My friends and my enemies

Nick Giulioni writes:

I enjoy the company of my peers.  I like to spend time with them.  I take pleasure in teasing them. I am fond of supporting them.  But the harsh reality is, they are my competition for getting into college.

There are a finite number of spots at each university, a finite number of students accepted. 

School on stage

Have you ever wondered about the influence some parents have in school these days? Richard Martin Hirsch's new play, "The Monkey Jar," takes a look at that question and others.

Locke trip to the Keys

Two teachers at Locke High School are trying to raise $20,000 to take 10 students to Florida.

No, it's no spring break fling in Fort Lauderdale.

School lunch meat

Sarah Wire from The Times' bureau in Washington, D.C., writes:

Workers at a Chino-based slaughterhouse that supplies meat for the nation’s school lunch programs were shown allegedly using inhumane and illegal practices on weak and sick cows in a video released today by the Humane Society of the United States.

Young journalists, Part 2

Mike Fricano sent us this picture from the panel discussion about L.A. Youth newspaper marking its 20th anniversary. Fricano is one of the paper's editors, and the picture shows L.A. Youth alums, from left, Prisco Serrano, Hassan Nicholas and John Ochoa.

School board doings

Dear Homeroom Regulars:

For all of you diehard schoolies, especially for those who follow the Los Angeles Unified School District, The Times Howard Blume is going to offer something new here: a regular report on what your individual elected school board members and top district officials are doing.

The first of these was posted this morning. I hope you find it informative and interesting. Perhaps it will help you decide for whom to vote in the next election. And please, write to us and let us know what you think.

Tough crowd for Brewer

Los Angeles school board members Tuesday gave no indication that they are in sync with retired Navy Adm. David L. Brewer, the novice schools chief who has three years left on a four-year contract to run the nation's second-largest school system.

In the end, board members narrowly approved a key component of Brewer's ongoing effort to turn around the lowest-performing middle and high schools: $680,000 in consulting contracts to help schools write reform plans.

Green Dot school resolutions

Green Dot schools have become some of the highest profile charter schools in Los Angeles.

Times education reporter Howard Blume says one reason is that the schools are doing well compared with nearby public schools. Another is Green's Dot ubiquitous public-relations machine.

The business of kids

Caring for young children, it turns out, is a big business as well as an important one. The effort employs more than 65,000 people and generates more than $1.9 billion annually for the local economy, according to a new study.

Teenage journalists

Teenagers may often seem inscrutible, but Los Angeles has had a window into a remarkable spectrum of young people through L.A. Youth, a newspaper that is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Silence isn’t always golden

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

By the time students enter my class as 11^th or 12^th graders, they’ve mastered the skill of staying silent when it counts. That is, somewhere along the line, the students now in my class, those I had in years previous, and likely those I’ll have in the future, have been taught that success in a classroom usually means staying silent. Don’t talk if you don’t need to, don’t raise your hand if you’re not sure of the answer, and -– at all costs -- don’t ask a question; keep to yourself and you’ll probably float by to the next class from one year to another.

Superintendents go to school

The Chino schools superintendent is going back to school. Edmond Heatley, head of the Chino Valley Unified School District, is among the 12 people picked for the 2008 Broad Superintendents Academy.

Studying environment

Four California teachers are going to Costa Rica next month, joining teachers from around the country to consider innovative ways to teach their students about the environment.

Lawyers mentoring students

The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. began a mentoring program last week that will give high school students a chance to meet the attorneys who will be their advisors. The pilot program started at Garfield High School last Thursday. The plan is for it to eventually expand to more campuses. 

-- Jason Song

Science: not a black or brown option

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

As my 11th-graders worked their way through the long "Autobiography of Malcolm X," I struggled to explain the word “hegemony.” I struggled, that is, until I remembered a lesson that took place in a colleague’s classroom recently.

Spreading a school's success

Very few children get the chance to go UES, the lovely elementary school in the woods on the UCLA campus. UES hopes to spread the luck a little by opening campuses in low-income communities. Read The Times' Carla Rivera's story about the plan.

-- Mary MacVean

Skating through gym class

If you're of the persuasion that gym class can be pretty dreary, try this: Next week, Fillmore Middle School students will study skateboarding.

Pencils sharpened?

Can you feel the anxiety levels rising? The SAT is being given tomorrow.

If you missed the deadline for this go-round, you can take the test on March 1 or May 3. You have to register ahead of time. For information, consult the College Board.

-- Mary MacVean

The monolingual burden

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

My biggest burden as a committed teacher at Manual Arts is being painfully monolingual.

Field trip phobia

Lauren McCabe writes:

A week ago 60 seniors and five teachers embarked on a field trip to the

Pacific

Design

Center

in

West Hollywood

and then to the Farmers Market.  I’ve learned that field trips are both something to look forward too and also a day to dread, depending on the number of students and the location.

A night we've waited for

Nick Giulioni writes:

With finals over, the first semester complete, I finally have the opportunity to relax -- at least for a little while. 

Adding grades

L.A. Unified is considering expanding some elementary schools in Echo Park and Silverlake to K-6 or K-8 campuses. Tom Calhoun, a construction official, talked about the plan in a recent interview with The Times'  Evelyn Larrubia. The shift would relieve overcrowded King Middle School and prop up enrollment at shrinking elementary schools.

-- Mary MacVean

How beautiful

Sarah Puglisi's first-grade class in Oxnard has a blog called How Beautiful You Are. Take a look. At the moment, you'll see drawings of Martin Luther King Jr., poetry, aquarium pictures and more.

L.A. Unified loses lawyer

The lawyer who led successful litigation against a bill giving Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa partial authority over local schools is leaving the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Want to study the arts?

If it was good enough for Josh Groban and Jenna Elfman, maybe it's just right for you. Applications are available for fall 2008 for the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

Building schools ... or not

Join the discussion about the change in plans for school construction in L.A. The Times' Evelyn Larrubia writes today that the district is canceling plans for 19 new schools because of decreased enrollment. Let us know what you think.

-- Mary MacVean

Becoming an American student

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

During my first year teaching, half of my schedule involved teaching a class in English as a second language. Most of the students had been in the country less than four years. The class was rich mixture of students from countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.

LAUSD Decathlon

L.A. Unified needs volunteers on Saturday and Feb. 2 for its academic decathlon. Interested? Check out the information here.

-- Mary MacVean

The first day ... long ago

Antero Garcia, an English teacher at Manual Arts High School, writes:

Talk with a group of teachers long enough, and you’ll hear nightmare stories about their first day on the job: Maybe a rambunctious class, or a schedule of classes that they didn’t think they would be teaching, or not having a key to the restroom, or (more likely) a combination of these and other headaches.

Sure, the unexpected comes with the job.

Resolutions!

Lance Chapman writes:

What a relief it was to begin teaching after what seemed to be a tremendously long winter break.  

More on college money

Here are a few websites to get families started on the search for financial aid:

For community colleges,

For L.A.-area students

Find more resources here.

-- Mary MacVean

Rating teachers

New York City schools are experimenting with a way to evaluate teachers. About 2,500 of them would be measured by their students' scores on standardized tests. Not everyone likes the idea.

College money

When it comes to paying for college, parents could use a little manna. But short of that, there's advice available today at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when L.A. Unified guidance counselors answer financial aid questions on the public TV station KLCS.

-- Mary MacVean

A Week in Retrospect

Nick Giulioni writes:

As I look ahead to next week, I realize that I will be entering finals in far better shape than I ever thought possible. I may not have started the intense phase of studying quite yet, but it seems that everything is falling into place.

More charter schools

L.A. Unified has more charter schools than any other school system in the country -- 128. And two groups are going to get a lot of money to open new ones. Read Howard Blume's story here. And tell us what you think. About charter schools or about this new development.

-- Mary MacVean

College inspiration

Talk about determination. Evelynn Santiago's journey all the way from a 1.0 GPA early in high school to her college admission could inspire plenty of students. Read Steve Lopez's column about it here.

-- Mary MacVean

Funding for schools

School groups wasted no time criticizing the governor's budget proposal. L.A. Unified's board president, Monica Garcia, says there is "real outrage." And a spokesman for San Francisco's schools called the proposal "a catastrophe." Read more from Times staff writers Howard Blume and Jason Song at www.latimes.com/news/education.

And let us know what you think about the proposal. Can schools get by with less?

-- Mary MacVean

A teacher who will be missed

Nick Giulioni writes:

There are thousands of teachers across the country.  Many of them are proficient. But only a select few can inspire their students and fill their minds with lifelong lessons. 

School budget woes

The governor's budget proposal targets many programs for cuts -- and education is on the hit list. He calls for reducing education spending by $4.4 billion, $400 million from money schools had been promised this year. Read the full story at www.latimes.com/news/local/.

-- Mary MacVean

New year, new campus, same goal

Lauren McCabe writes:

After a relaxing winter break in Michigan and on the ski slopes of Oregon, I flew back to California rejuvenated and ready to get back into the classroom.  Unfortunately I lost a little enthusiasm after the airline lost my luggage for days and I walked into my new classroom to find a disaster zone complete with boxes of random supplies and dust an inch thick on all the desks. 

Schwarzenegger on education reform

Gov. Schwarzenegger gives his annual State of the State speech today, and in remarks released in advance says he hopes there will be education reform ahead, but nothing pricey. Read the full story.

-- Mary MacVean

Ch-Ch-Ch-Change!

Lauren McCabe writes:

When I started teaching last fall, I couldn’t see how I was going to survive the entire year.