PATT MORRISON for Wednesday, December 21, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, December 21, 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

 

 

1:00 – 1:30

OPEN

 

1:30 – 2:00

No books, no pencils, no paper, no learning.  Are too many teachers paying for classroom supplies?

Faced with cuts, cuts and more cuts, teachers are on the frontlines of the school budget crisis and many wind-up spending their own money to get the supplies their students need.  An eraser here, a few books there and it can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year.  How to do more with less is a conundrum teacher-after-teacher faces in these tough economic times.  “If only we had the money to read this book or go on that field trip” is a conversation taking place in classrooms across the country.  “Donors Choose,” an online charity that creates a connection between needy students and those who want to support public education is making those fantasies a reality.  Public school teachers post individual classroom needs such as history books, paints for art class or microscope slides for biology and individual donors can contribute to the cost of purchasing those items.  Is Donors Choose a viable alternative for funding public education? What impact is it having on those who are using it? Will this help buffer the pressure on teachers? How would you improvise if the school district couldn’t provide the books or supplies you needed? Would you be tempted to spend your own money?

 

BOTH TEACHERS HAVE USED DONOR’S CHOOSE & HAVE SPENT THEIR OWN MONEY ON SUPPLIES

Alaina Kommer, art teacher, Grant High School in North Hollywood

CALL HER@

 

Brock Cohen, teacher, Grant High School in North Hollywood

CALL HIM@

 

Charles Best, founder and CEO, Donor’s Choose, an online charity connecting donors with classrooms in need.  

CALL HIM Guests:

 

2:00 – 2:40
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy talks about changes, progress and shrinking budgets
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy recently announced an
“historic” contract with United Teachers Los Angeles – an unprecedented agreement that Deasy called “groundbreaking work” that is aimed at providing more freedom for teachers, school administrators and parents to manage their respective schools. In terms of “value added” teacher assessments, L.A. Unified will continue to provide the media with teachers’ scores but will do so without identifying the instructors. The district got caught in a firestorm of controversy last year when assessments were made public and teachers could be singled out based on job performance.

California Governor Jerry Brown recently announced $1 billion in state budget cuts – on top of additional “trigger cuts” that will affect the district’s finances. The governor warns that additional cuts are on the horizon and LAUSD will have to find more places to cut. And high on the student body’s priorities is the district’s new healthful menu. Students have been crying foul that the new items on the cafeteria menu are less than appetizing – prompting the creating of a “junk food black market” where students are now eating more potato chips and soda than they did before the changes. What does John Deasy think LAUSD can do to deaL with the budget crisis? What other changes might we see from LAUSD in 2012?

 

Guest:

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy

IN STUDIO

 

2:40 - 3:00  

EMBARGOED

NOT CONFIRMED:  DO NOT PROMOTE

New report on California redistricting