Yesterday, as many engaged parents and citizens went to the polls to elect a new School Board Member, I met with teachers, parents and community members to discuss the successful parent engagement initiatives spearheaded by the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools.
Education is something that I am very passionate about. Growing up in a single-family home didn't stop my mother from setting high expectations for me and my siblings. Riding the bus and working up to three jobs at a time didn't stop her from taking the time to read to us, encouraging us to realize our fullest potential, and supporting us every step of the way -- even when we stumbled. I can personally attest to the importance of a parent being invested -- perhaps even dogged, at times -- when it comes to their child's education.
That is why parent engagement is one of the core principles of my Partnership Schools, which currently serve 18,000 students at 21 schools in some of L.A.'s most historically underserved and at-risk neighborhoods. Our ideology is this: parents play a critical role in motivating their children to learn and achieve, and schools play an equally critical role in reaching out to families and the community. We must work in collaboration with parents and do a better job of engaging and empowering them to invest in their child's education.
The Partnership Schools have been an incubator of creative and innovative programs that support parents in their efforts to motivate their children to succeed in school. Our dedicated parent empowerment staff have created a Family Action Team at every school to assist in engaging every family and encourage them to play a role in their child's education. We have launched programs like "Donuts for Dads" at 99th Street Elementary School to bring positive male role models into our schools and promote literacy. We have also offered every 6th grader in the Partnership a desktop computer at home, and required parents to participate in technology and education workshops to ensure those home-learning centers are put to good use.
The Parent College, a monthly meeting open to all LAUSD families, is another important component of our parent empowerment strategy. The Parent College focuses on "The Three R's": rights, roles, and responsibilities. It seems simple, but sometimes busy parents just need more information and better access to the school curriculum to provide their children with the support they need.
These efforts have been unlike anything our city and school district has ever seen and I want to acknowledge the Partnership for LA Schools for raising the bar. Thanks to the hard work of my dedicated staff and volunteer parents, the Partnership has enrolled over 800 parents in the Parent College and visited the homes of over 7,000 families in door-to-door campaigns. And these efforts have had real results: over 8,000 parents have participated in events at our Partnership schools this school year alone.
Knowing that their parents and family members are there to support and motivate them, our students are showing more promise with each day. Now we are calling upon the LAUSD to set these high expectations across the district, so that more students -- and parents -- will have the opportunity to rise to the occasion.
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I think the mendacious mayor meant single parent home in his second paragraph. Good to see him remember his partnership schools, he's typically so engrossed in the lucrative charter-voucher schools of his supporters and peers, that he forgets the accomplishments of public schools in the district. For Mayor Villaraigosa, no amount of austerity for working people or privatization of the public commons is good enough. While he's betrayed all working class Angelenos time and time again, he's ingratiated himself to Eli Broad well enough to expect major funding for his run at the Governorship or the U.S. Senate.
Another Mexican kid was kicked out of school for a week because a teacher heard him speak Spanish on the ball field and Spanish was not allowed as the Mexicans might be saying unpleasant things about the teachers?
After working with Mexican American students for a few years, I found them to have a different cultural way of learning -- no not Mexican food and dances. I found they learned amazingly fast and were polite, respectful and eager.
Bad parents could harm a child's education. My wife had a home visit where the father wanted his son to drop out of school to get a real man's job driving heavy machinery. The son wanted to be an architect. My wife had 6 grade Mexican American kids reading the Wall Street Journal (It was better back then) and writing essays about the subject.
It takes motivated parents and decent teachers -- neither of whom are harassed by the school district Administration.
Some cultures, however, are more mortivated. Historically Jewish students were more motivated and broke the Gentleman's C at the Ivy League school who then established a Quota System to restrict the number of Jews who would be admitted to the school.
Korean students in my wife's classroom used to smuggle out their English books in order to teach the adults in their families how to read and write English. Other students came from families who knew nothing about formalized education or that education was important.
It makes you think... why do we feel like 18 is the appropriate level of public education? Particularly with the growth goals that America has in front of it now. If especially wealthy individuals who object to having the incremental tax code applied to them, to the same affect/capacity as it does to the majority of America, maybe at least a good dozen would want to set up free institutions in their name. Like a bunch of Cooper Unions. Maybe while they're living, if that's not an entirely unacceptable way to approach charitable living.
http://itstrueitellya.blogspot.com/2011/03/prep-school-offers-winning-solution.html
Jews did well because in Europe we were forced to have all our own institutions for over 1,000 years. Thus, we already knew how to take responsibility for everything. That's why there are so many Jewish hospitals around the country.
We cannot blame parents who came from a rural village with no urban, commercial, educational background to all of a sudden gain hundreds of years of experience so they can fight the LA School District.
I've taught from junior high school through college, and I cannot recall a single immigrant child, legal or illegal, who was not an asset to the learning environment.