AALA is clear on the premise that individuals are innocent until proven guilty. However, it is not clear if the upper echelons of the District are above the District’s law when it comes to policy and ethics.
Regretfully, the District has not afforded the same courtesy to members of AALA that is apparently given to Board Members. Instead, when an allegation of inappropriate conduct or an accusation of the commission of a crime arises, AALA members are instantly reassigned. The policy states in part:
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There is a great book senior staff should immediately read and then convene a study group. Here is one of the more famous quotes from it:
“And he said…Tomorrow is a day of rest…”
More than ever, Central and Local District offices are bombarding administrators with “required,” “mandated,” and “expected to attend” Saturday meetings. AALA has contacted the organizers of the meetings and respectfully requested that meetings on Saturday be suspended. The District’s response has been rather bureaucratic and seriously lacking empathy and sensitivity:
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A promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. Click HERE for the Health and Welfare presentation made to Board Members at their retreat on August 29, 2017.
The “How it All Began” slide on page 4 paints the LAUSD as a benevolent employer that in 1969 decided the “District pays full premium, eliminating
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Because AALA will soon begin negotiations on the certificated contract, it is important that we take every opportunity to be seen and heard and that our positions on key items be continually emphasized. Historically, these positions are shared with members of the Board of Education at their meetings during the Labor Partners time on the agenda, however this section was not included on new Board President Ref Rodriguez’ order of business. Therefore, at the Board meeting on August 22, 2017, AALA President Juan A. Flecha signed up to speak under
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The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles is proud to announce its bargaining team is ready and eager to successfully negotiate a successor agreement. The team members are:
Juan A. Flecha, President, juan.flecha@lausd.net
Dr. Judith Perez, Lead Negotiator, jperez@lausd. net
Dr. Rafael Gaeta, Vice President, Secondary, rafael.gaeta@lausd.net
Kevin Kilpatrick, Vice President, School Support Administrators, kevin.kilpatrick@lausd.net
Nery Paiz, Vice President, Elementary, npaiz2@ lausd.net
Martha Peralta, Vice President, Adult, martha. peralta@lausd.net
Margaret Prietto, AALA Alumna, maprietto@ gmail.com
The negotiations team is currently fast at work reviewing the hundreds of comments submitted in response to the April 2017 questionnaire/survey which more than 800 members completed.
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Superintendent King was on point, poised, and polished at this year’s State of the District address. Her point of departure was reminding the audience that last year the “District was on the move,” and this year the District will “reach new heights.” She presented a dizzying array of accomplishments, moral imperatives, and in the words of the District’s press release, “Dr. King recited a litany of new programs designed to personalize instruction and engage students from the time they enter school.”
The address was an opportunity to truly herald, motivate, and inspire the standing-room-only crowd of frontline managers that have given their blood, sweat, and tears to
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Everyone has had an experience with the ubiquitous phone message, “The number you are calling has been disconnected or is no longer in service, please try your call again.” AALA administrators, in a similar vein, are calling Beaudry offices for much needed support and assistance and not receiving any response. The sense of urgency to organize for effort and ensure successful school openings is not looking very auspicious as administrators are calling offices daily, leaving messages, and never receiving a return call. Members find it disconcerting and are now
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Welcome back to all B Basis administrators! We hope that you had an enjoyable vacation and are energized and prepared for the challenges that the new school year will bring.
As students and teachers will be returning in two weeks, we thought it wise to republish the information about tasks that need to be accomplished as site administrators prepare for the opening of school. The list below is by no means comprehensive, but is intended to provide a quick guide, particularly for new principals, to assist in ensuring a smooth and organized school opening.
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The Los Angeles Times published an article on July 19, 2017, entitled “New Task Force Tapped in Push to Improve L.A. Schools” (click HERE). AALA is weary, to say the least, of these outside groups being formed to help save the District. The last time a blue ribbon panel was named, members of AALA were pummeled and
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The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles submitted its intent to bargain the certificated successor agreement (contract) with the Board of Education in June of 2017. The association is in the process of convening and providing professional development to the negotiating team, and reviewing all of the particulars involved in successful negotiations.
AALA’s top priorities when negotiating the new contract are
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AALA’s yearlong celebration is coming to an end. It has been an honor and privilege celebrating the association’s 35 years of leadership and service to the District’s front-line managers. The association has continued the proud tradition of putting students first and recognizing the important role families and communities play towards achieving the goal of 100% graduation. In AALA tradition, alumni and active members, the larger LAUSD community, vendors, and business partners united to raise and award $2,000 scholarships to 35 deserving twelfth graders from the Class of 2017. Please accept sincere gratitude from all of AALA’s leadership for being an Essential Piece in this year’s fundraising efforts.
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Board President Steve Zimmer ends his eight-year term on the Board of Education on June 30. We will miss his leadership, wise counsel, and support. Below is an excerpt from an email he sent his supporters in which he reflects on the election and the future of public education. Dr. Diane Ravitch printed the entire piece in her blog (click HERE) and we thought his comments would be of interest to our members.
It has been a month since the election that captured so much local and national attention and turned our worlds upside down. As some of the shock of the initial loss has lessened, the pain of what all of this means has begun to set in. Because we care so much and because we have worked so hard, it is very difficult to let go. And
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It has been an epic month for AALA and not in a good way, whatsoever. Emails have been coming in at a record pace and the phones have been ringing off the hook. It is important to note that these voices from the field are truly multiple voices and not just one complaint from a dissatisfied member. Sometimes, it is apparent that the District’s leadership wants to pinpoint the author of the letter. The District’s focus should be its continuing lack of sensitivity and the need to vastly improve communication, not on identifying who authors the letter. With this in mind, the voices in this week’s Update come from numerous members from every local District. Below are some painful examples of the trials and tribulations being faced by AALA members:
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AALA thanks Joshua Kaufman, LCSW Coordinator, School Mental Health/Special Education Program, for providing this information. Keep in mind, strengthening our capacity to be present for ourselves and each other, and be “in it” for the long haul.
Every time we hear the phone ring or our devices bing, whether sitting at our desks or on the school campus, we have an opportunity to come back to the present moment through simply
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“Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” is a protest song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie and music by Martin Hoffman (click HERE) about a 1948 plane crash in which farm workers being deported to Mexico were killed. Guthrie was struck by the fact that some radio and newspaper coverage of the Los Gatos plane crash only gave the names of the American flight crew and security guard, referring to the migrant workers who were legal participants in the government-sponsored Braceros Program simply as “deportees.”
Below is an adaptation of Guthrie’s song that was penned by a temporary adviser (0515) from AALA’s School Support Administrators Department who was inspired enough by his/her RIF letter to capture in song how invisible and devastating being released from your position without cause can be.
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With less than ten percent of those eligible actually voting in last week’s election for members of the Board of Education, the two AALA-endorsed candidates were not successful in their races. In an election that has become known nationally as the most expensive for a seat on a local school board, two candidates who received heavy support from the pro-charter movement were selected to represent LAUSD Districts 4 and 6. AALA has communicated with both Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez and we offer them our congratulations. There is much work to be done, including the negotiation of eleven union contracts (including AALA’s certificated) that are set to expire this summer, and we look forward to working with them and encourage them to commit to making decisions that are in the best interests of the students we all serve.
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On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, AALA celebrated the association’s 35th anniversary by honoring the 2017 Administrators of the Year, the recipients of the President’s awards, Community Volunteer awards, and the Friends of AALA scholarships at the annual Scholarship and Community Awards Banquet held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Just one year ago, at the 2016 awards banquet, President Juan Flecha made a commitment to award $2000 scholarships to 35 LAUSD 2017 graduates in recognition of our anniversary. We are pleased to report that thanks to our outstanding sponsors and corporate supporters (see page 6), our fantastic Friends of AALA Board, our active and alumni members, and other friends, we met that goal and were proud to present those scholarships to 35 deserving students!
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Dr. Tyrone Howard is the Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been presenting to LAUSD secondary principals this school year on best practices in turnaround schools and has identified visionary leadership, effective instructional practices, rigor versus difficulty, intense academic interventions, explicit acknowledgement of race, confronting racial micro-aggressions, and parent and community engagement as important levers in this process.
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The District espouses “supporting” principals, however, this is only effective if it is the “right” support. Anything less is no support at all. Many principals assert they are receiving “wrong” support more often than not. Badgering principals with endless calls is not the right support. Driving to the school, relieving the principal of supervision, dealing with a dissatisfied parent, or
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