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John Milbauer March 5, 2013 at 08:14 pm
Lisa......and anyone else who will read this......My concern about this posting is that we depend on…Read More Hollywood Patch to give us news. If people want to post their opinions, so be it. But an internet site that purports to be a news site, has no business allowing a headline with an article to run that advances anyone's candidacy. It is just not ethical journalism nor is it appropriate.
Lisa Chapman March 5, 2013 at 06:42 pm
I also have to say that I really resent Mr. Zimmer's comments that Bloomberg's donation to reform…Read More candidates is an attempt to "buy" Mr. Zimmer's seat. Mr. Bloomberg has seen drastic reform efforts work in New York, and believes, with a majoriy of others, that this can happen in Los Angeles as well. When you are anti-reform, anti-charter, and anti choice, then you are not the right choice for the LAUSD board. Tiem has come, and is long overdue for change. Stand with you, Mr. Zimmer? I believe we will stand for ALL LAUSD students needs being met, and we will stand for imminent reform of LAUSD and their fiscal ineptitude, we will stand against the all too powerful UTLA union that only serves to stagnate change and reform in this system. We do not stand for the status quo. You are the status quo, and it is time that you leave us.
Lisa Chapman March 5, 2013 at 05:29 pm
John...you are absolutely correct. But Steve Zimmer has no good record to run on, so this is what he…Read More is reduced to doing....shameful. Kate Anderson all the way...let's reform this wretched school board....
LA Momma March 5, 2013 at 01:32 am
I met Steve Zimmer a few months ago when he was feeding homeless kids. There was no press, no major…Read More donors around, much less parents - these were throw away kids and Steve was there for them. I think that says a LOT about his character and how you can expect him to care about *all*of the students. Not jus a few, not just those whose parents complain the loudest, but those for whom NO ONE speaks. Plus, he was a teacher. If goodness and public service don't earn your vote, then public education is really in trouble.
Deborah Lashever March 4, 2013 at 05:25 am
Read this about why billionaires form other cities are funding Kate Anderson:…Read More
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/los-angeles-public-education_b_2798894.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#.UTQc_h3Jamc.facebook
Ken March 27, 2013 at 01:42 am
I see I have no response. And I'll bet the majority of people would respond "of…Read More course".....
Sorry folks, to the first airport in Oregon ( Medford,35 miles over the Northern border) , and flight time to San Diego (Southern border) from SF are nearly identical. WTH! Congratulations Bay Area...you are in Central California....Teachers need to teach and be allowed to do so.
The Captain March 27, 2013 at 01:30 am
Like I said, proves my point most definately, and Mrs. Java had a burning comment but couldn't…Read More disclose herself-Patch staff are Trolls and proven. I rest my case! Psst, change is coming, that's fine, that's only cause you mean emails will be matched and confirmed with thd person, you know Mrs. Java, like you did - post a comment, "First Name, email, and password-thank you for joint Patch :) ha ha, so easy. That would be better, but it seems you cant afford it yet! Ohh wait, trouble, if trouble is what you're trying to get us into, can we include you Mrs. Java for your Trollness ... I think you should. Common there's nothing wrong with being fair. Let's keep that in mind for the "change" woooo hooo, little baby cry.
LGCRC Coffee drinker March 26, 2013 at 02:05 am
all of you need to step way to the left or get ready to get run over.
we are coming. Change is upon…Read More us.
Lean Forward
Deborah Lashever March 1, 2013 at 05:43 pm
You must ask yourself why all the big money for Kate Anderson. What would Bloomberg possibly want…Read More with having a candidate in his pocket in Los Angeles, for example? Is there some ulterior motive? Obviously! Haven't we learned yet that when this type of backing occurs it is for no positive purpose? Think, people! Then vote Zimmer.
Deborah Lashever March 1, 2013 at 05:38 pm
Please read the following letter from Valerie Fields, former LAUSD board member. "As you know,…Read More I am a former member of the LAUSD Board of Education and I found Anderson to be very uninformed, she has no clear idea of what the obligations of a board member is. Additionally she is strongly for the creation of more charter schools. I believe that charter schools are a thrust to privatize public education on the taxpayers' dime. Some charters are excellent and some are really dreadful. Most do not provide better education than district schools in the same neighborhoods.
My subjective impression is that she is just looking for an elective office and is not dedicated to education and would jump for what she considers a 'higher' office as soon as one is available.
I am also very disturbed about megabucks coming from billionaires including the NYC mayor who has never stepped inside a Los Angeles classroom. The schools in his city are not so wonderful so why is he diverting his attention 3000 miles away? Because a clique of billionaires and some ordinary millionaires are attempting once again to control the district. Just because you've been to school doesn't make you an education expert. Some of the billionaire boys' club are just anti-union and Zimmer, a teacher is a member of UTLA.
Therefore I have sent money to Zimmer and will not only vote for him, I have been urging my friends and acquaintances to do the same.
Lisa Chapman February 19, 2013 at 05:58 pm
This is really sad. This is a desperate attempt to make his last grasp for a position that he no…Read More longer deserves. As a LAUSD parent that cannot send my child to our home school because of failing academics. I, along with hundreds of other local Westside parents have to go out of our way to find a school that is diverse and that offers great academic programs. We want to stay in the public school system, for many reasons, but doing so has become a difficult and complicated process. Steve Zimmer only champions the disadvantaged student, he does not stand for all students in the LAUSD district. For the children that need and deserve great academic programs, they are forced to attend Charter Schools outside of their home schools, like Paul Revere....and then take their chances with lottery systems and the like. All to obtain a decent education within the LAUSD system...to us, Steve Zimmer does not represent us well...or at all. My vote, and thousands of others will be for Kate Anderson.
Richard Landers February 12, 2013 at 12:40 am
Last piece...
From Ms. Anderson’s perspective, the issue in the District 4 election is better…Read More schools, whatever their organizational structure. She doesn’t see charters as some kind of silver bullet but recognizes that they have proved that they can be part of the solution. Voters should look for candidates who support the changes that will give every child a good education, whether they attend a successful traditional middle school in Palms or a successful charter school in South Los Angeles.
I think LAUSD is broken and needs political leaders like Ms. Anderson who are prepared to embrace change. Ms. Roos thinks it is doing well and supports Mr. Zimmer and its other defenders. You be the judge.
Thanks for reading. Richard
Richard Landers February 12, 2013 at 12:40 am
Third of four...
In addition to urging Patch readers to take the time to get acquainted with the…Read More realities of public education beyond the Westside, I also want to protest the ad hominem attacks on Ms. Anderson and her supporters that are often made by anti-reformers. It is truly reprehensible to assert that the fact that Ms. Anderson has supporters who have contributed to her campaign is proof of evil intentions. I am a supporter of Ms. Anderson as are many of my friends. All of us are committed to public education – most of us grew up in it, many are personally active in supporting it – and I have not met a single individual in this group who favors “a fractious system that would divide the education of our children into "separate but equal" camps”. Yes, just like Mr. Zimmer’s supporters, all of us want good educations for our children. (Indeed, many of us tried – albeit unsuccessfully – to get our kids into the highly sought after Lab School at UCLA that Ms. Roos’s children attended.) Further, as citizens, and, in many cases, business people in Los Angeles, we are acutely aware that we have large stakes not just in our own children’s education but the education of all of children.
Richard Landers February 12, 2013 at 12:39 am
Second of 4...
I have been a volunteer and supporter of five or six different charter school…Read More organizations in non-Westside Los Angeles and my view of LAUSD is very different from that of UCLA Lab/Palms Middle and Mr. Zimmer. In the Los Angeles that these charter schools serve, there is no “white-lining of certain schools where only a certain slice of society is allowed to matriculate”, there are only poor immigrant families whose only choices are the charters or indisputably failed traditional LAUSD schools. These charter schools provide a superior education to as many families as they can, limited not by any cherry picking - academic, ethnic or otherwise - but only by the resource constraints imposed by people like Mr. Zimmer, who see change to the status quo as threatening.
D. Jude January 29, 2013 at 04:29 am
ERIC GARCETTI IS A PABLUM PUKER....HE, LIKE HIS OTHER 2 OPPONENTS, JAN PERRY AND WENDY GREUEL ARE…Read More THE MAIN REASON LOS ANGELES IS IN THE TOILET AND VOTERS WHO SUPPORT THEM ARE LIKE SHEEP BEING LED TO SLAUGHTER~~! WAKE UP LOS ANGELES VOTERS AND VOTE THESE 3 STOOGES OUT OF OFFICE~~!! THEY ARE NOT THE SOLUTION BUT MERELY THE POLUTION IN LOS ANGELES POLITICS~~!!
M Feldman January 12, 2013 at 04:46 am
Its an interesting idea. Now, though,who is going to pay for all the computers needed for these…Read More tests? To make the test fair, each student will have to take them at the same time. Where will the schools put them? Who will pay for IT staff to make sure they are operating properly? Who will pay the insurance for the computers, and for the extra electricity needed at each school site? Where are the facts behind the ability to implement this new plan? This plan needs more details explained.
navigio January 10, 2013 at 03:18 pm
Not only that, but CST participation rate is a metric for AYP, so a school that falls below the 95%…Read More threshold will not make AYP (not that that matters anymore, nor that it ever mattered for non-title1 schools like SM).
I would expect ongoing district assessments are used more than CSTs for placement for intervention given that there are more of them and they are more closely aligned with what is going on the classroom. If its true that schools are using CST results for individual intervention decisions, then I think parents should know that (and realize its probably a bad idea). Your school site council should have info on that since its job is to monitor things like that.
In any case, anyone who wants to opt out should also ask their child. They should have a say in the matter.
Louis Educe January 10, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Gail Ann, while you are correct on the parent opt out right please make sure and tell parents to ask…Read More the school/district what the STAR scores are used for with in the disrtict/school/grage-level. if the child is in the middle grades (7th and 8th are most important) these scores are used to make placement choices for high school courses. Many HS counselors will NOT look very closely at grades (A,Bs) because of the fear of grade inflation - unless you can make sure you child also have some non-biased, standardized (normed) test data their placement choices might be limited. If your child is a high performer you can have them start taking the PSAT in 8th grade (but they will be compared to 10th grade standards). At the lower grade levels the CST data is used to also make placement choices into intervention as well as higher level instructional clusters. Be well aware of the implications of withdrawing your child from the testing before you just exercise you right to "make a point"
Shripathi Kamath January 16, 2013 at 06:40 pm
"I am responding to Shlripathi Kamath's post of January 15 which..."
http://bit.ly/U1OGkP
Sylvia Jones January 16, 2013 at 06:24 pm
I am responding to Shlripathi Kamath's post of January 15 which takes exception to a teacher who…Read More receives a 78% pension for 12 years of teaching based on a salary in her/his last year in the classroom of $78,912. The writer cites no source for the information, and as a retired teacher I am concerned that readers will take this claim as fact.
Please consider the following: teacher retirement in the State of California is administered by the state, not by school districts. It is based on teacher age at retirement, number of years taught, and birthdate.
Here is an estimate of what a California teacher might receive based on the profile the writer uses. It is based on the formula as I came to understand it in going through my own retirement process.
Using the writer's data, here is what a California teacher might receive If she/he
retires this June with 12 years of experience, a birthdate of 1946 and an age at retirement of 64 years and seven moths, her/his retirement stipend would be approximately $1,869.89 per month or $22,438.68 per annum. That equates to 28% of final compensation, not the 78% that the writer decries.
Tom January 16, 2013 at 04:26 pm
Good teachers of course matter and I think most of them are quite good. I have kids at SRVHS and…Read More CWMS and for the most part am pleased with how professional they are. Sometimes though we do run into a bad one. When that happens my kids are strong enough to work through it and be fine but the weakers ones suffer.
In our school system it is MUCH easier for the teachers because you have VERY involved parents. We are a team and work with eachother. I hate the teachers union but respect the teachers. I also think there are many things we could do to improve things for students and teachers but we lack the backbone to do it.
John hacker December 21, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I say we arrest anyone that has ever driven past a school. No wait, everyone that has ever gone to a…Read More school. Lets just arrest everyone everywhere. They are all a potential threat against our children. All humans need to be arrested. Now. We also need to remove all threats. Let arrest all germs and bacteria. Lets ban bicycles and cars. In fact we need to ban life, because being alive means you might die. Oh yea, while we are at it, lets vote to support Israel who slaughters children on a regular basis. I really do get a kick out of you stupid people.
nonoise December 19, 2012 at 12:56 am
http://www.economist.com/node/21558281
Is this what you are referring to?
Olga Hall December 19, 2012 at 12:41 am
Have you read anything about the greatest scam perpetrated on us? The Libor Scandal which is an 800…Read More TRILLION dollar scam that involves the too “big to fail” banks, the Federal Reserve, etc. Why I mention it is because the father of James Holmes the Colorado shooter, and the father of Adam Lanza the Connecticut school shooter were to testify on the Libor Scandal. A coincidence?????????????
Daniel Cooper January 9, 2013 at 06:06 pm
The right to bear arms was not given to us so that we could go duck hunting. The right to bear arms…Read More was given to us so that we would have the ability to rise up and take back our constitutional rights when the Government became corrupt and was acting outside of the powers that were given to them. The writers of the Constitution said it was our duty to do so.
There are many examples of Corruption. I will give you 1 example for arguments sake.
We were given the freedom of information act. When Dr Shirley Moore and Richard Fine discovered and exposed that the L.A. Superior Court Judges were excepting money that was not authorized by LAW and Sturgeon vs. Los Angeles County 1 declared those payments to be UNCONSTITUTIONAL the Judges paid a lobbyist to pass SBX211 that granted themselves (Retro Active Immunity from Prosecution).
When Government and Corporations are held to the same standards of the rule of LAW as the people are held. Then and only then could there be meaningful discussions about gun control.
When Government stops taking money from the people and giving it to banks and corporations and prosecutes blatant acts of corruption then gun control could be an option.
catman December 18, 2012 at 08:55 pm
I'd like to add that in the one instance where a group of 16 Jewish teenagers were able to get their…Read More hands on a few guns (and some homemade explosives) that it enabled them to hold off the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto for a full month before they were ultimately outgunned and killed.
Matthew Sanderson (Editor) December 17, 2012 at 02:07 am
Thanks for your contributions. We are now closing this discussion. You are welcome to view the…Read More conversation about gun legislation over here http://patch.com/A-0wNV
Galactic Cannibal December 16, 2012 at 11:45 pm
I voted twice for Pres Obama and would do a 3rd time if allowed.
But I will agree that his cry…Read More looked a bit unreal. the very few times I have cried tears roll down my cheek.
I saw no tear on Pres Obama's face.. why was that ?
Always Right December 16, 2012 at 11:36 pm
First of all, not every American can buy and own a gun. Our constitution gives those that can the…Read More right to do so. Sure you may be able to,with the help of liberal progressives, ban certain types of weapons. To ban all guns you would have to change the constitution. That will never happen period nor should it. If you don't want a gun, don't buy one.
John hacker December 18, 2012 at 11:52 am
Lets arm all children and let them kill anyone they think may be a threat.
Neil C. Reinhardt December 18, 2012 at 04:03 am
FIRST
I AGREE WITH WHAT DAISEN SAID. CRAZY PEOPLE WILL FIND A WAY TO KILL! JUST LIKE THE GUY IN…Read More THE LINK BELOW WHO USED EXPLOSIVES TO KILL 38 KIDS.
AND LYNNETTES "LOCKED UP" SCHOOL WOULD HAVE PROVIED MUCH COST AND NO PROTECTION. PLUS, WHO SAYS A CRAZY PERSON WOULD NOT SIMPLY WAIT UNTIL THEY OPENED THE SCHOOL DOORS AND THEN SHOOT EVERY ONE?
WHILE WE REMEMBER THE DEAD AND THE OTHER VICTIMS WHICH THIS TERRIBLE EVENT HAS CAUSED, WE SHOULD ALSO MAKE SURE WE REMEMBER IT IS NOT GUNS WHICH ARE THE PROBLEM.
NOPE!
IT IS CRAZY PEOPLE!
THE PROOF, ALONG WITH GREAT PICTURES AND STORY ON WHY IT IS REALLY NOT GUNS WHICH ARE THE PROBLEM, IS HERE!
http://www.thisistrue.com/d-newtown
Melanie C. Johnson January 7, 2013 at 07:54 pm
Hi Chris. It looks like the blog is back up. Maybe it was some sort of glitch. Anyway, just letting…Read More you know. Take care!
Melanie C. Johnson January 6, 2013 at 04:15 am
That was the most recent blog. I didn't realize it had been taken down. Thanks for sending it.
B.K. Holthaus December 16, 2012 at 03:19 am
Chris, I taught for thirty years. I never met one P.E.teacher who thought P.E. was more important…Read More than academics. It has it's place in a curriculum, but most important? No. I do agree that things like music, art, drama, auto technology and other shop and practical skills classes have their place in schools too. Sadly, they are the first to be cut when budgets shrink.
chip moore December 16, 2012 at 01:10 am
Here is a fact for you Greg.
Jesus Christ was the first well known commie.
Why do you think the…Read More fokking Jews ratted him out to the Roam soldiers.?
The USA Military goes to great lengths.? Did they tell you that in one of the press releases you call news papers.?
Did you go yo school.? If so, you need to go back.
BTW did you know the word naive is not in the dictionary.? Look it up.
I am a proud citizen of the USA. I am sorry to say that its genocidal elite class is still breathing. But the USA had its day in the sun. The new power is already born.
Send me an email, I will send you some news sources that are NOT U.S. State Department press releases.
It will be GOOD for you to know the truth for the FIRST time in your life.
Deir Yasin
Gott Mit Uns
God Bless
...
Gregory Brittain December 15, 2012 at 11:58 pm
Dear Mr. Rand:
As typical for Lefties, you can't defend your positions outside your protected…Read More bubble so you quickly resort to name calling.
My statistics and data prove my assertions. You cite no contrary info.
The US military goes to great lengths to avoid killing innocent civilians when the terrorists hide among civilians.
That you cite Karl Marx' book, Das Kapital, shows where you are coming from. At least you are honest about it. Most Lefties are not so honest.
Marxism, communism, or whatever ism you want to call it has always lead to tyranny and poverty for most people in the country. They have killed tens of millions of people.
The free enterprise system leads to the most prosperity and the most liberty for the most people. The record of history is crystal clear.
Chris Kiely November 7, 2012 at 05:38 am
32 & 38 both going down in flames. What will those wacky Munger kids spend their $$$ on now?
DO OR DIE? SoCal Yanks Take on Costa Rica in Key World Cup…
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