS, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD MUSCLED THROUGH A NEW CALENDAR;

SCHOOL BEGINS AUG. 15 THIS COMING YEAR

By Diana L. Chapman

Despite one school member’s wariness that a calendar change had limited parent input, the Los Angeles Unified School Board forged ahead and adopted a policy Tuesday to begin school Aug. 15 district wide  – a decision that will impact thousands of students and their families.

The board voted 6-1 to begin school in one of the hottest months of the year -- mid-August in summer of 2011 while not all campuses have air conditioning. The only schools not included are those that remain on a multi-track calendar.

School Board Member Richard Vladovic, who heads the Harbor area and parts of northern Los Angeles, heatedly dissented.

In the lone no vote, Vladovic urged  other board members to wait until more data had been collected and parents received more information and time to respond to the change.

 “There was clearly not enough information given to parents about this calendar change,” said Vladovic, who is up for re-election in June. “Parents and families need to be part of the process. Though I think that educationally the early start calendar change makes sense, I supported the parents who have expressed to me that they have not been given enough information.”

The new calendar does not garner students any additional educational time. While Los Angeles Unified will start earlier in the year, students will be released at the beginning of June rather than toward the end of that month – as was done in the past.

Besides seeking further information from parents, Vladovic argued that the district should wait for such a change until all its schools were off multi-track, a system that school officials determined later to be a failure for its students, but was forced into due to intense overcrowding. With bond measures, the district has been able to build new schools and slowly return most schools to the traditional schedules, starting in September and ending in June.

Vladoic’s amendment – which asked for the board to allow school complexes by community to decide their fate -- died on the table.

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said the district would incur higher costs by implementing the early start by complex, citing additonal transportation and special education expenses.

David Kooper, Vladovic’s chief of staff, said it was ironic how the board voted after spending several hours earlier in the day debating how they could get parents involved and engaged.

And yet, families were only notified about this as a proposal in October on

 a Los Angeles Unified website. 

“It’s not fair to families,” said Kooper, who added that he received emails from upset parents. “It is incredibly unfortunate for those families who already planned vacations. Now these families have to make the decision whether or not to cancel their trip and perhaps incur a cost in doing so or go on the trip and miss school. If this was done next year, this issue would not be a problem.

“This is a clear example of doing one thing and saying another.”

Should families decide to go on vacation, the district will lose funds from ADA, or average daily attendance. States fund schools about $30 per day per student

One mother agreed with Kooper’s assessment.

“Here goes LAUSD again making a desperate stab in the dark to make changes with little data to support it,” said mother Jennifer Marquez, who has two children in a San Pedro elementary school. “I think families were defeated again and students are being treated like nothing more than test scores. I know many families that are upset over this and wonder if LAUSD knows that they may end up losing more students over this decision.”

Seventeen high schools – driven by their principals – urged Cortines to allow them to begin school early this past fall so that its students could end their first semester before the winter break.

Many administrators believe adding three weeks to the beginning of the year – and loping off June, which one principal called a “dead” month, would raise student test scores. Most of the year is dedicated to working toward the test, which are taken in May. After that, both teachers and students are exhausted, school officials said.

Linda Del Cueto, the superintendent who heads 14 of the high schools that started early this year, said while she’s heard few complaints, she has not been able yet to delve into the data of how successful the early start has been.

At the end of the semester, Del Cueto said they will be able to look at students grades, but test scores will be unavailable until the summer.