In a provocative editorial this morning the LA Times talks about what I’ve been saying for six months, which is the fact that LAUSD is in the midst of a slow motion break-up from within.
But the Times goes much further and suggests that, rather than feeling threatened, maybe the district should make a deal with some of the successful charter school organizations and other outside innovators:
Right now, the district is staggering under multiple burdens. It’s considered a failing district under the No Child Left Behind Act. Its middle schools pass kids along even if they have little grasp of the required material; its high schools are too big and unsafe, and they lack qualified teachers in math and science. Far too many students drop out, and far too many of those remaining get low test scores and graduate unready for work or college. Its disadvantaged students need more resources in a state that spends less money per student than most.Here’s one possible scenario for the district: Invite charters and other groups to take over your struggling middle and high schools and infuse them with new energy as well as private money. Focus instead on what you do well: educating young children.
Read the rest.
It’s not a bad idea.
Has anyone asked why, a generation ago, when people like my brother went to Marshall High, LAUSD seemed to work.
LAUSD has been like this for the last 25-30 years. Due to mismanagement of money and not being able keep up with the population growth, LAUSD decided to delete traditional schooling and switch over to the “Track System.”
The “Track System” is for three types of students – the jocks, the losers, and the hand selected spoiled students.
Imagine this, at LAUSD High Schools, teachers have to request a work order to make copies. Then your limited on how many times you can use the copying machine. Most teachers just bring in their own paper or make copies at outside work locations. Imagine when the machine breaks down? Do you really think they want to fix it? Who wants to teach in this crappy environment?
Many years back, I remember sitting in a classroom taking the State’s CBEST exam at Garfield High school. As I sat there, I looked around the room and knew right there and then – this teaching thingy is not for me. When I got my paperwork on the passing colors – it got chucked in a cabinet.
On other note, I would like to thank Gloria Molina’s endorsement for H. Clinton. She sealed our vote – we all voted for B.Obama.
I would note that the editorial mentions that 1 in 6 LA schools are now charter schools but they only educate 7% of the population. Smaller schools are less efficient and offer a narrower range of opportunities, but they have some major benefits as well, typically in terms of safety and and ability of the administration to focus fully on a smaller set of issues.
It’s hard to see how the larger schools in LAUSD can be considered efficient, when at least a quarter of their students (and sometimes more than half) are ending up as dropouts.