As you may know, Micheltorena will be starting an English-Spanish dual language kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year.  Please read below about registration procedures for enrollment.

Families that live in our attendance area will be guaranteed spots in the program, but we must have your completed enrollment packet by May 25th.  Any packets turned after that date will be given a number and those families will go on a
first come, first served waiting list.

For those that wish to attend on permit, here are the next steps you need to take:
1.  Please get your permit signed by your home school’s principal. Our office will give you the permit to take to your home school.
2.  Complete and submit your enrollment packet by May 25th.
3.  Students will be enrolled on a first come, first served basis once we have your completed packet.
4.  There will be no lottery. Instead, there will be a numbered list based the order of receipt of completed enrollment packets.
5.  If you wish to be admitted to our regular kindergarten in the case that the Dual Language classes are full, please indicate your interest to our office staff when you bring in your packet.

To help all parents complete their packets, our office will be open an additional day on Saturday, May 12th from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.  However, you may come in any time before then during regular school office hours of 7:30 a.m – 4:00 p.m. to
pick up your packet or turn in your packet.

Please feel free to contact Principal Furfari if you have any questions.

A radio piece about Proposition 39 and Micheltorena’s current experience with a charter school co-location will air on Monday, April 30, on our local National Public Radio station, KPCC 89.3 FM.  The piece will be broadcast on the Madeleine Brand Show and will air between 9 and 10AM.

For those who are unable to catch it at that time, the piece will be available on the show’s website http://www.scpr.org/programs/madeleine-brand/ at some point Monday morning.

Hope you can tune in!

You and your friends and family are cordially invited to tour our beautiful campus on Thursday, April 19, at 8:45am to 10:15am.  We will meet in the Parent Center for coffee and bagels at 8:45am, then set out on the tour, led by Micheltorena parents.  We will end the tour in the library for a Q+A session with Principal Furfari.  Help us spread the word by posting on Facebook or Twitter!  To RSVP or to ask questions, email principal Furfari at susanna.furfari@lausd.net, or call our school office at 323-661-2125

Micheltorena is unique in that it is home to five Special Education classes for students with learning disabilities and Autism, which accommodate students from preschool through the sixth grade.  We also have a Resource Specialist Program (RSP) that serves students from kindergarten to sixth grade who have been identified as having mild disabilities and/or learning difficulties, but who are primarily included in the general education classes.  Approximately 25% of our student are identified as Special Needs students, and come from neighboring elementary schools and other parts of Los Angeles.

Micheltorena not only strives to support students with learning disabilities and Autism, but works to include them with their general education peers as much as possible, following research-based protocols and best teaching practices.  Our school is notable in that our Special Education and general education teachers work closely together to provide the most individualized education program possible for every student.  This set-up is a “blended” model, with a student moving in and out of different classes, based on his or her needs.   Some students may have as many as four teachers, while others have two or three teachers.  We even offer a self-paced reading program as an alternative to the core program for students who are struggling with reading skills, but if those same students excel in math, they will be included in a more accelerated math class.  Since our Special Education teachers collaborate with general education teachers on a daily basis, nearly all students have the opportunity to have small group learning experiences, for at least a part of each school day, again, based on individual needs and benefiting all.

Special Education teachers are also trained in teaching gifted children.  Last year, a 4th grade class of mixed gifted and special needs students participated in a “teaming” program where they learned social studies and science, art, and P.E. together; these class situations focus on academics, but students also gain empathy and larger life-skills by learning how to work with others who may not be their academic equals.

Finally, we have many support personnel connected to our Special Education Department, such as a Psychologist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Adaptive Physical Education Teacher, and Deaf-and-Hard-of-Hearing Specialist, as well as teachers who have advanced education and/or experience with students who have Autism.  All of these service personnel are also available to assess and consult in regards to students in our general education student population, which helps Micheltorena excel in terms of supporting any students who are having learning or behavioral challenges, whether they have been identified for Special Education services or not.

The 2012 Consolidated Charitable Campaign will occur between the dates of March 12th-19th. This “Sharing Brings Hope” campaign is an annual LAUSD sponsored fundraiser, where parents, students, faculty and staff contribute to a consolidated fundraising effort. An envelope has been sent home with each student for your donation. Last year’s campaign raised over one million dollars for the Los Angeles Community. More information can be found at www.sharingbringshope.org

Art and music have always been an important part of the Micheltorena learning experience. In 1940, Micheltorena had the largest elementary school orchestra in Los Angeles!  In 2012, our music program and orchestra are still going strong, with the leadership of instrumental teacher Jay Stolmack as well as choral and dance instruction provided by local community organizations Silverlake Conservatory and Bluepalm.  Our school orchestra has played all over Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Bowl and Greek Theatre!

This photo was sent to Friends of Micheltorena by JoAnn Magrum, who played violin in 5th grade in the photo and graduated from Micheltorena in 1941.

Los Angeles Times, Sunday, June 16, 1940

The text reads:  ”Forty children at the Micheltorena grammar school between the ages of 7 and 12 years are proving that music has charms for youth.  These schoolroom musicians play violins, clarinets, trumpets, xylophone and bells, pianos and horns, and they comprise the largest elementary school orchestra in Los Angeles.  Shown above is a portion of the orchestra rehearsing under the direction of Ms. Mabel C. Snyder.  When the picture was made they were practicing for a concert appearance before the school’s alumni association, which last week celebrated its 25th anniversary with a reunion.  Everybody, from Principal Mary C. Flynn to the youngest student, agreed that the music was grand.”

Thank you to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, who last night voted in opposition to the collocation of Citizens of the World Charter School at Micheltorena Elementary.    Here is the motion that the council voted to support:  The SLNC moves to support the efforts of the Micheltorena Elementary School administrators, teachers, parents and children to stop the collocation of a Citizens of the World Charter school onto Micheltorena’s campus. SLNC’s support of Micheltorena Community efforts to stop collocation does not reflect an opinion on charter schools in general, but applies to this case in particular.

Thank you to our families, friends, community members, and teachers for coming out and supporting us at the meeting last night. Our battle is not over, but we at Micheltorena remain positive and focused on continuing to make our school the best it can be!  Please scroll down to read why we at Micheltorena are opposed to this collocation.

The stakeholders of Micheltorena Elementary are opposed to collocation by Citizens of the World Charter (CWC) for the following reasons:

1.  The Micheltorena community strongly believes in protecting the civil right for every citizen to get a free education and to enroll without lottery, tuition, or preferential treatment.  The inclusivity of public education is the backbone of our democracy and one that needs to be valued and nurtured by the community.

2. Micheltorena Elementary and CWC have similar mission statements, so we compete for enrollment. If CWC enrolls children from our neighborhood (they need eighty to be in compliance), Micheltorena’s enrollment drops, and our school could close.  A school with a one-hundred-year history in the Silver Lake community could face closure within the next decade because the community is supporting charter schools like CWC instead of their local public schools.

3. The idea of community is extremely important to us, and, to this end, the neighborhood’s investment in Micheltorena Elementary– the decision to enroll their children and support the school down the street– builds not just a strong educational environment, but a stronger, closer, safer Silver Lake community:  businesses thrive; real estate becomes more valuable; local families have their neighborhood school in common; neighboring families can walk their children to school together.  By design, co-location exemplifies the idea of division and models inequality to our children.  This is a blatant conflict of interest that is of great concern to our community.

4.  Micheltorena Elementary is experiencing a rebirth right now, an exciting, hard-fought renaissance brought to the forefront by a strong principal, dedicated teachers, active parents and community members, and thoughtful students.  What the school needs during this critical time is the community’s support.  When neighborhood parents give their support to CWC, our neighborhood school loses the insight and enthusiasm these parents bring.  When our bilingual education program is threatened by co-location, our neighborhood school loses the opportunity to better serve the community.

When neighborhood families see a divided campus, they will be faced with the doubt that has plagued our neighborhood school for far too long: “Will my child be well-educated here?”  The answer is undeniably, “Yes!”  Unfortunately, the existence of CWC on our campus judges our school as inferior, however erroneously, and hurts our neighborhood school just at the time when it is becoming great.  This tipping point needs to be carefully addressed, because our community needs a proud local public school for the one hundred years to come, and the community needs to support our school looking not just toward the next one or two years, but toward future generations of children. Yes, our children are important, but so are our children’s children and their children’s children.  By investing in our local public school, we are empowering generations of Silver Lakers to come.

See below for links to information about collocations:

Citizens of the World Charter Corporation is based in LA, but is looking to expand not only here, but in New York as well.  Parent groups are fighting collocation with CWC franchise schools on their campuses as well:
http://www.williamsburggreenpointschools.org/truth-about-charters/citizensoftheworldcharternewyork

You can read here about the damaging effects collocation has had on Logan Street Elementary School, in Echo Park. From the article:  “The private, unelected boards of charter schools ignore the needs of communities. More often than not charter schools’ boards have no educators or community members. For example, the fourteen member board of CNCA Charter Corporation, which was awarded the local CRES 14 campus against the explicit wishes of the Echo Park community, is packed with bankers and venture capitalists with no connection to the community or the families enrolled at their school. Likewise, Gabriella Charter Corporation’s board has repeatedly refused to inform community members where or when they hold their board meetings.”

In response to the collocation threat from charter school corporations seeking to open franchise schools on public school campuses, a Facebook group has been formed “for schools, communities and families struggling against the divisive and inequitable law that allows private charter school corporations to seize and occupy space on public school campuses.”

The film The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman also exposes the damage that collocations cause, especially in terms of the charters taking over the best parts of school facilities for themselves while relegating the public school students to basements and other undesirable locations.

Many people say Proposition 39 is the real enemy in this fight.  We say, sometimes the law is not right.  There is currently a bill proposing an amendment to Prop 39.  The California Charter School Association CCSA strongly opposed this bill; it originally failed but it was amended and apparently it is now moving through the legislature again.

Many people argue that charter schools are “public schools.”  However, The California Court of Appeals (2007-01-10) ruled that charter-voucher schools are NOT “public agents.”  The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals (2010-01-04) ruled that charter-voucher schools are NOT “public actors.”  Moreover, The US Census Department expressed difficulty in obtaining information from charter-voucher schools because the are NOT public entities.

Please attend the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council meeting on Wednesday March 7, at 7pm in the school’s auditorium! Micheltorena has put a motion on the agenda to oppose the co-location of the Citizens of the World Corporation franchise school on our campus.

We are hoping to FILL THE AUDITORIUM WITH MICHELTORENA SUPPORTERS. Please invite your friends, family and neighbors to come support us at our representing neighborhood council meeting.  THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MEETING, PLEASE DO ALL THAT YOU CAN TO ATTEND!

Please see below to read our position on the possible collocation of a Citizens of the World Corporation franchise school on our campus.  Thank you for your support!!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out last night to speak and listen at the LAUSD-sponsored meeting to discuss the possible occupation of a Citizens of the World Charter Corporation school on our campus. The meeting drew over 100 people, and our LAUSD board member Bennett Kayser was in attendance as well.  It was an evening of positive and passionate sentiment for our neighborhood school, with Micheltorena parents, teachers, and Silver Lake community members speaking up in opposition to a divided campus.  We will continue to post updates on the situation as it unfolds on our website, in emails, and on the Micheltorena Facebook page.  For those of you who couldn’t make it to the meeting, thank you so much for your emails and letters you have sent on behalf of our school.  The outpouring of support from the community has been tremendous, and we here at Micheltorena remain positive and hopeful for a successful outcome to this crisis!