Carl J. Petersen
Bio
Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board and a longtime advocate for public education and special needs families. Now based in Washington State, he writes about politics, culture, and their intersections.
Stories (327)
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Tanya Who?
“GET ON BOARD Take A Stand For Educational Equity” – Tanya Ortiz-Franklin During her 2020 campaign, LAUSD Board Member Tanya Ortiz-Franklin presented herself as someone who would be singularly focused so as not to be distracted from addressing issues affecting the students of the District. For example, when I asked her for a statement on an article I was writing about an education issue, she admonished me for asking anything besides “Black lives mattering and…racial justice” in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. Also when she was asked for comment on a revelation that she had been kicked off the Del Rey Neighborhood Council for being absent for 61.5% of the meetings, her campaign stated that “she left the neighborhood council regretfully” because she was unable to “commit the time and still fully serve the students of the LAUSD”.
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in The Swamp
Has This Charter School Met The End Of The Road?
“Start looking for a new school.” – Teacher’s advice to NVMI Student The North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) was running on borrowed time even before it enrolled its first student. Dubious of the chances for its success, the LAUSD Board was set to reject its initial charter until Jerry Brown stepped in with some high-pressure lobbying. When the first years of operations fulfilled the District’s predictions of failure, the Board took the rare step of rejecting NVMI’s renewal. The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) Board, then led by Mark Ridley-Thomas’ appointee, overturned the LAUSD’s decision over the objections of its own staff.
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in The Swamp
A Dialogue About Public Education
“Do we ever think we'll see a day when the government will get outta the education business altogether?” – Lynn Shaw The hosts of the State of the Nation show on TNT Radio are clearly on the opposite side of the political spectrum from me. This did not dissuade me from accepting an invitation to appear on the show as I felt that it could be an opportunity to have an informative dialogue about the public education system. The resulting conversation probably did not change any viewpoints, but at least I was able to introduce some concepts that should be universally important, regardless of one’s location on the political spectrum:
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in Education
Broken Promise
“Aren’t we in the business of getting students ready for the world?” – Nicolle Fefferman As a parent, teacher, and founder of “the largest parent-led education advocacy group in Los Angeles,” Parents Supporting Teachers, Nicolle Fefferman has her finger on the pulse of what is happening in Los Angeles schools. Therefore, she was able to sound the alarm when the LAUSD tried to quietly shut down its highly regarded Primary Promise literacy program. The following are comments that she made to the School Board last week demanding that they reconsider the decision:
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in Education
Who Will Stand Up For The LAUSD's Most Vulnerable Students?
“His accomplishments include providing leadership and fighting to: Improve the process for parent participation in the IEP process for children with special needs” – Re-elect Scott Schmerelson, 2020
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in The Swamp
Demanding Transparency
“It’s deeply disturbing that an organization that you’ve entrusted with such sensitive information is either significantly delaying — or even hiding — the fact that individuals had very sensitive information exposed.” – Doug Levin , K12 Security Information eXchange
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in The Swamp
Dodger Blue Shows Compassion
“Jesus was a socialist.” – Oliver Markus Malloy For the Friday edition of its daily blog, Electoral-Vote.com ends with two ongoing series. The older of the two is entitled “This Week in Schadenfreude,” which is an often snarky look at how someone in the news got their comeuppance during the past week. The other is an attempt to end the week on an up note that they call “This Week in Freudenfreude.” It is a feel-good story for the week that revolves around politics.
By Carl J. Petersen3 years ago in Humans
