Support
.
To everyone who can view this journal and would like to show support for me keeping my job (and another lead teacher keeping his as well), here is a call for the beginning of a grassroots letter-writing campaign.
Let me give you the back story:
5 years ago, I started working at Monroe. It was one giant high school with over close to 4,000 kids. 3 years ago, we made the move into Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs). At that point, I became part of the 9th Grade Academy (9GA). Over the course of the next two-years, I worked with a team of teachers (first by department and then by SLC) to create an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum based on over-arching questions. Those questions are:
Semester 1: What does it mean to grow up?
Semester 2: What is an individual's responsibility to his/her community?
Under those large umbrella questions, the students address State content standards in the core areas of Math, English, and Science. However, our curriculum also includes Health and Life Skills. So, at the end of every semester, the kids engage in culminating projects and essays that require them to synthesize their knowledge from ALL of their subjects in order to complete the task. Research shows that when students make those types of connections and apply their knowledge to a task, they retain more and have a deeper understanding.
Last year, our curriculum in the 9th Grade Academy resulted in an increased promotion rate from 9th to 10th Grade. We had 48% of 9th graders promote in 2006-2007, we had 63% promote last year. Our curriculum also resulted in a 3% increase in California Standards Test scores across the board in all content areas (something that no other academy or subset of the school was able to accomplish). Having done that, we refined our curriculum even more for this year.
I have been acting as Lead Teacher this year and have been responsible for overseeing revisions to our curriculum, planning professional development for my academy, coordinating events/meetings for the academy (parent school, orientations, meetings for parents of kids who aren't on track to promote, etc.), and teaching my own students at the same time.
I should also mention that Monroe is one of four Design Studio schools in the nation. That means that other schools from all over the US visit us 1-3 times a year to learn how they can move into SLCs. In other words, we are a national model, and we continue to be despite a 48% transiency rate (48% of the students that start the year with us don't end it with us... there is SO much moving around!), a very high English Learner population, and a student body comprised of mostly minority/low-income/low-performing kids.
Now, with the increase in class size from 20:1 to 43:1, I am slated to be bumped from my academy, along with a handful of other extremely talented, innovative teachers. This means that the 9GA will lose its Lead Teacher, lose about 10 other teachers, and lose its Administrator. Meanwhile, I'm the only person who really knows what the vision and direction of the academy is and how the curriculum should be moved forward and implemented.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines has said that he wants as much stability as possible for students during this turbulent time. I asked him personally how we were supposed to maintain the SLCs if the very people that lead them are being displaced. His response was that he would have to look at individual schools on a case-by-case basis and decide whether they could maintain a lower "norm" (class size) number in order to retain teachers. This means that if he looks at Monroe and is willing to find a way to support us, my job could be saved.
That's where all of you come in... if you would like to express your support for me and the other Lead Teacher who is in the same position as I am, please write to the Superintendent and express your views/opinions. Some of you out there know just how much I have poured into my work... field trips, community partnerships (with Tools for Peace), etc. Please let Cortines know that... for the sake of my kids and Monroe's 9th Grade Academy.
You can reach him here:
Ramon C. Cortines Superintendent of Schools
Office of the Superintendent 333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017
Mailing Address P.O. Box 3307 Los Angeles, CA 90051 Tel: 213-241-7000 Fax: 213-241-8442
You can also e-mail:
ramon.cortines@lausd.net and/or Superintendent_RamonCortines@LAUSD.NET
FYI -- I think the first address might be a more personal account.
Thank you for your support and please spread the word.
JQ
.
To everyone who can view this journal and would like to show support for me keeping my job (and another lead teacher keeping his as well), here is a call for the beginning of a grassroots letter-writing campaign.
Let me give you the back story:
5 years ago, I started working at Monroe. It was one giant high school with over close to 4,000 kids. 3 years ago, we made the move into Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs). At that point, I became part of the 9th Grade Academy (9GA). Over the course of the next two-years, I worked with a team of teachers (first by department and then by SLC) to create an innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum based on over-arching questions. Those questions are:
Semester 1: What does it mean to grow up?
Semester 2: What is an individual's responsibility to his/her community?
Under those large umbrella questions, the students address State content standards in the core areas of Math, English, and Science. However, our curriculum also includes Health and Life Skills. So, at the end of every semester, the kids engage in culminating projects and essays that require them to synthesize their knowledge from ALL of their subjects in order to complete the task. Research shows that when students make those types of connections and apply their knowledge to a task, they retain more and have a deeper understanding.
Last year, our curriculum in the 9th Grade Academy resulted in an increased promotion rate from 9th to 10th Grade. We had 48% of 9th graders promote in 2006-2007, we had 63% promote last year. Our curriculum also resulted in a 3% increase in California Standards Test scores across the board in all content areas (something that no other academy or subset of the school was able to accomplish). Having done that, we refined our curriculum even more for this year.
I have been acting as Lead Teacher this year and have been responsible for overseeing revisions to our curriculum, planning professional development for my academy, coordinating events/meetings for the academy (parent school, orientations, meetings for parents of kids who aren't on track to promote, etc.), and teaching my own students at the same time.
I should also mention that Monroe is one of four Design Studio schools in the nation. That means that other schools from all over the US visit us 1-3 times a year to learn how they can move into SLCs. In other words, we are a national model, and we continue to be despite a 48% transiency rate (48% of the students that start the year with us don't end it with us... there is SO much moving around!), a very high English Learner population, and a student body comprised of mostly minority/low-income/low-performing kids.
Now, with the increase in class size from 20:1 to 43:1, I am slated to be bumped from my academy, along with a handful of other extremely talented, innovative teachers. This means that the 9GA will lose its Lead Teacher, lose about 10 other teachers, and lose its Administrator. Meanwhile, I'm the only person who really knows what the vision and direction of the academy is and how the curriculum should be moved forward and implemented.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines has said that he wants as much stability as possible for students during this turbulent time. I asked him personally how we were supposed to maintain the SLCs if the very people that lead them are being displaced. His response was that he would have to look at individual schools on a case-by-case basis and decide whether they could maintain a lower "norm" (class size) number in order to retain teachers. This means that if he looks at Monroe and is willing to find a way to support us, my job could be saved.
That's where all of you come in... if you would like to express your support for me and the other Lead Teacher who is in the same position as I am, please write to the Superintendent and express your views/opinions. Some of you out there know just how much I have poured into my work... field trips, community partnerships (with Tools for Peace), etc. Please let Cortines know that... for the sake of my kids and Monroe's 9th Grade Academy.
You can reach him here:
Ramon C. Cortines Superintendent of Schools
Office of the Superintendent 333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017
Mailing Address P.O. Box 3307 Los Angeles, CA 90051 Tel: 213-241-7000 Fax: 213-241-8442
You can also e-mail:
ramon.cortines@lausd.net and/or Superintendent_RamonCortines@LAUSD.NET
FYI -- I think the first address might be a more personal account.
Thank you for your support and please spread the word.
JQ
.