Patt Morrison for Wednesday, August 17, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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 – 1:39

OPEN

 

 

 

1:41:30 – 1:58:30

New York sex education mandate stirs up national debate

Sex education:  it’s roiled public opinion for decades and now New York City’s public schools are making it mandatory.  That includes teaching how to use a condom and conversations about the appropriate age for sexual activity.  The program is a part of a larger effort by Mayor Bloomberg to improve the lives of minority men in the city.  Along with a push to reduce residents’ intake of salt and sugary sodas, the sex education mandate has been criticized as “interventionist.”  Is New York leading the way or leading schools astray? In California, a 2003 state law (SB 71) mandates that the only sex education required by law is 2 hours of HIV education. California schools that decide to supplement that are required to do so comprehensively, meaning they must include information about abstinence as well as other methods of birth control, but in the midst of a recession, many of those programs have been cut. What’s the current policy in southern California’s schools, who’s policing them and do they need an update?

 

• Nationwide, 25% of teenagers between 206-08 learned abstinence without any education about contraceptive methods

 

Guests:

NOT CONFIRMED:

Linda Gibbs, deputy mayor for health and human services New York City

 

Rep, ACLU

 

Rep, Pasadena Unified School District

 

OR

 

Rep, Long Beach Unified School District

 

 

 

2:06 – 2:19

Big Man on Campus: LAUSD Superintendent Deasy proposes teacher contract and evaluation perform, while overseeing improvement in student achievement

Much has happened since we last talked with LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, the man with arguably the toughest job in the city. His massive district has begun testing its new pilot evaluation program, which includes nearly 1,000 teachers and 104 participating schools, in the hopes of instituting a permanent, improved evaluation system by the 2012-13 school year. Though a proposed injunction on behalf of the powerful teacher’s union UTLA threatened to prevent the program from getting off the ground, a judge allowed LAUSD to proceed, and it’s developed an approach that incorporates detailed observations and feedback from parents and students. Whether this program will be implemented across L.A., and whether any new evaluation procedures will contain the controversial “value-added” approach that incorporates student achievement, remains to be seen. Deasy also addressed another issue of concern to educators and administrators in his recent op-ed piece about teacher employment contracts for the Los Angeles Times, in which he suggested changes in hiring, evaluations, tenure, compensation, work agreements, and the importance of seniority. In the midst of negotiations with UTLA over the district’s terms of employment, the Superintendent has tried hard to make important changes to sensitive issues that some have applauded, but others have decried.

But, he’s pleased all by presiding over an increase in LAUSD’s graduation rate and a decrease in its dropout rate, though he admits that the district still has a long way to go when it comes to boosting student achievement. It ain’t easy being Deasy…join Patt for a discussion of these recent reforms, and chime in with your education-related questions and comments.

 

Guest:

John Deasy, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District

IN STUDIO

 

 

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

OPEN

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org