BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES

Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District

 

SPECIAL MEETING ORDER OF BUSINESS

333 South Beaudry Avenue, Board Room

1:30 p.m., Thursday, September 30, 2004

Recessed to 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 5, 2004

 

 

Roll Call

 

 

Pledge of Allegiance

 

 

Adoption of Regular Calendar - Special Meeting of September 30, 2004

 

REGULAR

 

   1.      Board of Education Revised Report No. 63 - 04/05      ADOPTED

            Office of the Superintendent            

(Small School Learning Communities) Approves a policy to redesign existing high school configurations into smaller learning communities between 350 to 500 students.

 

 

Board Member Motion

 

ACTION

 

   2.      Mr. Tokofsky, Mr. Lauritzen - Small Learning Communities (Noticed July 13, 2004)   ADOPTED

 

Resolved, That no General Fund Money be used for  Small Learning Communities in Fiscal Year 2004-2005.

 

Whereas, The Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles is committed to increasing the numbers of students who graduate from high school and ensuring equal access to post-secondary opportunities;

 

Whereas, Educational research and experience demonstrate that students do better academically when they feel a connection with their schools, and small schools are a hopeful avenue for the improvement of urban public education;

 

Whereas, Small Learning Communities should have a distinct and compelling vision, mission, goals and objectives as well as identity that is clearly recognizable hence creating a spirit of collaboration among stakeholders;

 

Whereas, Small Learning Communities, generally ranging from 300-600 350-500 students, provide a personalized learning environment where every student is well known by a group of educators;

 

Whereas, Small Learning Communities have an inclusive admission policy reflective of the diverse student population and should mirror that of the former large comprehensive high school;

 

Whereas, Teacher learning and planning time are an integral part of Small Learning Communities; therefore, Small Learning Communities develop their own professional development component that will honor all District initiatives, while focusing on the needs of the students within a particular Small Learning Community;

 

Whereas, Small Learning Communities provide coherent, rigorous standards-based curriculum and culturally linguistically responsive pedagogy that provide a continuous educational experience across a range of grades;

 

Whereas, Students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of the California State standards in order to graduate; and

 

Whereas, Small Learning Communities seek out community partners, whose identities help to shape and support the educational process inside and outside the school; now, therefore, be it

 

Resolved, That the Superintendent and his staff provide timely and regular feedback on the progress of the implementation and receipt of grant awards and report by October 1 on all past federal, state, and private grants for Small Learning Communities as well as provide their evaluations and proposals;

 

Resolved further, That the Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles instructs the Superintendent of Schools and his staff to redirect appropriate existing resources and seek additional outside funding in the form of grants to support planning, design, professional development, and implementation activities for Small School Learning Communities;

 

Resolved further, That each Small Learning Community will may develop an assessment schedule as well as monitoring system for evaluating student progress and informing instruction in addition to state and District mandated instruction and assessments;

 

Resolved further, That Small Learning CommunitiesÕ curriculum will may be developed by the Small Learning Community group and be fully aligned to state and District standards; and be it finally

 

Resolved, That the Small Learning Communities will be approved for a maximum of five years by the local schoolÕs governance structure model and may be submitted on appeal to the Central Small Learning Communities committee or local superintendent and alternatively or on second appeal to the Board of Education upon recommendation by the local school site council, the Local District Superintendent, and the Central Small Learning Communities Committee, for approval by the Superintendent with appeal to the Board of Education.  If a disposition is not made within ninety (90) days, it may be brought directly to the Board of Education.

 

DRAFT

 

   3.      Ms. LaMotte - Adherence to the Promotional Examination Process

 

Resolved, That the Los Angeles Unified School District implement and utilize a merit based promotional examination system for all certificated promotional administrative classifications with five or more positions, and who are members of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles;

 

Resolved further,That any circumvention of this motion by means of Administrative Regulations 4213 and 4214 receive approval by the majority of the Board of Education of the City of             Los Angeles;

 

Resolved further, That the Board directs the Superintendent to bring back within 60 days a proposal for an examination process, which would include:

 

                  ¥     An assessment center

 

                  ¥     Confidential tracers

 

                  ¥     A ranked list incorporating a rule of five

 

                  ¥     A process by which qualified candidates on an existing list would be integrated into newly established lists; and be it finally

 

            Resolved, That if this proposal is not acceptable, the Superintendent must submit a proposal to the Board to eliminate all promotional examinations and allow local and general superintendents to make all administrative assignments.

 

   4.      Ms. LaMotte - Promotion and Transfer of Principals and Teachers

 

Whereas, There has been no policy directing the promotion and transfer of principals and teachers from low performing schools (API 1-3) to central district positions after school has officially opened at the beginning of the school year;

 

Whereas, One of the goals of this District is to eliminate the achievement gap;

 

Whereas, Removing teachers and principals for promotions once school has begun disrupts the teaching-learning process for the school and adversely affects the academic performance and achievement level of the school;

 

Whereas, Long-range planning is imperative in effectively operating our schools; and

 

Whereas, If a waiver is granted, the assigned principal will not leave the school until a permanent principal has been assigned; now, therefore, be it

 

Resolved, That assignments, which require the transfer of a principal or teacher, must be made prior to the opening of school to minimize disruption to the schoolÕs learning environment; and be it

 

Resolved further, That this motion may be waived only after an exhaustive search has been done for personnel whose transfer would not negatively impact the instructional or operational environment of the school.  Waivers must be approved by the local district and general superintendents and a school-community meeting hosted by the local district must be called to communicate the proposed change.

 

   5.      Ms. Canter, Mr. Tokofsky - Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant Funding

 

Whereas, The Los Angeles Unified School District conversion charter schools serve District students;

 

Whereas, Funding for Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant (TIIG) is the court-ordered desegregation and voluntary integration program funding; and

 

Whereas, TIIG funding reduces the harm of racial isolation and meets court orders still in force in conversion charter schools; now, therefore, be it

 

Resolved, That the Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles directs the Superintendent to restore all TIIG resources previously allocated to conversion charter schools for fiscal year 2004-2005; and be it

 

Resolved, That the Board directs the Superintendent to conduct a full review to determine whether TIIG funding should continue to be allocated to conversion charter schools beyond fiscal year 2004-2005.

 

 

Adjournment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Note That The Board Of Education May Consider At This Meeting Any Item      Referred from a Board Meeting Five Calendar Days Prior To This Meeting.  (Education  Code 54954.3(b)(3))

 

The Board Of Education May Also Refer Any Item On This Order Of Business For The Consideration Of A Standing Committee Of The Board Of Education Which Meets On The Thursday Immediately After This Meeting.

 

Members Of The Public Who Wish To Address The Board Regarding Items On This Agenda Should Call The Board Secretariat At Area Code (213) 241-7002 or (877) 772-6273, Prior To 10:00 A.M. The Day Of The Meeting To Determine If They May Be Added To The SpeakersÕ List.

 

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