The Venice High School in Los Angeles has been offered a choice by the district administration: accept a pilot school or a charter school to share your space. The community was not asked for its input nor offered the choice to say no to a pilot school and a charter school.
The first pilot school was going to be created by non-educator Steve Barr, but the LA board decided to backtrack so they approved the plan to co-locate in the VHS building but to locate Barr’s school elsewhere.
The principal of Venice High School was told that a decision about the future of the school will be made during spring break. A typical reformer trick to make sure that the people most affected are not asked to participate in the decisions that affect them.
The principal sent out the following appeal to the Venice High School community, inviting them to deliberate the future of the school. It was a bold move to assert the concept that the public schools belong to the public, not to John Deasey, not to Monica Garcia, not to Eli Broad or Bill Gates or Michael Bloomberg or Wall Street. Its about an old-fashioned but nearly forgotten idea called democracy, where the voice of the public matters.
They met yesterday, and I look forward to hearing what was decided.
She wrote:
Pilot School Information
Dear Venice High School Community,
I wanted to give you an update to the LAUSD School Board vote regarding the Incubator Pilot School.
The School Board decided yesterday, 3/19/13 to approve the Incubator Pilot School but not the location. The board specified that either Venice High School’s SBM OR SSC vote on whether the Pilot School should be placed on our campus. The alternative is that if Venice denies the Pilot, a charter school would be offered the 14 empty classrooms.
At first, we thought we had until the next time the board meets, which is in April to make a decision.
During a late afternoon, phone conference today, with several central and ESC-W staff members, I was informed that the district has a legal deadline to meet in regards to offering space to a charter school, which is next Friday, March 29, 2013 (when we are on Spring Break). Venice High School therefore has to make a decision by this Friday, March 22 on whether we are approving the Pilot School to co-locate on our campus or not. Again, if we decide not to have the Pilot School co-locate on Venice HS, the empty classrooms will be offered to a charter school.
The Incubator Pilot School Design Team and Sponsors will be here all day tomorrow, 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. to facilitate optional informational sessions for teachers and parents during the different periods. They will also speak with the Leadership Class tomorrow. Please feel free to see them and get more information if needed.
I am calling for an emergency SBM and SSC meeting for Friday, March 22, 2013 at 12:40 p.m. Under the Brown Act an emergency meeting can be called with a 24-hour notification. I think it is best that we come together as a big group to hear the same information and then we can break and vote as individual groups. The Incubator Pilot School Design Team will also be available on Friday, 12:30 p.m. to 3 :00 p.m. to provide any additional information. I apologize for the inconvenience but this is truly out of my hands. We have tough decisions to make for the future of Venice High School but I have the confidence in each and every one of you that you will vote with your heart and mind and do what is best of our students.
Please know that I will share any and all information I get regarding the Pilot School in a fast and transparent manner and that might include late night emails. I will also be sending out an automated call to the entire Venice HS community informing them of this change of plans and post information on the website. Again, I thank you for all that you do.
Elsa Mendoza, Ed. D.
Principal
Venice High School
Diane Ravitch's blog 
this is what I call a double set up. We went through this a couple of years ago concerning stopping cell phone towers near schools. After we crushed their “Top Gun” attorney in the appeal what they next did is work with Building and Safety to use another methodology wherein they did not have to inform the public of anything. This is the same case. This principal is the reason no one knew what was happening. She did the deal behind closed doors. Now, by writing to you, she is trying to make herself look good and parent and community friendly. Nothing could be farthur from the truth. A former student, now at Columbia University, spoke about the water fountain still broken after 5 years. These people are as corrupt and sociopathic as they come and this is another example. At the Tuesday board meeting on agenda item 25 the decision was clearly to approve the plan and not the location. Now we have this twist on the issue. Why wasn’t this brought up at the meeting. The reason is just what you are reading in that letter. The sneak attack with no time to think. That principal needs to be thrown under the bus.
“These people are as corrupt and sociopathic as they come”
Nice one George.
That in a nutshell, sums up the people trying to undo public education.
I was describing this to my husband, who grew up near Venice and is familiar with the school, though he doesn’t share my interest in education policy issues. His response: “They can’t turn Venice High School over to the ****ing thieves.” If you can live with the profanity, that seems like a pretty good slogan for those opposing it.
I love it! Bumper sticker?
They have a big legal hole and that is the Brown Act which in California determines the legality of meetings. You can only declare an emergency meeting for and unknown emergency and this was not that. It is one they created themselves. Deasy is a lying crook with no ethics whatsoever. He has a phony PHD and work record. And Gates has no ethics for hiring him one week after he quit his Prince Georges County superintendents job after the stories of his phony PHD hit the press and one week after that Gates hires him as their hatchet man.
They are definately thieves. My question is, “Who would put their kid in the charter classrooms???” I can’t understand any parent’s desire to do this.
George, I think you might have to allow for principals under dire and ominous threat in some situations.
Wow, I have a new respect for this administrator who is obviously more committed to the Venice community than LAUSD top down decision making. If only all the principals and teachers could think in this manner we wouldn’t give the privateers a chance to infect our schools. Community schools should belong to the community, not an oversized, inefficient bureaucracy that doesn’t support its public schools. Kudos to the principal of Venice High for one thing we don’t have in the age of Deasy-leadership for our public schools
Wrong, this principal is the problem. In fact they broke the open meeting laws in California called the Brown Act. Specifically, California Govt. Code 54956.1 concerning emergency meetings. This was not what is defined in that specific code as an emergency.
The principal has helped to jerk the community around by being in on the sneak attack on the community. Also, a student who is now at Columbia spoke and stated that in 5 years a water fountain has not been made to work. They need to drive that principal out of that school. This is not leadership it is destruction and if you do not want to do your job which is educating our youth get out of the business. Would it be OK for someone who works on airplanes you fly in to make a mess and you die??????
Another crook looking for a payoff.
Dear Dr. Ravitch,
I am the United Teachers Los Angeles Chapter Chair (elected teacher representative) at Venice High School. I don’t know how this letter/email was sent to you, but I can vouch for its authenticity. The circumstances behind it, however, need more explanation.
Pilot schools, as originally conceived, were meant to be a way for teachers at a school site to start up an innovative program and be freed from some District and union rules. The pilot proposal in question was proposed by outsiders to Venice High School, specifically an organization called Future Is Now Schools (FIN), led by Steve Barr, formerly of Green Dot, and funded primarily by the Gates Foundation. The proposal called for a 6-12 configuration focused on developing tech entrepreneurship, with support from local Los Angeles tech companies. The proponents wanted to put it at Venice because the local high school,like the rest of Los Angeles schools, has been drastically underfunded for years and is suffering from declining enrollment, mostly to charter schools. The pilot was promoted as a better option than a charter, because the teachers would still be unionized and the school would be so awesome that students who recently have chosen non-public alternatives for middle school would be drawn back to LAUSD.
For us at the “regular school,” which also includes a foreign language magnet and a proposed STEMM magnet, the pilot seemed an awful lot like a charter co-location (California law Prop 39 demands that charters be given access to “unused” space in local schools). We would still have to share facilities like the library, the auditorium, the cafeteria, the gyms, and the pool. We didn’t see much “upside” for us.
For many of us, this pilot proposal was one more straw loaded on our backs. We have had five years of budget cuts, most class sizes are 40+, we have lost 3 “small school” projects due to the budget cuts (California Partnership Academies in media, business, and culinary arts) and lack of District support, and more. We felt that enough was enough.
School Board Member Steve Zimmer, recently touted in this blog as a champion of public education (which he is, though those of us in LA have had some differences with him over the years), put forward a motion at the School Board this past Tuesday which specified that the local school had to vote FOR the pilot in order for it to be placed on our campus.
The day after the vote, the District, presumably at Dr. Deasy’s urging, forced our principal to call the above-mentioned meeting on the day before Spring Break started, implicitly threatening that either we accept the pilot or a charter would be placed on Venice’s campus like it or not. Vigorous debate occurred, with parents even more outraged than the teachers.
Because of the short notice, legal questions were raised, and in the end the Venice School-Based Management Council failed to achieve a quorum anyway so that no vote was held, most likely dooming the pilot proposal at Venice (though it could still be placed elsewhere). If the vote had taken place, it is very likely that the pilot proposal would have lost–Steve Barr had too much baggage and everyone was angry at Dr. Deasy’s perceived strong-arm tactics.
The majority opinion of the Venice community seems to be that we are tired of being bossed around for this or that so-called reform–we demand the local schools be supported as they should be, not given away to charlatans.
Very sad. Such a lack of respect for the community.
What more can I say. Here it is from the chapter chair as to how they have been “BULLIED” for years to set them up for this and to force the decision illegally at the last moment and to declare an emergency which by the Brown Act, law, is a fantasy when you read the law which is California Govt. Code 54956.1 to be specific. I would ask Ravich to please print out for all to see that code and ask all what they think it means. Our children and our communities and society do not deserve to be treated like this and it is unacceptable and if they want a war they have it. Just like WWII, we did not want to be in it but if you want to do it this way and will not back down and be reasonable we must do what we have to do. What was the result? It took awhile but look at the results.
Barr and Deasy et al are freaking out because they see the end of their game coming. I think this blog is one part of the solution to stopping them. In the end it will be the individual and group efforts which will be the answer to stopping the destruction of our society for a very few to take it all and for us to become in essence “Indentured servants.”
My friend reminded me of this. An “empty” classroom can be the school’s parent center, science lab, leadership, yearbook room. Co-location means programs that have already been gutted take another hit. Monica Garcia has created an atmosphere at the board that openly disregards parents. Every “decision” is veiled blackmail.
It seems like Venice High has become ground zero for Deasy’s “pilot” school model. This is nothing more than an end-around to the UTLA negotiated contract with LAUSD. With this particular model, teachers can be fired “at will” . True to the “reform” model, teachers costing the school more are generally let go in favor of teachers costing much less. In addition, with a secondary school model encompassing grades 6 – 12, middle school can eventually be eliminated entirely. Having 6th graders mixing with high school students also creates a myriad of problems when it comes to sharing facillities (cafeteria, locker rooms, deans etc.)
Worst of all, the tactics that Deasy is using are typical of his dictatorship style. It’s terrible that the stakeholders he is supposed to serve are being steamrolled by his political desires. I feel especially sorry for the kids in the regular comprehensive high school. They continue to have the largest class size (up to 48 in English and 65 in Swimming) compared to A.P. and the current Language Magnet School which often have class sizes of 15 – 25. Now Deasy wants to drain even more resources with another STEMM Magnet School, a pilot school and possibly even a charter school all on the same campus. If left to him, he would have these 4 separate schools siphoning off funds, students and teachers from Venice High, which has a rich and storied 88 year history.
The fact that Deasy went around the LAUSD Board decision to back off and give the community a chance to participate in this decision, demonstrates his true intent. He obviously doesn’t care about the students, teachers or parents of this tight knit community. Hopefully the community continues banding together and fights for the preservation of Venice High.
As a parent in this west area, I am thankful
for the progress of Venice parents and staff in opposing Deasy’s injustice. Continue to expose his ways. Deasy, Zimmer, and their puppet principal need to leave Venice High alone!! So much has been stripped away from LAUSD schools and Venice is a prime example. In the past years we have all seen Venice Fine Arts stripped away and diminished, reducing and cutting out theater, music, band, film to a bare minimum. We have seen them TAKE away industrial arts like woodshop, and under the current puppet principal- Venice has “lost” promising programs that students were enjoying- New Media Academy and CASA, a successful culinary arts program popular with the kids.
And we know how she is all out after auto shop’s teacher and now perhaps all of auto shop.
Now what lies in the horizon- the “STEM” science & math Magnet??? Sounds very suspicious considering the latest from Deasy, Zimmer, & their puppet. I heard that STEM was supposed to attract 500 new kids into Venice, but that “recruiting” has gone horrible and that virtually no new students are interested. So – to fill STEM, the ones in charge are planning to just pull 200 of the good science and math kids out from Venice’s regular school! Really??!!
What kids will be left behind? What will remain of Venice- virtually no more arts, no more advanced science & math! And do you think that the STEM is going to be taking in the high at risk student groups like the ESL students and special needs students??
Venice will fail away and become a full remedial high school. STEM could be used as another weapon to kill away Venice as a true Venice community school.
PARENTS DON’T ALLOW MORE OF THIS GAME- you must give your approval before kids are pushed into STEM.
Oppose pilots, oppose charters, oppose STEM. Maintain what is left of our great community’s school -Free Venice!!!
First, be careful of what you ask for. Zimmer is nothing compared to Kate Anderson in relationship to privatizing. Zimmer is the reason that Monica Garcia will never be Board President again. There is no perfection. Deasy, your principal, the chapter chair and Steve Barr are at least the responsible parties in this situation. Personally, at this time, I do not know if Zimmer was a part of the sneak attack. What I do know is that if Zimmer had not asked the board to allow the representatives of the three schools up on agenda item 25 for the pilot schools to speak after public speaking this would have never seen the light of day. Then if Zimmer had not asked the board to separate the two different sets of schools, one no problems and 3 years for a 92.5% decision and the other Venice with the sneak attack again you would not have a reprive. Then Zimmer asked for a modification of the item to plan approved, placement not approved with the hope that they could come together in the future. Then Deasy goes crazy at the cafeteria with the parents and community members having a silent protest. And the next thing you know there is an illegal meeting. They need to read the Brown Act concerning 24 hour notice. This was not what is defined as an emergency.
If in the future Zimmer is caught planning the sneak attack and Deasy’s crazy maneuvers after that let it fall. Until now we know that he has made repeated attempts to give the Venice community time to consider. Ask anyone, I am one of the hardest on the board and superintendent for more than 20 years. I always want proof. Anyone who is fair and wants to get in their face and have credability over a long period of time would be wise to do the same. Get the documented proof. I am glad for one that Kate Anderson got her clock cleaned along with Gates, Broad and their merry rip off artist friends. And by the way UTLA did not have what it took for Zimmer to win. Jeneen Anderson a legal write in candidate asked her 8,000 voters to give their vote to Zimmer for the benefit and welfare of the children and school district. I call this preventing the “Nader Effect.” If Nader had been smart and not had an immense ego his 5,000 votes would have gone to Gore and no way Bush could have become president. In Beverly Hills last night I was there for the inaugoration of the mayor and city council and a new city council person won by 7 votes. I think that David Tokofsky once won his school board seat by about 30 votes. This is how important things like this really are when you are not in political fantasy land.
Incubator Pilot School – reminds me of the alien movie incubator. Same results…
It is literally “War of the Worlds.”
Invasion of the Body Snatchers would be my analog-vote
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is exactly what it is. The problem is that they are doing it with “Real People” and it is not a movie. In fact we have just started shooting a movie on School Corruption which will make Superman look like childs play as we have the goods and they have ideology. Great thinking.
Pilot School is DOA officially. Unanimously voted down by teachers, parents, students and the community. Thank god for SBM (school based management).
Barr and Deasy got run out of that school. That is the bottom line. It was a long term setup for failure by LAUSD. Deasy, with the phony PHD, was at the bottom of this one. Steve Barr suddenly returns from Louisianna for this. They have no Kool.
Mr Buzzetti, I hope you are right, but I doubt it. I think they (Deasy/Barr, et al.) may be down and circling, but not gone. There is an extant legal proceeding against VHS by Westchester Charter and the results of that are yet unknown and imminent. It seems prudent to expect revenge from without at the very least in one form or another. There remain “empty” classrooms that aren’t. And enrollment continues to slip overall while yet there is a huge STEMM and FL magnet waiting list — these programs are not allowed to grow while bemoaning the loss of enrollment; it is all just crazy-nuts. I think the answer is that the long-term setup for failure is still very much in place. And Barr doesn’t really care if he happened to lose out on his bid for VHS this year — next year is soon enough.
Of great underlying sadness is the ongoing concerted attack on personnel: what is a school if not its teachers, and what is left when they are all gone? There is no more music at VHS. No industrial arts – print shop: closed. Photography: gone. Auto shop teacher: vanquished. Arts, Design, Drafting, Metalworking – huh? The new STEMM magnet which is such an apparent draw, so ties up its students in requirements that they barely notice there is no space in their schedule for something like art or music. While bringing in a new science-based magnet school, yet it happens that next year there will be a net loss of science teachers. As recently as 2002 Venice HS was a national standout in science education. There is absolutely no way whatsoever that could be in any way claimed now. None at all.
I am afraid that the last laugh, the real, deep revenge, is the decimation of the classroom programming, the scattering of its formerly fine faculty. I think one popular teacher, program and class after another is being banished until finally there really will be nothing left to attract any students at all — if that has not happened already. The funny thing is, it can be hard to determine when you are in “check”. But with all those teachers and programs gone or being sent away, the school is being hollowed out from inside; there’s precious little left to defend.
We may have won the battle but unless people rise up in unison – loud, large, clairvoyant and as one – to oppose Education-Reform-That-Is-Not, the battle that really matters, will have been lost.
Dear Principal,
I am really with you. These responses are exactly what I wanted to hear. We have a plan. It is “The War of the Worlds” and the students, parents, teachers, staff and community will win with all working together and using the law to stop them. I will not lay out the plan here but it includes putting back all those classes taken away. Not removing a staff person unless incompetent. No TFA. We know budgets and financials as Deasy and all the rest will tell you for many years. I believe in your school and what all are trying to do to save this important fixture in the community as schools are what it is all about in a great society. It can be done and now is the time. This is not the only school we are working on. I am the Director of Policy for the Congress of Racial Equality of California. The founding King Family of L.A. has over 114 years of civil and human rights behind it. I do not work only education and we have a lot of political friends. Next week I am going to be in Fresno for the CREATE CA arts presentations. We will bring arts into Venice High School. We have to do this. Your community and students deserve the best for all of our futures. Sorry to have agitated everyone but look at the responses. I am overjoyed. This means everything to me after 22 years of being a fraud buster. My best friend, Richard Arthur, turned around the most criminal school in the U.S. in 1970, Castlemont High School, where the SLA assinated the superintendent Marcus Foster and tried to do the same to Richard twice. We have the best people in every field nationwide to help us. Let us all together with the help of Diane Ravich and her believers in real public education prove that it can be done. Anything big takes a team. This is how we defeated Measure J which was a tax until 2069 for $90 billion, with interest $300 billion, in under 3 weeks with less than $25,000. The rest of this week I am going to presentations and discussions on Art in the jails and needy communities and for the plight of African-American students in education put on by Congresswoman Karen Bass. CORE-CA believes in community. This means everything in total which makes a community work and schools are at the bottom of a great community and I do not mean ruining them. We can win if we all work together. I think people across the country will be interested in what we have planned as we were in Public School Choice 3.0 and have spent 3 years putting together a comprehensive plan for high schools. I always say “No money, No programme.” Thank you for this response. I just got back from a meeting in the inner city where CORE-CA has worked diligently with the Crenshaw Community to prevent devastation of the Black Community on Crenshaw Blvd. We believe in the potential of your communities and work tirelessly for them. As John Lennon said “Imagine.” Also, you must believe you can and Politics is the “Art of the Possible” and that is what we do. You and all the responders have made me a very happy person tonight at midnight today as I just got home.
These special in-district programs designed to supplant charters are just as bad. Another example is Marina Del Rey (MDR). These programs are popping up and the “host” schools are told it’s a way of fighting charter co-locations. All the parents and most every teacher I talk to agree that they are no better. They quack like ducks, they walk like ducks…they might even be worse. They take our classrooms, they’re often made up of privileged, entitled parents who expect every demand to be met even at the expense of other children. They have the weight of the school district behind them, so the host school has even less say than with a charter co-location, which is renegotiated every year.