Lisa Richardson: How do you hold the district accountable for having a mandate that says the number of A-through-G classes has to go up, and the number has been falling?

Maria: Well there isn't a mandate for that per se. There's a mandate to get, require all students to take classes, and graduate. But to us, it, well if you require more...

Lisa: You necessarily have to increase the...

Maria: Right, you have to increase it. That would be the common sense kind of thing, or that should be the result of the mandate. So that, if that was the mandate, that we should ensure that the classes are available for all students to be placed on that track...

Lisa: And how does the district see it? That they have a class there and that should be sufficient, or...?

Maria: That's what we're going to be doing to hold them accountable to. And one of our, as we continue this advocacy, advocacy's really about making sure that these SB 1133 funds that were just granted to, or awarded to all of our four high schools, that they're in line with the A-to-G resolution. So these funds should be specifically utilized to increase the availability. Hire more teachers so that more of these courses are available to students. And that's going to be one of our main messages to the district.

Middle school is the middle ground

Tim Cavanaugh: Is middle school sort of the crucial um, because what you hear is that by the time a kid gets to high school the die has already been cast. So I mean is this where you need to do the most work?

Maria Brenes: I think it's critical for preparing the students for math in particular, the math proficiency. I think middle school is the critical bridge between what's happening in elementary school and what's expected of students in high school. So I think at middle school there needs to be more, more needs to be done to prepare students for algebra and passing algebra. So it shouldn't be a goal to be done in ninth grade; we think it needs to be done earlier so that in, you know, in high school students are oriented into a higher level math that gets them ready for the college track.

Hey, LAUSD, leave those kids alone

Robert Greene: So what do you need with the district? Why do you have to be part of the school district? I don't really see a lot of good that the school district is doing for your schools. And if they're there to be able, to be available for you to contract with, that's great, but what do you need with them? Why don't you just form your own district?

Maria: I think that schools, and as a community we feel the district can play a more effective role in supporting our local schools. And right now you know many of the teachers we work with feel that the professional development that is happening isn't relevant, that the periodic assessments that are being mandated by the district are not helping teachers reach their instructional goals. That it's in conflict with their instructional programs. So if, but, you know, there's a structure that the district provides from transportation services to food services to...

Lisa: Contract, contract, go ahead...

Maria: ...to, to other types of expertise, but that schools should have the autonomy to choose what best meets the needs of their schools, so...

Lisa: Do you ever see the district giving up that kind of authority? Or that kind of money?

Maria: I think communities and teachers have to demand it. That's, they have to demand it, and I think with the innovation division and the superintendent really doing that, I think there is an opportunity there. I don't know how the entire district staff feels, but I know from what the superintendent laid out in his address, his state of the schools address, that there is a commitment there to be more innovative and try something different because we know what's been happening for the last decade at a minimum isn't working. You know, we see it in our graduation rates. So this is an opportunity, this is an idea that we believe can have a lot of promise for our schools.

Lisa: Autonomy?

Maria: Right. And all of this is based on best practices. You know, best practices. There's a case study in Boston, the Boston pilot schools. They're trying it here with Belmont. And in the Boston pilot schools there's been a lot of success in terms of, you know, increasing graduation rates, increasing academic achievements. So we think it's something that LAUSD should definitely try.

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