Dropout parents: Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"Concerned Parents" and "J Williams" are certainly misinformed about Charter Schools.

Most "extra" money does not go to students but instead is scammed by the administration
along with the "chosen few" teachers on staff.
This is easy to do since there is no oversight like there is in a regular school district.

As far as Granada Hills HS and Palisades HS, those schools were great BEFORE they were charters-also the Executive Directors at both schools earn more than the Mayor of LA-
almost $200,000.
BTW-these schools were granted their charter by the LAUSD and both are located in predominately white neighborhoods-now schools with similar demographics are not allowed to be granted a charter because of the issues of impropriety-TOTAL SCAMS!!!

Dunn of Thousand Oaks is right.

With all due respect, Concerned Parents' claim that charters are "non profit" is naive. Having taught at one, I've seen how little financial oversight exists there. No one really knows how much money comes in and how much goes out. There is no committee, no faculty/staff watchdog who has a clear idea of where the money comes from and where it goes.

The charter movement is privatizing America's schools. It's currently flying under the radar, and there doesn't appear to be any official authority remotely interested in conducting a meaninfgul audit of their books and practices.

If your child is a student at a charter school, I strongly urge that you help ensure that your school's budget operations are conducted in full view of its faculty, staff, students and their parents.

Re 7-22 LADN - Dropout parents
About the 33+ percent dropout rate of Los Angeles high school students:

In the '50s, tradesman classes started in Jr. High. wood shop, print shop, metal shop, cooking and sewing classes also.
High school included an auto shop. Work experience was offered in the form of a plan called the 4-4 plan.

Four hours of school and four hours at a business that not only paid the student but also graded him or her on their work. I know. It kept me in school, plus needed work ethics.

7-22 ladn Unequal treatment
Re "Parole for Manson follower Atkins rejected" (July 17):

A release to let Manson follower Atkins die outside of prison may not be thought of as "compassionate" by everyone. I myself, as a taxpayer would rather not have to spend another dime on her if someone is willing to house her. She can still be a prisoner, but not free, and no longer a drain on the public.

Yeah right wrote:

Re 7-22 LADN - Dropout parents
About the 33+ percent dropout rate of Los Angeles high school students:
In the '50s, tradesman classes started in Jr. High. wood shop, print shop, metal shop, cooking and sewing classes also.
High school included an auto shop. Work experience was offered in the form of a plan called the 4-4 plan.
Four hours of school and four hours at a business that not only paid the student but also graded him or her on their work. I know. It kept me in school, plus needed work ethics.

Where I live the school district would love to have a 33% drop out rate...

Crime is the biggest problem in this country. Prisons are not the answer. They are not cost not effective and very few change their ways. Reinstate Flogging for the 1to 3 typ felons, increasing the number of lashes each time they are convicted. Crime will take a nose dive in no time at alll.
There was a time in history when Japan,s crime was almost nill, reason being that all crime committed received the death penalty. Now this is too much for todays reasoning, The old saying- Spear the rod and spoil the children is true today more then ever. Criminals should be treated as children because some never grow up.

School drop outs is not the biggest problem in US.Crime is.

Michael Jones wrote:

<quoted text>
Where I live the school district would love to have a 33% drop out rate...

Oh yeah?! Well, HALF of my high school will graduate. The second HALF will drop out. The third HALF will take the GED. I'm just not sure what the fourth HALF will do.

Frank Rutto wrote:

School drop outs is not the biggest problem in US.Crime is.

It's Domino Theory. School dropouts commit the crimes.

High School Student wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh yeah?! Well, HALF of my high school will graduate. The second HALF will drop out. The third HALF will take the GED. I'm just not sure what the fourth HALF will do.

56% of the students in our crappy SUSD will drop out. More than half.

From what I see, the lack of a rudimentary use of English, grammar, spelling, and math must run a close second in crimes committed by high school dropouts.

Yeah right wrote:

From what I see, the lack of a rudimentary use of English, grammar, spelling, and math must run a close second in crimes committed by high school dropouts.

I tell you what...it is very telling if you listen to the way these youngsters converse with each other.

There is, for a lot of them, very little attention paid to correct pronunciation, and punctuation let alone sentence structure. Math is another big one.

I see folks coming in off the street who cannot spell easy words that third graders learn.