Back in December of last year, I addressed a room full of Sacramento insiders -- including the leadership of California Teachers Association -- and shared my sincere belief that teachers unions must come to the negotiating table and join us in enacting meaningful education reform.
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have an anti-union bone in my body; In fact, I was a field organizer and legislative advocate for CTA and UTLA. But I believe that we can no longer afford to make decisions based on what is best for the adults in our school system. We must make what is best for our students our top priority. Today I was honored to accept the California Charter Schools Association Elected Official of the Year award. In my remarks, I challenged the charter school community to hold itself to a higher standard by taking on more high-needs students, shutting down its own struggling schools, and exporting the successes it has pioneered to school districts all across the state.
The charter movement has accomplished incredible things, particularly for low-income students of color, but those achievements cannot exist solely within their own classroom walls and schoolhouse doors. We need charters to step up as a vanguard of reform to help us deliver more and better choices to LA Unified students and families.
Today, I asked the teachers and administrators with charter schools to accelerate the pace of reform by taking on more turnarounds and engaging with school districts to deliver the change our schools need. Charters currently only serve 3% of students nationwide, but their important work could be helping all students by demanding more flexibility, more funding, and more freedom for our local schools. In fact, I hope that one day, traditional public schools and charter schools will enjoy similar autonomy so that the lines between the two will be blurred. Only by working together will we be able to ensure a future where every parent has a choice, and every student has a chance.
Follow Antonio Villaraigosa on Twitter: www.twitter.com/villaraigosa
Like all of us, when starting a new job, and then experiencing the reality of the position, it is nice to hear you speaking of finding a middle place, for our education system in the State.
Our cities and State needs Leadership. Gov Brown isn't afraid to speak to either party, the truth.
Villaraigosa's lies, unlike Sheen's, are well thought out and intended to benefit his only true priority, himself. He is trying to punish UTLA for opposing his half-baked plans to take over dozens of schools on his own. He has done nothing to work with UTLA, or meet educators's concerns about the effects of constant budget cuts to schools when he had millions in federal money that he chose to keep for a "rainy day." His lies about his personal scandals have left him without credibility among voters so his dream of being governor are over. He is now positioning himself for a job with the charter companies or one of the billionaire's "foundations" that promote charters and standardized tests for their version of public education.
Residents of L.A. have learned all too well that there is nothing sincere about Antonio's phony smiles or his words.
UTLA Members, If you want change in this election, vote for Warren Fletcher for UTLA President, Ana Valencia for NEA Vice President, Juan Ramirez for Elementary Vice President, Scott Johnson for Treasurer, and David Lyell for UTLA Secretary. Fighting for your pay, fighting for your benefits, protecting your job, and protecting your retirement. For more information, www.davidlyell.blogspot.com. Thank you for your consideration. David
The information herein represents the views and opinions of the candidate and does not necessarily represent or reflect the opinions of UTLA.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect David Lyell