THE ADULT EDUCATION DRAMA CONTINUES AS SUPT. DEASY MEETS WITH ADULT ED PRINCIPALS ON MONDAY
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has called a meeting with the principals of the district’s adult education schools, as Deasy continues to leave adult ed on the chopping block.
LAUSD has 35 adult education centers, which include 24 community adult schools, six regional occupational centers, and five skills centers, all of which have been threatened by Deasy’s proposed cuts.
Adult ed instructors as well as the approximately 300,000 Los Angeles residents who take the classes in the program, are waiting nervously to hear what news comes out of the closed door meeting.
Meanwhile there is no word about why Ed Morris, the man who was head of the Adult Ed program until last Wednesday was put on administrative leave on Wednesday afternoon as WitnessLA reported last week.
Expressions of dismay at his abrupt ouster continue to be expressed by those who worked with and around him.
MORE DEMONSTRATIONS PLANNED
The Adult Ed teachers and administrators, plus hundreds of students, have held a series of demonstrations since the threat of cutting the program altogether became public.
Sources tell us that district officials like Deasy and some of the school board members, have been stunned by the organizational skill with which the Adult Ed-ers have managed to turn people out again and again for demonstrations.
MAYOR HAS YET TO TAKE A STAND ON ADULT ED
One of the next pressure points the Adult-Ed-ers intend to hit is that of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa whom they hope to pressure/educate/cajole into becoming an ally.
The mayor has often told the story of how he nearly dropped out when he was a high school student and how a devoted teacher saved him. As of 2010, LAUSD had the second worst graduation rate in America and, as one former schoolboard member put it, “Adult ed is the single best dropout remediation program in the county. Period.”
It also offers a wide array of job training and skills classes, which help unemployed or under employed LA residents get back to work. Fees for courses range from $20 to slightly over $100, for certain kinds of higher level certification programs. So it is job training that is affordable for those who have lost their regular paychecks—making adult ed the best game in town when it comes to retraining and/or rebooting one’s skills soas to get back in the labor force.
Organizers intend to begin a Call Villaraigosa campaign today, Monday March 5.
Photo by Edwin Folven/Park La Brea News
I am all about social justice and equity. I was close to Cortines and Ed, but I take my marching orders from Deasey now. Don’t worry about me, even if adult ed goes away, I will always have a job with K-12, or as a greeter at Walmart, whatever allows me to buy a new Kia the next time my family or I need a car.
I am not sure putting pressure on Villaraigosa will make any difference for Adult Education. He is part of the movement to dismantle the district and privatize public education. One would think he would understand and fight for adult education and educational programs in general. Remember he got his political start in UTLA. It is sad and tragic that a graduate of an Adult Ed program and former leader of the teachers’ union is so ambitious that he won’t defend the very institutions that allowed him to reach his career goals. I guess he got his and that is all that matters.
Mayor Villaraigosa needs to understand that if he wants to be a leader of the Democratic Party, which presents itself as the champion of the 99%, he cannot support a superintendent who is trying to throw 300,000+ people under the bus by eliminating adult & career education.
We will never, never, never give up. check out the National Coalition for Literacy support and blog on our Save Adult Ed campaign.
http://blog.ncladvocacy.org/2012/03/defending-adult-education-in-los-angeles/
Looks like a plan will be presented to the Board on Tuesday. The principals met with Dr. Aquino and he asked for a plan. Where is the plan? Where is the transparency? Now begins the positioning of who stays and who goes. It is gonna get ugly now.
As Angelino eluded to, Villaraigosa is the epitomy of an “I Got Mine so Screw Everybody Else” politician. Here’s a guy from modest means who used the public school system (including Adult Education) to get where he is and now turns his back on those who are trying to do the same. His silence on this issue is defeaning.
But, then again, he doesn’t work for the citizens of LA who elected him. He, like many members of the school board and Deasy is bought and sold by Eli Broad.
Who elected Eli Broad? Nobody. Yet by funding board campaigns and Villaraigosa’s one unelected man is easily able to destroy public education in Los Angeles. Villaraigosa and the board rammed Deasy through without so much as a job interview. And yesterday, Deasy and Villaraigosa were in Washington getting more funding for charters, despite compelling evidence that charters do no better than public schools and that the miracle in Washington DC schools (under Michelle Rhee)is the result of falsified tests. (And no that info does not come from fringe lefty websites, but rather the NY Times and USA today. Google away. You will be shocked).
Villaraigosa is termed out, but he and the board should be thoroughly excorciated for selling out public education to unproven charters and ruthless privatizers.
And every member of the board who does not get behing the effort to fire Deasy and support Adult Ed should be recalled immediately. They don’t know what they’re messing with. They have no idead of the energy behind our movement and they will rue the day they unjustly tried to eliminate adult ed.
We are 350,000 strong. And we’ve got nothing left to lose. For the sake of Los Angeles, we will busy these traitors.
Agreed there is nothing left to lose!!! These are scary times for Adult Education. Scary because of the monsters lurking around with knives.
Take a look at the Eli Broad Foundation page!!!! That is truly is a scary experience. They make no bones about their mind set, education is a BUSINESS!” There you will see Deasy’s resume along with a day in the life of Matt Hill, his assistant. Mr. Hill comes to us from Oakland schools where he destroyed their adult education system.
As Fire Mr. Deasy says these people appeared out of nowhere with a special agenda that is funded by Eli and his “contractors” who stand to earn millions of dollars by taking over the school district. The Board Members want their campaign contributions and only care about their next job when their terms time out!
They fired Ed Morris because he was strong and challenged them every step of the way. Mr. Morris didn’t play their game and wasn’t invited to attend the Eli Broad Leadership Institute!
Now students and teachers must take action!! Go to the rallies. Contact the mayor, the board members and more importantly our politicians. Tell them adult ed must STAY with sufficient funding, not a bone with no meat on it. High school diplomas for those the K-12 system failed, GED preparation and testing, ESL and Career Training for those who need it. No Mr. Deasy, NOT at community colleges but in their community adult schools!!!!
Save adult education!!!!
I am amazed that Deasy seems to be getting away with destroying educational opportunity for vast numbers of poor people. I am amazed at Villaraigosa’s ability to throw his own people under the bus, but then integrity was never an issue for him. I keep waiting for some powerful lobby to come forth and make clear that you cannot do this in Los Angeles! You cannot disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of poor people of color. But apparently, Mr. Deasy can accomplish this. It is shocking and demoralizing to watch this rough beast slouch his way toward Bethlehem…