BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room
3:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 21, 2003

The Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles, acting as the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, met in special session on January 21, 2003, at the Administrative Offices, 333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room.

President Caprice Young called the meeting to order at 3:42 p.m.

The following Members were present: Ms. Marlene Canter, Mr. José Huizar, Ms. Julie Korenstein, and President Caprice Young. Mr. David Tokofsky arrived at 3:42 p.m. Ms. Genethia Hudley Hayes and
Mr. Mike Lansing arrived at 3:45 p.m.

Mr. Huizar led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Superintendent Roy Romer was present.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF INITIAL NEGOTIATING PROPOSAL
Initial Proposal to United Teachers Los Angeles and Associated Administrators of
Los Angeles Regarding Single-Track and Multitrack Year Calendars for the 2003-04 School Year

BOARD DISCUSSION
Office of the Superintendent Revised No. 6 (Received January 14, 2003) Regarding
Implementation of a 180 Instructional Day Quarter System Calendar to Improve Student Achievement

President Young described the order in which the meeting will be conducted: 1) Presentation by the Superintendent, 2) Public Comments, and 3) Discussion by Board Members. She indicated that these two items will come for action by the Board at its Regular Meeting on January 28, 2003.

Superintendent Romer began his presentation by stating that the District's ultimate objective is to increase learning in the classroom, particularly at the secondary level in order to close the achievement gap. He described the three components to improve secondary instruction:
1) Smaller Learning Communities, 2) Periodic Assessments; and 3) the 180 Day Calendar.

Superintendent Romer mentioned the mandate from the Board on February 26, 2002, to move to a 180-day calendar, instead of the shortened calendar used by most of the overcrowded schools.
The Superintendent outlined the advantages of the calendar:

It adds17 additional full days of instruction;
It reduces loss of instructional time because of fewer breaks; and
It allows for the design of curriculum to deliver instruction more effectively to help

close the achievement gap.

He emphasized that schools will move from the 163-day calendar to a 180-day calendar if
the switch does not bus any additional students; the switch does not place additional students on a shortened Concept 6 calendar; and the switch does not force the school to become year-round.

Superintendent Romer outlined the changes that will take place by July 1, 2003, to conform with the approved mandate of the Board to move to a 180-day calendar:

38 elementary schools will change from Concept 6 to a 90/30 calendar;
Less than 20 elementary schools will extend to sixth grade to free up space in the

middle schools;

One existing 90/30 school will move to the Quarter calendar;
One traditional calendar school will move to the Quarter calendar;
The remaining middle schools will remain on a single track calendar school; and
There will be no change at the high school level.

The Superintendent distributed to the Board and the public documents that describe the infrastructure to implement the change. The following staff members addressed the Board on the subjects indicated:

Ms. Dale Braun, School Management Services School Capacity
Ms. Esther Wong, Planning, Assessment & Research State Testing
Mr. Merle Price, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Curriculum
Ms. Ronnie Ephraim, Office of InstructionLanguage/Social Studies Program
Ms. Dianna Masters, Office of Instruction Mathematic Program
Ms. Rita Caldera, Language Acquisition Second Language Learners

The following public speakers addressed the Board:

Councilman George Cole, City of Bell
Mr. John Perez, President of United Teachers Los Angeles
Ms. Bev Cook, Vice President of United Teachers Los Angeles
Mr. Mike Dreebin, Vice President of United Teachers Los Angeles
Ms. Marcia Rodriguez Cox, Parents Unidos for New Schools for South Gate
Ms. Norma Alvarado, Parents Unidos for New Schools for South Gate, shared her time with
Ms. Maria Fara
Ms. Martha Contreras, District J Parent
Mr. Mark Lawrence, Teacher at South Gate Middle School
Ms. Norma Garcia, Gage Middle School
Mr. Bill Higbee, United Teachers Los Angeles
Ms. Carmen Morgana
Ms. Laurie Koerner, Teacher at Edison Middle School
Ms. Sue Crosby, Teacher at Sepulveda Middle School
Ms. Tina Buster, Teacher at Sepulveda Middle School
Mr. Robert Childers, Teacher at Sepulveda Middle School
Ms. Claudia Ortega, Parent from Sepulveda Middle and Valerio Elementary Schools
Ms. Candace Miyamura, Parent from Sepulveda Middle School
Ms. Robin Dickerson, Teacher at Sepulveda Middle School, shared her time with Ms. Roberta Budman and Willis Myerson, Parents from Sepulveda Middle School
Ms. Howard Watts
Ms. Laura McCutcheon, Teacher at Menlo Avenue Elementary School
Mr. Scott Folsom, PTSA President at Reed Middle School
Ms. Yolanda Gardea, Year Round Coordinator at Reed Middle School
Ms. Ramona Smith, Chairperson of the Parent Collaborative and District Advisory Committee

Board Members requested information on the following issues:

The proposed budget;
Teachers traveling from room to room during the school day;
The ability to accommodate the 180 calendar if class sizes were to be reduced to the 2001-02 levels;
The alignment of the calendar with the elementary schools;
Alignment of siblings on different calendars and tracks;
Child care issues during intersession with siblings on different calendars;
The impact of keeping the third week of the holiday period;
The use of non-Field Act compliance buildings for intersessions and intervention classes;
Available evidence on how this particular calendar is better;
Housing and safety issues in terms of having 3/4 instead of 2/3 of the student body at any one time

if switching from Concept 6 to Quarter Calendar;

The number of students to go off the bus when the calendar is implemented;
The availability of textbooks and general supplies;
The need to invest in B track to bring it up to the level of the other tracks; and
The possibility of implementing the calendar at a few schools as a pilot program.

Board Members emphasized the need for the District to better communicate information to the schools and the community at large.

Superintendent Romer stated he will review the comments made by Board Members and the public.

On motion by Ms. Canter, seconded by Mr. Lansing, the meeting adjourned by general consent at 6:34 p.m.

APPROVED BY THE BOARD: February 11, 2003

__________________________________ _____________________________________
CAPRICE YOUNG JEFFERSON CRAIN
PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE BOARD