We Support Open School

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This discussion topic has been automatically created of petition We Support Open School.


Guest

#1 Open School and Collaborative Governance

2014-05-28 07:11

Open School has the best collaborative governance process I have seen at any level of public education. It is truly unique. Those who have benefited from it should do everything in their power to safeguard it. Honor those who came before us and preserve it for those who will come after.
Christina Moore

#2 Eureka! I'm so glad we struck gold at Open School!

2014-05-28 12:23

I am deeply saddened that someone would be so cowardly as to write an accusatory anonymous letter about our wonderful Open School community! This person needs to go back to the Wizard and get some courage, a heart, and some brains! We stuck gold when we were accepted into Open. I opened that letter and jumped up and down. My daughter was not expected until 3rd grade-we had applied for years. We rolled up our sleeves and got to work. My husband is on campus at least twice a week working in our children's classrooms or just helping where he is needed. We value our school community! I am an educator. Open School was doing Common Core before our school district implemented it! The Open School encourages students to constantly assess how a lesson is helping them gain their own understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students become "expert learners." This gives them ever-broadening tools to be life-long learners. Students are taught HOW TO LEARN and take ownership and pride in their own learning. I am very grateful my two children attend The Open School. Our Principal is doing an excellent job handling the situations that are dealt to her. Ms. Cass is one of the most professional, thoughtful, and graceful principals I have ever encountered in my almost 20 years of teaching. The tireless efforts of our teachers and staff should never be misrepresented! We should all be very grateful to have such a fine leader and school! We are a community of Respect! Let's continue to respect each other, the By-Laws, and the spirit of The Open School by doing what we can to enhance it-not tear it down.


Guest

#3

2014-05-28 13:34

Open School set the standard for public education in Los Angeles decades ago.
Smart, informed parents know this as do the students who attend the school.
The person who wrote the letter attempting to discredit the school represents a small minority of parents. These parents were disgruntled at their kids previous schools; and they will continue to be disgruntled wherever they go.
An excellent public education has always been more important than almost anything else for my children. That's why we chose Open School over any other school in LA. We support Open School, our incredible principal and governing council, and our amazing teachers. There is a reason so many dynamic people end up at Open School. We celebrate and reflect the diversity of Los Angeles.
We don't feed egos and agendas. We feed the hearts and minds of life-long learners.
Parents who aren't happy at this school should take their negativity elsewhere and make room for families who want to be a part of this community.
We all have busy lives. Many of us have full time jobs, ill parents or special-needs children. We deserve the peace of mind that comes in knowing that our children's education (and the program at Open) is intact and not under threat.
Our students come first. Not the egos of a few cowardly parents with too much free time on their hands.

Guest

#4

2014-05-28 14:15

This dedication of the community to the children, staff, curricular model and motto of Community of Respect are incredible. I feel so fortunate my children lucked out and got in and wish more schools of this caliber and curriculum existed in LAUSD at all levels k-12. Our families represent the diversity of our city and my children have friends in so many neighborhoods we feel woven more tightly into the fabric of our city. The governing board, staff and Principal Cass are individuals. The purpose of their commitment is to improve the school's programs for our children. I cannot fathom what they have been accused of in an anonymous letter. It seems to be not the Open School way. If the letter writer cared about Open, they would have openly brought up their concerns so legitimate complaints and problems can be worked on within the community. I hope that if there is training to be provided to our community, it should be done, and that if the letter turns out to be a red herring for someone's personal disappointments or anger that we might be allowed to move on and get back to what Open does so well, educate our children. Just this week, my children are putting final touches on a futuristic city with low energy use and built from recycled materials, participating in a marketplace to learn the value of money, watching silkworm metamorphosis, learning concepts of probability, practicing letter writing. These hands on projects not only keep alive and develop the flame of creativity, but also mean each child is a "doer" who will assess, design, and create something of they researched and designed alone or as a team. Personally, I welcome any chance to improve our school, but am tremendously grateful for the dedicatin of Ms. Cass and the teaching staff in particular, who also work as a team and constantly strive to tweak and improve the curriculum, constantly bringing in new ideas alongside those tried and true programs which have become Open School traditions.

Guest

#5

2014-05-28 21:27

My boys attended Open School and I was a very active member of the Governing Board all 8 years. I often use the school's system of collaborative governance as an example of how a logical organic division of decision making and stream lined action where everyone knows what their job is, and gets down to it can work so brilliantly. We may not have always agreed with each other, but every child, parent, and staff member was treated with the utmost respect. The Principal and staff were always highly accessible if there was a problem, so for someone to go to these great ANONYMOUS lengths to cause trouble says more about them than it does about Open School. This is clearly someone having a temper tantrum and venting, or punishing the school for not being what they think it should be. This should not be taken seriously but I must defend the people I know and love dearly.

Respectfully,

Elizabeth Dennehy

Guest

#6

2014-05-29 01:41

Open School was the best thing that ever happened to my kids, I am grateful to the amazing teachers, administrators, staff and parents for all that they have done to make it such an awesome, nurturing, exceptional educational experience!

Guest

#7

2014-05-29 03:26

I have mixed feelings about having to sign this petition. It is not because I have a shred of doubt about defending the honor and integrity of our beloved Principal and the Governing Board. My reservation has to do with somewhat dignifying the baseless and gutless anonymous allegations against our school community with a response.
Thank you Ms. Cass, Thank you members of the Governing Board for all you do. Please don't let an anonymous allegation become a distraction. Samson Mengistu

Guest

#8 Worst. Timing. EVER.

2014-05-29 14:06

Really, *Anonymous*? Is this how mature adults handle conflict? This type of behavior is the total antithesis of what the children at Open School are taught from kindergarten on up. In the last 10 years that I've been an Open parent, my children have learned not only a strong curriculum of academics, but how to find their voice and express it, how to respect others, and how to manage difficulty with others. Sure, they were taught these things at home, but in my children's time at Open, those lessons have blossomed beautifully and given them a strength they didn't know they had. I've worked closely with many members of Friends of the Open School and the Governing Board over the years, and I have NEVER had a single doubt of their collective integrity, nor have I had less than full confidence in our principals and assistant principals. I'm not sure what *Anonymous's* issue is, but I hope s/he chooses or has chosen to follow the proper channels to resolve his/her issue with the leadership at Open instead of seeking to put all of us and our children's extraordinary education at risk.

Guest

#9

2014-05-29 14:22

Both of my kids attended Open and their experience was incredible. I can't say enough great things about this school and the administration.

Guest

#10

2014-05-29 15:28

Our two sons attended the Open School, and the experiences that they had while students there have helped shape their lives in more ways than I can even articulate in this message. I served on the Friends of Open School Board, the Governing Board, and on the Teacher Selection Committee for several years. I did so, because the school made it clear that every voice mattered, and that all ideas were welcome. The strength of the school lies in its shared governance, leadership and in its spirit of cooperation. Our sons are wonderfully successful students and they are thoughtful, considerate and compassionate human beings. Much of this was fostered during their special years at the Open School. It breaks my heart that an "anonymous" parent would speak in such scathing terms about a school that has impacted so many young lives and their parent's lives in countless positive ways. The Open School will always have our love, support and gratitude.

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2014-05-29 16:02



Guest

#12

2014-05-29 17:05

I could not be happier with Open Magnet Charter School. We have been here for four years and my son has been thriving. The teachers are amazing and the parent population in general is incredible. My son has been able to play violin and be exposed to many creative endeavors. I am grateful for open school and will be sad when we have to leave in 5th grade.

Guest

#13 Re:

2014-05-29 19:04

#11: -

Cowardice moves in predictable ways. When people get mired in a level of narcissism this big, they aren't capable of apologizing and owning their behavior. When you go through life thinking you are exempt or owed, sooner or later you're going to hit a wall populated by very smart people. And smart people call out bad behavior because that's how life works when you're an adult.  How tragic for this person's (or these people's) kids. I can't imagine throwing away the trust of my children's teachers all in the name of my ego.

 


Guest

#14 Community of Respect

2014-05-29 19:52

Big thanks to Karen Petersen and Mark Imgrund for their respective letters, as well as for organizing this petition. Thanks also to all who have signed or will sign. How wonderful to see a swift and vocal response to the ridiculous and ugly cowardice exhibited by the anonymous letter writer.

One minor change to consider making to the letter accompanying the petition would be to the statement that the writer of the libelous letter "speaks for a small minority." The anonymous writer of that letter barely speaks for herself/himself, and to imply that there are others who share the expressed point of view may give it undeserved credence.

Again, much gratitude to Karen for spearheading this initiative and for putting into words how many of us feel with regard to this amazing school, its excellent faculty, the exemplary leadership of its principal, and the Community of Respect that is made up of each and every Open School family.


Guest

#15

2014-05-30 12:17

Any letter not signed should be discarded. Not worth the paper it is written on. Why are they afraid of letting all know who they are?
Really?

#16 Was this a joke?

2014-05-30 14:52

It must have been because no adult that has had any experience with Ms. Cass and the faculty at Open School would make these ridiculous allegations nor would they feel compelled to disclose their identity. Game over anonymous person. When over half the school is represented on this petition including the teachers, in a matter of a few days, all is said and done.

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2014-05-30 16:14



Guest

#18

2014-05-30 19:51

Is it possible for members of the community to see the anonymous letter?
It's clear that an overwhelming majority of parents (past and present) would not agree with the sentiment in the letter, nor support the person who wrote it. But it would be interesting and informative to hear this person's specific gripes and motivation for their ugly attack.
Lisanne Sartor

#19 Re:

2014-05-30 23:19

#18: - The letter was discussed at length at a Governing Council meeting a few weeks ago in May.  The minutes to that meeting and, in fact, the minutes to any Governing Council meeting, are available to the Open School community to read.  Please email me (lsartor@sbcglobal.net)if you'd like to read any Governing Council meeting minutes and I'll send you the dropbox link.

 

Julie de Brun

#20

2014-05-31 15:50

You know, one way to really understand how effective and unique Open Magnet Charter is is to understand that many families switched from other LAUSD schools when they got their magnet acceptance into Open. We're one of those families. Our twins did a year of kindergarten in another LAUSD school in West LA and so we have an excellent point of comparison.

Open is a model of what public school should be in this city, and frankly, in this country. It's core is a philosophy of respect, and built around that core is a pedagogy of constructivist exploration, with teachers and specialists who really understand, love and practice techniques that foster a lifetime of inquisitiveness. Then, surrounding this, we have the cooperative body of amazing, hard-working parents, teachers who take on a crazy amount of out- of-classroom responsibility, and the leadership of the principal, currently the excellent Ms. Cass, who make this school actually possible.

There should be more Open Schools. But right now there's only one. And a lot of people work really hard to continue the tradition of excellence. In every large cooperative undertaking, there are bound to be disagreements. And mistakes made along the way. Here at Open, we teach our kids conflict resolution built upon respect for self and for others. And we teach resiliency when recovering from mistakes and failures. The writer of the Anonymous letter likely wasn't raised in such an atmosphere. I have compassion for Anonymous and wish continued laser focus for the rest of the community who will carry on making Open Magnet Charter one of the best schools around.

Guest

#21 Re:

2014-05-31 17:57

#20: Julie de Brun -

I feel sorry for anonymous too, and the small group of people who have made it their mission to spread their self-centered infantile behavior through our school. But being compassionate doesn't mean we have to tolerate it. They don't deserve Open School and frankly I wish they would leave so that we can get back to the fun-loving, smart and respectful school that we are.

 


Guest

#22

2014-06-01 00:39

Former Open School student (1989)
Lisanne Sartor

#23

2014-06-01 21:44

I hope that the person or people behind the poison pen letter take notice of how many people have signed this petition and realize that a large portion of our community firmly believes our school isn't broken - because it isn't. Open School is a wonderful place that deserves our support for all the amazing things it does for our kids. I'm not saying the school shouldn't change and grow - that's going to happen inevitably as the world around us changes and grows. But our school shouldn't be forced to change because disgruntled people make untrue accusations against it in an attempt to force the school to become what they want it to be. Here's to this petition being the end of the strife and the return to happier, more peaceful times.


Guest

#24

2014-06-02 07:26

We love our school!
Fighting the Good Fight

#25 Re: Re:

2014-06-02 15:33

#13: - Re:

Agreed!