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The Future is Positive for PUSD Schools

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"The state of the district is good and the future is positive." Those words were spoken by PUSD School Board President Lawrence Torres on the night of April 4 at Sierra Madre Middle School. His speech was the main event at the annual State of the Schools presentation which was attended by parents, administrators, school board members, and staff. Torres updated us on our finances and gave us an overview of the financial health of the district. We were also reminded that Measure J passed with 70% of the vote! Thank you, voters! The event itself, as I experienced it, while sitting in the front row of the auditorium next to a representative from Congresswoman Judy Chu’s office and Senator Portantino’s office, was a simple, yet powerful reminder that democracy isn't possible without participants. Sitting in the audience amongst friends and colleagues I took notes as Torres spoke. A few facts intrigued me: We will meet our fiscal obligations for the next three y...
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Eliot Arts is Performing Hairspray!

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The Altadena Eliot Arts drama department is working on their new musical production, Hairspray! It will be performed in the Eliot auditorium in May! If you loved Alice in Wonderland in 2018, you'll love Hairspray! Eliot has its own costume shop and the costumes are handmade or up cycled. These students are learning the art of costuming. They need our support and they have a handy  gofundme  campaign. Let's click and give!   https://www.gofundme.com/eliotartsdrama Eliot students designing Hairspray costumes As Eliot parent Isabelle Skidmore just mentioned in her facebook post, "Last year we wowed audiences with dazzling costumes in the style of Chagall and the bauhaus. This year our show will be influenced by 1960s Sister Mary Corita Kent, Rosalyn Drexler and Idelle Weber." Go Eliot Arts!   #Eliot4Hairspray Ms. Courtney instructing students on design and sewing. She's also our PTSA President.  Alice costume 2018 Alice...
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Prada Shoes or Public Schools

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The dollar bill was on the sidewalk and in one swoop I grabbed it and pocketed it for our school annual fund. Every dollar counts. Our annual fund committee is comprised of parents and we count the dollars and cents carefully and often. We think of clever ways to raise money. Money is scarce, or is it? It surprises me how hard it is to raise money for a public school. We live in a school district in a city with no parcel tax to support our public schools. (A parcel tax was on the ballot in 2010 that would have assessed each home $120 per year to support our public schools. It didn't pass.) Our annual fund is brand new and when we initially set our goal of $50,000 I felt a lump in my throat, "Can we make it?" The answer is yes, we are halfway there. I am happy that our committee never stops working. We have school-wide efforts, we make food to sell, we ask parents and community members for monthly contributions and we create interesting events where we can ch...
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Eliot Mural Tour!

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Please join us. All artists will be there to discuss their murals painted on the walls of the magnificent school, Eliot Arts Magnet Academy. This is a chance to walk through the halls of Eliot and see the great architecture, too! Where: Eliot Arts Magnet Academy When: February 6, 2019 at 5pm Tickets are $5 and children are free!
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LA Strike: LeighAnn is Downtown on Strike

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"We are fighting for what's right against a wealthy banker Superintendent with no education experience. It's hard not being with my students and doing what I love but this is important" - LeighAnn Samuel Democracy is not a business. LATimes: Teachers also marched on the downtown offices of the California Charter Schools Assn., surrounding the office tower clad in the union’s bright red. Caputo-Pearl has called for a moratorium on new charters, which are privately operated, mostly nonunion and compete with district-run schools for students and the funding that follows them. Charters now enroll about 1 in 5 district students.
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Strike Ready: Not Just For LAUSD But The Future Of Public Education

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Sign ready for Strike tomorrow Tomorrow marks the first strike in LAUSD in 30 years. I have been a teacher in the district for 20 years. I love being a teacher and after the experience I have gained and  having my own children in public schools, I am now a public education advocate. Why is there a need to dedicate hours and hours of my life after working full time as a teacher to this cause? Because public education is under attack.  UTLA (United Teachers of Los Angeles) realizes this and as the largest school district in the state and second largest in the country, there is a desperate need to get the word out and take a stand. Peter Greene writes in a Forbes article that this is a different type of strike.   He points out that unfortunately we can no longer assume that the powers that be want a healthy public school system.  If they break it down enough, they can open the doors to unregulated charters  where they can drain public money and run schools...
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Who gets to speak on the sidewalk?

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When the LAUSD school board picked Austin Beutner as the superintendent they brought LAUSD closer to privatization.  LAUSD teachers are about to strike.  From today's Washington Post: "The union says Beutner and school board members who voted him in are trying to privatize the district, encouraging school closures and flipping public schools into charters. Charter schools are privately operated public schools that compete for students and the funds they bring in. Is privatization of public schools good or bad? In order to have a factual discussion about the privatization of schools it's worth researching the current attempts to privatize our public spaces.  Here is a good article about the privatization of sidewalks. "Stop Privatizing Our Public Spaces" “A sidewalk is a quintessentially American public space,” said CRE Chief Counsel Nate Kellum. “Montgomery County’s policy of letting a private company control the sidewalks and banning religious...
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