Speech to Belmont Shore Residents

By Karen Thomas (Thomas) Hilburn

A complete text of Karen's speech at the home of Donna and Tom Bennett on Bayshore.

Even though there is much that is good about the Long Beach Unified School District, there is much that needs mending. We have an EMERGENCY on our hands, and the District is taking too long in addressing the issue. They appear to be wearing blinders.

They are too busy pushing their politically correct motto: NO `COLLEGE BOUND' CHILD LEFT BEHIND! SO WHERE DO THE STUDENTS NOT BOUND FOR COLLEGE GO? Believe it or not, there are many wealthy people who never went to college.

The District is failing our students by not offering enough Alternative/Vocational Education.

We need a Vocational Career School! Our former School Board member Ed Eveland had a DREAM: To help our young people by building a Vocational Career Academy. I have campaign materials that show that Ed Eveland won his election in 1992 with one of his biggest issues to build a state of the art Vocational Technical High School. I worked side by side with Ed on that project as did Doug Drummond. What happened? Even then other Board members blocked his dream. It would appear then and now the politically correct thing to say is to prepare all students for college. Most voters don't agree. Most voters I have come in contact with have that same concern regarding lack of Vocational or Alternative Education. This is one of my biggest issues; I have first hand knowledge of the Value of Vocational Training in the Correctional Institutions in California. Not as an inmate mercifully; but as the Chair of Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accreditation visits. Wardens fight budget cuts to keep these classes because they do more than teach a trade....they teach self-control, pride and hope, and are linked to a decrease in violent behavior. PAY NOW OR PAY LATER...Comes to mind...so does the word Emergency!

What ever happened to Alternative Education?

Long Beach Unified School District has been dismantling alternative education for years and they have put plans to address this problem on the back burner. Our children can't afford to wait any longer. Drop out (push out) rate is still too high. Hundreds of students are sent to county programs, under prepared, or to non-accredited Charter Schools because LBUSD doesn't have adequate alternative programs.

One example is: 400-500 students a year who come out of Juvenile Detention-without adequate alternatives are on the streets-in all neighborhoods. While closing the Achievement Gap is Page 8 news + Teens Killing Teens is Front Page news. How long before we take some responsibility and help these kids before they are in trouble? The Alternative Programs I supervised while working for the District have nearly all vanished. Those that I proposed were never implemented!

As Board member I would make them a PRIORITY. Former School Board member Jerry Shultz was called a one issue candidate because he was concerned about our children and teacher's Safety while he was a board member. Jerry is a retired L.A. County Sheriff, Former School Board member and retired City Councilman of the 9th District. I am proud that Jerry is supporting my effort in this election. It takes real caring for our young people to reach out and find the alternative answers to violence. If a Career Academy can work inside the Prison System, then why not address it now before more children are lost. We will never solve the violence in our schools, unless we find innovative ways to challenge the at risk, thrown away kids. Changes must be made to this Board to make sure that our children have the skills to take care of themselves, without feeling like second class citizens. Hopefully the day will come when there is no need to join GANGS, no need to rely on escaping by using alcohol or drugs. Continuing to ignore or cover up these problems will only make things worse. We have an EMERGENCY in our City - Most Homicides are committed by teens. Often by teens that are not in school and feel they have nothing to lose.

Too much emphasis is being placed on testing and winning awards.

Parents and grandparents have expressed to me that they feel their children are being taught to the test + and are missing essential cooperative working/learning skills. Long Beach Unified School District has been `Closing the Achievement Gap' for more than 10 years. When will it be closed?

The more pressure on teachers and students regarding testing, the more disenfranchised they become. One Group of Parents felt that the administrator at their school may have even altered scores in order to show the improvement demanded of her. We need to move away from the constant bragging about + some earned AWARDS as long as 5 years ago and take the human count not the award count. When New York City won the "Broad Prize" this year + the Superintendent Joel Kline was grateful for the recognition and prize money but added that winning meant his District had gone from Awful to Merely Adequate. Safety and discipline issues are still of top concern Safety and discipline issues are still of top concern to parents, bullying still exists, and many feel that overcrowded schools like Wilson are a disaster waiting to happen. LBUSD shouldn't wait until 2015 to create small high schools. The next Board will be faced with the hard decisions regarding the restructuring of low enrollment school sites.

The most often mentioned issue: Board + TALB infighting During my many weeks of walking the precincts, the most often mentioned problem relates to the Board + TALB infighting. Parents want and deserve a Unified Board: One that focuses on the Educational Issues + not each others' issues. Teachers, students and parents deserve nothing less.

I have viable solutions to the problems and concerns I have just mentioned. I am running for Board because as I mentioned before; we are facing Emergency Situations. The District and the City of Long Beach can not afford to keep losing young people. We must give all young people a reason to stay in school and off the streets.

Why do I think I am the best candidate to handle these problems?

Because I have been on the inside and I know what is needed...BOARD COMMITMENT.

Why am I running for School Board? I decided to run because we MUST give young people a reason to stay in school and off the streets.

Consider the alternatives if we don't act NOW! Check out http://www.lbreport.com for more information daily.