We received word from the court that the hearing on the motions has been delayed. The new date is 30 August, at 1:30pm.
This isn't entirely unexpected, given the volume of documents that have flooded the court over the past 10 days. Frankly, I'm happier that the Judge is allowing herself enough time to digest all of the filings. This is an important matter, and skipping over the nuances wouldn't serve anyone well.
Until the hearing, I'll continue to post any developments here- and I also look forward to getting back to the business of educating students. Please see the post below for some exciting updates about our staff professional development. Meanwhile, thanks to all for the support and positive thoughts around this issue.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Instructional Development: Doing it right!
Yes, I know the court hearing is tomorrow. We had a great presentation last night, though, and I wanted to share some of it with you all.
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I once famously told an LASD Board member that LASD didn't offer a "world class education". So she challenged me to do something about it, and here I am. Serving on a school board isn't supposed to be all about litigation- it is supposed to be about finding ways to improve the program we offer to our students. I'm very pleased to say that we are fulfilling that mission.
For students, summers are spent at camps, hanging out with friends, and visiting family. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that if you asked 20 people in the street what teachers do over the summer, you'd get the same answer- hanging out, resting, etc. This summer, our teachers have engaged in a tremendous amount of training. Some of them never really took a break at all, but they are all looking forward to putting that training to use in teaching our children.
Last night at the Board meeting, Asst. Superintendent Gallagher detailed the extensive set of workshops and courses our teachers attended this summer. Members of our staff were selected to attend workshops hosted by the Stanford d. School, the Nueva Design Institute, and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. We also then hosted numerous workshops, where teachers shared what they'd learned at these conferences, as well as developed plans for the coming year, including the adoption of the Common Core Standards, Transitional Kindergarten, and iLearn, our in-house technology integration workshop.
I'm also excited about some of the new positions we've filled, including an Innovation Coach, our STEM Coach, and our Technology Coach. I do not know of another district that is our size that is investing this heavily in professional development.
A special nod to our friends over at Google. Not only did they host a Google Apps workshop that drew quite a number of our teachers (on their own time), but a member of their Education Team also helped facilitate our iLearn workshops. Perhaps most generously, they also donated hundreds of ChromeBooks to the District. Given the extremely high cost of Apple notebooks, this is a great way to help us deliver technology-based instruction to our students in a very different way.
I point all of this out, because I'm immensely proud of the work we are doing. As the #1 school district in the State of California, it would be easy to leave things as they are. Ms. Gallagher, though, has been leading the charge and challenging us to innovate. They're hard at work setting up the metrics we need to measure the impact of these programs, and rolling them out to the students.
So this year, as you guide your young ones back into the classroom, take a moment to thank our staff for all the work they've been doing while our kids enjoyed their summer break. The results this year promise to be very exciting!
----------
I once famously told an LASD Board member that LASD didn't offer a "world class education". So she challenged me to do something about it, and here I am. Serving on a school board isn't supposed to be all about litigation- it is supposed to be about finding ways to improve the program we offer to our students. I'm very pleased to say that we are fulfilling that mission.
For students, summers are spent at camps, hanging out with friends, and visiting family. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that if you asked 20 people in the street what teachers do over the summer, you'd get the same answer- hanging out, resting, etc. This summer, our teachers have engaged in a tremendous amount of training. Some of them never really took a break at all, but they are all looking forward to putting that training to use in teaching our children.
Last night at the Board meeting, Asst. Superintendent Gallagher detailed the extensive set of workshops and courses our teachers attended this summer. Members of our staff were selected to attend workshops hosted by the Stanford d. School, the Nueva Design Institute, and the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. We also then hosted numerous workshops, where teachers shared what they'd learned at these conferences, as well as developed plans for the coming year, including the adoption of the Common Core Standards, Transitional Kindergarten, and iLearn, our in-house technology integration workshop.
I'm also excited about some of the new positions we've filled, including an Innovation Coach, our STEM Coach, and our Technology Coach. I do not know of another district that is our size that is investing this heavily in professional development.
A special nod to our friends over at Google. Not only did they host a Google Apps workshop that drew quite a number of our teachers (on their own time), but a member of their Education Team also helped facilitate our iLearn workshops. Perhaps most generously, they also donated hundreds of ChromeBooks to the District. Given the extremely high cost of Apple notebooks, this is a great way to help us deliver technology-based instruction to our students in a very different way.
I point all of this out, because I'm immensely proud of the work we are doing. As the #1 school district in the State of California, it would be easy to leave things as they are. Ms. Gallagher, though, has been leading the charge and challenging us to innovate. They're hard at work setting up the metrics we need to measure the impact of these programs, and rolling them out to the students.
So this year, as you guide your young ones back into the classroom, take a moment to thank our staff for all the work they've been doing while our kids enjoyed their summer break. The results this year promise to be very exciting!
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Updated @1:45pm, 8/14/2012: I forgot to mention that the District held 4 Innovation in Education events last year, and we are planning on 4 more this year. During these events, we host educators from districts near and far (including attendees from as far away as Brazil and the UK). These folks come to see what LASD is doing, and what makes our model so successful. It is always nice to be recognized, but I'm especially proud of the way our staff is "walking the walk"- making it a core part of our mission not only to revolutionize learning for our students, but to share that knowledge with the rest of the education community. Well done!
Monday, August 13, 2012
BCS Opposes Amicus Briefs
BCS has filed papers with the court opposing the Amicus briefs filed by the Huttlinger Alliance for Education, the California School Board Association, and the Association of California School Administratiors. I've written previously welcoming these briefs.
The Huttlinger Alliance is a newly formed group, and the add a perspective to this discussion that the District does not always bring.
The CSBA and ACSA are both statewide bodies that are widely recognized as the leading organizations in their respective areas. For BCS to suggest that their opinions are not relevant is foolish, and it diminishes the role of public school districts across the state.
I believe that the court should admit all of these briefs. I would also note that BCS has sought amicus briefs from the California Charter Schools Association all along the way. For BCS to now argue that amicus briefs are superfluous is very strange indeed.
As they say, "See you in court."
BCS Opp to Amicus
POS Opp to AC
Please note: The post below detailing BCS demands for $1.3m legal fees is also new. I don't usually post several in a row, but readers will want to take a moment with that information as well.
The Huttlinger Alliance is a newly formed group, and the add a perspective to this discussion that the District does not always bring.
The CSBA and ACSA are both statewide bodies that are widely recognized as the leading organizations in their respective areas. For BCS to suggest that their opinions are not relevant is foolish, and it diminishes the role of public school districts across the state.
I believe that the court should admit all of these briefs. I would also note that BCS has sought amicus briefs from the California Charter Schools Association all along the way. For BCS to now argue that amicus briefs are superfluous is very strange indeed.
As they say, "See you in court."
BCS Opp to Amicus
POS Opp to AC
Please note: The post below detailing BCS demands for $1.3m legal fees is also new. I don't usually post several in a row, but readers will want to take a moment with that information as well.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Bullis Demands Even More
On Friday, Bullis attorneys file motions with the court seeking attorney fees from the 2019-10 lawsuit.
The basis of their motion is the "Private Attorney General Doctrine". As I understand it, that law allows parties to a lawsuit to recover their costs in certain circumstances.
I'm not going to debate the merits of the suit here- again, I prefer that those arguments be made in front of a judge. However, I will point out the foolishness of bringing such a motion.
Throughout the past several years, BCS has asserted that they want to be "accepted as part of the community". I'm not sure how the BCS Board believes that demanding $1.3M from a public school district will endear them to our community. To put this in perspective, $1.3M would pay for about a dozen teachers. If BCS prevails in this effort, we'll be laying off a lot of teachers to pay for their demands.
BCS speaks proudly of their "values curriculum".** I wonder what values this teaches their students? One of their parents famously told the SCCBOE that they were "educating the future leaders" What set of values is this instilling in them?
Beyond the question of values, there's just good old common sense. When I've spoken to their board about this in the past, they've simply asserted "well, it is our legal right." Given that BCS spends more on their professional PR firm each year than we do in a whole decade, I can't imagine what they were thinking. Demanding $1.3M from LASD might sit within the bounds of the law, but if you expect that the people of our community will "accept and welcome" you, well, you are not very good judges of human nature.
Bullis BPA ISO Legal Fees
Wallace Dec ISO Motion for Attorneys Fees
Wallace Dec Ex A
Proposed Order Awarding Attorneys Fees
POS re Attorneys Fee Motion
** I'm always somewhat annoyed when BCS hypes parts of their program that have existed within the LASD program for years, or even decades. It's one thing to mimic our program and call it "new". It is hypocritical to mimic us, call it unique, and then tell your kids what great values you're teaching them.
The basis of their motion is the "Private Attorney General Doctrine". As I understand it, that law allows parties to a lawsuit to recover their costs in certain circumstances.
I'm not going to debate the merits of the suit here- again, I prefer that those arguments be made in front of a judge. However, I will point out the foolishness of bringing such a motion.
Throughout the past several years, BCS has asserted that they want to be "accepted as part of the community". I'm not sure how the BCS Board believes that demanding $1.3M from a public school district will endear them to our community. To put this in perspective, $1.3M would pay for about a dozen teachers. If BCS prevails in this effort, we'll be laying off a lot of teachers to pay for their demands.
BCS speaks proudly of their "values curriculum".** I wonder what values this teaches their students? One of their parents famously told the SCCBOE that they were "educating the future leaders" What set of values is this instilling in them?
Beyond the question of values, there's just good old common sense. When I've spoken to their board about this in the past, they've simply asserted "well, it is our legal right." Given that BCS spends more on their professional PR firm each year than we do in a whole decade, I can't imagine what they were thinking. Demanding $1.3M from LASD might sit within the bounds of the law, but if you expect that the people of our community will "accept and welcome" you, well, you are not very good judges of human nature.
Bullis BPA ISO Legal Fees
Wallace Dec ISO Motion for Attorneys Fees
Wallace Dec Ex A
Proposed Order Awarding Attorneys Fees
POS re Attorneys Fee Motion
** I'm always somewhat annoyed when BCS hypes parts of their program that have existed within the LASD program for years, or even decades. It's one thing to mimic our program and call it "new". It is hypocritical to mimic us, call it unique, and then tell your kids what great values you're teaching them.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Court Date Approaches - Aug 15th
Because I've been pinged by a couple of community members, I thought I'd put a reminder out there about the upcoming court date. On Wednesday, August 15th, 2012, we will be heard in Judge Lucas' courtroom (Department 2). The hearing should begin at 9:00 am.
Please note that with the recent flurry of activity, it is possible that the court date will change. I'll try to update here if I become aware of a change in schedule.
Please note that with the recent flurry of activity, it is possible that the court date will change. I'll try to update here if I become aware of a change in schedule.
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