Patt Morrison for Monday, July 26, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Monday, July 26, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

1:21 – 1:39

Is summer vacation really the culprit behind our children falling behind in school?

We’re worried about our kids not learning enough while in school, but what about those blissful three months of summer vacation?  Sure, some children have access to summer camps, enrichment programs, or fun and educational trips with their parents.  But what about low-income children, who might have to spend their summer playing in the yard or watching “Hannah Montana” re-runs, rather than a trip to the Getty?  Many educators are worried about the “summer slide,” which might be the reason why thousands of kids are behind in school.  A study at Johns Hopkins found that low-income students are retaining less over the summer than their more privileged classmates, which could add up to them being behind three grade levels by the time they're done with grammar school.  So is the blame all on summer?  What about our stumbling public education systems, where funding is scare and teachers are continually laid off?  Should there be longer school years, so that summer won’t be turning all of our kids’ brains to mush?

 

Guests:

David Von Drehle, editor-at-large for TIME magazine

CALL HIM:

NOT CONFIRMED: 

Ron Fairchild, CEOof the National Summer Learning Association

CALL HIM:

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Education reforms at work?  Washington D.C. fires 241 underperforming teachers

Back in June the contract signed between the Washington D.C. school district and its teachers was hailed as revolutionary:  in exchange for guaranteed higher salaries teachers agreed to sacrifice the traditional seniority protections in favor of personnel decision based on results in the classroom.  The tradeoffs that teachers made were felt in tough fashion on Friday when the D.C. school district fired 241 teachers who received poor performance appraisals.  Part of the teachers’ contract provided for a performance pay system with bonuses of $20,000 to $30,000 annually for teachers who meet certain benchmarks; the flip side of that was the possibility of termination for failing to meet standards, hence the firings on Friday.  This is the kind of school reform that has been embraced by both the Bush & Obama Administrations and other analysts, but teachers remain understandably wary—is this the wave of the future for America’s teachers & schools?

 

Guest:

Bonnie Reiss, California Secretary of Education & Regent of the University of California

SHE CALLS US:

 

Marty Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers

CALL HIM:

• The national parent union of the CFT, the American Federation of Teachers, helped to negotiate the contract for D.C. teachers.
• Hittelman also serves as vice president of the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO.
• He is a former president of the CFT Community College Council and has taught mathematics at Los Angeles Valley College for more than 30 years.

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

Navigating L.A.’s Food Deserts—why so many have access to so little

The statistical disparities are shocking: for residents in South Los Angeles, the rate of obesity is 34.4%; for those living in West L.A. it’s 11.7%.  The rate of obesity for teenagers in South L.A. is 19.6%; for teens in West L.A. it’s 4.1%.  Neighborhood differences of race, ethnicity, and income are primary determinants of health disparities and access to healthy foods. How is it that neighborhoods, in some cases just a few miles apart, produce such radically varying degrees of health and nutrition?  The areas of East and South Los Angeles are essentially food deserts, providing limited options for fresh produce and healthier food, especially when compared to their more affluent neighbors.  What are the contrasts in the health of these disparate populations of Angelenos, and how did the nutritional gaps grow to be so wide?

 

Guests:

Toni Yancey, M.D., MPH, Professor in the Department of Health Services and Co-Director of the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity at the UCLA School of Public Health 
IN STUDIO

 

Lark Galloway-Gilliam, Executive Director, Community Health Councils

IN STUDIO

• Authors of “Food Desert to Food Oasis” – NEW recommendations to get more grocery stores in South LA and Does Race Define What’s in the Shopping Cart?

 

Steve Diaz, Community Organizer, Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN)

IN STUDIO

 

 

2:21 – 2:58:30

Rules of Supermarket Attraction: how to bring more grocery stores to underserved areas

It started with the infamous white flight of the 60’s & 70’s— as the affluent fled the inner cities and headed for the suburbs of Los Angeles, the supermarkets went with them.  After the 1992 riots, the city government made it a priority to bring full-service grocery stores back to South & East L.A. neighborhoods. While there were some successes, most of the stores that did open up after the riot closed soon thereafter.  Now in South L.A., there are 60 full-service grocery stores serving an average population of 22,156 residents per store in contrast to the 57 stores in West LA that serve only 11,150 residents on average.  While the disparity in access to healthy food is undeniable, the potential solutions are more debatable— how can the city, and the residents of South & East L.A., attract grocery store chains?  Why can’t a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s turn a profit in traditionally underserved areas?  If they build the markets, will the customers come?

 

Guests:

Elliott Petty, Director of Grocery & Retail Projects, Alliance for Healthy and Responsible Grocery Stores, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)

IN STUDIO

Ed Reyes, Los Angeles City Councilman Representing Council District 1
IN STUDIO

• Councilmember Reyes, as chair of the City's Planning and Land Use Management committee, introduced a motion to enact land use controls to attract more grocery stores to underserved communities, thus addressing public safety, health and quality of life issues.
  
  

Matthew Dodson, Director of Local Government Relations for the California Grocers Association

IN STUDIO

 

Lark Galloway-Gilliam, Executive Director, Community Health Councils

IN STUDIO

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

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