Los Angeles Times reporter Howard Blume covered not only incoming Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent John Deasy's (at right) speech last night at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester, he covered the reception and "small-group dinner" that followed the public lecture. Some highlights, as published in today's LAT:
On Michelle Rhee (former controversial Washington, D.C. superintendent who is reportedly headed west), Deasy said that although she was a "colleague and a friend" (he was superintendent of neighboring Prince George County Maryland public school district at the time) she allowed her work to become too political and polarizing, and her rhetoric, while making her a natinal touchstone on reform issues, was sometimes unhelpful in addressin gproblems, such as when she referred to some of her schools as "crappy."
On "busy work": Deasy also called for ending busy work fo students through credit for "service classes" in which they, for example, answer school phones, file paperwork and clean the campus.
On rubber rooms: Staff members, whether teachers or administrators, must be replaced when they are unable to improve student achievement or do not believe all students can and must learn...low performers at the top levels of the district must be replaced "especially quickly."
On tattoos: One former L.A. school board member [and more recently, former CEO of the California Charter Schools Association], Caprice Young, wanted to know if and where Deasy had tattoos. He confressed he had some, which is why he wears long-sleeved shirts [see above], and he has no plans to obtain more.
Blume also reported that the "small-group dinner...included a sprinkling of school district officials and a sizable contingent of charter-school operators and their board members."
I have to wonder what these tattoos are all about, but we want you to know a large number of teachers in rubber room are NOT low performing. On the contrary, many are fine educators with stellar evaluations and scores. A good many are being held for very dubious reasons, and with the efficiency LAUSD showed suddenly in firing an accused teacher from Miramonte, we have to wonder why we are intimidated, harassed, defamed and held hostage before being deprived of our right to due process. Actually, i have a good idea. I suspect Miramonte teacher's will be debriefed. They've already been told to keep their mouths shut, and I bet many knew something was not right on campus. A few must have reported these things to administrators. I know too well how little the court mandated duty to report its recieved. Reprisals? That's putting it lightly. He didn't create the district climate of corruption. But Deasy can end it.
It's time to come clean, Mr. Deasy. If you're a sincere leader, you'll step up and tell the truth---maybe show us one of your tattoos.
Posted by: Rene Diedrich | 02/10/2012 at 06:51 PM