The first thing homebuyers often ask their realtor is, "What are the schools like?" That's because a successful school indicates more than just a solid education for the children it serves -- it also means a strong community and a safe neighborhood. Even if you aren't a parent yourself, a strong public education system is essential to the success of our city. Schools are where we lay the foundation for the future, and we want that future to be one where all Angelenos have the opportunity to thrive.
One of the building blocks of an effective public school system is a close connection between schools, communities, and families. Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a conversation with community members hosted by Families in Schools (FIS), a non-profit group committed to strengthening the critical school-community-family triangle. As a long-time supporter of parent engagement and parent choice, I applaud the pioneering work of FIS. A leader in this field, they have implemented parent involvement programs that yield real results. FIS is helping us to achieve our goal of a thriving public education system.
As we all know, a parent is a child's first teacher. When a school system values and respects this relationship and welcomes parents as equal partners in their child's education, we are all better able to nurture a lifelong love of learning and achievement. Since 2001, FIS has offered a continuum of programs from pre-K to high school, enabling parents to do just that: aid in the learning process, advocate for their child's education, and work as allies with their public schools.
Building a strong city begins in our schools, but we need our communities to support them and be invested in their success. The bottom line is that when schools produce low-test scores and high dropout rates, we are setting ourselves up for high unemployment and low productivity, not to mention elevated crime rates and a whole host of societal ills. By creating strong communities around our schools, we can anchor our neighborhoods in a culture of achievement from kindergarten to college and beyond.
One day, I hope realtors will say with confidence that every home in Los Angeles -- from the East Valley to the South Bay -- is near a good school, in a safe neighborhood, and part of a strong community.
Follow Antonio Villaraigosa on Twitter: www.twitter.com/villaraigosa
Arianna Huffington: Hola: Introducing HuffPost LatinoVoices
Kathy Buckworth: Happy, Who's Happy?
School reflect the neighborhood, not the other way around.
As soon as folks realize that they can begin the process of dealing with it.
#Poverty
All parents, regardless of income or zip code, should be able to expect a quality education for their child, preparing them for college and a 21st century career. Parents should be able to pursue the best learning environment for their child--traditional, charter, magnet, pilot. Teachers & principals should be trained & expected to welcome parents.
Before saying "parents don't care" or "teachers should do more", we need to examine the barriers to partnership. For example, in LAUSD, there is no "official" policy requiring parent-teacher conferences take place. How can we require parents to attend if there's no requirement that one even happen? This and limited teacher support to engage parents are significant barriers.
Partnerships between parents and teachers can & do exist. I am an example. My parents were low-income but always expected me go to college. They couldn't afford to take me on college visits so my teacher did. After 3 days and 7 colleges, I decide on Pepperdine. When I graduated, my teacher was there--the same one who brought me there 5 yrs earlier.
Besides, I don't just travel 4 feet. That would mean I am Bipolar. On the contrary, I travel on the circumference. The only fools are the ones who get too close. Like the ones who try to measure my quarters-such small feats I say.
Nearly 1 out of every 5 students in California's projected class of 2010 - 18.2 percent - dropped out of high school before graduation day, meaning 94,000 teenagers hit the streets without diplomas, according to data released Thursday.
Perhaps more alarming are the 17,000 eighth-grade students who quit before attending a single day of high school, about 3 percent of their class.
These numbers are believed to be California's first accurate assessment of the dropout and graduation rates using a data system that tracks individual students over their four-year high school career, according to the state Department of Education.
State's high school dropout rate almost 20 percent
Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 12, 2011
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/11/BAT71KMA37.DTL#ixzz1UoDVhYc0
Oh really? LAUSD has gone from 3% enrollment in charter schools to 10% enrollment in charter schools since 03-04 and that past year was probably even higher. And in March he said to the California Charter Association:
"We need to reach more children and we need to do it faster and we need your help,” said Villaraigosa. “We need you to not only build new schools, but take on the lowest-performing, failing ones.""
Why should communities support our traditional public schools when you dont? And how does a charter school help the community to invest in the success of a neighborhood school?
passtheclass.org