Carl J. Petersen
Bio
Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections.
Stories (322)
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A History Of Silencing Parents
“Parent involvement is more of a ‘doing to,’ while engagement is a ‘doing with.’” – Larry Ferlazzo With the approval of the Community Advisory Committee's Membership delayed following complaints about the way LAUSD bureaucrats selected the candidates, this state-mandated committee cannot possibly achieve a quorum. Despite the situation being the fault of the staff at Students, Families, and Community Engagement (SFaCE), these bureaucrats have used the lack of quorum as an excuse to ignore requests from the committee’s leadership team to hold a meeting with the remaining members. Without this meeting, an Admissions Committee cannot be held, which is needed to resolve the impasse.
By Carl J. Petersen2 years ago in Education
Metallica Wins Big At SoFi
“Angry music for happy people” – Shirt seen at the Metallica concert It is often said that the era of Hair Metal was ended by the emergence of grunge emanating out of Seattle. I put the time of death much earlier, years before Nirvana unleashed "Smells like Teen Spirit." I was a witness to Hair Metal's demise on July 26, 1988, when Metallica took the stage for an epic performance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
By Carl J. Petersen2 years ago in Beat
Charter School Makes Closure Official
“Over, finished, gone, done, out!” – Fīnalē by Anthrax After punting last week with a resolution to “suspend educational operations,” the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) Board of Trustees was forced to meet again on Friday, August 25, 2023. The meeting began with an announcement that five members had resigned, reducing the size of the Board to five. For some reason, members whose terms had expired on June 30, 2023, were still included, highlighting the continued incompetence of this body.
By Carl J. Petersen2 years ago in The Swamp
School District Delays Vote On Advisory Group's Disputed Membership
“We will listen to all voices prior to proceeding.” – LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board was scheduled to vote on the membership list for the Community Advisory Committee at its 1:00 PM meeting on August 22, 2023. This list was originally supposed to be considered in June, but the matter was pulled from the agenda when concerns were expressed that outspoken members, including the Chair, were purged from the committee. While it was hoped that the extra time would be used to correct mistakes that had been made, District bureaucrats continued to shut the CAC membership out of the process and submitted a list of recommendations that only changed one name.
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in Education
Accountability Delayed (Again)
“This feels like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” – LACOE Board Member Theresa Montaño, Ed.D. While Jerry Brown’s lobbying efforts may have delayed the closure of the North Valley Military Institute (NVMI), he does not appear to have changed the rogue charter school’s trajectory. He was able to get the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Board to cancel its scheduled vote to revoke the charter at its August 15, 2023 meeting. However, this motion was replaced by consideration of yet another Notice of Violation. The postponement will only harm the students as it allows the charter school to leave them in a state of limbo instead of helping them to transition to new schools in an orderly manner.
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in The Swamp
