Lausd Letter To All Employees Miramonte Final 020612

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

MONICA GARCIA, PRESIDENT Administrative Office
TAMAR GALATZAN 333 South Beaudry Avenue, 24th Floor
BENNETT KAYSER Los Angeles, California 90017
MARGUERITE POINDEXTER LAMOTTE Telephone: (213) 241-‐7000
NURY MARTINEZ Fax: (213) 241-‐8442
RICHARD A. VLADOVIC, Ed.D.
STEVEN ZIMMER JOHN E. DEASY, Ph.D.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

February 6, 2012

Dear Colleagues,

As parents, educators, and community members, we are all outraged at the alleged acts committed
against innocent children at Miramonte Elementary School and any other Los Angeles Unified School
District campus. Sexual abuse of students is not only a heinous crime, but a blatant violation of the
moral and ethical norms in a just society.

At LAUSD, we make a promise to our hundreds of thousands of families – from all backgrounds – that
the classroom is a place where children of all ages can learn in a safe environment. Sadly, recent
events have shown that some adults don’t always keep that promise.

We need to remain focused on the lives of the students we get the honor to serve. Academically, we
need to stabilize the learning environment and offer immediate and on-‐going support. We need to
both protect and support students and staff.

For this reason, I have decided to do the following at Miramonte Elementary:
• Provide a new learning environment through the end of the school year by bringing in a pre-‐
screened group of teachers and counselors. Every class will be taught by a 2-‐person team
made up of an instructor and counselor to help students remain focused on learning and also
offer immediate and on-‐going support.
• Offer counseling services to every single child, present and past, and their families who
request it.
• Because the instructional and emotional burden placed on Miramonte staff over the last
week has been immense, we will relocate the current staff in order to both have the
opportunity to conduct a comprehensive review of what happened at Miramonte and provide
support services.
• We will interview every former Miramonte student and staff member.
• Furthermore, there will be an Independent Commission led by retired California Supreme
Court Chief Justice Carlos Moreno surrounding the events that occurred at Miramonte
Elementary School. We will ask them to review our processes and provide recommendations
so that every LAUSD school can learn from this experience.

As you well know, we have in recent years boosted our efforts to make all employees aware of their
responsibilities to be vigilant and aggressive regarding the witnessing and reporting of possible
incidents of child abuse. Employees who fail to view the comprehensive child abuse training video
are subject to termination. In addition, the creation of the iSTAR tracking system has improved our

ability to move quickly in cases of suspected child abuse. The bottom line is that if you have a
suspicion, report it to authorities and file a Suspected Child Abuse Report.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has a hotline for anyone to report information
regarding Miramonte Elementary. You can email [email protected] or call 866-‐247-‐5877.

We are taking a proactive approach to ensure the safety of our Miramonte students, and ultimately,
the students throughout LAUSD. I am not going to wait for any other surprises at Miramonte.

Some might see this as an extreme measure but this is an extreme circumstance. I need to take action
within the scope of what I can control. This is it. This is going to be a lesson for all of us. Our children
are our number one priority. We must ensure their safety. Again, if you have a suspicion, report it.

I know that we are fortunate at LAUSD to have thousands of extraordinary teachers and employees
who work incredibly hard to ensure that students can learn in a nurturing, caring, and understanding
environment, including at Miramonte. As we work together as a community to get through this
extremely difficult period, we must never forget the extraordinary people who give of themselves
every single day for the education and well being of our students.

Cordially,

Dr. John E. Deasy
Superintendent

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MEMBERS OF THE BOARD LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

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