PS Smart Tip: Being Pro-Active
No school is perfect, and no school can provide all things to all people. But many times we as parents are the first to see or hear things, either directly on campus or through our children, that could use a tweak, a solution, or an all-out revamping. Now is not the time to sit idly by and expect someone else to solve it..
Ask questions, talk to others, take a quick meeting with your teacher to find out their perspective and discuss possible solutions, and if you don’t get resolution, talk to the principal. Perhaps you’ve got ideas and some strategic planning or creative problem-solving will fix the issue. Sometimes just letting others know there is a problem that needs addressing is enough to get something adjusted or changed. Sometimes we can solve things in-house, and sometimes we have to take it all the way to our School Board Rep or Superintendent or even the press.
.
We tend to forget that these are our schools, our children, our tax dollars. Although others might be “in charge,” when all stakeholders work together collectively and collaboratively, that’s where real community can be built and positive change can take place.
Dual Language Immersion Programs: Another Option
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
.
So you’re looking for a Kindergarten and you’re beginning to buckle by the weight of so many choices…your neighborhood school, that other neighborhood school, magnets, charters, permits, oh my!
.
Well, here’s another option to consider. Language immersion.
.
Dual-Language immersion programs are not new, but they’ve been steadily growing in popularity as an alternative path that gives the gift of bilingualism, multiculturalism and a more robust world view.
.
It’s no secret we’re a global melting pot here in Los Angeles. We represent many cultures and speak many languages. In LAUSD in 2010-11 almost 30% of our incoming Kindergarteners were English Learners.
.
Dual Language immersion programs offers non-English speakers the opportunity to learn in their own language as well as English, while teaching English students to learn and integrate another language, building a bridge to both languages and cultures. Unlike taking a language class as an elective, these programs teach core subjects in both languages so the level of language acquisition and comprehension is much deeper. The goal is for students to master grade level content while learning to speak, understand, read and write in both English and the target language.
.
Some programs offer a total immersion in one language for the first year, and then a gradual movement toward the other language in subsequent years until the two are balanced. This is called the 90-10 model. Some programs teach half the core subjects in English, and the other half in the other language, the 50-50 model. In either model, students are grouped to represent both native languages equally, and they both learn from each other. Because the program is so specialized, it deserves a full six-year (K-5) commitment in order to gain the maximum benefit of proficiency, and students will exit elementary school proficient in both languages.
.
While it might take longer initially to master core subjects while learning in two languages, students will not only catch up over time, but research shows that those who achieve advanced levels of proficiency in two languages often experience cognitive and linguistic advantages when compared to monolingual students. Bilingual students perform better on tasks that require divergent thinking, pattern recognition and problem solving, and have higher levels of metalinguistic awareness. Plus, it’s just cool. It’s forward thinking in a We are the World, We are the Children kind of way.
.
On the Westside of Los Angeles, families have several Dual Language elementary school options: Edison in SMMUSD (Spanish), El Marino (Spanish and Japanese) and La Ballona (Spanish) in CCUSD, Grandview (Spanish) and Broadway (Mandarin) in LAUSD, and Goethe International Charter (German).
.
In SMMUSD, John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School offers a continuation of the Spanish Dual Language program for students who started at Edison.
In LAUSD, Mark Twain Middle School offers a continuation of the Dual Language program in Spanish, has a Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese World Languages Magnet program, and will be the future home for matriculating Broadway Mandarin Academy students. Venice High School offers a World Languages and Global Studies Magnet program, offering French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish, as well as International Relations and Global Studies.
Tour, ask questions, and investigate your options.
.
Read more:
NYTimes “The Benefits of Bilingualism” Op-Ed, here.
LAUSD Dual Language Program info, here.
The full LAUSD Dual Language Directory, here.
———–
Want to use this article? You can as long as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Tanya Anton is the creator of GoMamaGuide.com helping parents demystify and navigate their public school options in Los Angeles. To read more articles by Tanya or to learn about her Guidebooks, House Chats, Consultations, and Seminars, visit GoMamaGuide.com or email us at GoMama@mac.com.
© 2012 by Tanya Anton, GoMamaGuide.com All Rights Reserved.
PS Smart Tip: The Pink Slip
We interrupt this month’s PS Smart Tip to honor the thousands of teachers and staff (11,700 to be exact) who just received their pink slips..
In honor of these men and women who spend their days surrounded with our kids, whose futures look shaky in this time of uncertainty, we offer you this libation. I know it’s not a job, but it’s sweet, it’s tart, it’s bitter and packs a deadly punch…
.
Here’s to you and to all you do. Clink.
.
.
The Pink Slip
.
1 1/2 oz premium vodka
1 1/2 oz fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
3 shakes of bitters (Peychaud’s)
1/4 oz of simple syrup (or to taste)
lemon twist garnish
Shake with ice and strain into sugar-rimmed martini glass.
Budget Cut Season Again…Are We Outraged or Immune?
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
Full disclosure: I struggled to write an article for this month’s newsletter because despite the difficulties inherent in public schools, I like to think anyway, that I inspire parents to be part of the solution.
But when I looked at the latest edu-news feeds, I’ve got to be honest with you, even I found it hard to stay upbeat. Or write anything. And deeply question what I’m doing going out there talking up the public school options. (Not one but three teachers fired this week for sexual misconduct, more ongoing budget woes, another shortened school year, more layoffs, class size increases, and more taxes on the horizon.) Please. Where’s the good news for chrissakes!
Regardless of what you believe about magnets or charters or neighborhood schools, they’re all facing difficulties in this financial-politico landscape. (Is that a word?) Our schools have sustained an onslaught of consecutive cuts for the past 5-6 years. Now we’re at risk for another round of cuts.
But just as I was sinking lower into despondency, it occurred to me, hey, it’s February. We’ve seen this cycle before:
The District presents the worst-case scenario, blames the State, urges us to write the Governor and our members of Congress.
Then the union blasts back with outrage, proposes a rally and/or walk-out, accuses the District of mishandling funds and urges parents to write/call/fax the Superintendent and our school board members.
The Congress is in a budgetary stalemate between the Democrats wanting to increase taxes and the Republicans wanting to cut spending.
We the parents, after writing the Governor, our Congress members, the Superintendent, and our School Board (or some electronic version thereof) and driving across town in rush hour traffic to attend some “very important” meeting about “school reform” only to find no meaningful answers whatsoever, watch our principal break down in front of us at the thought of more devastating cuts, so we scurry to make lemonade out of lemons and we do the best we can.
Didn’t we go through this last year? And the year before? And the year before that? Did any of those letters, or phone calls, or meetings, or lobbying trips up to Sacramento have any impact?
Excuse me if I sound less than outraged and more like meh. Tired of it.
Our kids are already in the system. This year. Not beginning next year, or the year after, or next decade when things could turn around. We have to make the most of it.
Strapping on our hard hats we pack their lunches and their backpacks, oversee homework, get them out the door every day and deposit them at school hoping for the best. Hoping the sky won’t fall in on them, at least not this year.
Journeying down this path is like living with an alcoholic who inevitably comes home from a bender, broke, raging at the top of his lungs, waking up the kids, slinging punches having spent all the rent and grocery money. It’s total dysfunction. Why do we continually put up with this?
When will we say, “enough!”
So for those who don’t know, the District scenario goes like this:
With one hand they present the worst-case scenario – no, not the magnets, not the arts, not 50 kids in a classroom! – get everybody all up in arms, then with the other hand slip in some slimy compromise that by comparison somehow seems more palatable, like some shady wheeler-dealer with a thick accent, “For you my friend, I give good price.”
Oh look, a parcel tax.
More furlough days.
Less instructional days.
Excuse me if I sound cynical, it’s just that I’ve been a few rounds on this carousel. I’m not a psychic but I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict the May outcome in advance:
Threatened: Class size increase 30:1 in K-3, +3 in 4th and 5th (currently 24:1 K-3, 32-36:1 4-5th)
Actual: 26:1 in K-3, +1 in 4th-5th
Threatened: 5400 Certificated/2600 Classified RIFs
Actual: 1800 total RIFs
Threatened: all transpo buses including magnets and special needs in 2013
Actual: bus routes consolidated, must live minimum 6 miles from school campus (currently 3 mi)
Threatened: 100% of Elementary Arts Funding
Actual: 50% of Elementary Arts Funding – resulting in shorter arts cycles
Threatened: LA parcel tax
Actual: Parcel tax will fail. More cuts will be inevitable.
The bigger question is how do we stop this insanity. Where does it end??!! These are OUR schools, OUR children, OUR future. They deserve better and we must demand it from all parties.
As I sit and write this on Superbowl Sunday, where millions are being spent on advertising moments, and millions are watching the game with their snacks and beer, it occurs to me that we – as a city, state, nation – are not broke. We just spend our dollars on other priorities. So when is the priority going to be our collective children? And more importantly, what are we going to do about it!
I know things have to fall apart before they can be rebuilt. I know you get what you focus on, so if all we focus on is the doom and gloom, then surprise, we get doom and gloom and feel powerless to come up with creative solutions. I also know that as long as we give our power away to those in charge, they will continue to take advantage and be self-serving.
I also know that within each one of us, no matter what our age or socio-economic status, lives a spark of something unique and powerful. We each come here with our little (or not so little) light, with our unique gifts to bear. And as we gather together, united, we are mighty, full of potential, and yes, unstoppable.
I can’t help but believe that in the big picture, the old byzantine structures are crumbling in order to make way for something new to rise up through the ashes. And although I can’t quite see it, and it’s challenging from this vantage point, I know in my bones that it’s coming.
Parents, keep your kids close. Gather ’round your classrooms, your schools, your communities and together we will weather this storm. This is the time for critical thinking and creative problem-solving. It’s the time for teamwork and collaboration…the very same attributes many schools aspire to cultivate in their mission statements.
Now is the time to put those attributes to use.
—
Want to use this article? You can as long as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Tanya Anton is the creator of GoMamaGuide.com helping parents demystify and navigate their public school options in Los Angeles. To read more articles by Tanya or to learn about her Guidebooks, House Chats, Consultations, and Seminars, visit GoMamaGuide.com or email us at GoMama@mac.com.
© 2012 by Tanya Anton, GoMamaGuide.com All Rights Reserved.
PS Smart Tip: Teen/Tween Netiquette
Between the iPods, iPads, laptops, mobile phones and reading devices there’s a plethora of digi-fun at our fingertips. Apps, games, digipix, videos, shopping, texting, web-browsing and social connecting…it’s a whole new world that’s sucking in more and more of our time and becoming a way of life. We love it, so why shouldn’t our kids get in on the fun?
I’m all for tech toys but when it comes to our children, we still need to exercise good judgement and set age-appropriate boundaries. Put limits on screen time, use the parent controls and timers, and monitor the sites your child is visiting. As for texting, it seems like a free-for-all especially with the free texting apps that don’t require a phone, but it’s important to teach good manners and remind your children that every text leaves a digital footprint that can come back and bite you if you’re not careful. Texts can sometimes be misinterpreted and over-texting, sending multiple texts in a row without waiting for a response, is annoying at best and invasive and downright rude at worst. There’s a time and place for our gadgets. Let’s teach our children to use them respectfully and judiciously.
Happy Nogalicious Holidays
.I’ll keep this short. Mainly I just wanted to extend warm greetings and best wishes for a very Happy Holiday season to all of you and yours.
In addition to launching our monthly GoMamaGuidance this past May, a myriad of speaking dates and client consultations, this has been the busiest season yet for me here at GoMamaGuide, and I couldn’t have done it without you. So for that I say thank you, and cheers! (This would be the place for a virtual clink.) I sincerely love what I do and feel lucky to get to meet and work with all of you.
Many Blessings to you all. I hope you enjoy the downtime winter break provides, tuck in close with those you love, and May we all look forward to a Joyous and Abundant New Year!
~Tanya
Magnet Madness: The Recap
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com
Between now and December 16th, getting in that Magnet application choice is on many of our minds…
Which Magnet should I choose, how many points do I have, how many points gets you in, what’s the best way to bank points, what are my odds, am I trying to get in, am I trying to NOT get in, what if I do get in, what if I don’t get in, what if… So. Much. Angst!!!
Take a deep breath and trust you’ll get through this. The Magnet lottery is the first in a series of public school options one can apply to with its application window opening November 1st for the following fall. (Charter and other applications typically become available after the new year.) The hard part is you only get to choose ONE magnet school to apply to, and after that, there’s nothing you can do but sit back and wait to see how you did.
New for 2012 – The Choices Highlight Reel
The Magnet/Choices applications are (finally) online! Some old-school paper applications were sent to local schools and some public libraries, however most parents are encouraged to apply online. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s paperless! And did I mention that it’s online?!
Deadline to get that application in is Friday, December 16, 5pm. After that, most LAUSD schools will close for a 3-week Winter Break.
Magnet tours are happening now folks, so get out there and tour!
Your child must be 5 by November 1, 2012 to enter Kindergarten in Fall 2012.
Remember, LAUSD’s Fall 2012 school calendar will now start on August 14, 2012.
Overcrowded points are becoming virtually extinct. Only 2 schools (Del Olmo EL and Cahuenga EL) will remain on a concept 6 (3 track) calendar by 2012, making those students the only ones eligible for the additional 4 Overcrowded points. For everyone else, it means the most points we could possibly accumulate is: 12 Waitlist or 12 Matriculation + 4 Phbao + 3 Sibling = 19 points max. A more even playing field.
According to the new brochure, “students may be contacted regarding an opening up through the first month of school.” (Used to be the first 10 days of school.)
Any LAUSD resident can apply to a regular Magnet program but for Gifted/High Ability or Highly Gifted Magnet programs one must meet eligibility requirements either through being tested or identified prior to application deadline. If applying from a charter or private or pre-K school, the verification process can be found here. (It’s different than if currently attending an LAUSD school.)
Some Basics
Must be a resident of LAUSD.
You only get to choose ONE program (Magnet or NCLB PSC or PWT if eligible).
You only get to choose ONE Magnet school.
No early applications – apply in the winter before the fall of age-appropriate enrollment.
It’s a weighted lottery so the more points you have the better your chances are.
If you are offered a spot and turn it down you lose all your accumulated wait list points.
If you are currently attending a Magnet school, you don’t need to re-apply each year unless you are matriculating or wish to enter the lottery for another magnet school (from EL to MS, MS to HS, or to switch to another magnet program.)
It’s a random lottery so anything can happen.
For NCLB-PSC or Public School Choice – you must be currently enrolled in a PI school to take advantage of that program.
Transportation is available if you live outside a 2 mile radius from the magnet school’s attendance boundary for K-5, or 3 mile radius for grades 6-12.
Stumped on all this Magnet talk? Come to my last-minute seminar, Navigating The School System: Know Your Public Options, Sunday, December 11th at 5p in WLA and we’ll go over all this and more.
—
Want to use this article? You can as long as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Tanya Anton is the creator of GoMamaGuide.com helping parents demystify and navigate their public school options in Los Angeles. To read more articles by Tanya or to learn about her Guidebooks, House Chats, Consultations, and popular Seminars, visit GoMamaGuide.com or email us at GoMama@mac.com.
© 2011 by Tanya Anton, GoMamaGuide.com All Rights Reserved.
PS Smart Tip: Tame Your Willful Child With Teamwork
Is your child testing boundaries, talking back to you or showing signs of self-serving behavior at the expense of others? One way to temper these eruptions is to get them involved in team sports where they will have a safe space to channel and release their pent-up feelings and stresses through regular physical exercise. In addition to the obvious health benefits, children will also learn discipline, goal-setting, good sportsmanship, teamwork and respect for the coach, the game, and other players. Hopefully they will build new and lasting connections to their teammates, and gain a sense of confidence and accomplishment as they grow throughout the season.
While it’s important for each of us to feel empowered as an individual, it is equally important to learn to work collaboratively and see our unique contribution as it adds to the whole. Organized sports offer a great opportunity for our kids to get out of their own heads for a while, work towards specific goals, and practice teamwork.
PS Smart Tip: Don’t Keep It To Yourself!
This one’s for kids: if you find you either need extra help or extra work in class, ask for it. It does no good to suffer in silence if the work’s either going over your head or you’re downright bored in class. People can’t read your mind. Find the courage to speak up – either to your teacher or ask your parents to talk to the teacher – and you will get the help or extra work you need.
This goes for all kinds of issues, problems or sticky situations. Don’t keep it all inside and get frustrated. Reach out and talk to someone about it…a teacher, a TA, your parents, your friend’s mom, your favorite coach, and together you can come up with some next steps and possible solutions. Today’s tip is all about being pro-active to get the support you need.
GoMamaGuide 