Principals Pushed Out

Just five months after Mayor Villaraigosa took control of 10 of Los Angeles' lowest-performing schools, principals at seven of the sites requested transfers.After the principals' transfer requests, the mayor's partnership sought applicants through advertisements within Los Angeles and across California. The new principals named Tuesday are: Tim Sullivan, Markham Middle School; Leo Gonzalez Jr., Stevenson Middle School; Sonia Miller, Gompers Middle School; Christina Rico, Hollenbeck Middle School; Charlene Green, Ritter Elementary School; Tanya Stokes-Mack, Figueroa Elementary School; and Sherri Williams, 99th Street Elementary School. Mayor Villaraigosa should work on cleaning up the surrounding
neighborhoods.

Five of the seven schools are within a 5 mile area. They all draw from the same neighborhoods. If the Mayor wants to do something about the schools. Maybe he should focus on cleaning up the area around the schools. On a daily basis, the students have to dodge prostitutes, gang-members, drug dealers, and the local drunk to get to school. How can you expect administration and staff to get the best from their students if the students do not come to school prepared and are distracted daily by outside influences. Yes, Mayor Villarigosa has to do something about the performance at these schools. But it is unfair to hang the performance solely on the principals head. Has he looked at the crime rate in these neighborhoods and looked to fire the LAPD Precinct Captains? Has the Mayor called on the local PTA to work more with families? Failing schools are not just one persons fault.