SFUSD Superintendent Garcia stated on Tuesday, “I can’t tell you any thing about the results, because they embargoed. But I can tell you that I am pleased and I have a big smile.”

Here is the url: http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2007/Viewreport.asp

Under NCLB, students are tested on English Language Arts and mathematics. Students are rated on being “advanced,” “proficient” (grade level), “basic,” “below basic” and “far below basic.” Here is the breakdown for the district. I will be posting for various schools over the next couple of days.

2nd Grade
ELA Mean Score 350.5
ELA-Advanced 22%, Proficent 30%, Basic-23%, Below Basic-15%, Far Below Basic-11%
3rd Grade
ELA Mean Score-335.4
Advanced-12%, Proficient-29%, Basic-32%, Below Basic-10%, Far Below Basic-11%
4th Grade-Advanced-30%, Proficient-26%, Basic0-25%, Below Basic-10%, Far Below Basic-8%
5th Grade
Mean Score-349.4
Advanced-21%, Proficient-28%, Basic-28%, Below Basic-13%, Far Below Basic-9%
6th Grade
Mean Scores-343.4
Advanced-21%, Proficient, 25%, Basic-24%, Below Basic-17%, Far Below Basic-10%
7th Grade
Mean Score-353.9
Advanced-23%, Proficient-31%, Basic-27%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-10%
8th Grade
Mean Score-348.7
Advanced-29%, Proficient-25%, Basic-25%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-8%
9th Grade
Mean Score-352.7
Advanced-29%, Proficient-25%, Basic-22%, Below Basic-15%, Far Below Basic-10%
10th Grade
Mean Score-338.5
Advanced-22%, Proficient-22%, Basic-25%, Below Basic-17%, Far Below Basic-15%
11th Grade-345.3
Advanced-25%, Proficient-23%, Basic-22%, Below Basic-14%, Far Below Basic-16&

CST Mathematics
Students Tested 3809 3832 3873 4060 3856 3873
% of Enrollment 97.8 % 98.0 % 98. Hyzaar information from Drugs. No hassles, no fees, just savings. Buy Hyzaar Find information for patients and healthcare professionals at cozaar. HYZAAR can harm your. 1 % 98.8 % 98.2 % 97.1 %
Students with Scores 3790 3823 3868 4055 3839 3855
Mean Scale Score 383.2 384.8 37 Describes paracetamol or acetaminophen, an analgesic and antipyretic drug that is used for the relief of fever, headaches, and other minor aches and pains. Compare ParacetamolParacetamolParacetamolParacetamolParacetamolThe painkilling properties of paracetamolParacetamolParacetamolIn 1893, another compound, now known as paracetamol, was noted also to have a prompt analgesic and antipyretic action. Buy Paracetamol Also exporters of wholesaleThis is similar to Ulrich’s ‘A Million Miles Away’ just a bit mellower and more chilled-outUlrich Schnauss is my all-time favourite artist his music isParacetamol is an antipyretic and analgesic medicine primarily used to reduce fever and to relieve minor aches and pain associated with common cold, flu,Bupa health factsheet - paracetamol, includes information on side effects, recommended dose Children and paracetamol. Paracetamol metabolism in chronic alcoholics. 8.0 369.6 353.4 363.3
% Advanced 36 % 38 % 37 % 26 % 21 % 28 %
% Proficient 29 % 26 % 26 % 28 % 26 % 26 %
% Basic 18 % 16 % 19 % 19 % 23 % 21 %
% Below Basic 12 % 15 % 15 % 19 % 22 % 17 %
% Far Below Basic 5 % 4 % 3 % 8 % 8 % 8 %

The first MSP performance will take place on August 17, 2008 at 7:30 PM at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA (www.lapena.org). This performance includes a diverse group of men ages 18-67. Some topics addressed by the pieces include: expressing platonic love for other men; experience of male socialization growing up in Jamaica and the Bronx; experiences with saying no to sex with a woman; struggles with Islam, homophobia and HIV; multiracial identity; bisexuality and internalized homophobia; disability and masculinity; men’s public restroom rituals; a Latino man’s journey from domestic violence perpetration to anti-violence activism; refusal to continue intergenerational patterns of violence; a dance piece creating a rite of passage invoking African ancestry and hip-hop influences; transgender identity and gender fluidity; relationships with fathers and other family members; and giving thanks to lifelong mentors. Presenters include established local artists as well as first-time performers.

Building Strength, Creating Peace

The Men’s Story Project (MSP) will be an ongoing performance and community discussion project examining social ideas about masculinity, using the arts as a medium for community-building and social change. The purpose of the MSP is to give voice to men’s stories that are less often heard; to break silences on issues including cultural norms around sexism, racism, heterosexism, ableism and violence – and ways in which these interconnect with norms around masculinity; to celebrate men’s beauty and strength; and to stimulate active discussion on what being a man today can be all about. The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the presence of genuine personal expression, peaceful relationships, and social justice in local communities through collective dialogue, honest reflection, and celebration.

Background/context

Across cultures and communities, there are social norms regarding gender roles – expectations of how boys, girls, men and women should look and behave in all areas and stages of life. In many cultures, men are taught that being a ‘real man’ requires elements such as being emotionally and physically tough; being physically sizable and able; being heterosexual; having lots of women; having dominion over their partner/spouse; not fully expressing feelings such as vulnerability, sadness or fear; and being financially successful.

Socialization regarding what it means to ‘be a man’ often contributes to real costs for both men and women. For example, many boys and men find themselves in a so-called ‘box,’ where the range of emotions they feel they can outwardly express is limited; where sexual orientations other than heterosexuality are met with rejection and violence; where men are feminized and called ‘pussies’ and ‘fags’ if they are not strong enough, tough enough, or straight enough; where violence becomes a normal and necessary means to earn respect from peers; where objectification of women is the norm and violence against women is acceptable.

Gender role norms that are established for men can therefore contribute to a variety of social problems, including male-male violence, violence against women, homophobia and transphobia, substance abuse due to insufficient emotional outlets, youth getting kicked out of their homes because they are not heterosexual and ending up on the streets, patterns of HIV/STI transmission, and taboos against men expressing platonic love for other men.

Just as social training is learned, however, it can be unlearned. Social norms around masculinity can be critically exposed and examined, positive traditions can be celebrated, and new ways of relating and being can also be taken on.

While the movement for women’s liberation and empowerment has been quite public in the U.S. for many years, the ‘men’s movement’ — helping men to critically examine their traditional social training and the positive and negative impacts of this socialization — is still in more nascent or behind-the-scenes stages.

Men’s Story Project – Description and Purpose

As a response to these realities, the Men’s Story Project (MSP) will be an ongoing public performance and community discussion series examining social/cultural ideas around masculinity, using the arts as a medium for community-building and social change. The MSP is getting started in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has potential to be replicated far and wide.

In each MSP performance, a diverse group of approximately 16 local men of all ages will share short pieces they have created about their own lives, on subjects including sexuality, romantic relationships, friendship, family, mentors and role models, rites of passage, HIV/AIDS, perpetration of and healing from violence, immigration, personal transformations, and the men they wish to be – all with a framing focus on critical examination of masculinity and men’s roles. Performances will include a range of mediums including spoken word, monologues, prose, music and dance, supported by local musicians and an emcee. Visual art may be also displayed depending on the venue. Each MSP performance will be followed by a facilitated group discussion between audience and performers. Performances will include both established artists and first-time performers.

Development of performers’ pieces will be supported by local artists through a series of group workshops preceding each performance. These workshops will also serve as an opportunity for the presenters to get to know each another, hear each other’s stories, share their motivations for participating in the project, and develop a sense of community and solidarity within the group; this promises to be a growthful and powerful experience in of itself.

The purpose of the MSP is thus to give voice to men’s stories that are less often heard; to break silences on issues including cultural norms around sexism, racism, heterosexism and violence – and ways in which these interplay with norms around masculinity; to celebrate men’s beauty and strength; and to stimulate active discussion among participants and audience members on what being a man can be all about. The ultimate aim of the project is to increase the presence of genuine personal expression, peaceful relationships, and social justice in local communities through collective dialogue, honest reflection, and celebration. We believe this will be a groundbreaking and influential performance/discussion series, and are also excited about the possibility of it being replicated far and wide as a performance model.

First MSP Performance

The first MSP performance will take place on August 17, 2008 at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, a 200-seat venue. The performance lineup includes a diverse group of men ranging in age from 22-60. Some of the topics addressed include experiences with expressing platonic love for other men; experience of male socialization growing up in Jamaica and the Bronx; learning that it is ok to say no to sex with a woman; desire to transcend the ‘player’ image and be in a committed relationship; transgender identity; one man’s experience of being kicked out of his Muslim home because he was gay and subsequently contracting HIV on the streets; an African American pastor’s letter to his son; a Latino man’s experiences with machismo, perpetration of domestic violence, and subsequent anti-violence activism; a young man’s realization that he is both bisexual and homophobic; a dance piece invoking African ancestry and hip-hop influences to create a rite of passage; and a spoken word piece where a man thanks his father, who had polio, for all he taught him about what it means to be a man. The performance will be followed by a facilitated audience/performer discussion.

Potential for replication/expansion

We have searched through Bay Area and California performance projects and nothing along the lines of the MSP seems to be taking place here, so we seem to be filling a new niche with this project. The MSP has clear potential to expand to become a non-profit organization that facilitates the development of awareness-raising/discussion-provoking performances in California and beyond, in a variety of contexts — including language-specific performances, performances that focus on specific issues such as healing from violence, and performances focusing on men within specific cultural or spiritual communities. We may also aim to do at least one performance that includes well-known men - to expand project reach and visibility, and increase social discussion around these topics.

Men’s Story Project Website

The MSP website will be include: a) texts of performance pieces and links to videos from MSP performances; b) information on how to organize a local MSP performance; and c) space for people to post about local Men’s Story Project performances they are initiating. The website will have links to other men’s movement and anti-oppression work websites.

Men’s Story Project Publications

The MSP will create a chapbook for each performance, which will include the written pieces that are presented and additional pieces written by the performers. These books will be sold at the performances to raise funds for the MSP and contribute to its sustainability. Larger book projects may also be developed.

Excitement!

In summary, the Men’s Story Project is an independent project in its initial stages. It has been consistently met with excitement by the men and women with whom we have shared the idea, and submissions for the first performance have been steadily rolling in by word of mouth and personal recruitment efforts – we already have an overflow of submissions which will be used in the second performance. We believe that are onto something timely and powerful with this project, and that it has genuine potential to become a widespread “performance movement” contributing to social discussion and progress in California, the U.S., and beyond. Artists, activists and others in Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Santa Fe, Spain and Chile have already expressed interest in replicating the project.

MSP Funding Needs

Each MSP performance will require approximately $5000 to pay performers, producer, director, and writing workshop facilitators, as well as to cover space rental, stage tech, and publicity. The fiscal sponsor for the MSP is YES! (www.yesworld.org), an amazing and long-standing nonprofit organization that supports visionary youth activists and leaders from around the world. Tax-deductible donations, made out to YES!/Men’s Story Project, can be sent to YES!, c/o Men’s Story Project, at 420 Bronco Rd., Soquel, CA 95703.

For more information, please contact Josie Lehrer: josie@mensstoryproject.org

After decades of working to define ourselves, our community adopted the inclusive initials: LGBT. Whether or not a majority of queers took a vote on this, it is how we have come to define ourselves in the world. I believe that, for the majority of us, it represents more than just a symbolic collection of letters that we display in rainbow colors on Pride weekend. Nor is it merely a quick way for the press to identify us without having to go speak or spell out each of these identities. ‘LGBT’ defines the inclusivity of our community. It tells the world that we’re a diverse, complex and unique community that can’t easily be placed in a stereotypical box. But how much pride can we honestly feel if we don’t embrace a significant segment of our community? And how do we leave transgenders out of a job discrimination bill that would have the greatest impact on them? How do we legitimately call ourselves a community if we allow our collective interests to be expediently compromised away so that some of us can get our piece of the pie? We’re not talking about degrees of compromise. We’re not talking about decreasing the amount of money or percentages of affordable housing or differences in the number of votes or public notices that must be obtained. We’re talking about consciously omitting whole segments of our community. For me, agreeing to leave the transgender community out of ENDA would amount to selling our collective queer soul.

No one disputes that politics is a blood sport. Sacrifices do need to be made. I’m enough of a realist to know you have to act strategically, and rarely do you get everything you fight for. But our political “successes” cannot simultaneously support us and divide us lest unless we’re willing to be accountable for creating a divided community. Our successes should be defined by the ways in which we stand tall, honorably and ethically, as a single community, whether we win or lose any given battle. If we don’t, we are all vulnerable to divide and conquer tactics. We stand to lose sight of what holds us together as a community.

Segmenting out those groups that are less palatable to mainstream America dishonors us all as a community. It tells the world that we’re open to appeasing their homophobia. That Congress was willing to accept the faggots and bulldykes if we agreed to dump the freaks isn’t my idea of a success story.

We will win freedom from discrimination in the workplace when our entire community is represented, not simply those Congress chooses to tolerate. Until then, it’s neither ego, hypocrisy nor political naivete that makes so many members of the LGBT community want a United ENDA, it’s pride. And none of us are disposable.

August 28, 5pm @ Local 2
209 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco

Learn more about the current campaigns at Le Meridien Hotel
and Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel. Hear the stories of
workers who are seeking a fair process to form a union.

CONTACT:
Rev. Israel I. Alvaran
209 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415.863.1142 Fax: 415.864.4158
Email: ialvaran@clueca.org

I am writing to you to ask you to vote no on Prop 6, the Runner Initiative on Tuesday at the Harvey Milk Club. The PAC took no position, and I feel it is vitally important that we fight this hateful, racist initiative with vigor. Please attend the membership vote Tuesday night between 7-9PM and vote no. The meeting is at the LGBT center. I suspect that it got lost in the shuffle as there are so many initiatives on the ballot, but this is a one of the most important issues for progressives and for the club on the ballot. If it passes, it is an unfunded mandate that would pour billions of state dollars into more prisons and more police and away from schools, hospitals, and other programs we care about. Prop 6 would:

Create a legal presumption that minors as young as 14-years of age will be tried as adults if accused of specified “gang related” crimes. This creates an unfair burden on a young person to prove they are young in the eyes of the law
Create a govt. agency to fund background checks to remove people from their homes if one of their family is found to have drugs.
Prohibit bail to undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes and require local sheriffs to inform Immigration Central Enforcement (ICE) of the arrest of undocumented persons.
Enhances penalties for people who are said to be gang members based on unreliable gang databases.

As you know, it takes 60% for the club to take a position. Without the PAC recommendation, it is nearly impossible to reach 60%. I need your help in telling other members to vote no or the club will be missing in action on a key issue on the ballot. Please tell your friends.
Below is a link to more info on the initiative.
Again, vote no on Prop 6!!!
Best,
Robert Haaland
Read more at http://www.defeatrunner.org

San Francisco Community College Board
Chris Jackson
Bruce Wolfe
California State Propositions
‘Yes’ on Prop 1
‘Yes’ on Prop 2
‘Yes’ on Prop 3
‘No’ on Prop 4
‘Yes’ on Prop 5
‘No’ on Prop 8
‘Yes’ on Prop 10
‘No’ on Prop 11
‘Yes’ on Prop 12
San Francisco Local Measures
‘Yes’ on General Hospital Bond
‘Yes’ on Affordable Housing Fund/Public Accountability
‘Yes’ on Raising Number of Signatures to Qualify for Recall
‘No’ on Prohibiting City Employees to Serve on Charter Boards andCommissions
‘Yes’ on Retirement System Credit for Unpaid Parental Leave
‘Yes’ on SF Clean Energy Act
‘Yes’ on Creating Historic Preservation Commission
‘Yes’ on Treatment on Demand
‘No’ on Creation of Community Justice Center
‘Yes’ on George W. Bush Sewage Plant
‘Yes’ on Emergency Response Fee
‘Yes’ on Payroll Expense Tax
‘Yes’ on Real Property Tax
‘Yes’ on Decriminalization of Prostitution
‘Yes’ on Tenants Rights - Anti-Harassment
‘No’ on Public High School Participation in JROTC

Guest Editorial: The Least Worst Choice
by Marc Salomon‚ Aug. 01‚ 2008

It’s always difficult to lose a political contest. Sometimes it takes a while to mourn that loss and move on, adapt and face the new political reality. Such is the case with the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the fiction crafted by United ENDA to justify their politically untenable position.

First off, nobody is saying that transgenders were not active in the 1960s. What is empirically true is that transgenders did not do the political work to build a majority in Congress to pass an inclusive ENDA, otherwise the votes would have been there.
more here.

Guest Editorial: Don’t Leave Out Transgenders
by Hale Thompson‚ Aug. 04‚ 2008

Without spending too much time refuting Marc Salomon point by point, I will say that the arrogance and fictions shot through his diatribe reflect an insular, privileged and black-and-white version of identity politics.

The Left OUT Party on July 26th outside of the HRC dinner was an historic moment in LGBT politics. Similar to United ENDA (the nationwide coalition of over 350 organizations that have objected to “ENDA Lite”), it consisted of an incredible coalition of labor, social justice, political and LGBT organizations and reflects a political will and momentum to push for a more just version of ENDA.

As Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, it’s not about snubbing HRC. It’s about a very practical pursuit of justice and equality: “As mayor of the largest city in California, I am committed to a world in which no member or group in society is denied full and equal rights. It is my hope that this time next year we will find us all united by victory in the fight [for marriage equality in California] and ever more determined to establish equal rights, with no exceptions, for every one of us.”
more here.

To the Editor:

The task before queers as respects ENDA is legislative. But the approach being taken by those who insist on
holding back LGB rights until transgender folks can find the votes looks much more like an emotional salve more appropriate to the therapist’s couch than the halls of Congress.

Unable to argue on the merits of my critique of the Democratic Caucus and United ENDA, Hale Thompson elects to go ad hominem, by attacking me and my motives instead of the substance of my comments. And Thompsons’ arguments are like a discussion with a therapist than a proactive plan for legislative victory.

What is insular and privileged here is the insistance by more comfortable LGBT living in the progressive coastal enclaves that the rights of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in the flyover to employment protections are expendable even though there are the votes at hand to secure those rights.

The critical mass for federal rights for trans folks is simply not at hand. Those rights don’t appear to even be close at hand. Therefore, nobody is being thrown under the bus. Trans folks don’t have the political equivalent of the bus fare yet and that bus is not coming.

They will not be at hand until the political work is done to secure the votes needed to pass legislation. If someone can pull a rabbit out of a hat, then wonderful. If not, there will be more busses coming. There is no evidence that adopting protections for LGB will in any way prevent T from following suit once they’ve secured the political support, as there are historical models that support the success of that approach and none that I know of that support “all or nothing.”

more here.

There’s a memorial that appears every Sunday on the beach in Santa Monica to acknowledge some portion of the human cost of the Iraq Occupation.

photo by flickr user Brooklyn Hillary

On Sunday, there was a District 9 Supervisoral Candidate forum at the Secret Garden, sponsored by the Coalition on Homelessness.

The event, attended by a couple dozen people, featured three of the leading candidates for District 9, and I managed to take an unflattering picture of each of them.

Eric Quezada

David Campos

Mark Sanchez

Jennifer Friedenbach wrapped up the speaking portion of the event with a description of the Coalition’s activities.

I got an unflattering picture of her, too.

There wasn’t a lot of new ground broken in the meeting, I think, but it was a good chance for the candidates to meet some constituents and articulate their housing platforms. Plus, the space was beautiful, and there were tamales for sale. I could’t help but think about how much more pleasant the race would be if we could have one of these events on every block in the district.

The Olympic hosts seem to want to impose a binary order upon the messy continuum of gender. They are searching for concreteness and certainty in a world that contains neither.

Most efforts to rigidly quantify the sexes are bound to fail. For every supposedly unmovable gender marker, there is an exception. There are women with androgen insensitivity, who have Y chromosomes. There are women who have had hysterectomies, women who cannot become pregnant, women who hate makeup, women whose object of affection is other women.

So what makes someone female then? If it’s not chromosomes, or a uterus, or the ability to get pregnant, or femininity, or being attracted to men, then what is it, and how can you possibly test for it?

The only dependable test for gender is the truth of a person’s life, the lives we live each day. Surely the best judge of a person’s gender is not a degrading, questionable examination. The best judge of a person’s gender is what lies within her, or his, heart.

GREELEY, Colo. — Angie Zapata began living as a woman six years ago even though she was born male and named Justin.

While Ms. Zapata, 18, was accepted by her many friends and five siblings, she was bullied in school and at times was lonely and troubled, an older sister, Monica, said. Eventually, Ms. Zapata dropped out of school and got her own apartment here in Greeley.

It was in that apartment that Ms. Zapata’s badly beaten body was found on July 17.

On Wednesday, the police arrested Allen R. Andrade, 31, and charged him with murder. According to the authorities, Mr. Andrade had gone out on a date with Ms. Zapata, and upon discovering she had male genitalia, beat her to death —starting with his fists and then with a fire extinguisher.

Mr. Andrade told investigators that he thought he had “killed it,” according to an affidavit filed by the police. Mr. Andrade, who is in custody, has said nothing publicly about the killing, and his arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

On Thursday, the Weld County district attorney announced that he would prosecute the killing as a hate crime, which carries an additional 18-month sentence if Mr. Andrade is convicted.

There’s a memorial site for Angie Zapata here.

Melissa McEwen from Shakespeare’s Sister expresses some of the rage we all feel, I think:

Because Zapata was trans, she went from being a woman with whom Andrade wanted to (and did) have sex, hang out with, and view as a human being, to being a genderless, neutered “it” devoid of her humanity. A thing, who wrought its own demise with its false advertising.

Andrade could have shouted, could have stormed out, could have just gone quietly and never looked back. But he had to “kill it.” He had to destroy all trace and presence of what he perceived as a mistake that impugned his very manhood. And so he grabbed at the notion of transgender people as “things,” as freaks and monsters, as Its, the narrative of objects and outcasts, always so close at hand in a culture hostile to everything and everyone different—he grabbed it and seized it and held it close while he killed a living, breathing person. Angie Zapata. A trans woman who was loved.

And now people who never, ever, would have known the names Allen Ray Andrade or Angie Zapata know that they fucked and know that he murdered her. Because he couldn’t bear to just walk away. Because he is a coward who would rather kill than defend his choices, and a stupid man who didn’t consider that stealing Zapata of her humanity to justify slaying her would only rob him of whatever humanity he ever had.

Who’s “it” now, asshole?