Both the LA Times and the Daily News has a rundown of the choice and the swearing in of new LAUSD board prez, Monica Garcia. (Of course, we had our quickie/pithy analysis….ahem….two days ago here.)
Interestingly, the Daily News observed that, “…despite firm statements Friday from Superintendent David Brewer III that the mayor won’t get oversight of a cluster of low-performing schools before September 2008, the new board members
said they were looking for urgency,” and that a partnership with the mayor could be worked out and announced wa-a-ay sooner.”
This is also the impression I got from Garcia’s office Tuesday night.
The Times makes similar observations about the no-more-delays attitude taken by Garcia and her reform-minded colleagues that now make up the board’s majority.
Unveiled for a meeting next Tuesday were eight deeply detailed Garcia-sponsored motions that, if approved, would constitute strict marching orders for Supt. David L. Brewer.
The motions seek a “comprehensive report within 30 days which defines the key metrics for measuring district performance,” and 60 days is the time frame for specifics about shrinking crowded schools districtwide. An extensive recruitment and training effort for all classes of employees would be due Oct. 1.
Brewer would have 120 days to analyze parent involvement and develop needed improvements, 120 days for a plan to get all students to graduate, 150 days for a principal leadership program, and six months to refashion instruction for English learners.
This is a marked change from the Leave-Us-Alone-We’re-Getting-It-Done attitude that has characterized the board and its superintendents for too many years—including Brewer, who talked a good game in the beginning, but has done exactly zero of substance in his eight months as the Sup.
Few LAUSD watchers are betting the ranch on big changes, but perhaps there’s cause for at least a small sliver of cautious optimism.
“…. at least a small sliver of cautious optimism…”
I take that to mean no one is ready to uncork the champagne 😉
And, meant to add, I sure can’t understand why. /snark
You have the right take on this — too many people have seen the confrontation as an egotistical takeover move by the Mayor when this time, anyway, he is very tight to force change and I’m glad there is finally a timeline. It’s a disgrace that Brewer was hired in the first place with no qualifications in education or anything but military leadership, and for the explicit purpose of standing up to, i.e., opposing Villaraigosa. For eight months he has indeed “done nothing,” and I wish someone would question why he gets 400K/yr for this when the school district is struggling, and hundreds of administration people have just lost their jobs, at Brewer’s hand. AND they have wasteful subcontracting practices.
“no-more-delays attitude” ?
“This is a marked change from the Leave-Us-Alone-We’re-Getting-It-Done attitude” ?
LOL.
Isn’t one of the first things they did was cancel the July 24 and Aug 14th Board meetings ?
Grab this before it disappears, look at the last page:
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/board/secretary/7-10-07.pdf