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[I. Welcome and Opening Remarks ]
BEING FOLLOWED, PLEASE LET US KNOW.UM, AND, UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, I WANT TO, UH, THANK, FIRST, I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY HERE TODAY FOR MAKING IT, UH, MAY IS ALWAYS A VERY CHALLENGING TIME AT OUR SCHOOLS FOR OUR EDUCATORS.
IT'S THE SAME HERE IN THE DISTRICT, I GOTTA SAY.
UM, BUT YOU MAKE TIME TO BE HERE.
AND SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOU TO BE HERE.
AND I WANNA THANK OUR, OUR STAFF AS WELL AS THE BOARD SECRETARIAT'S TEAM AND OUR DISTRICT FOLKS FOR SUPPORTING US IN THIS MEETING.
UM, SO I ALSO WANNA REMIND YOU THAT LAST TIME, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, WE HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY PRESENTED TO THE DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION.
AND, UM, SOME OF THESE ARE IMPROVING THE CULTURAL RELEVANCE OF CKLA.
WE WANNA MAKE IT EASIER FOR EDUCATORS AND SCHOOLS TO ACCESS MATERIALS TO SUPPORT THEIR STUDENTS' WHOLE IDENTITIES.
THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED TO, UH, THE DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION.
AND OF COURSE, WE, WE WERE, UM, RECOMMENDING THAT SOME OF THIS WORK HAPPENS DURING THE SUMMER WITH SOME FOLKS, SOME TEACHERS WHO DO THIS WORK ALREADY TO COME IN AND, UH, SUPPORT, UH, THE, THE, UM, UH, CREATION OF THESE LESSONS, OR TO, TO BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEM INTO THE C-K-A-L-A ALREADY, YOU KNOW, GUIDE, PLANNING GUIDE THAT EXISTS SO THAT TEACHERS CAN JUST PLUG AND PLAY BASICALLY, OR GRASP THE CULTURALLY RELEVANT MATERIAL ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PARTICULAR LESSON.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, WE WILL CONTINUE THIS WORK ON NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
SO FOR TODAY, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO END THIS MEETING WITH SOMETHING THAT I LEARNED ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST YEAR WHEN I WAS TAKING MY DAUGHTER TO COLLEGE.
UM, IT'S CALLED YPAR, AND IT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WHOLE ACRONYM STANDS FOR, BUT I'M SURE IT HAS TO DO WITH YOUTH RESEARCH, YOUTH INITIATING THE RESEARCH, COMING UP WITH AN ACTION PLAN, TRYING TO AFFECT CHANGE IN SOCIETY.
SO IT'S ALL OF THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS, AND WE'RE GONNA BE LEARNING ABOUT IT, AND WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, HEARING FROM AN EXPERT WHO IS DOING THIS WORK.
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE FOLKS ALREADY IN THE DISTRICT DOING THIS KIND OF WORK, BUT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GET THE, THE EDUCATORS TO COME AND PRESENT.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA BE DOING THAT.
UM, I ALSO, UM, WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT ASSESSMENTS, UM, THAT IS A TOPIC OF IMPORTANCE TO EVERYONE IN L-A-U-S-D AS WE KNOW, ASSESSMENTS HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR SCHOOL SITES.
YOU KNOW, IT ALSO IMPACTS YOUR PRIORITY STATUS, RIGHT? AND HOW MUCH OVERSIGHT YOU GET FROM THE DISTRICT.
SO, ASSESSMENTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN THE SENSE THAT IT CAN LIMIT A TEACHER'S ABILITY TO BE CREATIVE IN THE CLASSROOM AND TO SELECT THE THINGS THAT THEY WANNA TEACH, RIGHT? DEPENDING ON YOUR SCORES, BECAUSE THERE ARE SCHOOLS WHO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY BECAUSE THE ASSESSMENTS SHOW THAT THEY'RE HIGHER, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PERFORMING HIGHER.
SO IN THAT SENSE, ASSESSMENTS ARE IMPORTANT.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO SHARE THAT ASSESSMENTS ARE JUST ANOTHER DAY IN A STUDENT'S LIFE.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT OUR STUDENTS COME WITH MANY STORIES, MANY EXPERIENCES ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND AS MUCH AS IT'S IMPORTANT TO US IN THE L-A-U-S-D TO, YOU KNOW, PRINCIPALS AND TO THE BOARD, AND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND TO EVERYBODY WHO IS, YOU KNOW, OVERSEEING EVERYTHING, AN ASSESSMENT DAY IS JUST ANOTHER DAY IN OUR STUDENTS' LIFE.
IN, IN THE CONTEXT OF EVERYTHING ELSE, IMMIGRATION, LOSING YOUR FAMILY, DIVORCE, WHATEVER IS HAPPENING IN OUR STUDENTS' LIFE.
SO I ALSO WANT US TO, TO SEE THE LIGHTNESS OF IT AS WELL, BECAUSE IT IS, SHOULD NOT BE THE END ALL FOR EVERYTHING.
UM, AND SO I ALSO WANT US TO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SCREEN RESOLUTION, UM, THE, UH, THE, THE EXEMPTIONS ON WHO'S GONNA BE USING SCREENS, UM, BUT ALSO JUST THE REALITY THAT EVEN THOUGH K ONE, AT LEAST AS IT IS, THE, THE PROPOSED, UM, UH, POLICY ON SCREEN USAGE, EVEN THOUGH K ONE WILL NOT HAVE DEVICES AND WILL NOT BE USING SCREENS, THEY WILL STILL HAVE TO TEST ON A SCREEN.
SO LET'S THINK ABOUT THAT, RIGHT? SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I WANT US TO REFLECT ON AND, AND, AND TALK ABOUT.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE WANNA WIDEN THE LENS OF ESPECIALLY WHAT
[00:05:01]
A SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT IS.AND THAT'S WHERE YPAR COMES IN.
IT'S NOT JUST A FUN THING, IT'S A SERIOUS THING THAT CAN BE USED AS A SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT.
SO I AM, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY.
UM, WE WILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE PRESENTATION AND, UM, SOME CLOSING REMARKS.
I ALSO HAVE SOME WONDERFUL CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION, SO STAY FOR THE END BECAUSE I WANT US TO TAKE A PICTURE.
ALRIGHT, WHY DON'T WE BEGIN WITH OUR, UH,
[II. 1. Building Inclusive Curriculum and Instruction: The Role of Assessment In this moment of heightened insecurity and repression, how can assessments be part of building school and classroom climates that honor students’ whole selves?]
FIRST PRESENTATION, WHICH IT WILL BE, UM, FROM MARIANA RAMIREZ, WHO IS AN ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ETHNIC STUDIES AT UC, IRVINE, AT THE UC IRVINE HISTORY PROJECT.UH, MARIANA WAS ALSO A TEACHER IN L AT USD, AND THAT'S WHERE I MET HER WHEN SHE TAUGHT AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL.
SO SHE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, THE ROLE OF ASSESSMENT IN THIS MOMENT OF HEIGHTENED INSECURITY AND REPRESSION.
HOW CAN ASSESSMENTS BE PART OF BUILDING SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOM CLIMATES THAT HONOR STUDENTS' WHOLE SELVES? THAT IS THE QUESTION FOR TODAY.
SO WHY DON'T WE BEGIN WITH OUR PRESENTATION? SO, WELCOME, MARIANA.
SO MY RESPONSE TO THAT WONDERFUL QUESTION, UM, I'LL, I'LL JUST GO BACK TO IT.
UM, IN THIS MOMENT OF HEIGHTENED INSECURITY AND REPRESSION, HOW CAN ASSESSMENTS BE PART OF BUILDING SCHOOL AND CLASSROOM CLIMATES THAT HONOR STUDENTS WHOLE SELVES? I HAVE THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF ME AS WELL, UM, IS YPAR, AND I'LL BE SAYING YPAR.
AND WHAT THE ACRONYM IS IS YOUTH PART PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH.
AND, AND SO THE PROPOSAL IS TO ENGAGE IN THE WORK THAT MANY OF US EDUCATORS, I WAS A TEACHER HERE FOR ALMOST A DECADE HERE AT L-A-U-S-C, WORKING IN THE EAST SIDE AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL.
AND WE ENGAGED IN THE WORK OF YPR ALREADY IN, THERE'S SO MANY EDUCATORS THAT ARE COMMITTED TO THIS WORK.
UM, SO SHIFTING ASSESSMENT PRACTICES TO COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION.
AND AGAIN, MY NAME IS MARIANA RAMIREZ.
AND SO WE HAVE A RICH HISTORY OF YOUTH ACTION RESEARCH IN LOS ANGELES, AND PARTICULARLY IN OUR DISTRICT.
AND OF COURSE, THIS IS AN IMAGE THAT WAS TAKEN HERE AT L-A-U-S-C HEADQUARTERS DURING THE EAST LA 1968 WALKOUTS, WHERE YOUTH ORGANIZED ONE OF THE LARGEST, UH, OR THE LARGEST MOVEMENTS ORGANIZED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
UM, FOUR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY, RIGHT? AND I HAD THE HONOR AS A TEACHER IN THE EAST SIDE TO MEET MANY OF THE ELDERS WHEN I ENGAGED IN MY, IN MY RESEARCH, UM, AND TO MEET THEM AS A TEACHER, THEN AS A RESEARCHER.
AND IN MY ORAL HISTORIES, I SHARED WITH THEM THAT WITH MY WORK AS, AS A TEACHER WITH YPR, THAT THEIR MOVEMENT, THE WAY THEY ORGANIZED IT, REMINDED ME SO MUCH OF YPAR PRACTICES.
AND OF COURSE, THEY DIDN'T CALL IT YPR AT THAT TIME, BUT, UM, THEY, THEY GAVE ME THE BLESSING AND SAID, GO AHEAD AND YOU CAN CALL OUR MOVEMENT WHITEPAR.
UM, SO THIS IS A CRITICAL PRACTICE CYCLE THAT I'LL TOUCH UPON A LITTLE BIT LATER.
UM, BUT WHEN I TOOK ON ORAL HISTORY UPON ORAL HISTORY FROM THE ELDERS THAT CREATED THIS MOVEMENT THAT IS PART OF OUR DISTRICT'S HISTORY, UM, I COULD LAYER UPON THIS CYCLE THAT WE USE TO TRAIN EDUCATORS AS MY ROLE WITH THE UCI HISTORY PROJECT, WHEN, WHEN WE'VE SYSTEMATIZED WIPAR ACROSS SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND IDENTIFYING ISSUES IN COMMUNITIES AND RESEARCHING THE ISSUES.
SO I TOOK SNIPPETS OF ORAL HISTORIES, AND WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO OVER EVERY SINGLE ONE, BUT I'LL READ ONE BY, UM, SMO, WHO WAS A STUDENT HERE AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, AND ALSO BECAME A TEACHER IN L-A-U-S-C AND ALSO A BOARD MEMBER.
AND WHEN, WHEN I ASKED HER ABOUT, HOW DID YOU RESEARCH THE ISSUE, SHE SAID, WE CREATED A SURVEY.
AND SHE SAID, AND WE STARTED A SURVEY.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ASKED TO GO TO COLLEGE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS? DO YOU WANNA GO? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN DISCIPLINED? WERE YOU EVER SWATTED? BECAUSE DURING THAT TIME, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS WERE HABITUALLY, UM, BEATING KIDS IN SCHOOLS.
WERE YOU EVER SUSPENDED? SO THESE ORAL HISTORIES SHOW US HOW WE HAVE THAT RICH HISTORY ON OUR, IN OUR DISTRICT AND IN OUR SCHOOL SITES OF YOUTH ORGANIZING THROUGH THIS YPAR LENS.
[00:10:03]
AND FOR TODAY, WHAT I WILL BE COVERING, GOING BACK TO OUR QUESTION IS, UM, WHAT IS YPAR? WHAT IS A DEFINITION? WHAT IS A FRAMEWORK? HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT IT ACROSS SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS IN CLASSROOMS? WHAT ARE SOME BARRIERS, CHALLENGES? AND WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON, ON OUR STUDENTS? AND SO THE WORK THAT THAT I DID AS A TEACHER ON THIS TIMELINE, YOU COULD SEE THE WORK.UM, WHEN I BEGAN TEACHING IN L-A-U-S-C AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, WE ORGANIZED A YA CONFERENCE, A YOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH CONFERENCE.
AND THESE ARE THE POSTERS FOR, FOR THAT YEAR.
AND WE HAD VERY MINIMAL SUPPORT FROM ADMIN.
THE ONLY SUPPORT THAT WE GOT WAS THEY OPENED THE DOORS FOR US ON A SATURDAY WHERE WE HELD OUR CONFERENCE.
WE SOUGHT THE PD ON OUR OWN, AND WE, UM, SUPPORTED OUR STUDENTS DO THEIR RESEARCH IN THE COMMUNITIES, IN OUR OWN CLASSROOMS THROUGH THAT PD THAT WE SAW ON OUR OWN.
AND WE HAD FROM 200 TO 500 FOLKS COME TO OUR COMMUNITY CONFERENCE AT OUR HIGH SCHOOL THAT WERE PARENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ARTISTS, AND OUR STUDENTS WERE THE WORKSHOP PRESENTERS AND THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS.
AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE THEMES FOR EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
AND THESE WERE SOME OF THE, UM, THE WORKSHOP TOPICS THAT STUDENTS SELECTED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
'CAUSE THEY, STUDENTS THAT NEED TO BE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE, THE WORK THAT THEY'RE CONDUCTING ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEY WERE EVERYWHERE FROM EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE, UM, TO IMMIGRANT RIGHTS.
AND OF COURSE, THE ROOTS OF YYPR, WE ADD THE WHY FOR YOUTH.
BUT PAR PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH HAS ITS ROOTS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH.
AND YOU COULD SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF PAR AND YOU'LL SEE ONE AND TWO HAS THE WORD RESEARCHERS IN IT.
BUT AS TEACHERS, WE CAN REPLACE THAT FOR OUR STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE OUR STUDENTS, FOR NUMBER ONE, OUR STUDENTS WORK IN A TEAM OR IN A GROUP.
THE IDEA IS THAT THEY LEARN THAT DYNAMIC OF WORKING TOGETHER IN A COLLECTIVE AND COMMUNITY.
AND NUMBER TWO, THAT THEY'RE IMMERSED IN THE ISSUE BEING STUDIED.
SO, SO THAT MEANS THAT THEY'RE EXPERTS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
THEY KNOW THEY HAVE THE HEARTBEAT OF THE COMMUNITY.
THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO AS EDUCATORS, WE DEVELOP THIS RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR STUDENTS, GUIDING THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES THAT HAPPENS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND ALSO TO, TO SHARE WITH THEM WHAT ARE SOME RESEARCH SKILLS THAT THEY NEED TO GUIDE THEM THROUGH THE RESEARCH PROCESS, AND ALSO SOME CIVIC ACTION SKILLS.
AND THEN THE THIRD IDEA IS INTERSECTIONALITY.
WHEN THEY COLLECT THEIR DATA, HOW DO WE GUIDE THEM TO ANALYZE THAT DATA THROUGH THESE DIFFERENT LENSES, THAT IT'S NOT A ONE LAYERED APPROACH, THAT THERE'S GENDER ISSUES THAT THEY CAN, THEY CAN CONSIDER AS THEY ANALYZE THE DATA, CLASS, SEXUALITY, ET CETERA.
AND THEN FOUR AND FIVE IS REALLY HAVING THEM REIMAGINE AND ENVISION NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES AND TO PRESENT THOSE VISIONS TO, TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND ANOTHER GOAL FOR YPAR IS, UM, CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
UH, SO CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IS CENTRAL TO YPAR, AND IT'S CAN BE BROKEN UP INTO THESE THREE IDEAS, SOCIAL ANALYSIS, POLITICAL AGENCY, AND SOCIAL ACTION.
BUT WE CAN REALLY TRANSLATE THAT, UM, INTO REALLY THREE BASIC IDEAS IS DO OUR STUDENTS FEEL THAT THEY CAN IDENTIFY ISSUES IN THEIR COMMUNITY THAT ARE IMPACTING THEM? THAT'S SOCIAL ANALYSIS, POLITICAL AGENCIES, DO THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CREATE CHANGE? AND THAT'S THE POLITICAL AGENCY PIECE.
AND LASTLY, THE SOCIAL ACTION.
DO THEY FEEL THAT THEY CAN THEN CREATE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS TO THEN TAKE ACTION ON THOSE? AND THAT IS OUR GOAL WITH, UM, WITH YPAR.
SO THIS IS THE CRITICAL PRACTICE CYCLE THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
AND THIS IS HOW WE HAVE TRAINED TEACHERS AT THE UCI HISTORY PROJECT IN DIFFERENT DISTRICTS, AND ALSO HERE SOME TEACHERS AT L-A-U-S-D AROUND GUIDING STUDENTS THROUGH THE RESEARCH PROCESS.
AND IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IN THIS CYCLE, THE DIFFERENT LESSONS THAT IT WOULD TAKE TO THEN HAVE KIDS IDENTIFY AN ISSUE IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND THE DIFFERENT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS THAT THEN WE WOULD IMPLEMENT, AND THEN ALL THE WAY FROM IDENTIFYING TO RESEARCHING AN ISSUE TO THEN EVALUATING CULMINATING AT MAYBE AT A PRESENTATION OR AN EVENT THAT LIKE WE WOULD DO AT, AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL.
AND SO IF WE COMPARE THE TYPICAL ASSESSMENTS THAT WE KNOW IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, UM, TO YPAR,
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HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? RIGHT? SO FOR YPAR, IT'S, IT'S STUDENT DRIVEN, STUDENTS DESIGN, UM, HOW THEY WANNA BE ASSESSED THROUGH, THROUGH THINGS LIKE ORAL HISTORIES, INTERVIEW SURVEYS.IT'S REAL, IT'S A REAL WORLD FOCUS.
IT'S A FOCUS ON COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION, AND THEN RIGOR.
WE DEFINE THAT AS INQUIRY AND IMPACT, AND IT'S A LEARNING THROUGH ACTION.
AND THE ASSESSMENTS THAT WE TYPICALLY THINK ABOUT ARE ASSESSMENTS THAT ARE RETROACTIVE RIGHT OF LEARNING THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
AND THE RIGOR IS, IS MORE CONTAINED AROUND ACCURACY, AROUND MULTIPLE CHOICE, AROUND STANDARDIZED TESTS.
AND, AND SO WITH MY ROLE WITH THE UCI HISTORY PROJECT, WE CREATED A TEACHER FELLOWS PROGRAM FOR ETHNIC STUDIES TEACHERS.
AND THESE ARE ALL L-A-U-S-D TEACHERS THAT WORK EITHER IN THE EAST SIDE OR IN SOUTH CENTRAL SCHOOLS.
AND THEY ALL HAD THE TASK OF DEVELOPING A YPR PROJECT IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. SO A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO ALL THEIR BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL WORK THAT THEY CREATED.
UM, SO THESE ARE ONE GROUP, AND THIS IS ANOTHER GROUP OF THEM.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE DID IS WE PROVIDED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THEM IN THE SUMMER AND THEN SUPPORTED THEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND THEIR WORK.
SO I'LL SHARE, SHARE THREE OF THE TEACHERS IDEAS AROUND Y PPA.
AND THIS IS DANIELLE TORRES, WHO I HEARD ALREADY, HAS COME TO THIS COMMITTEE TO PRESENT.
AND SHE TEACHES A 10TH GRADE WORLD HISTORY CLASS.
AND HER YPAR PROJECT IS A END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND SHE TAUGHT IT IN A WAY, UM, WHERE SHE CREATED AN INDUSTRIALIZATION UNIT IN 10TH GRADE, WHERE STUDENTS LOOKED BACK TO LOOK FORWARD AND, AND THOUGHT ABOUT HOW INDUSTRIALIZATION IMPACTS THE COMMUNITY OF BOYLE HEIGHTS STILL TODAY.
SO THE STUDENTS COLLECTED DATA AND CREATED AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM REPORTS THAT THEY PUBLISH IN THE BOYLE HEIGHTS BEAT.
AND THEN, UM, THE NEXT TEACHER THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT IS, UM, JOANNE Y OH, I WENT FORWARD.
SO JOANNE YEE IS, IF THIS IS OKAY HERE.
UM, JOAN D UM, WANTED TO COUNTER THE DEFICIT NOTIONS THAT IN SOUTH CENTRAL THERE AREN'T ANY ELDERS THAT HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER THE EXCELLENCE AND HISTORY THAT, THAT EXIST IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
SO SHE WORKED WITH COMMUNITY COALITION TO IDENTIFY ELDERS THAT HAVE THOSE RICH HISTORIES AND PARTNERED ELDERS WITH STUDENTS TO CREATE A REPOSITORY OF, OR ORAL HISTORIES.
SO THIS WAS AN END OF SEMESTER YPAR PROJECT FOR HER HISTORY CLASS.
AND THEN FINALLY IN A DRAMA CLASS, THIS IS A WHOLE CLASS, UM, PROJECT WHERE ALL STUDENTS WERE ENGAGED IN THIS YPAR PROJECT WHERE THEY IDENTIFY LEADERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THIS DRAMA CLASS.
DRAFTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR LEADERS LIKE SMO, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THE 1968 WALKOUTS.
AND IT, THAT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SHE'S TEACHING THIS AT ROOSEVELT HIGH, AND SHE PARTNERED WITH ABOUT PRODUCTIONS TO HELP THE KIDS THEN CREATE A SCRIPT, AND THEN THEY WOULD PERFORM THIS PLAY.
AND THE KIDS HAD DIFFERENT ROLES LIKE PRODUCING, CREATING COSTUMES, AND THEY PRODU THEY PERFORMED THIS PLAY AT, UM, ROOSEVELT IN THE DAYTIME FOR THE SCHOOL, AND ALSO IN THE EVENING WHERE THEY ALSO INVITE THE ELDERS IN.
AND SO IF WE, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT DO TEACHERS NEED, I'M GONNA GO BACK, WHAT DO TEACHERS NEED? UM, AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE? IF WE COMPARE AND CONTRAST, IF YOU LOOK AT THE EXAMPLES THAT I'VE SHOWN YOU, THESE TEACHERS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER, EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T AT THE SAME CAMPUS, THEY WERE CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER AND THEY HAD SUPPORT YEAR ROUND.
SO SOMETHING LIKE A MICRO-CREDENTIAL IN THE DISTRICT THAT OFFERS THE ETHNIC STUDIES VISION FOR, UM, RESEARCH PRACTICES WOULD, WOULD REALLY BE BENEFICIAL FOR TEACHERS ENGAGING IN THIS WORK.
AND ANOTHER IDEA, IF YOU NOTICE THE TEA, THE EXAMPLES THAT I SHARED WITH YOU IS ALL OF THE TEACHERS PARTNERED WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORTED THE KIDS IN THEIR RESEARCH.
SO TO HAVE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES THAT CAN SUPPORT TEACHERS IN IDENTIFYING, UM, THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN HELP STUDENTS BE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR, IN THEIR PROJECTS.
AND THEN TO DEVELOP, UM, VERTICAL LIT LITERACY, UH, PRACTICES FROM, FROM THE KINDERGARTEN LEVEL ALL THE WAY TO THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON RESEARCH SKILLS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT SKILLS FOR EVERY KINDERGARTENER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD, MIDDLE
[00:20:01]
TO THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, SO THAT WHEN THEY GET TO THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, IT'S NOT A SHOCK FOR THEM.LIKE, HOW DO I ENGAGE IN RE, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME THEY ENGAGE IN RESEARCH.
AND THEN THERE IS AT THE 11TH GRADE LEVEL, A SERVICE LEARNING REQUIREMENT FOR ALL 11TH GRADE STUDENTS.
BUT THAT'S SERVICE LEARNING REQUIREMENT AT THE TI AT THE TIME.
IT LACKS, UM, A, UH, AN A NEED TO ENGAGE IN, IN INQUIRY OR SOME SORT OF CIVIC ACTION.
AND SO TO CREATE SOME POLICY THAT CAN SUPPORT EDUCATORS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK OF YPAR WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO ENGAGE IN THAT.
AND TO FINALLY CLOSE TODAY, I WANNA SHOW YOU JUST A, A THREE MINUTE VIDEO OF ONE OF MY FORMER STUDENTS WHO'S NOW IN GRADUATE SCHOOL, SHE'S IN LAW SCHOOL, ABOUT TO FINISH, UM, IN, INTO HER SECOND YEAR, AND THE WORK THAT THEY DID, AND THEY CALL THE WORK SERVICE LEARNING, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE HAD TO CALL IT.
BUT ALL THE METHODOLOGY WE ENGAGE IN WITH THEM WAS WHITEPAR.
SO JUST HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY.
MY NAME'S GONZALEZ, AND I AM A SENIOR AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL IN BOYLE HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES, LIVING IN AN IMMIGRANT FAMILY.
MY PARENTS DIDN'T ATTEND COLLEGE.
THAT HAD ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM OF MINE.
AT OUR SCHOOL, WE DO THIS YEAR LONG SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT, OR SLP, AND IT IS A GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS WHEN YOU'RE A FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE, JUNIORS AND SENIORS ARE TELLING YOU IT'S A REALLY HARD PROJECT, VERY COMPLICATED, VERY RIGOROUS.
WE'RE RESEARCHING, WE'RE COLLECTING DATA, WE'RE WORKING WITH OTHERS, WE'RE CREATING OUR OWN MAPS.
THEY TOLD US, FIND AN ISSU IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
I'VE GROWN UP IN BOYLE HEIGHTS, AND SO I'VE ALWAYS BEEN AROUND GANG VIOLENCE.
AND I'VE HAD, UM, COUSINS WHO HAVE GONE INTO PRISON.
SO THE BASIS OF OUR PROJECT WAS THE EFFECTS OF THE SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE AND JUST THE INJUSTICES THAT OCCUR IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND THE COUNTRY.
I FORMED THE TEAM WITH FRIENDS.
I THINK HAVING ABBY AS LIKE PART OF OUR TEAM, LIKE WAS A MAJOR PART OF LIKE WHY IT WORKED OUT.
WE MAPPED OUT THE FUNDING OF, OF INCARCERATION PER PERSON VERSUS THE FUNDING OF EDUCATION PER PUPIL.
THE DARKER THE STATE WAS MEANT THAT IT SPENT MORE ON PRISON THAN IT DID ON, ON STUDENTS.
AND SO CALIFORNIA SPENT MORE ON INCARCERATION THAN IT DOES ON EDUCATION.
AND SO THAT WAS SHOCKING THING TO SEE THERE.
I DIDN'T THINK THAT MAPS COULD SHARE STORIES.
AND SO IT WAS REALLY COOL TO SEE, UM, NOT ONLY OUR GROUP SHARE OUR STORY, BUT OTHER GROUPS SHARE THEIR OWN STORIES.
THE PROJECT DEFINITELY CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE DROP OUT OR WHEN THEY GO TO PRISON, THEY TEND TO BLAME THE INDIVIDUAL.
IF WE WANT STUDENTS TO PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION AND WE'RE NOT GIVING THEM THE TOOLS TO DO SO, THEN HOW DO YOU EXPECT THEM TO ACHIEVE GREATER THINGS? I FIGURED OUT WHAT I WANNA DO NOW BECAUSE OF THIS PROJECT.
SO IN COLLEGE, I WILL BE PURSUING A PUBLIC POLICY MAJOR, AND ONE DAY I WANNA WORK IN CONGRESS, UH, IN MAKING LAWS THAT WILL CHANGE POLICY.
MY THREE TOP CHOICES WERE POMONA COLLEGE, UCLA AND UC.
BERKELEY, SLP LOOKS GREAT ON COLLEGE APPLICATIONS.
IT DISTINGUISHES US BECAUSE WE COME FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHO DON'T HAVE THE TOOLS TO BE, UM, AS GREAT AS OTHER LIKE PRIVATE AND CHARTER SCHOOLS.
PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR OUR SENIOR CLASS PRESIDENT ABI GONZALEZ WHEN YOU GET INTO COLLEGE.
AND THE FIRST WORD YOU READ IS CONGRATULATIONS.
I HOPE THAT YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I HOPE THAT YOU ALWAYS REPRESENT ROOSEVELT AND BOYLE HEIGHTS WITH PRIDE.
ONE OF MY BIGGEST DREAMS WAS TO ATTEND COLLEGE BECAUSE ALL YOUR HARD WORK IS FINALLY PAYING OFF.
SO ABBY IS NOW, UM, ABOUT TO FINISH LAW SCHOOL.
SO I'M REALLY PROUD AND CONTINUES TO BE ENGAGED IN HER COMMUNITY THROUGH HER ACTIVISM, SUPPORTING HER COMMUNITY, AND ALSO AT THE THE CAMPUS LEVEL.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR PROVIDING THIS TIME, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I'M ALWAYS SO INSPIRED BY THESE.
I KNOW I CERTAINLY WAS A LEARNER WHO NEEDED TO HAVE MEANING BEHIND THE WORK I WAS DOING, OR I WOULD JUST SHUT DOWN.
SO I'M, THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY I'M SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS KIND OF WORK FOR OUR STUDENTS.
UM, WELL, LET'S OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, UM, ANYTHING THAT, UH, CALLED YOU.
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YES, GO AHEAD DEL ME.HOW WOULD YOU, UM, ENVISION THIS, UH, BEING DONE IN THE LOWER GRADES? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR LOWER ELEMENTARY TEACHERS? I, I'VE WITNESSED THIS HAPPEN IN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS WHERE, UM, STUDENTS ARE INTERROGATING ISSUES IN THEIR, IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, UM, WHERE THEY, UM, ARE PRACTICING THEIR, THEIR AGENCY, UM, BY THE TEACHERS FOCUSING IN ON SELECTING A THEME THAT, THAT THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH, UM, AND MOSTLY AROUND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.
UM, AND SO THEY SELECT THE TEACHERS, SELECT A THEME, SO THAT SUPPORTS THE TEACHER, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER OR THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER IN GUIDING, UM, THE READINGS THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE.
AND THEN THAT CREATES DIALOGUE AND DISCUSSIONS THEN THAT THE STUDENTS SEE AROUND THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN THEY FEEL EMPOWERED TO THEN FROM THAT THEME, IT GENERATES SO MANY DIFFERENT RESEARCH TOPICS THAT THEY THEN PRESENT ON.
UM, AND IT, AND IT, WE ARE LUCKY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THAT, THAT THERE, THERE ARE DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES FOR STUDENTS TO GET, UM, THE, THE RECOGNITION ON, UM, I'M, I'M MISSING THE NAME RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE IS A STATE SEAL OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THAT SOME SCHOOLS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, AND THE STATE SEAL OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, UM, I THINK IT REQUIRES, UM, TO GET STUDENTS TO A CERTAIN POINT.
BUT BECAUSE YPAR IS ASKING STUDENTS TO, TO, TO ENGAGE IN INQUIRY AND THEN REIMAGINATION AND THEN ENGAGE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, IT PUSHES STUDENTS TO NOT, THEY EASILY MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STATE SEAL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THEN GO BEYOND THAT.
AND, AND SO THERE, THERE IS A PATHWAY THAT WE CAN, UM, INTRODUCE US AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL AND THEN GUIDE STUDENTS TO THE MIDDLE AND THEN, UH, AND THEN THEY CAN BE EXPERTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL.
YOU KNOW, IT REMINDS ME AT DEVIN ELEMENTARY, WHICH IS AN IB SCHOOL, I VISITED THE SCHOOL AND THE SECOND GRADERS ASKED ME, THEY WERE DOING AN INVESTIGATION, PART OF THEIR PROJECT FOR THE YEAR, HOW I FELT ABOUT PUNISHING STUDENTS AT SCHOOL FOR ANY SORT OF THING THAT THEY DID.
AND THEN IT JUST TRIGGERED A CONVERSATION AMONGST ALL OF THEM ABOUT WHY STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, MISBEHAVE, RIGHT? AND THEY ALL GAVE ME THEIR IDEAS FOR WHY STUDENTS.
AND SOME KIDS WERE LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT, SOMETIMES KIDS JUST HAVE A LOT OF ENERGY AND THEY NEED TO MOVE, AND MAYBE THE RULES ARE TOO STRICT FOR KIDS OUR AGE.
I WAS AMAZED HOW THESE, ALL THESE SECOND GRADERS HAD THESE IDEAS AND REASONS.
AND SO IT REMINDED ME THAT SOMETIMES WE DO THIS KIND OF TEACHING IN CERTAIN AREAS WITH CERTAIN STUDENTS, BUT THEN WE DON'T FEEL THAT CERTAIN STUDENTS IS, I'M A SPECIAL ED TEACHER.
SOMETIMES WE FEEL IF KIDS ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY READING OR HAVE SOME LANGUAGE, SOME EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE ISSUES, THAT BECAUSE OF THAT WE CANNOT GIVE THEM THESE KINDS OF PROJECTS THAT WILL HELP THEM THINK CRITICALLY, ASK QUESTIONS, SHARE IDEAS, AND THAT'S NOT OKAY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHY I LIKE YPAR BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES BRING THIS TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE ADVANCED KIDS, NOT JUST THE GIFTED KIDS, NOT THE ONES IN AP EVERYONE.
SO I THINK IT'S DOABLE FOR ELEMENTARY, AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING THIS IN ELEMENTARY.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY MAKE US BRIGHTER AND MORE, UM, EFFECTIVE HUMAN BEINGS IN SOCIETY TO THINK CRITICALLY, TO ASK QUESTIONS AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS.
THE WORD I WROTE DOWN WAS FLOURISHING AND ALSO MEANING SAME IDEA.
AND HOW EXCITING, BECAUSE LIKE, YOU HAD THIS VISION AND YOU WERE DOING THIS WORK.
DO YOU KNOW THIS ACTION RESEARCH? UM, AND IT MAKES ME THINK ABOUT TEACHERS.
I'M NOW OLD ENOUGH THAT WHEN I LOOK AT THESE VIDEOS, I ALSO THINK, OH MY GOSH, NOT ONLY ARE KIDS THE AGENTS, RIGHT? AND OH, YOU'RE REALLY LISTENING TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PUNISHMENTS AND CONSEQUENCES.
BUT TEACHERS, I'M SURE, ACTUALLY FEEL LESS ISOLATED AND THAT THEY'RE IMPORTANT.
SO I WANNA ASK ABOUT MONEY, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IS SO EXCITING ABOUT SHIFTING ASSESSMENT IS THAT IT'S SO EXPENSIVE.
YOU, UH, THE WAY WE DO IT CURRENTLY, I MEAN, IT'S SUCH AN INVESTMENT.
AND SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT SHIFTING THAT
[00:30:01]
KIND OF FUNDING, UM, YOU LAID OUT LIKE VERTICAL, UH, LITERACY WOULD BE IMPORTANT.LIKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE COSTS OR INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD BE MOST VALUABLE TO MAKE YPAR HAPPEN AT THE K THROUGH 12 LEVEL? SINCE I'VE ENGAGED IN THIS WORK AS AN EDUCATOR FOR ALMOST A DECADE, AND THEN NOW AS A RESEARCHER AND THEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT, HISTORICALLY, ALL THE WORK HAS BEEN DONE FROM A GRASSROOTS PERSPECTIVE.
AND BECAUSE WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITIES AND WE LOVE OUR STUDENTS AND THE, THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF OUR STUDENTS, AND I THINK THE QUESTION ABOUT FUNDING WAS ALWAYS, UM, SOMETHING THAT NEVER CAME TO OUR HEARTS AND MINDS.
UM, BUT THEN WHEN I, I, NOW THAT I AM, UH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AT THE UCI HISTORY PROJECT, AND WHEN I WAS ABLE TO, UM, FUND TEACHERS TO ENGAGE IN WRITING UNITS AND ASSESSMENTS AROUND YPAR, THEY FELT SEEN AND HEARD AND APPRECIATED.
UM, AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO NOT, NOT ONLY PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING THAT THAT OFFERED CATERING, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, I NEVER EXPERIENCED AS A TEACHER.
UM, BUT ALSO THAT OFFERED THEM THE TIME AND THE SPACE TO HONOR THEIR EXPERTISE OF WORK THAT THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN DOING.
UM, AND, AND SO TO CREATE, UM, I THINK A POOL OF THOSE TEACHERS TO CREATE SOMETHING LIKE A MICRO-CREDENTIAL, TO, TO HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD TO THE PACE SCALE, FOR INSTANCE, UM, FOR, FOR EDUCATORS, UM, THERE'S PLENTY OF EDUCATORS THAT ENGAGE IN L-A-U-S-C AND THE WORK OF YAR AND I SHOWED YOU SOME OF THEIR FACES TODAY.
UM, AND SO TO PULL FROM THEIR EXPERTISE AND TO HAVE THEM NEGOTIATE, I THINK, TO ASK THEM THAT QUESTION OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE, UM, UM, TO, TO BUILD IN, UM, THAT QUESTION ABOUT MONEY AND ALSO TO HONOR THE PARTNERS, BECAUSE THE PARTNERS THAT WORK WITH US, UM, I SHOWED YOU THREE, UM, THE BOYLE HEIGHTS BEAT ABOUT PRODUCTIONS AND, UM, THE COMMUN THE COMMUNITY COALITION IN SOUTH CENTRAL, UM, THEY DO THIS WORK OUT OF THEIR HEART AS WELL.
SO IT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GETS DONE OUT OF, OUT OF EVERYBODY'S HEART.
AND, AND SO I AM JUST NOT IN THAT POSITION TO, TO GIVE YOU DOLLAR SIGNS, BUT I THINK TO SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THE WORK ON THE GROUND, AND THE REASON WHY TEACHERS WEREN'T ABLE TO COME TODAY IS BECAUSE LAST SATURDAY, UCLA MAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL HOSTED A WHITE PARK CONFERENCE, THE FOURTH ANNUAL WHITE PARK CONFERENCE.
SOME OF OUR STUDENT TEACHERS AT ROOSEVELT BECAME TEACHERS THAT MOST OF THEM WORK AT UCLA MANN, AND NOW THEY'RE HOSTING A WHITE PARK CONFERENCE THEN.
AND SO TODAY WAS A BIG FIELD TRIP THAT THEY HAD TO, TO HONOR THEIR STUDENTS FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK.
AND SO THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO, TO TODAY, SO BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE TIRED.
AND THEY, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR AND ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT GO WITH THAT.
SO I THINK TO HONOR THEIR TIME AND THEIR EXPERTISE TO ASK THEM THAT QUESTION, BECAUSE THERE ARE EDUCATORS THAT HAVE BEEN COMMITTED TO THE WORK OF YPAR, BUT IT IS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE EXPERTISE OF TEACHERS, THE EXPERTISE OF OUR PARTNERS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US FOR DECADES.
BIAS AND THEN TREVOR AND THEN, AND THEN LAURA.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I WAS VERY PLEASED TO SEE HOW YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO BRING THIS TO LIFE AND SEE HOW OUR STUDENTS FLOURISH.
UM, WITH THE, WITH YPAR, WE'VE BEEN USING IT, UM, SINCE 2020 AS PART OF OUR ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAM.
UM, AND SO I, I WAS ABLE TO CONNECT ALL THE DOTS AND SEE HOW VALUABLE IT IS WHEN OUR ETHNIC STUDIES USE IT AS WELL.
UM, AND SO THE, THE, UM, WHAT HAPPENS OFTEN IN OUR DISTRICT IS WITH THESE TYPES OF, OF, UM, LEARNING EXPERIENCES, UH, WE SEE THEM IN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS, OR WE'LL SEE THEM IN CTE LINK LEARNING DURING DEFENSE.
WE'LL SEE THEM AS PART OF CULMINATION.
WE'LL SEE THEM AS THEY, THEY LIVE IN OUR SYSTEM AND DIFFERENT PLACES TO GET THEM TO SCALE.
IS, IS WHAT OUR GOAL, SO THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS GET ACCESS TO THIS.
WE'VE JUST RECENTLY INTRODUCED SOME OF THIS WITH, UM, OUR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, WHERE A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS ARE CREATING THOSE PROJECT-BASED LEARNINGS THAT ARE ALIGNED TO THE CURRICULUM, BUT THAT HELP THE STUDENTS GO DEEPER.
AND THIS IS AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL WHERE THEY'RE LEARNING HOW TO DO THAT.
WE DO THAT WITH ROBOTICS AND ESPORTS, WHERE STUDENTS HAVE TO LOOK AT A, UH, AT A PROJECT AND COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.
[00:35:01]
UM, AND IT'S BASED ON THE, UM, UM, THE UN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.SO WE HAVE ASPECTS OF THIS EVERYWHERE.
WE'RE BRINGING IT TO LIFE IS, IS ONE OF THE, OF THE CHALLENGES.
UM, I SEE THAT THIS ALSO COMPLIMENTS, UM, THE, THE ASSESSMENTS THAT WE HAVE THAT DETERMINE SKILL ONE MOMENT IN TIME, BUT THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO REPLACE WHAT THE INSTRUCTION LOOKS LIKE.
IT SHOULD BE MEANINGFUL AND ENGAGEMENT.
SO I SEE A NICE COMPLIMENT OF, OF RAISING A QUESTION, HAVING STUDENTS INVESTIGATE THAT QUESTION, PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS TO THEIR PEERS, AND THEN HAVE THIS MOVE FORWARD TO ACTIVISM TO HOW THIS THEN BECOMES, UM, A WAY TO, UM, TO TRANSFORM, UM, A PROBLEM.
SO WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS A WAY TO SCALE SOMETHING? YOU HEARD OUR SITUATION, WE HAVE LOTS OF THESE PIECES IN DIFFERENT PLACES.
WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS THE APPROACH TO SCALE? AND, AND MY ROLE AS, AS A UCI, UM, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR THE HISTORY PROJECT, WE'VE DONE, UH, SCALING OF YPAR ACROSS TWO DISTRICTS NOW, UM, WITH CIE LA PUENTE UNIFIED AND SAN DIEGO UNIFIED.
AND THIS HAS, WAS DONE THROUGH THEIR ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAM.
AND, UM, WE STARTED AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND
AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS THEY'VE DONE IT THROUGH THE STATE CEO OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO THEY'VE, THEY'VE ASKED THE TEACHERS, UM, THAT ARE ETHNIC STUDIES EDUCATORS THROUGH AND THROUGH THAT COURSE, UM, OFFER YAR, UM, AS THE CULMINATING ASSESSMENT.
AND SO THEY CREATE A CONFERENCE FOR THEIR STUDENTS EVERY YEAR THROUGH THE DISTRICT LEVEL.
UM, AND AT A CIE LA PUENTES, IT'S A MUCH SMALLER DISTRICT, SO THAT'S MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE FOR THEM TO, TO HAVE A, A CONFERENCE FOR ALL THEIR STUDENTS TO PRESENT THEIR, THEIR, UM, YPAR PROJECTS.
UM, BUT, UH, SAN DIEGO UNIFIED, THEY, THEY OFFER, UM, SMALLER SCALE CONFERENCES AT THE DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS.
AND THIS IS AN OPT IN, UM, SITUATION AT SAN DIEGO UNIFIED.
IT'S, I THINK IT'S THE SECOND LARGEST DISTRICT IN, IN OUR STATE.
UM, SO THEY, THEY, UH, STARTED WITH A FEW TEACHERS, AND NOW THEY'VE GROWN INTO 30 EDUCATORS, UM, THAT TEACH ETHNIC STUDIES.
AND SO EVERY YEAR THEIR GOAL IS TO GROW.
AND THEY STARTED WITH, UM, ABOUT EIGHT STUDENTS GETTING THE STATE SEAL OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND NOW, UM, THEY'VE GROWN TO ABOUT 500 STUDENTS EVERY YEAR GETTING THE STATE SEAL OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGH THE WHITEPAR LENS.
SO I THINK THERE'S DIFFERENT AVENUES, UM, TO, TO, TO GAIN THE STATES CIVIC ENGAGEMENT THAT ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, AND THEN TRAINING THE TEACHERS THROUGH A WHITE PART LENS THAT, THAT MAKES IT A VERY ATTAINABLE GOAL FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS BECAUSE IT, THAT THAT ESTABLISHMENT AND THAT REWARD IS ALREADY THERE FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS.
AND SO IT MAKES IT AN EASY AVENUE APPROACH.
AND IT, IT ALSO, UM, CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIPS LIKE FOLKS LIKE US TO, TO COME IN AND SUPPORT WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.
SO THAT'S ONE RECOMMENDATION THAT I HAVE.
UM, IN MY WORK AT ONE INSTITUTE, I LEAD, UH, CURRICULUM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR L-G-B-T-Q HISTORY, AND WE DO ALL OF THAT WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UCLA, HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY PROJECT.
UM, SO I'M REALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE HISTORY PROJECT SORT OF MODEL, UM, AND I WAS INTERESTED IN THE POINT NUMBER ONE AND PROBLEMS OF PRACTICE.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD TALK MORE ABOUT THE BENEFIT TO TEACHERS OF HAVING A SUSTAINED LIKE COHORT MODEL FOR WITH COACHING FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND PARTICULARLY THINKING ABOUT HAVING TEACHERS FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOL SITES, UM, THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER, UM, OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, AND BOTH THE SORT OF THE IMPACT THAT HAS ON THEM, THEIR SORT OF MOTIVATION, UM, BUT ALSO, UH, FOR THEIR PRACTICE FOR, UH, THE ACTUAL WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING IN THE CLASSROOM.
SO, YEAH, YOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH REQUIRES THAT EDUCATORS ARE CONSTANTLY LEARNING ABOUT COMMUNITY ISSUES.
AND SO HAVING A COHORTED MODEL, UM, WOULD THEN ALLOW FOR EDUCATORS TO, TO GROW TOGETHER AND TO, UH, RESEARCH TOGETHER ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITIES, UH, WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES? WHO DO I COMMUNICATE? WHO ARE THE ELDERS? WHAT ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS? HOW DO I STAY CONNECTED TO THE ORGANIZATIONS? THAT'S ONE WAY, RIGHT? AND THE
[00:40:01]
WORK OF RESEARCHING AND ENGAGING AND RE-IMAGINATION WITH OUR STUDENTS.AND IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT, AT LEAST THE COMMUNITIES THAT I'VE WORKED WITH HERE IN L-A-U-S-C, WHICH IS THE EAST SIDE AND SOUTH CENTRAL, A LOT OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE, UM, THESE HARSH REALIZATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO DATA.
AND, AND SO IT, IT, IT ALSO TAKES AN EMOTIONAL TOLL ON THE EDUCATORS, RIGHT? AND JUST TO GO BACK TO THE ISSUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, UM, MOST OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE HIGHLY POLLUTED.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S LOTS OF, UM, HEALTH RISKS IN, IN THOSE AREAS.
AND SO WHEN OUR STUDENTS TAKE A LOOK AT THE, THOSE DATA PIECES, THEY SAY, WELL, THAT'S ME.
THAT'S WHERE I LIVE, RIGHT? AND SO, TO GUIDE EACH OTHER FIRST AS IT, AND IT INVOLVES ALSO TRAINING EACH OTHER IN RESTORATIVE JUSTICE.
HOW DO WE HOLD SPACE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FOR EACH OTHER, UM, TO, TO, TO KNOW THOSE MOMENTS OF CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS WITH, WITH EDUCATORS, RIGHT? SO THAT THE IMPACT OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE'RE DOING, WE'RE, WE'RE FINDING WAYS TO THEN TAKE IT BACK IN AGE APPROPRIATE WAYS TO OUR KINDERGARTNERS, TO OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, AND FINDING THE RIGHT MOST EXCITING READINGS AND FILMS FOR THEM.
AND, AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN WE, WHEN WE SIT TOGETHER AS EDUCATORS, WHEN WE ENGAGE TOGETHER AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER AT A PEDAGOGICAL LEVEL, RIGHT? WE'RE, UH, YEAR ROUND, WE'RE COLLABORATING AND, AND ALSO MOTIVATING EACH OTHER FOR ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.
NOT JUST AT, AT, AT A COMMUNITY LEVEL, AT A PEDAGOGICAL LEVEL, AT A LITERACY LEVEL, BUT ALSO AT, AT AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL, LIKE I MENTIONED.
SO IT TAKES, IT TAKES A VILLAGE, RIGHT, TO, TO CONTINUE TO INSPIRE THIS WORK BECAUSE IT, THE, THE WORK THAT OUR STUDENTS DO, I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO STAY CONNECTED TO OUR STUDENTS, UM, THAT WORKED WITH US AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, AND MOST OF THEM CONTINUE TO GROW IN THEIR RESEARCH AND HAVE TAKEN ON THE RESEARCH THAT THEY'VE DONE AS HIGH SCHOOLERS INTO THE COLLEGE LEVEL.
SO IT'S JUST A SEED THAT WE'RE PLANTING AND THEY CONTINUE TO GROW.
SO TO HAVE A COHORTED MODEL REALLY SUPPORTS ALL OF US IN THIS SPACE.
UM, I'VE BEEN FIGHTING MY EMOTIONS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A LONG YEAR.
I'M AT A TIER ONE SCHOOL WHERE WE HAVE TO HUE VERY CLOSELY TO THE CURRICULUM.
AND, UM, IT'S THE FIFTH CURRICULUM.
I, IT'S THE FIFTH PROGRAM I'VE TAUGHT WITH.
AND WHEREAS IN THE PAST, WE'VE COVERED STORIES ABOUT STUDENTS IN, UH, SOUTH CENTRAL, UM, GROWING GARDENS AND MAKING SALAD DRESSING AND SELLING IT AT FARMER'S MARKETS.
WE'VE READ ABOUT IMMIGRATION, YOU KNOW, A STORY CALLED AMADA, MY JOURNEY FROM HERE TO THERE, THINGS THAT THE KIDS CAN RELATE TO AND THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UM, TO GET ON MY SOAPBOX, YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE READING DONTE MIDSUMMER, NIGHT STREAM, MARTIN LUTHER, AND THE, AND THE REFORMATION, AND WE HAVE TO STICK TO THE SCRIPT, LIKE, WHY ON RICE.
AND IT'S EMOTIONALLY DRAINING BECAUSE IF YOU SNEAK IN RIGHT BEFORE THE TEST, UM, A PERSUASIVE ESSAY ABOUT WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE SEE IN THE CAFETERIA, AND WHY, OH MY GOSH, THE KIDS ARE SO EXCITED.
'CAUSE THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING RELATIVE TO THEIR LIVES, RIGHT? AND I SEE THIS AND I'M LIKE, OH MY GOSH, I WANT THIS FOR MY KIDS.
I WOULD LOVE TO JUST DO THIS ON MY OWN.
SO, UM, MY QUESTION THEN IS, YOU KNOW, THIS SEEMS VERY, WORDS THAT COME TO MIND ARE ORGANIC, AUTHENTIC, INTUITIVE, RIGHT? YOU DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHERE THE ROAD'S GONNA TAKE YOU AS YOU START YOUR INVESTIGATION, YOUR JOURNEY, RIGHT? AND SO, TO WHAT EXTENT ARE YOU, DID YOU FIND YOURSELVES CONSTRAINED BY HOW DOES THIS MEET THE STANDARD? WHAT STANDARD IS THIS GONNA COVER? WHAT ARE GONNA, THIS, THIS, THIS? BECAUSE THAT, I KNOW FOR US, YOU KNOW, ON A GOOD YEAR, WE BETTER ANYTHING, WE DO BETTER BE THE STANDARD.
AND ON A TIER ONE YEAR, IT'S LIKE, YOU BETTER BE FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT IN THE BOOK AND NO SIDE CONVERSATIONS.
SO, UM, I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU WERE CONSTRAINED BY THAT.
YEAH, I THINK AS TEACHERS, WE ALL FELT THOSE CONSTRAINTS AND THOSE PRESSURES EVERY YEAR TO, UH, TEST PREP OUR STUDENTS.
AND I THINK WHEN WE BEGAN, WE UNFORTUNATELY DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO, TO NOTE THE DATA INCREASES IN OUR SCHOOL.
BUT WHEN I STARTED WORKING THERE, I,
[00:45:01]
I WAS, UH, TOLD BY THE PRINCIPAL THAT IF, BECAUSE I WAS SO LOW IN, IN, IN, UM, THE, THE SENIORITY, THANK YOU, THAT IF I DIDN'T INCREASE MY SCORES, THAT, YOU KNOW, I WOULD BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK FOR THE NEXT YEAR.AND I WA AND I WAS, 'CAUSE I CAME INTO TEACHING DURING THAT TIME.
UM, BUT THE SCORES WENT UP AND I COULD TELL YOU THAT I FOCUSED MORE ON INQUIRY AND YPAR THEN ON TEST PREP, THEN THAT WAS A DECISION THAT I MADE AS AN EDUCATOR TAKING ON MY AGENCY.
AND WE DIDN'T DOCUMENT THAT DATA.
AND THE SCORES CONTINUED TO BE INCREASING IN A TIME WHERE SCORES ARE DECLINING.
UM, AND THERE IS A TEST, UM, THERE WAS A, JUST A REPORT THAT CAME OUT FROM, FROM SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES THAT SAY THAT SCORES HAVE BEEN DECLINING EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
AND AT OUR SCHOOL, COMMON CORE
BUT THESE TEACHERS THAT CONTINUE TO GET ENGAGED IN YAR, THEIR SCORES HAVE CONTINUED TO STAY CONSISTENT.
SO WE STILL NEED TO DO THAT STUDY ABOUT THE CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS ENGAGING IN INQUIRY, COMMUNITY BASED PROJECTS THAT RELATE TO THEIR LIVES.
AND, UM, THE INCREASE IN SCORES, BECAUSE ALL OF THOSE STANDARDS, WHEN I SAT DOWN AND DID AN ANALYSIS, BECAUSE I DID GET CALLED TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE FOR NOT TEST PREPPING.
SO, BUT WHEN I DID AN ANALYSIS, I, I, I SAT DOWN AND SAID, OH, COMMON CORE IS REPRESENTED.
MY STUDENTS ARE WRITING RESEARCH QUESTIONS, COLLABORATING IN TEAMS. THEY'RE, THEY'RE WRITING, UM, RESEARCH REPORTS.
THEY'RE ENGAGING IN ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MODALITIES OF LITERACY, THEY'RE PRESENTING AND PUBLISHING TO AUTHENTIC AUDIENCES.
SO IT'S ALL REPRESENTED IN THE STANDARDS, IN THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS.
SO I THINK AFTER THAT, THEY FELT, UH, LIKE A, A WAY THAT THEY COULD RELAX AS A PRINCIPAL.
UM, BUT I THINK WE, YES, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO DO THAT STUDY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCORES INCREASING AND YPAR.
I DID SOMEBODY HAVE A, KATE, WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING? I THOUGHT I, I SAW YOU GO LIKE THIS.
SO LET, I HAVE, UM, CHARETTE AND THEN BACK TO YOU.
SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO US.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STUDENTS DOING INNOVATIVE, SO TO SPEAK, KIND OF AUTHENTIC WORK.
AND, UH, WE JUST RECENTLY SAW SOME STUDENTS DO A PROBLEM OF PRACTICE AT THEIR SCHOOL SITE, UM, FOR, UM, OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL.
AND THEN THEY BROUGHT IN THEIR RESEARCH.
AND SO IT'S GOOD TO BE ABLE TO SEE THIS.
MY QUESTION WAS, IS LOOKING AT THE EDUCATORS THAT YOU SHOWN HERE, THESE ARE ONLY ETHNIC STUDY TEACHERS.
COULD IT BE DONE IN ANOTHER SUBJECT? SOME OF THEM TEACH ETHNIC STUDIES, UM, BUT SOME OF THEM CONSIDER THEMSELVES ETHNIC STUDIES TEACHERS.
THEY DON'T HAVE AN ETHNIC STUDIES ASSIGNMENT.
UM, SOME OF THEM ARE MATH OR CHEMISTRY, ENGLISH HISTORY.
SOME OF THEM HAVE A FULL LOAD OF ETHNIC STUDIES.
SO THEY HAVE ETHNIC STUDIES SENSIBILITIES.
OR THEY, OR THEY MAJORED IN ETHNIC STUDIES, UM, OR THEY ENGAGED IN THE WORK OF YPAR IN SOME WAY.
SO THE WAY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO APPLY TO THIS FELLOWSHIP IS TO SHOW THAT, THAT THEY HAD, THEY HAVE ETHNIC STUDIES SENSIBILITIES.
AND SO THE, THE DRAMA TEACHER, SHE TEACHES ESL AND DRAMA.
SO SHE DOESN'T TEACH AN ETHNIC STUDIES COURSE, BUT THEY, THEY HAVE THE, THE ETHNIC STUDIES BACKGROUND.
UM, AND, AND SO WE CAN EXPAND ON.
UM, BUT Y PART IS, UH, A METHODOLOGY THAT COMES OUT OF ETHNIC STUDIES.
SO IT IS NECESSARY TO THEN ENGAGE IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR EDUCATORS FROM THIS ETHNIC STUDIES PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO TEACH, LIKE WHEN WE ANALYZE DATA, WHAT IS INTERSECTIONALITY? SO TO NOT LOOK AT DATA FROM A FLATLINE PERSPECTIVE FOR, FROM ALL THESE OTHER PERSPECTIVES FOR, FOR INSTANCE.
SO IT, IT COULD BE EDUCATORS THAT, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, I WAS NEVER ASSIGNED AN ETHNIC STUDIES FORCE.
'CAUSE I TAUGHT BEFORE AB 1 0 1, BUT I ENGAGED IN YPAR.
WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT YOU MENTIONED, DID IT START IN AN ETHNIC STUDIES COURSE? YOU SAY THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, EVENTUALLY WENT FROM, YOU KNOW, UH, HIGH SCHOOL NOW MOVING DOWN TO MIDDLE TO ELEMENTARY.
WAS IT JUST ONE TEACHER ON THAT CAMPUS? OR WERE THEY WORKING COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER ACROSS SUBJECTS? 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO WORK LIKE IN A SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITY
[00:50:01]
WHERE I'M DOING PART OF THIS PROJECT.YOU ARE DOING ANOTHER PART OF THIS PROJECT FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES THAT, THAT WOULD BE IDEAL TO WORK AT ACROSS DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.
AT ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, THEY DID THAT WHERE THE CHEMISTRY TEACHER WORKED WITH THE ENGLISH TEACHER.
AND THAT WAS REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
BUT
UH, SO THERE, THERE WAS DIFFERENT MIDDLE SCHOOLS REPRESENTED.
SO THEIR GOAL IS TO HAVE ALL STUDENTS, UM, AND ENGAGE IN SOME SORT OF YPAR PROJECT AT ALL LEVELS.
SO ALL TEACHERS ARE, ALL CAMPUSES ARE REPRESENTED, UM, DURING THOSE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING SESSIONS.
UM, AND SLOWLY THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE ALL STUDENTS GAIN THE STATE SEAL OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
THAT'S THEIR GOAL FOR THAT, FOR THAT DISTRICT.
AND THEN WITH THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE FOR THAT SCHOOL OR THOSE SCHOOLS THAT YOU MENTIONED? IT, IT FIRST BEGAN AS KIND OF LIKE HOW I INTRODUCED IT HERE, WHAT IS YAR 1 0 1? AND WE BEGAN ON UNPACKING IT.
UM, WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF YPAR? WE DID A LOT OF PEDAGOGICAL READINGS ON YPAR AND THEN WE, WE, WE GOT INTO STUDYING THE COMMUNITY.
WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES THAT AS EDUCATORS, YOU NOTICED, UM, FROM THIS INTERSECTIONAL LENS THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED AS AN EDUCATOR AND UPLIFTING EDUCATOR EXPERTISE OF THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR, OF THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN BEGIN TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE RESEARCH SKILLS THAT EDUCATORS ALREADY TEACH IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. SO, SO THAT WE CAN THEN MIRROR THOSE TWO, UH, THE PRACTICES OF YPAR AND THEN BEGIN TO IMPLEMENT FROM THEIR TEACHER EXPERTISE.
'CAUSE THESE ARE EDUCATORS THAT HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN TEACHING FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS.
SO THEY HAVE LOTS OF, UH, IDEAS AND THEIR OWN PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE.
SO THEN BEGIN TO PLAN UNITS AND ASSESSMENTS, UM, AROUND INTRODUCING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND RESEARCH SKILLS THROUGH THEIR STUDENTS, INFUSING THEM IN THE COURSES THAT ALREADY EXIST, AND TYING IT TO THE, THE COURSES THAT, THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE.
SO DOING THAT WORK TOGETHER WITH THE EDUCATORS AND, AND THEN ROLLING IT OUT TO THE STUDENTS IN WAYS THAT, THAT MAKE IT EXCITING FOR THEM.
THAT, THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE AGENCY IN THE WORK, THAT THEY GET TO DECIDE WHO THEY WORK WITH IN THAT PARTICULAR SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THAT'S HOW IT WAS LAID OUT TO THEM.
WHO THEY WORK WITH IN THEIR TEAMS. WHAT IS THE RESEARCH THAT, THAT THEY'RE GONNA ENGAGE IN? WHAT ISSUE ARE, ARE THEY PASSIONATE ABOUT? AND WHAT IS THAT ACTION GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR THEM? THEY GET TO DESIGN THAT AND THEN SHARE THAT WITH THEIR COMMUNITY.
IN A DISTRICT OUR SIZE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
WE HAVE, YOU SAID FIVE YEARS, THE, YOU KNOW, EDUCATORS, WE, WE TEND TO HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE FIVE TIMES THAT.
SO
WHAT ARE PERSPECTIVES IN ORDER TO GET THAT ACROSS TO THOSE THAT ARE IN THAT DIFFERENT BOX THAT I JUST MENTIONED THAT ARE HERE FIVE TIMES THAT
I, I THINK I, I LEANED INTO THOSE EDUCATORS WHEN I STARTED WORKING.
THEY, THEY INTRODUCED ME TO FOLKS LIKE THE ELDERS THAT ORGANIZED THE WALKOUTS THAT WERE COMING OUTTA ROOSEVELT.
UM, THEY INTRODUCED ME TO ORGANIZATIONS.
THEY KNEW WHO I COULD TALK TO.
SO I THINK LEANING INTO THEIR EXPERTISE AND HONORING THEIR EXPERTISE COMES FIRST.
UM, AND THEIR ENERGY THEN, THEN IS CONTAGIOUS.
I THINK WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION THAT FOR, FOR MANY YOUNG TEACHERS, THEY COME WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS YAR, WHAT IS ETHNIC STUDIES? AND I THINK HAVING AN INTERGENERATIONAL FOCUS ON YPAR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS SO ESSENTIAL BECAUSE THE WORK OF YPAR IS INTERGENERATIONAL.
WE DO ASK OUR STUDENTS TO INTERVIEW ELDERS IN THE COMMUNITY OR EXPERTS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND MOSTLY THEY LEAN INTO THE FOLKS THAT THEY SEE THEIR NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN ONGOING IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK HAVING, UM, THE TEACHERS THAT HAVE SEEN IT ALL THAT THE DISTRICT HAS, I'VE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, EDUCATORS, THAT DISTRICT GOING AT IT AGAIN AND ASKING ME TO DO THIS, I'VE SEEN IT ALL.
[00:55:01]
I LOST MY PLUS ONE, THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND THEIR, AND THEIR WISDOM, I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO BRING 'EM INTO THIS SPACE BECAUSE THEY'VE, THEY'VE BEEN ORGANIZING AND THEY, THEY'VE BEEN AT THE HEART GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING THE ONES THAT HAVE GUIDED ME, UH, IN MY WORK AS A TEACHER AND NOW AS A RESEARCHER.I THINK, UM, I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S, IT'S ABOUT HAVING THAT ETHNIC STUDY SENSIBILITY TO, TO HAVE, UM, LIKE THAT HEART OF JUSTICE THAT SO MANY OF OUR TEACHERS DO HAVE, UM, IN THIS DISTRICT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THOUGH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE AWARE OF, UH, OF AN EDUCATION SCORECARD THAT WAS JUST ISSUED THIS, UH, THIS MONTH INDICATING THAT, UH, AND ANALYZING THE ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS OF STUDENTS IN READING AND MATH, UM, ACROSS THE NATION.
UH, CALIFORNIA'S LARGEST DISTRICT LA UNIFIED POSTED THE HIGHEST AVERAGE IMPROVEMENT IN MATH SCORES BETWEEN 2022 AND 2025.
AND IT HIGH HIGHLIGHTS, UM, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED.
SO I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A STATEMENT MADE ABOUT DECLINING, UM, UH, ACHIEVEMENT, BUT ACTUALLY THERE'S JUST BEEN A EDUCATION SCORECARD, UH, RELEASED RECENTLY.
AND I THINK WE SHOULD ALL BE VERY PROUD BECAUSE EVERYONE HERE AT THE TABLE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT.
AND I KNOW SOMEBODY IN THE AUDIENCE WANTS TO ASK A QUESTION, BUT I'M CONFIRMING WITH, UM, OUR BOARD SECRETARIAT.
I DON'T KNOW THE RULES AROUND THAT, SO LET ME SEE WHAT HE SAYS.
UH, NO, UH, AN AUDIENCE MEMBER UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT CHIME IN, UH, IN AN ITERATIVE DISCUSSION WITH THOSE ON THE, ON THE COMMITTEE.
HOWEVER, THEY COULD STILL SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, IF THEY'D, IF THEY'D LIKE.
AND THOSE ON THE COMMITTEE AND THE PRESENTERS CAN CERTAINLY ENGAGE IN A FULLY ITERATIVE DISCUSSION.
LOVE THAT WE ARE INSPIRING OUR AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE.
I, I DID WANNA ASK SOME QUESTIONS, BUT WE DO HAVE THE ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION COMING UP RIGHT NOW, AND WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENT, BUT MAYBE WHEN WE'RE DONE, YOU CAN RESPOND TO WHY, WHY PAR WOULD BE A GOOD SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT, AND THEN HOW CAN YPAR BE USED TO, UH, ASSESS GRADE LEVEL COMPETENCIES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALWAYS THE THING THAT EVERYBODY BRINGS.
I TAUGHT SPECIAL EDUCATION THIRD THROUGH FIFTH GRADE SPECIAL DAY PROGRAM, AND MY KIDS PARTICIPATED IN DEBATES.
THEY WROTE SPEECHES, THEY DID PLAYS, THEY DID RESEARCH IN THEIR OWN WAY.
WE
WE STILL WERE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THIS WORK.
[II.2. District Resources and Support: How are state and district mandated assessments and diagnostics currently organized and administered? What changes might there be moving forward? And how can LAUSD support assessments and diagnostics to be part of building school and classroom climates that honor students’ whole selves?]
OVER TO DR.WHO WILL, UH, PRESENT ON ASSESSMENT.
PLEASE STICK AROUND IF YOU CAN.
SO, UM, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.
I'VE BEEN ASKED TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ASSESSMENT, UM, INITIATIVES THAT WE HAVE HERE IN LA UNIFIED.
SO I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THAT.
UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE OUR TEAM MEMBER, DR.
CHO, WHO'S HERE FROM THE OFFICE OF DATA AND ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, TO, UH, RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
SO, UM, I WANNA PROVIDE YOU WITH, UH, A, A CALENDAR KIND OF A, UH, A OVERVIEW OF THE ASSESSMENTS THAT WE OFFER OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE STATE AND NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS.
THESE ARE MANDATED BY THE STATE.
UH, AND WE BEGIN FIRST WITH THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENT FOR CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS USED FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE IDENTIFIED AS EMERGENT BILINGUALS OR, OR ENGLISH LEARNERS.
UH, THAT HAPPENS, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ALL THE WAY TO THE END.
THAT MEANS THAT ANYTIME A STUDENT ENROLLS AND IS IDENTIFIED, THEY NEED TO TAKE THAT INITIAL ASSESSMENT.
UH, THE INITIAL, UH, INITIAL ALTERNATE LPAC IS ANOTHER ASSESSMENT.
THE CALIFORNIA, UM, ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE IS AN ASSESSMENT THAT HAS A WINDOW OF OCTOBER THROUGH MAY.
HOWEVER, IT'S DONE AT A DIFFERENT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY DONE THROUGHOUT THAT PERIOD.
THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, THAT'S A NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.
IT OCCURS EVERY OTHER YEAR, AND IT OCCURS AT, WITH CERTAIN SCHOOLS.
NOT ALL STUDENTS HAVE TO TAKE THAT ASSESSMENT.
THE, YOU'LL SEE THEN, THEN THE PAC, UH, IS LISTED AGAIN IN WRITING, IN SPEAKING, IN, UM, IN ALL DOMAINS, IN READING AND LISTENING.
UH, SO YOU SEE THAT THE COLORS THAT ARE IN, IN GOLD, THERE ARE ALL RELATED TO THE ELPAC RELATED TO ASSESSMENTS OF OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE, UM, ENGLISH LEARNERS.
AND THEN WE GET INTO, UH, THOSE THAT ARE IN THE NAVY BLUE.
AND HERE YOU SEE THE CALIFORNIA
[01:00:01]
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE.UM, AND HERE YOU SEE THE SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT IN LANGUAGE ARTS.
YOU SEE THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE TEST, UH, AND THEN YOU SEE THE BREAKDOWN BY GRADE LEVELS THIRD THROUGH EIGHT.
UM, THE CAST IS TAKEN BY STUDENTS IN GRADE FIFTH AND EIGHTH.
AND THEN THE SMARTER BALANCE ASSESSMENT IS FOR STUDENTS, UH, IN, UH, LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH ARE FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE THREE THROUGH EIGHT AND 11TH.
UH, AND SO THIS CALENDAR HERE SHOWS WHERE THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF ASSESSMENT IS TAKING PLACE.
AND IT'S MOSTLY AROUND, UM, THE SPRINGTIME.
SO THIS IS THE PERIOD WHEN THOSE STUDENTS ARE TAKING THOSE ASSESSMENTS.
THOSE ARE STATE AND NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS.
SO WE MUST TAKE THOSE WHEN IT COMES TO THE DISTRICT'S ASSESSMENTS, THIS IS THE COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.
AND WE BEGIN FIRST WITH THE, UM, INTERIM ASSESSMENT OF I-READY READING AND MATH.
THAT ASSESSMENT HAS BEEN IN EFFECT, I THINK IT'S ABOUT BEEN ABOUT THREE YEARS.
AND OUR BOARD APPROVED THAT ASSESSMENT.
THAT ASSESSMENT WILL BE, UH, SUNSETTING SOON, AND WE'LL GO OUT THROUGH IT FOR ANOTHER, UH, RFP TO PROVIDE THE BOARD WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE SHAW SETTLEMENT DOES REQUIRE OUR STUDENTS TO TAKE, UM, AN ASSESSMENT.
AND SO THIS IS THE CURRENT ASSESSMENT THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE IN KINDER THROUGH SECOND.
SO, UH, THE STUDENTS WHO ARE TAKING THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENT THAT HAPPENS, UH, IN AUGUST THROUGH SEPTEMBER IN GRADES K THROUGH TWO IN READING AND MATH.
AND THEN THE LAST LINKS, THAT IS THE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT SKILLS, LINKS FOR STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS.
AND THIS IS TO HELP IDENTIFY WHAT LANGUAGE, UM, SUPPORT STUDENTS NEED WHO ARE STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS.
AND, UH, THEN WE HAVE THE, UM, PRELIMINARY SCHOLASTIC APTI APTITUDE TEST, WHICH IS THE PSAT THAT IS ADMINISTERED IN GRADE 10.
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS REQUIRED US TO ADMINISTER THAT ASSESSMENT.
UM, IN GRADE 10, THE READING DIFFICULTIES RISK SCREENER FOR GRADE K THROUGH TWO, THAT IS ACTUALLY A, A STATE REQUIREMENT.
UM, SO, BUT IT'S, UM, AN ASSESSMENT THAT OUR DISTRICT HAS ADOPTED.
IT'S ADOPTED, UH, THE DIBELS ASSESSMENT IN ORDER TO, UH, DETERMINE, UH, THE RISK OF READING DIFFICULTIES.
UH, THEN WE HAVE THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENT HERE AGAIN.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE ADMINISTERING THAT IN FEBRUARY.
THE LAST LINKS, AGAIN FOR MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, THE OLSAT, WHICH IS THE OTIS LENIN'S SCHOLASTIC, UH, APP ABILITY TEST FOR GIFTED IDENTIFICATION.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST.
UH, AGAIN, THAT IS ANOTHER BOARD ADOPTION.
AND THEN, UH, IF STUDENTS ARE IN AN AN AP COURSE, THEY TAKE ADVANCED PLACEMENT TESTS AFTER THEY TAKE THEIR AP COURSE.
UH, AND SO WHAT WE'LL FIND IS THAT MANY TIMES OUR STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL ARE FINDING THAT THAT SPRINGTIME IS WHERE THEY HAVE, IT'S VERY HEAVY WHEN IT COMES TO ASSESSMENT BECAUSE OF WHAT'S REQUIRED WITH THE STATE AND ALSO THE COURSES THAT THEY'RE TAKING.
SO IF THEY'RE TAKING AN AP TEST, UH, THAT THE BENEFITS TO THAT IS THAT THEY GET COLLEGE CREDITS GOING INTO COLLEGE.
AND THEN LASTLY, UH, THE END OF YEAR ASSESSMENT.
HOWEVER, THE STUDENTS IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHTH AND 11TH ARE EXEMPT FROM THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE TAKING THE, UM, UH, TAKING THE, UH, THEY'RE TAKING THE ASSESSMENTS, THEY'RE TAKING THE STATE MANDATED ASSESSMENTS, SO WE DON'T WANNA OVERBURDEN THEM WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN, EXCEPT FOR THE STUDENTS WHO WOULD NEED THAT FOR RECLASSIFICATION.
SO THE ONLY, UM, SO THE, THE ASSESSMENT THAT IS CONSISTENTLY ADMINISTERED TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS IS THE I-READY? ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, DR.
AND THAT IS OH, YES, OF COURSE.
I'M THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE OFFICE OF DATA AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
UH, RECENTLY WAS THE PRINCIPAL AT FROST MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR SEVEN YEARS.
SO, AND SO, IT'S KIND OF A HOMECOMING FOR ME.
BEFORE THAT, I WORKED IN DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION.
UH, WE JUST, UH, SKIPPED THE PFT.
THAT'S THE PHYSICAL FITNESS CRA.
AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION ON THE STATE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND OUR COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PLAN.
UM, I'M SURE WE HAVE LOTS OF COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS ON THIS.
IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO START, I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO ASK ABOUT THE, UM, THE LOSS.
WHO ARE THE STUDENTS THAT GENERALLY TAKE THIS TEST? THAT WOULD BE OUR, OUR STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS.
UM, SO OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE, UM, AFRICAN AMERICAN, MEXICAN AMERICAN, UM, THERE'S A,
[01:05:01]
THE WHOLE CATEGORY OF STUDENTS THAT ARE STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS, THOSE ARE THE STUDENTS THAT WOULD TAKE, UM, THAT WOULD TAKE THE, UH, THE LOST LINKS.SO THOSE STUDENTS TAKE THE LOSS LINKS AND THEY ALSO TAKE THE I-READY, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
THEY DON'T TAKE THE ELPAC THOUGH, RIGHT? NO.
SO, SO THESE STUDENTS ARE TAKING, UH, LET'S SEE.
THEY TAKE TWO TESTS THREE TIMES A YEAR.
IF THEY, THE, THE I-READY IS TAKEN TWO TIMES A YEAR, AND, AND FOR GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT, THEY DON'T TAKE IT.
THEY DON'T TAKE THE END OF YEAR BECAUSE THEY'RE TAKING THE SMARTER BALANCE ASSESSMENT.
SO GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHTH AND 11TH, DON'T TAKE THE I-READY.
UM, SO THE, THE LAST LINKS WOULD BE FOR THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE ENGLISH ONLY STUDENTS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, HISTORICALLY IN THESE, IN THESE DIFFERENT, SO THAT'S OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN AND MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS.
AND THEN, THEN THE SECOND GRADERS ALSO TAKE THE OLSAT.
SO I'M JUST LOOKING AT HOW MANY DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS OUR LITTLE AS KIDS TAKE.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THEY TAKE IREADY.
UH, SOME ARE, ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND, AND MEXICAN AMERICAN KIDS ADDITIONALLY TAKE, UM, THE LOST TEST.
AND THEN, SO THAT'S TWO TESTS FOR ONE PARTICULAR GROUP.
AND I'M SURE THAT THERE'S SOME, SOME KIDS WHO PROBABLY HAVE OTHER IDENTIFICATIONS.
UM, AND THEN, THEN THERE'S THE OLSAT, WHICH IS FOR OUR SECOND GRADERS.
SO THEN OUR SECOND GRADERS ACTUALLY.
AND IF YOU'RE AFRICAN AMERICAN, YOU MAY WIND UP TAKING THREE DIFFERENT TESTS, OR IF YOU'RE A MEXICAN AMERICAN, 'CAUSE YOU TAKE I-READY, THEN YOU TAKE THE OAT IN SECOND GRADE, IF YOU'RE SECOND GRADER WHO IS MEXICAN AMERICAN OR AFRICAN AMERICAN, YOU'LL BE TAKING I-READY LOSS.
AND OAT, I THINK I WOULD CALL THE STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNER.
IF YOU STANDARD OR STANDARD ENGLISH LEARN AT AMP SCHOOLS.
I JUST DON'T, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT DESIGNATION WAS LIKE.
WHO ARE THE, UH, STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS? SO, OKAY.
BUT THE, THOSE STUDENTS NOW TAKE, WHO ARE IN SECOND GRADE TAKE AT LEAST THREE TESTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO TO TWO, ONE TO TWO TIMES A YEAR OR THREE TIMES A YEAR.
IT JUST, I'M, I'M POINTING THIS OUT BECAUSE I CAN SENSE WHY FAMILIES AND WHY TEACHERS FEEL LIKE THERE'S SO MUCH ASSESSMENTS.
AND USUALLY WE SAY, WELL, WELL, IT'S ONLY A COUPLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY ONE QUESTION, BUT IT FEELS, THAT'S THE COMPLAINT THAT WE GET MOST OF THE TIME, IS THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO ACTUALLY TEACH BECAUSE THERE'S ALL THESE ASSESSMENTS.
AND NOW I SEE IT, I MEAN, I FELT IT AS A TEACHER BECAUSE I TAUGHT SPECIAL EDUCATION.
MY KIDS NOT ONLY HOW TO TAKE TESTS, BUT THEY ALSO HAD TO DO PROGRESS MONITORING, WHICH MEANT MORE TESTING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO I'M JUST, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVE SO MANY
WELL, THE READING DIFFICULTIES, RISK SCREENER, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IS STATE, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IT'S HERE ON THE, DON'T HAVE A CHOICE ON THAT WE SELECTED.
UM, THE, AND OTHERS ARE BOARD MANDATES.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THE GRADE TWO THAT WAS TO HELP OUR STUDENTS BE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED.
SINCE THAT, UM, INITIATIVE OCCURRED WHERE WE HAVE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS BEING ASSESSED, MORE STUDENTS ARE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED AND, AND IT'S STUDENTS OF COLOR.
SO THAT IS A BENEFIT TO OUR STUDENTS TO BE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED STUDENTS.
UM, SO WHAT, SO SOME OF THESE HERE ARE EITHER BOARD, BOARD MANDATED, OR THE STATE.
UM, THE I-READY IS A ONE, THE I-READY IS, IS THE ONE THAT'S REALLY FOR ALL STUDENTS.
AND IT'S, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS REQUIRED FOR RECLASSIFICATION.
SO IT'S OUR ASSESSMENT TO HELP OUR STUDENTS RECLASSIFY.
AND THEN THERE WAS A QUESTION THAT I GOT FROM A, A TEACHER ABOUT WHY NOT USE DIBELS WHEN WE USED TO USE DIBELS AND THE POSITIVE THING, AND, AND, AND MAYBE FOLKS CAN CHIME IN ON THAT, BUT THE POSITIVE THING ABOUT DIBELS IS THAT IT WAS ADMINISTERED BY A TEACHER.
RIGHT? SO THE TEACHER COULD SEE THE STRUGGLES, COULD DO MORE ASSESSMENT IN, IN THE PROCESS OF AS ASSESSING VERSUS IREADY, WHICH IS THE COMPUTER.
AND SO ANYWAY, WHY ARE NOT USING THAT ANYMORE? SURE.
SO WHEN WE, UH, I, WHEN WE ADOPTED THE SCREENER, WHICH IS DIBELS, WHAT THE STATE GUIDELINES REQUESTED IS, WE COULD NOT USE IT AS A HIGH STAKES ASSESSMENT AS WELL.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR OUR STUDENTS TO RECLASSIFY, THEY REQUIRE A NUMBER OF CRITERIA, ONE OF THEM BEING AN ASSESSMENT.
THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE HAD TO PIVOT TO WAS I-READY IN ORDER FOR, FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO RECLASSIFY.
UM, SO BECAUSE THE MINUTE WE, I, WE IDENTIFIED IT AS THE SCREENER, WE COULD NO LONGER USE IT AS THE CRITERIA FOR RECLASSIFICATION.
INSTEAD WE WENT WITH I-READY BECAUSE IT WAS ALREADY BEING USED IN THE SYSTEM.
EVERYONE, MOST ALL STUDENTS WERE USING IT EXCEPT FOR KINDER THROUGH, UH, ACCEPTED KINDER THROUGH SECOND
[01:10:01]
GRADE, UH, IN LANGUAGE ARTS.AND SO THAT'S THE REASON WE WENT THAT ROUTE.
SO WE HAD TO GET TWO DIFFERENT ASSESSMENTS NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE'RE USING ONE FOR RECLASSIFICATION AND THE OTHER ONE IS A SCREENER.
WE, WE COULDN'T USE THE SCREENER TO RECLASSIFY MM-HMM
THAT'S WHY WE HAD TO USE ANOTHER ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS THE I-READY, I'M GONNA GIVE FOLKS A CHANCE TO, TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS WHY YOU SAID THAT THERE'S ONE OF THE CRITERIA TO RECLASSIFY AS ASSESSMENT, CURIOUS ABOUT THE OTHER CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE.
AND I DON'T HAVE OUR EL EXPERTS HERE IN THE ROOM TOO.
I WILL GO AHEAD AND, AND OFFER.
UM, LAURA, AND THEN KATE, YOU WANNA, KATE, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I KEEP CALLING ON YOU AS IF YOU DO, I FEEL LIKE I NEED YOU TO SAY SOMETHING.
MAYBE THAT'S WHY I KEEP CALLING YOU.
UM, SO WHO, WHO HAD THEIR HAND UP? HI.
UM, SO THIS IS, UH, MY 26TH YEAR, UH, TEACHING FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADE, UH, CLASSES.
SO I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH TESTING.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU'VE MASTERED IT, THEY CHANGE IT UP ON YOU AND THINGS, THINGS ARE DIFFERENT.
ONE OF THE MORE RECENT CHANGES THAT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO BRING TO PEOPLE'S ATTENTION IS, UM, THE LAST MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, TWO OR THREE YEARS WHERE WE TAKE, UH, BEGINNING OF YEAR ASSESSMENTS, UM, IN IREADY.
AND I THINK BECAUSE OF OUR, OUR STATUS AS TIER ONE, WE TOOK ALSO I A HMM, SORRY, TIER THREE FOR SOME REASON, BECAUSE GRADES ARE 4, 3, 2, 1, I THINK OF ONE IS LOW.
UM, I THINK LAST YEAR WE ALSO DID IEPS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, END OF THE YEAR.
AND THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS THAT ESPECIALLY IN MATH, THE STANDARDS ARE VERY CLEAR FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT.
AND THEY'RE DIFFERENT, RIGHT? THEY'RE, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE JUST TEACHING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER.
AND SO FOR A CHILD, A CHILD TO COME IN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND BE TESTED ON STANDARDS THAT THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT, LIKE LET'S SAY ADDING AND SUBTRACTING FRACTIONS, YOU GOTTA GET THE COMMON DENOMINATOR, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
UM, OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER IT HAS TO DO WITH DECIMALS.
SO THE, FOR AS TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, WE ARE INTELLECTUALS, BUT WE ARE ALSO EMPATHS AND THE DEMORALIZATION OF THE CHILD ON, YOU KNOW, THEIR FIRST, SECOND, THIRD WEEK OF SCHOOL BACK TO BE FACED WITH PROBLEMS THAT THEY'VE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT AND TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH 40 OF THEM.
AND THEN, OH, SURPRISE, SURPRISE, YOU DIDN'T SCORE AT A FIFTH GRADE LEVEL 'CAUSE YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT THIS.
IT'S JUST, IT, IT GOES AGAINST COMMON SENSE.
AND I JUST THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT SOMETIMES THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING TEACHERS IN THE ROOM TO SHARE ANECDOTES AND TO SHARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
AND SO, AND EVEN WHEN YOU GET TO THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR ONE, WELL, MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN TAUGHT HALF THE STANDARDS, BUT HALF YOU STILL, THE CHILD STILL HAS THAT SICK FEELING IN THEIR STOMACH OF LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO HERE.
AND, AND THEN YOU ARE SURPRISED WHEN CHILD, WHEN CHILDREN DISREGARD THE TEST AND THEY JUST FINISH AS FAST AS THEY CAN.
SO I WOULD JUST LOVE IT IF WE COULD TEACH IT AND THEN TEST IT, TEACH IT, AND THEN TEST IT.
SO THE IAB IS, UM, IS OPTIONAL.
UM, BUT I'LL ASK, UM, MARI SANCHEZ ROBLES TO SPEAK, BUT IT'S NOT IN THIS, SO I'M, YEAH.
UH, BUT, UH, REGARDING YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE, UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE TESTING, YOU'RE ASSESSING STUDENTS ALL THE STANDARDS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, AND SHE CAN PROVIDE SOME RATIONALE FOR THEM.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MY NAME IS MARIELLA SANCHEZ AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION.
UM, SO I THINK WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING FROM WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT POSSIBLY MAYBE YOUR SCHOOL IS USING THE OPTIONAL IEB MAYBE AS A PRE AND POST ASSESSMENT IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, UM, MAYBE THE STUDENTS AND, AND, AND ADMINISTER ADMINISTERING, UM, MAYBE WHAT THEY'RE LEARNING FROM THE STANDARDS.
BAEZ JUST MENTIONED IS THAT THE IEBS OR THE F IEBS ARE OPTIONAL ASSESSMENTS IN BOTH ELA AND MATH.
AND SO THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, SCHOOL-BASED DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE.
UM, AND I CAN UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, YOUR FRUSTRATIONS AS WHAT YOU MENTIONED.
UM, AND SO THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE TAKE BACK.
AND IN TERMS OF PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU KNOW, TO SCHOOLS AS TO WHAT WOULD BE BEST, RIGHT.
PICTURES AND CYNICALLY AS TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE'RE CYNICAL, UH, AFTER SO MANY YEARS, UM, WE THINK, WELL, IS IT, THE REASON IS SO THAT THE KIDS WILL DO REALLY BAD AT THE BEGINNING AND THEN WE'LL SHOW GROWTH AND WE'LL SHOW MORE GROWTH AND THEN WE CAN ALL CELEBRATE
[01:15:01]
THAT THE KIDS LEARNED WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO LEARN BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WHEN THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT.SO, I MEAN, IT'S NICE TO SEE GROWTH, BUT IF YOU'RE DOING IT THAT WAY, IT, IT SEEMS A LITTLE DISINGENUOUS.
YOU KNOW WHAT, THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT THAT SOME OF THESE ARE SCHOOL SITE DECISIONS, RIGHT? SO IT MAKES ME WONDER, RIGHT, THE, THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE DECIDING THAT ARE PROBABLY EXPERIENCING A LOT OF TESTING.
SO JUST WONDERING THEN MAYBE IT, I MEAN, WHY, WHY ARE PEOPLE MAKING THAT CHOICE AT A SCHOOL TO DO I-READY AND THEN AGAIN, TO DO AN IAB, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY GETTING DIFFERENT DATA? IS IT, I MEAN, WHAT WOULD BE THE PURPOSE OF DOING THAT? OR IS IT THAT THEY DON'T FEEL ONE IS GIVING THEM THE INFORMATION THEY NEED? I DON'T KNOW.
I'LL INQUIRE, I'LL INQUIRE ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, BECAUSE IT IS A VERY, UH, IT'S IT, THAT'S WHERE I THINK THIS FEELING OF WE'RE TESTING MORE THAN TEACHING COMES FROM WHEN WE'RE DOING WAY TOO MANY TESTS.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY? I WANNA, I WANNA ENCOURAGE FOLKS WHO HAVE NOT SPOKEN YET TO RAISE YOUR HAND AND SPEAK, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT ME LIKING WHAT I, YOU HAVE TO SAY.
I WANT YOU TO, TO FEEL SAFE TO SPEAK, TO ASK THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT.
AND I WANNA HEAR FROM EVERYBODY.
THIS IS OUR COMMITTEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT DR.
BIAS TO HEAR EVERYTHING FROM EVERYBODY.
WE WANT OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO HEAR, WE WANT, YOU KNOW, OUR DATA PERSON, WE WANT EVERYBODY TO HEAR THIS.
SO, ANYBODY? NO, I'M GOING BACK FOR A SEC.
SO OUR SCHOOL ACTUALLY CHOSE IREAD.
THINK THE QUESTION WOULD BE, WILL WE GO BACK TO A PLACE WHERE SCHOOLS CAN CHOOSE? I SEE IBS OVER I-READY BECAUSE OUR TEACHERS ACTUALLY REALLY LIKE THE IB AND F IBS AND THEY DON'T REALLY CARE FOR THE I-READY.
AND WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE RFP PROCESS, EVERY, THAT'S THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.
THAT'S WHEN WE ARE SUNSETTING OR CONCLUDING A CONTRACT.
UH, BEFORE THAT WE BEGIN A NEW SELECTION PROCESS.
AND AS WE'RE ENGAGING OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION AS WE'RE IDENTIFYING THAT TOOL.
CAN YOU TELL US AGAIN WHEN THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN? WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THIS RFPI BELIEVE, UM, IT'S GONNA START, IS IT IN THE FALL OF 28 OR THE, IT'S THIS FALL OR NEXT FALL.
AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO EVERY THE COMMITTEE WHAT THAT RFP IS? WHAT, WHAT'S THAT PROCESS? IT'S AN APPLICATION PROCESS.
SO WE, UM, WE WORK WITH THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE AND FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES ABOUT, UM, CREATING AN APPLICATION THAT'S PUBLIC.
SO THAT ALTHOUGH THAT THERE'S A WINDOW OPEN, WE DEVELOP A SCOPE OF WORK.
THE SCOPE OF WORK MEANS THIS IS WHAT THE DISTRICT IS ASKING FOR, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED.
UH, AND THEN THERE'S A NUMBER OF APPLICANTS.
UM, THERE'S A SELECTION COMMITTEE THAT IS COMPRISED OF EDUCATORS, UH, IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND THEN THEY LOOK AT A RUBRIC.
THEY, UM, THEY LOOK AT ALL THE APPLICATIONS.
UH, WE NARROW DOWN THE LIST, UH, AND THEN WE WORK WITH PROCUREMENT.
AND THEN WE NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS, AND THEN WE GO TO THE BOARD AND WE RECOMMEND, UH, AN ASSESSMENT.
AND THIS IS FOR THE ASSESSMENT SINCE IREADY IS SUNSET, RIGHT? WE'LL BE SOON IN 2029, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN.
SO WE, BUT WE DON'T WANT, WE DON'T WANNA START THEN WE WANNA START BEFORE THAT IN THE FALL OF 2028 IS WHEN WE WERE GONNA GO THROUGH THE RFP PROCESS.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY.
I'M GONNA SAY SOMETHING, BUT NOW THAT, UM, I HAVE, SINCE YOU MADE THAT COMMENT, DISAGREE SINCE YOU MADE THAT COMMENT, THEY MADE ME THINK OF, UH, SO WHO, UH, YOU ARE, YOU'RE GONNA GET IN A GROUP, I GUESS, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT REALLY GOOD WITH THE RFS AND ALL THAT STUFF.
RFPS AND ALL THE, ALL THE ACRONYMS. I'M NOT REALLY, I'VE NEVER BEEN GOOD AT THAT.
BUT YOU ARE GONNA BE IN A COMMITTEE.
I SENSE THAT, THAT I GOT THE SENSE YOU'RE GONNA BE NOT COMMITTEE WHERE YOU'RE SELECTING THE NEXT ASSESSMENT TOOL.
AND SO MY QUESTION TO YOU GUYS IS, DO YOU HAVE TEACHERS IN THAT COMMITTEE? BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT, UH, DO YOU GO THROUGH LIKE A TRIAL RUN OF THE TESTS? BECAUSE WHEN WE, AS A TEACHER, WHAT I EXPERIENCE IS LIKE, HERE'S YOUR TEST AND HERE WHAT, AND THEN HERE'S WHAT YOU G GUYS DO.
AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT LOOKS LIKE, I DON'T LIKE THIS TEST.
IT SEEMS LIKE NOBODY, IT IS DOING LIKE A RUN OF LIKE WHAT THE BENEFIT OF THE TEST, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY INTENDED TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN.
YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY LIKE TRIAL, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE SHOULD BE A TRIAL AND A TEST, A TESTING PERIOD WITH LIKE THE KIDS ACTUALLY TEST ON THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PLATFORM AND THEN YOU SEE
[01:20:01]
IF THIS IS A GOOD PLATFORM, IF IT'S LIKE PERFORMING WELL.LIKE, 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO, ESPECIALLY WITH BIG COMPANIES.
AND L-A-U-S-D HAS A LOT OF POWER, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T JUST BE LIKE, OH, THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE FOR ME, I THINK L-A-U-S-D COULD BE LIKE, THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DESIGN FOR ME, FOR ME TO, TO GET YOUR, SO FOR YOU TO HAVE MY BUSINESS AND I FEEL LIKE IT, WE SHOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS, WHAT YOU HAVE.
OKAY, I'LL CHOOSE FROM THE BEST.
WE, WE REALLY THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK.
WE'LL TAKE THAT BACK FOR THE SELECTION PROCESS.
BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WE PUSH BACK ON ALL, ALL THE, ALL PUBLISHERS AND EVERYONE.
WE DON'T, WE DON'T TAKE THINGS OFF THE SHELF.
WE HAVE THEM CUSTOMIZE IT FOR L-A-U-S-D.
HOW DO YOU DO? I DID HAVE THE OTHER THINGS.
COULD I, SO I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
YOU SAID THAT THE, UH, THE LAST, UH, THE LAST TEST FOR THE, UH, STANDARD ENGLISH LEARNERS, UM, THAT HAVE TO TAKE, AND I WAS WONDERING WHAT IS THE, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT, WHAT'S BEING DONE WITH THOSE TEST COURT RESULTS? LIKE WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? I MEAN, LIKE, I CAN SEE, OKAY, YOU GOT A TEST, BUT WHAT IS THE, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE RESULTS? THE RESULTS ARE MEANT TO HELP GUIDE INSTRUCTION WHEN IT COMES TO LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION.
UM, AND I WOULD INVITE THE EXPERTS FROM THE ACADEMIC ENGLISH LEARNING MA, UH, ENGLISH MASTERY PROGRAM TO COME AND TO SPEAK MORE TO THAT AND TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW.
I'M NOT THE EXPERT IN THAT AREA, BUT THAT IS REALLY WHAT IT'S MEANT FOR.
SO IN GENERAL, I GUESS MY COMMENT IS LIKE WE SHOULD LIKE REVIEW LIKE WHAT ACTUALLY IS HAPPENING BECAUSE LIKE, YOU KNOW, AS LIKE WHEN WE DO THE I-READY AND I GET AN I-READY TEST SCORE, I DON'T REVISE MY INSTRUCTION BASED ON THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR, OUR, OUR CURRICULUM THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW.
SO I GOT THE TEST SCORE, BUT I AM CONTINUING MY CURRICULUM AND WE HAVE A CURRICULUM I HAVE TO FOLLOW.
SO LIKE, YEAH, I JUST GOT THIS SCORE, BUT IT'S NOT OF USE TO ME.
BUT I MEAN IT IS SOME, SOME, SOME USE.
ACTUALLY I ALREADY, AND WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY BACK IT WAS THAT I DID END UP DOING THE I-READY.
SO SOMEBODY WAS ASKING IN THE COMMITTEE, LIKE WHO WOULD DO THE I-READY OVER THIS OTHER ONE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND I SELECTED, EVEN THOUGH IT'S LIKE WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT, I, AS A TEACHER SELECTED TO, I ELECTED TO DO THE I-READY ON MY PERFORM IT WITH MY STUDENTS BECAUSE WHAT IS THE USE FOR ME TO DO A BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENT AND THEN, AND A MIDDLE OF THE YEAR ASSESSMENT, THEN, HEY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO WE HAVE NOT THE, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE WHOLE SCOPE OF THE GROWTH AT THE END.
IT SEEMS, IT SEEMS REALLY BACKWARDS TO ME.
SO THEN, THEN I ACTUALLY, SO I CAN GET MORE OF A SENSE OF WHAT MY STUDENTS ARE DOING SELECTED TO DO IT, WHICH IS LIKE KIND OF SOMETHING AWFUL BECAUSE IT'S OVER TESTING THE CHILDREN.
BUT LIKE IF I'M GIVING THESE ASSESSMENTS, WHY ARE WE NOT DOING IT AT THE END? IT MAKES ZERO SENSE TO ME.
UM, DEMI, CAN I, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION OR NO, BECAUSE OKAY, SO LET'S TRY TO KEEP IT LEAN SO THAT I CAN LET, UM, AND THE LAST, OUR BOARD MEMBER, SORRY, THE LAST LEAN QUESTION IS, I KNOW THAT FOR STUDENTS TO RECLASSIFY, THEY USE THE I-READY SCORES RIGHT NOW.
BUT MY QUESTION IS WHY ARE WE USING AN I-READY SCORE THAT IS BELOW GRADE LEVEL TO RECLASSIFY THEM? BECAUSE THAT'S THE, THE SCORE WE GET.
SO LIKE IF I, IF IF A STUDENT WE'RE RECLASSIFYING A STUDENT, THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO SCORE ON GRADE LEVEL ON THE I-READY, THEIR SCORE IS LIKE BELOW GRADE LEVEL.
AND THEN THE PROBLEM COMES WITH LIKE THE, THEY DON'T MEET THE SCORES ON THE GRADES, ON THEIR ON REPORT CARDS BECAUSE HELLO, YOUR SCORE BELOW GRADE LEVEL AND THE DISTRICT SELECTED THAT THIS IS THE PASSING SCORE FOR YOU.
HOWEVER, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO RECLASSIFY WHEN YOU'RE NOT ON GRADE LEVEL? SO LET'S, UM, I THINK DR.
BIAS SAID THAT WE, WE SHOULD PROBABLY INVITE MED TO ADDRESS THOSE QUESTIONS.
SO, UH, WE CAN PROBABLY DO THAT FOR NEXT YEAR.
UM, I JUST, I'M GONNA LET, UM, BOARD MEMBER NEW BILL SPEAK.
UH, BUT BEFORE THAT I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT ALTERNATIVES TO I-READY.
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE? GO AHEAD.
SO ACTUALLY THAT WAS KIND OF MY QUESTION.
KIND OF LIKE LOOKING FOR NEW ASSESSMENTS WITH THE RFP PROCESS, HAVING THE RFI PROCESS, WE'RE UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS, WHEN WE LOOK AT AN ASSESSMENT, WHAT'S THE USABILITY? HOW DO WE GAUGE THAT FOR OUR STUDENTS KNOWING THAT WE GOT THE RIGHT PRODUCT TO THE POINT YOU WERE MAKING, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD, DO WE WANT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN USE THAT IS GOING TO REALLY HELP US, OR WE JUST GETTING AN ASSESSMENT JUST SO WE CAN CHECK THE BOX THAT WE HAVE AN ASSESSMENT, BUT WHAT IS IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING SURE IT'S USABLE? SO THAT'S PART OF THE SCOPE OF WORK.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE WANNA SEE THE RELIABILITY, THE VALIDITY, UM, THE PREDICTABILITY FOR STUDENTS TO BE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SHOW PROFICIENCY ON,
[01:25:01]
UM, THE STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS THAT THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ADMINISTERS, UH, ARE, ARE, ARE THEY THE BEST TOOL? IS IT THE BEST TOOL TO DETERMINE IF STUDENT'S PROFICIENCY AT THAT GRADE LEVEL AT THAT TIME? SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK FOR, BUT IT'S REALLY, IT'S IN THE SCOPE OF WORK.ALL OF THE FEEDBACK AND THINGS THAT YOU'RE SHARING NOW AND THE FEEDBACK WE'VE COLLECTED THROUGH THE YEARS ARE HELPFUL TO DEVELOP A SCOPE OF WORK, ARE HELPFUL TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF ACTIVITIES WE'RE GONNA NEED TO GO THROUGH WITH THE SELECTION TEAM SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY WORK ON IT.
THEY CAN ACTUALLY GO ONTO IT, THEY CAN LOG IN AND IT, THEY COULD ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THE END USER EXPERIENCE IS LIKE.
SO WE'RE HEARING THAT FEEDBACK AND TAKING IT TO SEE THAT THE SELECTION PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH NEXT TIME IS GONNA REQUIRE A LOT MORE STEPS.
AND WITH THAT, WHAT YOU'RE JUST SHARING, 'CAUSE YOU SAID THE 28 IS WHEN THEY'RE GONNA, IS THAT WHEN THE WINDOW OPENS OR IS THAT, AND THEN WHAT DOES THAT PROCESS LOOK LIKE? BACKWARDS PLANNING TO, THIS IS WHERE WE WANNA GET THE FINAL GOAL.
SO GOING BACKWARDS, WE HAVE TO START WITH OUR SELECTION TEAM HERE IN ORDER TO GET HERE, RIGHT? SO IN THE FALL OF 2028 IS WHEN WE WERE OPEN THAT WHOLE PROCESS.
SO THAT BY, BY THE, OR MAYBE A LITTLE BEFORE THEN, PROBABLY SPRING OR SUMMER BECAUSE WE WOULD WANNA COME TO BOARD, UM, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, UH, TO PRESENT THAT TO THE BOARD.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACT AT THAT POINT.
AND THEN WE BEGIN THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AND THE, THE ENTIRE SYSTEM AND THE USE OF THAT.
SO THAT WE BEGIN IN THE FALL OF 2029.
SO SPRING OF 28, IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? SPRING OF, OF 28 IS WHEN I ANTICIPATE US STARTING.
BAAS, YOU, OH, LET ME GIVE YOU THE
YOU'RE LIKE THAT ONE STUDENT I'VE BEEN BEGGING ALL DAY.
UM, YEAH, JUST ON THIS TOPIC OF THE, OF THE NEXT ASSESSMENT THAT TEACHERS COULD BE, UM, UTILIZING IS BOTH A PARENT AND A TEACHER.
UM, ONE THING THAT I THINK IS MOST EFFECTIVE FOR ME, UM, AND HELPFUL AS A TEACHER IS HAVING SOMETHING THAT'S DIAGNOSTIC AND DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY THAT IREADY IS BECAUSE I DO UNDERSTAND THAT I IREADY, IT SEEMS THAT THE DIAGNOSTIC NATURE OF IT, THAT THE GOALPOSTS SHIFT A LITTLE BIT ACROSS THE YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I THINK IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, UM, IS THAT IT'S TRULY DIAGNOSTIC IN NATURE.
UM, AND ADDITIONALLY THAT THE DATA THAT GETS, UM, PRODUCED FROM IREADY, UM, WHAT I HAVE FOUND AS A TEACHER AND MY CAPACITY AS A COACH IS THE LACK OF PRECISION.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK PEOPLE, TEACHERS FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE TO DO IS TO ADMINISTER OTHER ASSESSMENTS TO FIGURE OUT NOT JUST WHAT THE NEEDS ARE, BUT WHAT ARE THE CLEAR NEXT STEPS.
AND I KNOW THAT IREADY, THEY OFFER SOME LESSONS AND OH, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD TRY THIS OR YOU COULD DO THAT.
I HAVE FOUND AS A, AS A READING SPECIALIST, NOT PRECISE ENOUGH, UM, SIMILAR TO ANY SORTS OF MATH, THE MATH, UH, DATA THAT GETS, THAT GETS, UH, PRODUCED OR THAT GETS, UH, WHAT DO I WANNA SAY THAT, THAT THE CHILDREN CAN, UM, PUT OUT THAT IT DOES NOT REALLY HELP US TO BE ABLE TO DO THE KIND OF TIER TWO INSTRUCTION THAT WE WANNA BE ABLE TO SEE IN CLASSROOMS. UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO BRING UP IS WITH THE DATA BREACH, WHAT I UNDERSTAND HAPPENED WITH I-READY THAT JUST TO HAVE ON PEOPLE'S RADAR THAT WHATEVER ASSESSMENT IS DECIDED UPON, THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE CRITERIA IS CLEAR COMMITMENTS TO PROTECTING OUR, OUR KIDS' DATA.
I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AS A PARENT.
UM, AND THEN THE FINAL THING I'LL SAY IS I DID WANNA JUST AGREE WITH THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT DOING AN EOY THE END OF YEAR ASSESSMENT AT THE END IN GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT.
I'M THINKING OF AS A FORMER FIFTH GRADE TEACHER.
MY KIDS HAD ESPA, THEY HAD THE SCIENCE, THEY HAD THE FITNESS GRAM, AND IT WOULD, IT'S, I THINK THIS IS A, A GOOD DECISION THAT WAS MADE TO NOT ADMINISTER THE I-READY OR WHATEVER END OF YEAR ASSESSMENT THERE IS AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
BUT BECAUSE, UM, YES, CULMINATION, UH, SO, SO MANY THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
SO I DID WANNA JUST SAY I DO AGREE WITH THAT AND I UNDERSTAND THE, THE THINKING BEHIND IT.
AND, AND SOMETHING I DO WANNA MENTION IS, I DON'T KNOW THE NATURE OF THE SECURITY BREACH, BUT WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT IS PART OF, UH, ANY CONTRACT WE HAVE WITH ANY, ANY UM, PROVIDER, UH, RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY OR DEVICES, DIGITAL TOOLS GO THROUGH A VERY THOROUGH PROCESS TO PROTECT STUDENT INFORMATION.
THEY CANNOT DO BUSINESS WITH L-A-U-S-D UNLESS THEY HAVE THAT ON FILE.
[01:30:01]
VICKI.SO I HAVE A FEW COMMENTS AND THEN ONE QUESTION.
UM, SO WE GO AND ADVOCATE AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR MONEY ALL THE TIME.
WHY CAN'T WE GO ASK FOR LESS, LESS TESTING? LIKE, I DON'T SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WITH JUST ASKING, UM, YPAR AND ETHNIC STUDIES, SINCE I DIDN'T GET TO COMMENT EARLIER, AND I'M JUST GONNA TAKE IT REAL QUICK.
I REALLY, UM, I'M A BIG FAN OF ETHNIC STUDIES AND YPAR R AND AS A PARENT, I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE DISTRICT AND HOW THEY ROLLED IT OUT AND HOW I'VE SEEN IT FOR MY KIDS.
UM, AND TO HEAR THAT IT'S BEEN SINCE 2020, IT'S KIND OF DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE THEN MY KIDS HAVE BEEN CHEATED AND IT'S BEEN SIX YEARS AND THAT'S NOT COOL.
AND AS A PARENT, I HAD TO RESEARCH SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND I HAVE THAT PRIVILEGE.
BUT WHAT ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE? SO NOT, OKAY.
AND LASTLY, MY QUESTION IS, WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL FOR A CHILD TO BE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED? IS THAT FOR THE STUDENT, FOR THE PARENTS, OR FOR THE DISTRICT? WHO'S THAT BENEFICIAL TO? ALL RIGHT.
ANY, ANY COMMENTS OR JUST THE QUESTION REGARDING GIFTED? THAT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR FAMILIES THAT WANT MULTIPLE WAYS TO DEMONSTRATE STUDENTS' IDENTIFICATION.
IT'S NOT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE DISTRICT, IT'S TO SERVE THE PARENTS AND COMMUNITY AND THE CHILDREN.
SO I WANTED TO PIGGYBACK ON SOMETHING THAT KATE SAID ABOUT, UM, ACTIONABLE INFORMATION THAT WE GET FROM TESTING OR THAT WE DON'T GET FROM TESTING.
MY UNWRITTEN THESIS IN MY HEAD HAS ALWAYS BEEN ENTITLED TRANSPARENT TESTING.
UM, BECAUSE, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE GET THE RESULTS FROM IREADY OR IB, THEY MIGHT TELL YOU, AND I'M A FIFTH GRADE TEACHER, UM, YOUR STUDENT IS AT A THIRD GRADE LEVEL, SECOND GRADE LEVEL, FIRST GRADE LEVEL.
AND FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE WE HAD FUNDING, BECAUSE WE'RE A TIER THREE SCHOOL, UM, YOU KNOW, THE KIDS WOULD GET PULLED AND I'D SAY, WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WORKING WITH THEM ON? OH, WELL, I'VE BEEN TOLD TO WORK WITH THEM ON MULTIPLICATION.
BUT IN MOMENTS WHERE I, I'M NOT FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT AND I'M WORKING WITH MY KIDS AND I REALIZE THESE KIDS DON'T KNOW WHAT SEVEN PLUS FIVE IS.
THESE KIDS DON'T KNOW WHAT 15 MINUS EIGHT IS.
AND SO THE, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THE TEST DOES NOT COME BACK WITH NEEDS WORK, ADDING NEEDS WORK, SUBTRACTING, WE JUST GET SECOND GRADE LEVEL AND WHATEVER THAT MEANS.
AND SO PEOPLE INTERPRET THAT TO MEAN, OKAY, YOU NEED HELP WITH MULTIPLICATION WHEN IN FACT IT'S LIKE, HI, WE NEED HELP WITH ADDING AND SUBTRACTING AND MAYBE THIS HAS BEEN SKIPPED BECAUSE THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SO LONG AND WE'RE NOT DOING AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT AND WE'RE NOT MEETING THE STUDENTS' NEEDS AS THEY HAVE.
AND I'LL JUST, UH, I WASN'T SURE.
AND SO, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PUT FORTH MY THOUGHT ABOUT ONE STATEMENT ABOUT TESTING IN GENERAL IS THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S BEING EVALUATED.
BECAUSE IF I WANNA KNOW, DO YOU KNOW HOW TO FIND THE AREA OF A RECTANGLE, BUT I MAKE THE PROBLEM SUCH THAT THE LENGTH IS 7.5 AND THE WIDTH IS SIX AND THREE FOURTHS AND I EMBEDDED IN A WORD PROBLEM, THEN MAYBE YOU DID KNOW HOW TO DO IT IF IT WAS JUST SIX TIMES SEVEN, BUT YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO TAKE A DECIMAL AND A FRACTION AND MULTIPLY THEM TOGETHER.
AND SO WE'RE NOT REALLY GETTING THE BASICS OF KNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? WE, WE, WE, A LOT OF THINGS GET CONFLATED IN, IN TESTS AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THAT.
[III. Committee Discussion]
BEFORE WE END, NO, WE'RE GONNA END RIGHT NOW.I JUST, I, I WANNA, I WANNA HONOR THE TIME THAT WE HAVE.
WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT COMING UP, SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE'RE GONNA END.
BUT JUST WANNA SAY THAT I KNOW THAT A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM THIS COMMITTEE IS, ONE, THERE ARE SOME ISSUES WITH I-READY IN TERMS OF USING IT AS A TOOL TO GUIDE INSTRUCTION WHEN IT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE EXACT NEED THAT A STUDENT HAS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO READING, RIGHT? WHEN THEY'RE LITTLE.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT WE DO HAVE A POLICY THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, AROUND SCREEN TIME.
AND WE ARE NOT, THE, THE PROPOSAL RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, ALLOWING LITTLES LIKE K AND ONE TO USE SCREENS TO USE ANY DEVICES.
HOWEVER, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO TEST I-READY.
SO THAT IS A DISCREPANCY, RIGHT? THAT WE, I THINK WE'RE GONNA, UH, BRING UP TO THE, UM, NOT ONLY TO THE DIVISION OF INSTRUCTION, BUT I THINK TO BOARD SHOULD BE HAVING THESE CONVERSATION BECAUSE THAT CONTRADICTS, YOU KNOW, THE POLICY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
LASTLY, I UNDERSTAND THAT KIDS HAVE TO SPEND 90 MINUTES IN ORDER TO, UH, DO THEIR PERSONALIZED LEARNING SYSTEM, BUT THEY HAVE TO REACH 70 TO 80%
[01:35:01]
IN ORDER TO PASS.IT TAKES LONGER THAN 90 MINUTES.
AND SO A LOT OF TIMES KIDS WHO ARE SPENDING ANYWHERE FROM 90 MINUTES OR MORE ARE ONLY THE, THE PASSING RATE IS LIKE 56% OF THE KIDS.
SO LESS, UH, YOU KNOW, THAN 60% OF THE KIDS ARE PASSING THAT I-READY, UH, ASSESSMENT, WEEKLY ASSESSMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO TAKE.
SO THERE'S SOME ISSUES WITH THAT AND I THINK THAT, UM, I'M GLAD THAT IT'S SUNSETTING SO WE CAN STOP AND, AND LOOK AT HOW THIS HAS BEEN, UM, USED AND HOW BENEFICIAL IT IS AND JUST LOOK AT THE CONTEXT OF, YOU KNOW, PRIVACY ISSUES, DATA BREACHING USEFULNESS, AMOUNT OF TIME, SCREEN TIME, ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR BEING HERE.
EVERYONE AGAIN, I WANNA MAKE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY KNOWS, BUT DR.
BAAS WILL BE RETIRING THIS YEAR.
SO I WANNA THANK HER FOR ALL OF HER YEARS OF SERVICE FOR BEING A LEADER IN THIS COMMITTEE AND DOING ALL THE WORK, UM, IN INSTRUCTION, UM, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS IN THE DISTRICT IN MANY CAPACITIES.
BIAS FOR ALL OF YOUR, YOUR SERVICE.
NOW, THE COMMITTEE WILL REFORM NEXT YEAR, BUT EVERY YEAR WE TRY TO CHANGE THE MEMBERSHIP WHILE MAINTAINING SOME CONTINUITY.
SO STAY TUNED FOR ANY POSSIBLE CHANGES.
UM, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING, LET US KNOW.
UM, BUT IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE TRY TO, YOU KNOW, BRING IN, UM, UH, NEW VOICES, IDEAS FROM A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING.
AND NOW I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO MIKE MCLEAN
[VI. Public Comment]
SO HE CAN, UM, LEAD US IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT.ALL RIGHT, WE'VE GOT FIVE FOLKS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
THE FIRST SPEAKER IS ERICA PIRO.
ERICA P ARE YOU HERE? LET ME CHECK ONLINE TO SEE IF ERICA P IS WITH US.
I DO NOT HAVE ERICA P UH, MARIA RAMIREZ.
ARE YOU WITH US? THESE ARE ALL FOLKS WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK IN PERSON, GARY P GARY PREZA.
YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
AND UNFORTUNATELY THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO DIRECTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, BUT I HAVE A FEELING THEY WILL WRITE IT DOWN AND EITHER ANSWER IT LATER OR, UM, SOME OTHER VIA EMAIL OR SOMETHING.
YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE, DON'T YOU BEGIN JUST, BUT IF I, THE MIC VERY SHREWD, 40 GONZALEZ.
SO, UH, I'M GARY RIZZO AND, UM, UH, I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE, UH, L-A-U-S-D PARIS FOR DESEGREGATING UH, FOR DESEGREGATED HISTORY.
I'M ALSO HERE ON BEHALF OF MY FIFTH GRADE DAUGHTER.
I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT THERE ARE FIFTH GRADE TEACHERS HERE.
AND, UH, I WANT TO, TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY HAVE A, AN INCLUSIVE, UH, COMMUNITY IF THE HISTORY THAT YOU TEACH IS ACTUALLY EX IT HAS EXCLUSIONS IN IT.
AND SO I REALLY DISLIKED THIS BOOK.
SO THIS IS THE MCGRAW HILL, UH, MAKING A NEW NATION, AND IT'S FULL OF FALSIFYING HISTORICAL EMISSIONS, FACTUAL ERRORS.
UH, IT, UM, IT, IT FALSIES HISTORY BY REMOVING HISTORICAL FACTS.
AND I'M ASK, WE'RE ASKING ACTUALLY FOR L-A-U-S-D TO STOP USING THIS BOOK AS PART OF ITS RESOURCES.
AND IN FACT, WE'D LIKE, UH, L-A-U-S-D TO SPECIFICALLY, UH, BREAK ALL CONTRACTS WITH MCGRAW HILL BECAUSE, UH, THIS BOOK, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD ERASES HISTORY.
AND SO IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO LISTEN TO DR. RAMIREZ ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE ELDERS FOR THAT SPECIFIC REASON.
UH, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T INCLUDE IN, IT DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE THE FORMAL HISTORY, NOT THE ONE FROM THE ELDERS.
BUT I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE ORAL HISTORY.
UH, AND SO ONE, ONE THING THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT, THERE ARE SO MANY PROBLEMS LIKE THE STORY OF POCAHONTAS, WHERE THEY REMOVED, UH, THE ENTIRE PART ABOUT THE, UH, ABDUCTION OF POCAHONTAS, KEEPING HER OUT FOR A YEAR FOR RANSOM.
[01:40:01]
THE COLONISTS LOOK MORAL AND ETHICAL, WHICH THEY WERE NOT.BUT ONE THING THAT, THE REASON WHY I BROUGHT THIS BOOK IS BECAUSE YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IN CHAPTER SIX THERE'S A PHOTO OF MARTIN IN WITH TWO GENTLEMEN.
ONE OF THEM IS JAMES MADISON, AND THE OTHER ONE IS GEORGE MASON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
I KNOW YOU HAVE MORE TO SAY, SIR.
YOU WHO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE? I WISH.
SO, SO WHAT I'M SAYING HERE IS THAT THEY PUT MARK, I'M SO SORRY, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A TWO MINUTE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A TWO MINUTE LIMIT, SIR, I'M, I'M SO SORRY.
UM, AND FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, OTHERWISE, I MUST, UH, GIVE EVERYONE, UH, ADDITIONAL TIME.
UH, MR. DAVID TOSKI, COME ON UP.
YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, AN ENGAGING, UH, MEETING TODAY.
I AM A FORMER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER OF 12 YEARS, CALIFORNIA TEACHER OF THE YEAR.
IF YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT IREADY, GO ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE AND LOOK AT MAY 9TH, 2023.
THAT IS THE DAY IN WHICH SUPERINTENDENT, UH, CARVALLO.
BAEZ BROUGHT THE PROCUREMENT THERE.
AND IF YOU'RE A BOARD MEMBER INTERESTED, I WOULD GET THE RFP LOOK, HOW IT, WHO SCORED IT, HOW IT WAS SCORED, AND, UH, WHO SIGNED THE CONTRACT.
AND ALL OF THE DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU TO MAKE LESSONS SO YOU DON'T MAKE THE SAME, UH, PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
THEY WERE SCORED BY TEACHERS, SELECTED BY MS. BIAS'S TEAM, UH, AND SO ON.
SO, UH, THAT WAS SOMETHING I DIDN'T EXPECT IN THIS MEETING, BUT THAT WAS GREAT TO HEAR ALL OF THAT.
NEXT, UH, ON THE AP TEST, WHICH, UH, WE DON'T PUBLISH PUBLICLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT THE KIDS' NAMES, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW HOW THE KIDS ARE DOING IN ON THREES, FOURS, AND FIVE GIFTED HAS NO PURPOSE EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT, UH, THERE'S NO MONEY ATTACHED TO IT.
SO AT THIS POINT, IT COULD BE NEURODIVERSITY AND IT COULD BE, UH, A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS.
NEXT, THE INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM NEEDS TO BE ANALYZED.
THE TEST SCORES ON THE INDEPENDENT STUDY ARE EGREGIOUSLY LOW.
6,000 CHILDREN ARE IN THE INDEPENDENT STUDY ON A FLORIDA VIRTUAL SCHOOLS, FLORIDA CURRICULUM HAS MADE IT INTO THE DISTRICT.
ALONG WITH, UH, ONE OTHER, UH, APPROACH.
THE CREDENTIALS OF THE TEACHERS IS A WORKAROUND.
THERE ARE TEACHERS WHO ARE TEACHING THE INDEPENDENT STUDY AND SUBJECTS THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A CREDENTIAL IN.
THEY'RE OVERSEEN BY SOMEBODY, BUT THAT'S NOT IT.
NEXT, THE EXCITING THINGS OF THE PRESENTATION, UH, FROM THE PROFESSOR, SUMMER SCHOOL ELECTIVES, WE HAVE NO SOCIOLOGY.
WE HAVE NO ANTHROPOLOGY, WE HAVE NO ORAL HISTORY.
WE HAVE VERY FEW ETHNIC STUDIES.
WE'VE BARELY USED THE AP RESEARCH AND THE AP SEMINAR IN A WAY THAT COULD BE USED FOR CREATIVE WAYS.
THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS HAPPENING, BUT WE ARE LOSING TEACHERS ON THE BUDGET CUTS.
AND TOMORROW THE BOARD WILL BE LOOKING AT MASSIVE, UH, BUDGET CUTS AND LAYOFFS AND, UH, AS WELL AS FURLOUGHS.
SO ASK WHICH TEACHERS ARE BEING LET GO AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS FROM RASHIDA HIGH SCHOOL TO IRVING MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WHY THEY'RE BEING LET OFF.
UH, MR. JUAN MCG, GANDHI, ARE YOU HERE? I DON'T SEE YOU HERE, MR. MAN GANDHI.
WE DO HAVE FOLKS ONLINE WITH US.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE WATCHING, BUT YOU'LL HEAR OUR TIMER GO OFF ABOUT, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
HI, YES, MY NAME IS ERICA BIZARO, AND I'M A PARENT VOLUNTEER AND CC COMMITTEE MEMBER AT TON ELEMENTARY, WHICH IS A COMMUNITY SCHOOL WITHIN THE L-A-U-S-C.
AS A PARENT WHO IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY, I BELIEVE IT'S IMPORTANT FOR L-A-U-S-D TO BE AWARE OF SEVERAL CONCERNING ISSUES RELATED TO OUR USE OF SCHOOL FUNDS AND TRANSPARENCY.
THEY WERE DISCUSSED OF SPENDING APPROXIMATELY $8,000 ON A D DEAR FOR AN OPEN RELATED HOUSE, UM, OPEN HOUSE RELATED EVENT.
DESPITE MANY FAMILIES FEELING THAT THE SCHOOL FUNDS SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED FOR STUDENTS, PROGRAMS, ACADEMIC RESOURCES, AND DIRECT STUDENT SUPPORT, BREAKFAST IN THE CLASSROOM FUNDS WERE REPORTEDLY USED TO DECORATE THE PRINCIPAL'S PERSONAL OFFICE.
IN ADDITION, CONCERNS WERE RAISED DURING THE LSLC MEETING WHERE PARENTS ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF NEW OFFICE FURNITURE.
AND WE WERE NOT GIVEN A CLEAR AND HONEST EXPLANATION.
DUE TO THESE ONGOING CONCERNS, PARENTS ARE NOW REQUESTING
[01:45:01]
A FINANCIAL AUDIT REVIEW OF HOUSE SCHOOL FUNDS AND BEING ALLOCATED AND SPENT.SHE CONSTANTLY TREATS PARENTS AND TEACHERS, STAFFING STUDENTS WITH DISRESPECT, INTIMIDATION, CREATING A TOXIC, HOSTILE, AND DEEPLY UNHEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AT BERTAN ELEMENTARY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, MARIA RAMIREZ, I SEE YOU'RE ON THE LINE.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? YEAH, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UM, SO I'M ALSO, UH, A PARENT OF BIRD TREND AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
UH, MY NAME IS MARIA RAMIREZ, UH, WHICH IS ALSO A COMMUNITY SCHOOL FOR LA USD.
UM, SO TRE IS GOING THROUGH SOME THINGS RIGHT NOW, UM, WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE FEELING UNSAFE AND UNSUPPORTED AND UNHEARD.
UM, INSTEAD OF MANY FAMILY, STAFF AND STUDENTS FEELING, UM, ARE FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE AND IGNORED.
AND THE FACT THAT THE FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS CREATED A PETITION FOR THE, FOR MS. MENDOZA TO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE CULMINATION SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DEEPLY CONCERNING FOR L-A-U-S-D.
UM, MY SON, UH, TURNED IN THAT PETITION TO DR.
UM, AS A PARENT, I HAVE PERSONALLY WITNESSED THE WAY STAFF MEMBERS HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO AND THE FEAR AND THE TENSION IT CREATES, UM, WHEN STAFF MEMBERS FEEL INTIMIDATED, THE STUDENTS FEEL IT TOO.
THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE SCHOOL STARTS WITH LEADERSHIP AND IT IS VERY UNHEALTHY RIGHT NOW.
UM, MANY PARENTS NO LONGER FEEL WARM AND THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT ONCE BERTRAND HAD IS NOT SPECIAL ANYMORE.
UM, WE'RE ASKING IF YOU GUYS COULD PLEASE LISTEN TO OUR CONCERNS AS WE'RE, WE DEEPLY CARE ABOUT THE SCHOOL AND OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE, AND WE'RE SCARED THAT SHE'S RUNNING OUR SCHOOL TO THE GROUND AND DO, AND WE DON'T WANT IT TO CLOSE BECAUSE OF HER NEGLIGENCE.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
UNLESS MR. JUAN MA GANDHI IS IN HERE.
UH, I DO NOT SEE YOU ONLINE, MR. MON GANDHI.
UH, THANKS FOR YOUR TIME, EVERYONE.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
LET'S STICK AROUND FOR A QUICK PICTURE.