Category Archives: Announcements

2013-14 Magnet/eChoices site is LIVE!

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Magnets, Lotteries, Points, Oh My!
by Tanya Anton | GoMamaGuide.com

It’s that time of year again. Only earlier.

The 2013-14 Magnet/eChoices Brochure is available, the echoices website is now LIVE and accepting applications, and the application deadline is ONE MONTH EARLIER than last year.

Beginning today, Monday, October 8, 2012 through the deadline Friday, November 16, 2012 at 5p, LAUSD residents may apply to the Magnet Program, Permits With Transportation (PWT) and/or the Public School Choice (NCLB-PSC) program.

Visit echoices.lausd.net. ONLINE. 24/7. It’s easy. It’s fast. It’s paperless.

Highlights for 2013 – There Are Several Notable Changes:

-The Big One:  This year you will get to list up to THREE magnet choices. (Yup!!) Your points will only go towards your 1st choice, so your 2nd and 3rd choices will go to the bottom of the wait list, but still it’s a better chance than if you hadn’t applied at all.

-For what it’s worth, most competitive (ie. highly desirable) Magnet programs rarely exhaust their wait list, so being added to the bottom of the list with no points seems like a choiceless choice to me, but hey, it has the “appearance” of offering students more choice.

-Caution: Only select magnet programs you might actually WANT to get into, otherwise if you do get into a magnet program (even your 2nd or 3rd choice) and turn it down, you will lose your accumulated wait list points, so think carefully about your selections. Tread lightly, and smartly. As always, I’m here to help consult if need be.

– If your home school is Program Improvement (most middle and high schools are PI), you will now be able to apply to BOTH the NCLB-PSC program (the District will select ONE non-PI school assignment for you) AND up to 3 Magnet choices. Select Option B-the combo platter. Once you are accepted into a program, you will be removed from other programs and NO wait list points will be accrued. (In previous years you had to choose either the Magnet or the PSC program. Now you can select Option B and go for both.)

The Basic Highlights:

-Only open to LAUSD residents

-The application timeline is a month EARLIER than last year

-You can apply online 24/7 during the application window: Oct 8, 2012 – Nov 16, 2012 5p at echoices.lausd.net

-You can also pick up a paper booklet/application at most local schools and some libraries

-Minimum age: your child must turn 5 by Oct 1, 2013 to be eligible for Kindergarten in 2013

-Make sure you select a Magnet program your child is age-appropriate for, (some Magnet programs don’t start until 2nd or 3rd grade; you can’t apply to Kinder when your child is 3)

-Twins: each child needs a separate application and are treated as individuals. If only one gets in, the Sibling points will apply the following year.

-Magnet tours are happening now, October through mid-November, so get out there and tour some schools!

-There are virtually no more “overcrowded points” due to all the newly built schools and the entire district going on Early Start Calendar. (3 exceptions: Del Olmo EL, Cahuenga EL, Bell HS)

-Points are based on your zoned school determined by your residential address regardless of whether you attend or not

-Transportation is available if you live 2 miles or more from your elementary magnet school, and 5 miles or more from your secondary (middle/high school) magnet school

-The maximum riding time guideline for all students (K-12) one-way is 90 minutes

-The more points you have, the better your chance of getting into your 1st choice Magnet.

-It’s a random lottery so anything can happen.

-If you are currently attending a Magnet school, you don’t need to re-apply each year unless you are matriculating (from EL to MS, MS to HS, or wish to enter the lottery to switch to another magnet school

-You will be notified in writing of either acceptance or wait list status by March, 2013.

-Students may be contacted regarding an opening all the way up through the first MONTH of school. (Used to be the first 10 days of school)

-First day of school for LAUSD will be Tuesday, August 13, 2013. (Yeah, love that Early Start! Not.)

-Falsified applications will be disqualified and kicked from the program.

Again, if this seems overwhelming or you want to discuss strategy, please contact me for a consultation. I’m happy to help. Magnets are just one of many public school options.

If you are hunting for a middle school and live on the Westside, come to a free Westside Middle School Forum where 10 area middle schools will present under one roof next Thursday, October 18 at 6p at Coeur d’Alene Elementary School in Venice. details.

“Ready For School, Ready For Life” Panel Discussion Oct 11

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“Ready For School, Ready For Life” Speaker Series Panel Discussion
I’ll be joining Christina Simon and Porcha Dodson of “Beyond The Brochure” as well as Director Julie Dubron for a lively school discussion, at Kehillat Israel Early Childhood Center in Pacific Palisades on Thurs, Oct 11th at 7:30p.

For more information please contact Jen Madamba 424.214.7482 or by email Jen.Madamba@kehillatisrael.org by October 8, 2012

or click HERE.

Town Hall on Prop 30 and Prop 38 Oct 16th

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Los Angeles Unified School Board Member Tamar Galatzan cordially invites you to attend a Town Hall event on Prop 30 and Prop 38.
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DATE: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 6:30 PM
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LOCATION: Cleveland High School Multi-Purpose Room
8140 Vanalden Avenue,
Reseda, CA 91335

On-site parking will be available.
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Town Hall will provide a venue where you may hear directly from Superintendant John E. Deasy, proposition experts, and ask your questions so you may be a well-informed voter. November elections are fast approaching and it’s very important to understand how the propositions will impact public education and students.
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Spanish translation will be available. Please see attached flyer for more details.

Town Hall on Prop 30 and 38 Oct 1

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Another talk about CA Budgets and Prop 30 and 38, brought to you by LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer and the Venice Neighborhood Council’s Education Committee:
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Featuring Jonathan Kaplan, Sr Policy Analyst of the California Budget Project
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Monday, Oct 1st at 6:30p
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Mark Twain Middle School
2224 Walgrove Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066

Parenting In The Digital Age – Appropriate Use of Technology Talk

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Upcoming free talk about Parenting In The Digital Age – Appropriate Use of Technology

Featuring Yalda T. Uhls

Weds, Oct 10th at 7:30p

WS Pavilion, Community Room A.
10800 West Pico Blvd, LA 90064

(located on the 3rd Floor, just behind the Food Court near the Restrooms)
Free 3 hour parking!
Consider yourselves invited.

Community Input Sought for Greening of Walgrove Campus This Weds, 6p

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Big changes are underway at Walgrove Elementary School!

You may have already noticed the removal of all the temporary bungalows on the south side of campus – the buildings that used to house Ocean Charter are GONE. Left behind is 25,000 square feet of asphalt that will soon make way for a new green space.

Remaking 25,000 square feet of of the campus is the first step of a much larger project : the re-envisioning of the whole campus, to transform Walgrove into a sustainable and performative schoolyard habitat.

This Weds, August 22nd at 6 pm we are inviting the whole school and the community beyond to come and learn about the progress we have made and the possibilities that we can create together. (Please see all details on flyer.) We want to consider how a greener and more sustainable campus can enrich our students’ experience at Walgrove Elementary School. It is important that we come together as a community to create a shared vision for the future of our school.

This workshop, the goal is to get input and ideas for the entire schoolyard/campus to understand better what the community needs and would like to see.

A small group of dedicated volunteers has worked diligently over the last several months with LAUSD to identify opportunities and limitations for a greener campus. A growing and impressive list of partners have come on board to guide, advise, design and build with us. What we need now is the full participation of our school community and everyone of our neighbors.

PLEASE COME!!!!!!! Bring your neighbors!!

Your input is extremely valuable and community participation is the key to achieving such a big undertaking.

Childcare will be available! Refreshments will be served. Mark your calendars! Looking forward to seeing all of you there.

if you cannot make it to this event but have any ideas or want to be involved, please let us know! Email Clare Carey at claretendai@gmail.com

It’s going to be an exciting year….

Very Best,

The greening and gardening team at Walgrove

Tanya Guests on Tonight’s Which Way LA

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Tune in tonight on KCRW‘s “Which Way LA” as Tanya joins LA Times reporter Howard Blume and host Warren Olney as they discuss LAUSD Chief Deasy’s Annual Address as well as the Early Start Calendar. Airs tonight at 7p on 89.9 FM KCRW.

Missed the broadcast? No worries. You can listen to it here:

Welcome To My New School Yard!

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Hi Folks!

Came back to offer you that tour I promised. So, if you haven’t already, take a look around. Need the highlights? Okay, since you asked…

Well for starters, the site’s wider, more horizontal. Less scroll. Room to grow and add all sorts of goodies.

Then there’s the maps. You all LOVE my maps. I know because it’s the most trafficked page of my site. Almost 10,000 hits on the Westside Elementary Schools map alone since I launched it in ’08. I’ve organized all my maps in perfect little rows and added a few new ones too. See how neat and tidy? Just click on the image to launch a full-screen color-coded map. Go on. You know you want to.

Many of you ask about the name “GoMama“ and how this whole thing got started. Sort of by accident actually. The name’s not exactly business-speak, is it. Nor was there a business plan. Born from my mama blog with just a good ole desire to share information and help people, who knew it would grow into as much as it has. So GoTanya and GoMama! We’re just gonna go with that. But now you can read all about it here.

I don’t know what you did on your summer vacation, but I spent a good part of July migrating this website. I also learned iLife- especially how to edit audio in GarageBand and how to shoot/edit video in iMovie. As a result I’ve got a bunch of new ideas hatching… but most currently, I’ve cut all my radio segments and embedded them on audio players right here on the Media page. No more off-site downloading. Or opening up your iTunes or other media player. Now with a click, you can hear just a snippet or the whole segment of the radio shows I’ve done without having to listen to the entire hour. Take a listen. Can’t decide where to start? How about this clip, “Three Things You Should Look For in A Public School (Four Actually).”  

I’ve also linked up all the press I’ve done since 2007. It’s all arranged by year. How tidy.

But mainly, I’m super-excited to have an embedded GoMamaGuidance BLOG right here on the same site. Now I can post and rant all I want in any size format without having to wait for the monthly newsletter. And, all my previous GoMamaGuidance newsletter articles and PS Smart Tips are categorized and archived here. Now you can search by category or tag. YAY. One home. All the content. And with the new school year just about to start, there’ll be plenty to talk about. That I’m sure of.

Plus now there’s space for your comments too. So share. Talk back. Ruminate. You’re all invited. We’re building a community school yard!

Come by and say hello.

GoMamaGuide’s Expanding!

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Take a look around…

There’s space.

Lots of it.

Space to hold all my growing ideas…media, more maps, an embedded blog…

Been busting at the seams on that old website layout; felt it was long overdue for a make-over. So now, here we are.

Welcome. Take a look around. Check out the new digs.

There’ll be more coming soon…and a tour…I promise.

Tanya