latimes--2020-02-12--San Francisco bans most cars from Market Street. Will other California cities follow?

As California cities move to reclaim their streets from automobile domination , Market Street in San Francisco is the most ambitious effort so far .
Lined by skyscrapers , landmark buildings , tech powerhouses and ornate street lamps , Market cuts through the heart of San Francisco and has long had the traffic jams that come with the prime real estate .
Generations ago , many of the city ’ s streetcar and cable car lines were pulled out to make way for the mighty automobile .
A few weeks ago , there was a dramatic shift when San Francisco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Market Street .
Suddenly most automobiles were gone — Ubers , Lyfts , and tourists in rental cars banished .
Historic streetcars and electric trolley buses glided along .
Cyclists and electric scooter-riding commuters celebrated their new freedom .
“ There is a generational transformation that has occurred here , ” said Malcolm A. Heinicke , chairman of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ’ s board of directors , who has called for discussion of closing other roads , like Valencia Street in the Mission District and Leavenworth Street in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have people who are really looking at having a city where they ’ re not driving.
” Alarmed by rising traffic deaths and painful gridlock on downtown streets , New York City , Seattle , Denver , Minneapolis , Toronto and other cities have instituted restrictions — forcing vehicles to share fewer lanes , ending curbside parking during rush hour or banning virtually all cars from signature boulevards in favor of mass transit .
Los Angeles is considering its own bold step : dramatically reducing the number of lanes for traffic along Hollywood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents , New York in October banned almost all vehicles — except buses , trucks and cars making local trips — on a critical east-west route crossing Manhattan between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m .
Soon , buses on 14th Street , which had been given the “ Pokey Award ” by transit advocates for being home to the slowest bus route in the city , crawling at 4.3 mph , saw faster speeds and a jump in ridership .
Facing explosive growth and worsening traffic , Seattle in 2018 dramatically expanded a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s busiest bus corridor , from 6½ hours every weekday to 13 hours every day — reserving use for buses and cyclists .
Denver and Minneapolis have added bus-only lanes at the expense of regular lanes or curbside parking .
In Toronto , signs on King Street now instruct cars to exit the roadway , giving priority to streetcars .
On Wilshire Boulevard , Los Angeles five years ago completed 7.7 miles of bus-only lanes that restrict cars during rush hour ; the same was done downtown for the afternoon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Auto lanes on Broadway , Spring and Main streets downtown have been removed to expand space for pedestrians and bicycles , and sections of streets at the Sunset Triangle in Silver Lake , Leimert Park and North Hollywood have been converted into pedestrian plazas .
Now officials want to widen sidewalks , add bike lanes and narrow the roadway along Alameda Street in front of Union Station .
Prioritizing mass transit or pedestrians in congested downtowns is not a new idea .
Minneapolis banned cars along a stretch of Nicollet Avenue in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 16th Street in 1982 .
An early suggestion to ban cars on Market Street in 1963 only led to wider sidewalks , according to the San Francisco Chronicle ; repeat proposals in the 1980s , ’ 90s and 2000s also came up short .
Recent moves to restrict car traffic on signature routes come amid increasing alarm about pedestrian and cyclist deaths .
Such fatalities are at the highest level nationally since 1990 — with more than 6,000 pedestrians and 800 cyclists killed in 2018 , according to the National Highway Traffic Safety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 people annually lose their lives in traffic accidents .
City officials nationwide talk of “ Vision Zero , ” a goal of eliminating all traffic deaths , and “ complete streets , ” which value safety not only for cars but pedestrians , cyclists and transit riders .
“ If there are things that we can do to improve the way that people get around and reduce the number of fatalities , then we should do them , ” said Zabe Bent , director of design for the National Assn .
of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , half of the 10 worst intersections for injuries and fatalities are on Market Street , said Jeffrey Tumlin , executive director of the city ’ s Municipal Transportation Agency .
That realization was a strong factor in deciding that something had to change on Market , where automobiles were sharing the road with a large number of cyclists , pedestrians and buses .
“ San Francisco ’ s job and housing growth over the last 10 years has been very strong , ” Tumlin said .
“ Our streets are not getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accommodate more people.
” While a single lane of traffic can carry hundreds of people per hour in private cars , a dedicated transit lane can transport thousands every hour .
The relationship between passenger vehicles and streetcars on Market has long been an uneasy one .
Four lanes of streetcars once dominated the 120-foot-wide spine of the city , connecting the prominent landing spot for ships — where the Ferry Building is today — to Twin Peaks , one of the highest points in San Francisco , rising far above the bay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Francisco boomed immediately after the Gold Rush , Market Street unified two settlements : the one around Portsmouth Square in today ’ s Chinatown , built in a north-south orientation , and what is now the South of Market district , oriented along a northwest-to-southeast alignment that paralleled the coast .
“ Because it is the seam between the two primary street grids , the result is a crazy tangled mess of streets running into each other that has been confusing since the earliest days of San Francisco , ” Tumlin said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the entire transit system comes together .
So almost all of the major bus and light rail lines in San Francisco end up on Market Street.
” But cars were destined to dominate .
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 .
After World War II , the city pulled out more cable car and streetcar lines , and freeways were built along the Embarcadero and through the heart of the city .
Some streets were converted to one-way traffic , speeding drivers into the city from the suburbs .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the landscape , a shrunken network of rail lines managed to survive on Market Street .
And by the 1990s and 2000s , public sentiment began to shift .
Elected officials sought the demolition of two double-decker freeways damaged in the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 .
High-profile coverage of deaths of pedestrians and cyclists in traffic collisions led to demands for change .
The more recent tech boom caused the population to soar , with more than 880,000 people in the city , up from about 680,000 in 1980 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ populous before , ” San Francisco historian John Freeman said .
“ You can ’ t take a 19th century city and … put that many cars in the system.
” The latest restrictions , part of a project called Better Market Street , don ’ t eliminate all auto traffic ; besides streetcars and buses , taxis and commercial delivery trucks are still allowed .
And more changes are scheduled for the coming years to improve the 2.2-mile stretch roughly between the Ferry Building and Mid-Market , including a bikeway separated from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streetcars .
The changes posed challenges for some , including licensed art vendors at Embarcadero Plaza who lost six curbside parking spaces and say they ’ re faced with higher parking costs and more difficulty unloading their cars .
“ It ’ s very , very difficult , ” said Aurelio Mucci , 55 , who sells bracelets and earrings .
“ It ’ s very tough and complicated for the artists.
” Lyft driver Shirzai Meerzada , 35 , said the ban on cars will serve only to worsen traffic on surrounding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lanes on nearby Mission Street .
He said he expected Lyft users to cancel rides if they can ’ t be picked up quickly .
Maryo Mogannam , president of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Assns.
, said he ’ s concerned about how the city will manage the construction , and whether officials will follow through on maintenance and upkeep .
“ After what we saw what the BART project did to Market Street back in the ’ 60s , it still hasn ’ t recovered from that , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voiced support for the project — including Jay Cheng , policy director for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce , who thinks office workers and tourists will find Market Street calmer and safer .
“ We really believe it ’ s going to … give a better experience to visitors and our tourists.
” Besides , the San Francisco of today has far more transportation options — like Uber , Lyft , rentable bikes and electric scooters — than a decade ago , “ so people are less reliant on their private vehicles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ m glad they ’ re doing it , ” said Adam Smith , owner of Fog City News , a newsstand at 1st and Market streets , hoping the ban will reduce noise and pollution .
“ The city is so over-congested because of all the Uber drivers.
” Most of his customers are office workers who take mass transit , he said .
San Francisco resident Frank O ’ Connell , 60 , said the new rules will probably save riders on the city ’ s Muni system on Market Street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home and could relieve pressure on overcrowded Muni subway trains .
“ Emergency rooms are not going to be as nearly as impacted , because there ’ s going to be fewer accidents , ” he said .

As California cities move to reclaim their streets from automobile domination, Market Street in San Francisco is the most ambitious effort so far.
Lined by skyscrapers, landmark buildings, tech powerhouses and ornate street lamps, Market cuts through the heart of San Francisco and has long had the traffic jams that come with the prime real estate. Generations ago, many of the city’s streetcar and cable car lines were pulled out to make way for the mighty automobile.
A few weeks ago, there was a dramatic shift when San Francisco banned private cars on the busiest section of Market Street. Suddenly most automobiles were gone — Ubers, Lyfts, and tourists in rental cars banished. Historic streetcars and electric trolley buses glided along. Cyclists and electric scooter-riding commuters celebrated their new freedom.
“There is a generational transformation that has occurred here,” said Malcolm A. Heinicke, chairman of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors, who has called for discussion of closing other roads, like Valencia Street in the Mission District and Leavenworth Street in the Tenderloin, to cars. “You have people who are really looking at having a city where they’re not driving.”
Advertisement
Bicyclists, pedestrians and a streetcar move along Market Street in San Francisco. (Josh Edelson / For The Times)
It’s part of a growing trend across North America.
Alarmed by rising traffic deaths and painful gridlock on downtown streets, New York City, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Toronto and other cities have instituted restrictions — forcing vehicles to share fewer lanes, ending curbside parking during rush hour or banning virtually all cars from signature boulevards in favor of mass transit.
Los Angeles is considering its own bold step: dramatically reducing the number of lanes for traffic along Hollywood Boulevard.
Despite intense opposition from some residents, New York in October banned almost all vehicles — except buses, trucks and cars making local trips — on a critical east-west route crossing Manhattan between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Soon, buses on 14th Street, which had been given the “Pokey Award” by transit advocates for being home to the slowest bus route in the city, crawling at 4.3 mph, saw faster speeds and a jump in ridership.
Facing explosive growth and worsening traffic, Seattle in 2018 dramatically expanded a ban on cars on 3rd Avenue, the city’s busiest bus corridor, from 6½ hours every weekday to 13 hours every day — reserving use for buses and cyclists.
Denver and Minneapolis have added bus-only lanes at the expense of regular lanes or curbside parking. In Toronto, signs on King Street now instruct cars to exit the roadway, giving priority to streetcars.
Advertisement
On Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles five years ago completed 7.7 miles of bus-only lanes that restrict cars during rush hour; the same was done downtown for the afternoon commute on Flower Street last year. Auto lanes on Broadway, Spring and Main streets downtown have been removed to expand space for pedestrians and bicycles, and sections of streets at the Sunset Triangle in Silver Lake, Leimert Park and North Hollywood have been converted into pedestrian plazas.
A bird's eye view of a dedicated bus lane in action. We're moving nearly 70 buses an hour through the Flower Street bus lane each evening! pic.twitter.com/funsVVdX81 — LA Metro (@metrolosangeles) July 23, 2019
Now officials want to widen sidewalks, add bike lanes and narrow the roadway along Alameda Street in front of Union Station.
Prioritizing mass transit or pedestrians in congested downtowns is not a new idea.
Minneapolis banned cars along a stretch of Nicollet Avenue in the 1960s; Denver did the same along 16th Street in 1982. An early suggestion to ban cars on Market Street in 1963 only led to wider sidewalks, according to the San Francisco Chronicle; repeat proposals in the 1980s, ’90s and 2000s also came up short.
Recent moves to restrict car traffic on signature routes come amid increasing alarm about pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Such fatalities are at the highest level nationally since 1990 — with more than 6,000 pedestrians and 800 cyclists killed in 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In San Francisco, about 30 people annually lose their lives in traffic accidents.
Advertisement
Posted signs warn of new traffic laws on a section of Market Street in San Francisco. (Josh Edelson / For The Times)
City officials nationwide talk of “Vision Zero,” a goal of eliminating all traffic deaths, and “complete streets,” which value safety not only for cars but pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders.
“If there are things that we can do to improve the way that people get around and reduce the number of fatalities, then we should do them,” said Zabe Bent, director of design for the National Assn. of City Transportation Officials.
In San Francisco, half of the 10 worst intersections for injuries and fatalities are on Market Street, said Jeffrey Tumlin, executive director of the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency. That realization was a strong factor in deciding that something had to change on Market, where automobiles were sharing the road with a large number of cyclists, pedestrians and buses.
“San Francisco’s job and housing growth over the last 10 years has been very strong,” Tumlin said. “Our streets are not getting any wider, but they need to accommodate more people.”
Street space in cities is limited. Here's what we can do with it. pic.twitter.com/etj39oMstI — NACTO (@NACTO) September 25, 2019
While a single lane of traffic can carry hundreds of people per hour in private cars, a dedicated transit lane can transport thousands every hour.
Advertisement
The relationship between passenger vehicles and streetcars on Market has long been an uneasy one.
Four lanes of streetcars once dominated the 120-foot-wide spine of the city, connecting the prominent landing spot for ships — where the Ferry Building is today — to Twin Peaks, one of the highest points in San Francisco, rising far above the bay, Tumlin said.
Designed as San Francisco boomed immediately after the Gold Rush, Market Street unified two settlements: the one around Portsmouth Square in today’s Chinatown, built in a north-south orientation, and what is now the South of Market district, oriented along a northwest-to-southeast alignment that paralleled the coast.
“Because it is the seam between the two primary street grids, the result is a crazy tangled mess of streets running into each other that has been confusing since the earliest days of San Francisco,” Tumlin said. “It’s also the street where the entire transit system comes together. So almost all of the major bus and light rail lines in San Francisco end up on Market Street.”
But cars were destined to dominate. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936. After World War II, the city pulled out more cable car and streetcar lines, and freeways were built along the Embarcadero and through the heart of the city. Some streets were converted to one-way traffic, speeding drivers into the city from the suburbs.
Market Street, with Twin Peaks rising in the distance. (Josh Edelson / For the Times)
But unlike cities where streetcars were obliterated from the landscape, a shrunken network of rail lines managed to survive on Market Street. And by the 1990s and 2000s, public sentiment began to shift.
Advertisement
Elected officials sought the demolition of two double-decker freeways damaged in the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. High-profile coverage of deaths of pedestrians and cyclists in traffic collisions led to demands for change. The more recent tech boom caused the population to soar, with more than 880,000 people in the city, up from about 680,000 in 1980.
“We’ve never been this populous before,” San Francisco historian John Freeman said. “You can’t take a 19th century city and … put that many cars in the system.”
The latest restrictions, part of a project called Better Market Street, don’t eliminate all auto traffic; besides streetcars and buses, taxis and commercial delivery trucks are still allowed. And more changes are scheduled for the coming years to improve the 2.2-mile stretch roughly between the Ferry Building and Mid-Market, including a bikeway separated from street traffic and bigger platforms to board streetcars.
The changes posed challenges for some, including licensed art vendors at Embarcadero Plaza who lost six curbside parking spaces and say they’re faced with higher parking costs and more difficulty unloading their cars.
A city parking officer directs traffic on Market Street. (Josh Edelson / For The Times)
“It’s very, very difficult,” said Aurelio Mucci, 55, who sells bracelets and earrings. “It’s very tough and complicated for the artists.”
Lyft driver Shirzai Meerzada, 35, said the ban on cars will serve only to worsen traffic on surrounding roads and suggested the city remove bus-only lanes on nearby Mission Street. He said he expected Lyft users to cancel rides if they can’t be picked up quickly.
Maryo Mogannam, president of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Assns., said he’s concerned about how the city will manage the construction, and whether officials will follow through on maintenance and upkeep. “After what we saw what the BART project did to Market Street back in the ’60s, it still hasn’t recovered from that,” he said.
Advertisement
Others, however, voiced support for the project — including Jay Cheng, policy director for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, who thinks office workers and tourists will find Market Street calmer and safer. “We really believe it’s going to … give a better experience to visitors and our tourists.”
A bird’s eye view of Market Street shows empty lanes after private cars were banned from San Francisco’s central artery. (Josh Edelson / For the Times)
Besides, the San Francisco of today has far more transportation options — like Uber, Lyft, rentable bikes and electric scooters — than a decade ago, “so people are less reliant on their private vehicles,” Cheng said.
“I’m glad they’re doing it,” said Adam Smith, owner of Fog City News, a newsstand at 1st and Market streets, hoping the ban will reduce noise and pollution. “The city is so over-congested because of all the Uber drivers.” Most of his customers are office workers who take mass transit, he said.
San Francisco resident Frank O’Connell, 60, said the new rules will probably save riders on the city’s Muni system on Market Street five to seven minutes on their rides home and could relieve pressure on overcrowded Muni subway trains.
“Emergency rooms are not going to be as nearly as impacted, because there’s going to be fewer accidents,” he said.


latimes--2020-02-13--I only took three years of high school math, escaped with a 'D' and turned out OK

I ’ ve never managed to master much beyond the nuts and bolts of math .
I was an honor student who could ace almost every subject , but ninth grade geometry tripped me up .
I slipped through with a C , but needed three tries to pass trigonometry , with a D. I couldn ’ t understand the point of all that mathematical mumbo jumbo .
And not once in the 40 years since I finished school have I ever been asked to factor a polynomial or calculate the cosine of anything .
Maybe that ’ s why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California State University-bound student needs four years of high school math or quantitative reasoning courses just to be considered for admission .
Do we really want to keep students like me out of college because of an obsession with the supremacy of STEM ?
After all , there are still plenty of careers that don ’ t require expertise in the meaning of imaginary numbers or the minutiae of quadratic equations .
As I followed the debate these past months about whether Cal State should raise admission standards by requiring an additional year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help but think back to all those nights I spent hunched over homework , feeling dumb because I couldn ’ t get my head around complicated formulas that I would never need .
I get the goal of the university ’ s proposed change : to better prepare students to tackle college courses that can lead to high-demand careers in science , technology , engineering and math .
But I think the CSU trustees made a wise move in delaying their decision until they study how it might affect prospective applicants .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is that the new standard would disproportionately disadvantage black , Latino and low-income students , who tend to score lower than whites and Asians on standardized math exams — and who are also more likely to attend schools with less experienced teachers , more crowded classes and fewer high-level math courses .
But this is more than an issue of equity .
High school is too late to raise the bar .
Fewer than one-third of California ’ s 11th-graders met grade-level standards in math last year .
Scores were up a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troubling trend persists .
Students post middling math scores in third grade , but their performance drops every year after that .
Instead of toughening standards at the tail end of their journey , how about we better equip them early on to meet the standards we ’ ve already got ?
It ’ s been a long time since I ’ ve been in a math class , so I sought out one of California ’ s most accomplished math teachers to school me on why our students lag so far behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brian Shay has taught all levels of math at San Diego ’ s Canyon Crest Academy , a public high school with 2,500 students .
He was a finalist last year for a national award for excellence in math teaching , he ’ s helped develop California ’ s math content and standards , and he mentored hundreds of teachers during his 20-year career .
Shay thinks it would “ definitely be a challenge ” for many students to successfully tackle another year of high school math .
But he also thinks that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be a good thing .
It doesn ’ t have to be calculus or trigonometry , he said .
“ It could be a class that teaches life skills , like financial math , or follows a scientific passion , ” he said .
“ It ’ s intended to build the mind-set of problem solving in real situations , like how does interest compound or what calculations you need on a construction project .
“ He believes our dismal math scores would rise over time if we employed that real-world mind-set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and if we put as much energy into preparing and supporting teachers as we spend worrying about students ’ career choices .
I was surprised to learn that research has shown that many teachers , particularly in elementary school , suffer from unaddressed math anxiety themselves .
As a result , they tend to teach in an inflexible manner , discourage questions and focus on rote learning , studies found .
Their discomfort can stifle student learning .
“ The best way to learn math is to explore and play with it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the same way people in science understand how chemicals work , or in language how symbolism works.
” Teachers may need more and better training to move past the conventional textbook-based approach and embrace new ways of connecting with students , he said .
“ One of the biggest challenges is that the way we learned math in the past is not the most effective way to learn now , ” said Shay , who was taught to “ parrot ” whatever the teacher said .
“ A lot of us just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here ’ s a quadratic formula , so use it to solve these equations.
’ But mathematics is a way of thinking about facts and logic , ” he said .
“ There ’ s no one right route to that single perfect solution.
” Creating lessons that every child can learn from is a challenge for teachers , Shay said .
In his courses , he aims to open every class with a project .
“ Low floor , high ceiling , so everyone can access it and start from wherever they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He may have students still struggling with fractions in a class with others who are ready for calculus .
“ So some will do the basic steps , and others will go a little further .
That way the advanced students aren ’ t bored and the students who need more support aren ’ t so disheartened that they give up , ” he said .
“ The best thing to do in a math class is to give all kids an opportunity to find success.
” California already has a high-minded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the sort of quantitative reasoning skills the CSU system is trying to promote .
And if that isn ’ t enough , our state ’ s ambitious science standards also emphasize real-world experimentation and discovery over textbooks and tests .
But we can ’ t pretend we ’ re preparing kids for college success or for STEM careers when only 32 % of California 11th-graders are up to par in math and 30.4 % are meeting science standards , according to the state ’ s 2019 standardized tests .
It seems to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the easy part , but haven ’ t completed the task .
We have a destination , but no strong and unified path toward it .
Our progressive plans are undercut by California ’ s challenges : many poorly resourced schools , a practice of passing students with weak skills along to the next grade without help , and a shortage of skilled math teachers encouraged to enlist the creativity diverse classrooms demand .
We ’ re left with the consequences of standards without training .
And adding a tough new class won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in college , career and life rests not on how many math courses we require in high school , but on whether we ’ re successful at building confidence and competence in students and teachers from the start .

Should high school students be required to take a fourth year of math to gain admission to Cal State universities?
I’ve never managed to master much beyond the nuts and bolts of math. I was an honor student who could ace almost every subject, but ninth-grade geometry tripped me up. I slipped through with a C, but needed three tries to pass trigonometry, with a D.
I couldn’t understand the point of all that mathematical mumbo jumbo. And not once in the 40 years since I finished school have I ever been asked to factor a polynomial or calculate the cosine of anything.
Maybe that’s why I’m not convinced that every California State University-bound student needs four years of high school math or quantitative reasoning courses just to be considered for admission.
Advertisement
Do we really want to keep students like me out of college because of an obsession with the supremacy of STEM? After all, there are still plenty of careers that don’t require expertise in the meaning of imaginary numbers or the minutiae of quadratic equations.
As I followed the debate these past months about whether Cal State should raise admission standards by requiring an additional year of math, I couldn’t help but think back to all those nights I spent hunched over homework, feeling dumb because I couldn’t get my head around complicated formulas that I would never need.
I get the goal of the university’s proposed change: to better prepare students to tackle college courses that can lead to high-demand careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
But I think the CSU trustees made a wise move in delaying their decision until they study how it might affect prospective applicants.
The primary complaint, from educators and activists, is that the new standard would disproportionately disadvantage black, Latino and low-income students, who tend to score lower than whites and Asians on standardized math exams — and who are also more likely to attend schools with less experienced teachers, more crowded classes and fewer high-level math courses.
But this is more than an issue of equity. High school is too late to raise the bar.
Advertisement
Fewer than one-third of California’s 11th-graders met grade-level standards in math last year. Scores were up a bit from previous years. But one troubling trend persists. Students post middling math scores in third grade, but their performance drops every year after that.
Instead of toughening standards at the tail end of their journey, how about we better equip them early on to meet the standards we’ve already got?
**
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a math class, so I sought out one of California’s most accomplished math teachers to school me on why our students lag so far behind the goals we’ve set.
Brian Shay has taught all levels of math at San Diego’s Canyon Crest Academy, a public high school with 2,500 students. He was a finalist last year for a national award for excellence in math teaching, he’s helped develop California’s math content and standards, and he mentored hundreds of teachers during his 20-year career.
Shay thinks it would “definitely be a challenge” for many students to successfully tackle another year of high school math. But he also thinks that with a little flexibility, the requirement would be a good thing.
It doesn’t have to be calculus or trigonometry, he said. “It could be a class that teaches life skills, like financial math, or follows a scientific passion,” he said. “It’s intended to build the mind-set of problem solving in real situations, like how does interest compound or what calculations you need on a construction project. “
He believes our dismal math scores would rise over time if we employed that real-world mind-set at every level of math instruction — and if we put as much energy into preparing and supporting teachers as we spend worrying about students’ career choices.
I was surprised to learn that research has shown that many teachers, particularly in elementary school, suffer from unaddressed math anxiety themselves. As a result, they tend to teach in an inflexible manner, discourage questions and focus on rote learning, studies found. Their discomfort can stifle student learning.
“The best way to learn math is to explore and play with it,” Shay explained. “It’s the same way people in science understand how chemicals work, or in language how symbolism works.”
Teachers may need more and better training to move past the conventional textbook-based approach and embrace new ways of connecting with students, he said.
“One of the biggest challenges is that the way we learned math in the past is not the most effective way to learn now,” said Shay, who was taught to “parrot” whatever the teacher said.
“A lot of us just teach the way we learned: ‘Here’s a quadratic formula, so use it to solve these equations.’ But mathematics is a way of thinking about facts and logic,” he said. “There’s no one right route to that single perfect solution.”
Creating lessons that every child can learn from is a challenge for teachers, Shay said. In his courses, he aims to open every class with a project. “Low floor, high ceiling, so everyone can access it and start from wherever they’re at,” he said.
He may have students still struggling with fractions in a class with others who are ready for calculus. “So some will do the basic steps, and others will go a little further. That way the advanced students aren’t bored and the students who need more support aren’t so disheartened that they give up,” he said.
“The best thing to do in a math class is to give all kids an opportunity to find success.”
**
California already has a high-minded conceptual blueprint for teaching math, rooted in the sort of quantitative reasoning skills the CSU system is trying to promote.
And if that isn’t enough, our state’s ambitious science standards also emphasize real-world experimentation and discovery over textbooks and tests.
But we can’t pretend we’re preparing kids for college success or for STEM careers when only 32% of California 11th-graders are up to par in math and 30.4% are meeting science standards, according to the state’s 2019 standardized tests.
It seems to me that education policymakers have done the easy part, but haven’t completed the task. We have a destination, but no strong and unified path toward it.
Our progressive plans are undercut by California’s challenges: many poorly resourced schools, a practice of passing students with weak skills along to the next grade without help, and a shortage of skilled math teachers encouraged to enlist the creativity that diverse classrooms demand.
We’re left with the consequences of standards without training. And adding a tough new class won’t remedy that.
Because success in college, career and life rests not on how many math courses we require in high school, but on whether we’re successful at building confidence and competence in students and teachers from the start.


latimes--2020-02-13--Why two-thirds of California students didn't meet science standards

Adults who took high school biology might remember a lecture on cell structure , then a test asking to identify its parts , plus an assignment to build a cell , perhaps with papier mâché and dry macaroni .
Today , California students are supposed to learn about science in a whole new way .
A teacher might start the lesson by posing a question : How does a wound heal ?
Well , that involves cell reproduction .
So to understand how a wound heals , the teacher might say , we must first learn how a cell works @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elements do you think a cell must have to help heal the wound ?
How about making a model and discussing your hypotheses with each other ?
This approach is aimed at leading students , ideally , to the right answer , with the teacher as a guide .
The method is embedded in the “ Next Generation Science Standards , ” which California adopted in 2013 .
Students were tested for the first time on the new standards last spring , even though some districts have yet to introduce the new curricula @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school students in grades 5 , 8 , and 10-12 — and California students got far more answers wrong than right .
Less than a third of students met standards Across the state , 29.9 % of students met or exceeded the new science standards on this first test , with fluctuations according to grade level .
High school students must take the test once between 10th and 12th grade .
There was a spike in 11th grade scores , with about 30 % proficiency , but overall high school students did worse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black students had especially low scores , a pattern also seen in the state ’ s math and English assessments .
On the science test , only about 3 % of English learners and 8 % of students with disabilities demonstrated proficiency .
“ The scores show that we ’ re continuing to fail students and we ’ re failing the same students who historically we always have , ” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga , executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-West .
“ What actually makes it more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a state that is this bastion of technological advancement .
… We ’ re not connecting the dots between the tech world and what we see in classrooms.
” So why the low scores ?
It ’ s the first year of the test Typically , the first year of a new standardized test does not yield stellar results .
In 2015 , the first year of new English and math tests in California , scores showed an overall proficiency of 44 % in English and 34 % in math in grades 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by three to four percentage points the following year and have continued to go up , though by a smaller margin .
But five years into those same tests , only half of students met state English standards and 40 % met math standards .
The so-called Smarter Balance Summative Assessments , based on Common Core English and math standards , are designed to measure how well students have met learning goals set by the state and create statistical snapshots of learning at their schools , their district and California .
Students took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they may not have used before .
The test requires students to read , comprehend and analyze questions , some of which build on each other or require written explanations .
“ I think these test results should be taken with a grain of salt , ” said Bill Sandoval , a UCLA education professor who studies how children learn science and observed teachers who used the “ healing a wound ” approach to teaching students about cells .
Instead of “ summative ” assessments like this , Sandoval said , it would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the school year that are more closely aligned to what they are learning in each classroom , and enable teachers to figure out what students need .
“ It ’ s not that clear ” what these test results say about how to improve or what to improve on , Sandoval said .
Although the standards are challenging , when implemented well , research suggests that the new approach can help students learn and retain concepts better than they would through rote memorization , he said .
Yet the real-world challenge lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teach to the standards .
There is a shortage of teachers in California , especially in math , science and special education .
New teachers may be long-term substitutes or working with emergency teaching permits , and many veteran teachers are not well-trained in the new standards , explained State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond .
Convincing college students in STEM majors to teach science can be a hard sell because they can pursue much higher-paying careers .
Also , earning a full teaching credential in a single subject can be expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classroom hours without pay .
“ About half of the folks coming into science teaching are not fully prepared , ” Darling-Hammond said .
What California students need most when learning science , she said , are “ well prepared teachers who have the materials.
” But the new standards call on even experienced science teachers to change their approach , relying less on their own authority and more on scientific method and classroom engagement .
Gov .
Newsom ’ s proposed budget includes $ 900 million for teacher training and retention , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professional development .
“ When you bring the standards out you also have to develop teachers ’ capacity to teach the standards , ” Darling-Hammond said .
“ The standards do not teach themselves.
” Memorization alone wouldn ’ t be enough to pass the test , which requires students to engage in tasks that include — on a fifth-grade practice exam , for example — ordering the stages of a plant ’ s life cycle on a diagram , and explaining how a hare ’ s changing fur color protects it in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , from around 2009 until 2014 , “ a lot of science programs got really decimated , ” Darling-Hammond said .
That ’ s especially true in elementary schools and in high-poverty schools .
“ The idea is to learn the core scientific concepts through doing scientific work — so doing versions of modeling and experimentation , ” Sandoval explained .
“ If you don ’ t really have the capacity in the classroom to do legitimate versions of scientific work , then you ’ re not going to meet those goals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In one L.A. County high school where Sandoval and colleagues were helping a group of teachers implement the new science standards from 2015-2018 , about 40 students crowded into a science class , and the tight space and lack of materials prevented them from conducting experiments .
There were not enough computers for the students , so virtual labs were out too .
Sandoval was able to help secure a grant for some materials , “ but it doesn ’ t go that far , ” he said .
He could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his research , but it was in a majority low-income and Latino school district , he said .
Schools could look to the booming technology industry in California for assistance , student advocates say .
Smith Arrillaga said such classroom scenarios “ should just not be possible in a state this diverse and with this much science .
... We as a state should be able to come together across sectors and figure out some solutions.
” But school involvement shouldn ’ t end with a one-time donation of a 3D printer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to engage with educators and classrooms to better understand what students need to succeed in the workforce , remain invested in schools and help fund teacher preparation programs .
Smith-Arrillaga said .
Teachers need to better connect with black and Latino students Another problem that may contribute to achievement gaps is that teachers do not fully understand the communities in which they ’ re teaching , said A.Dee Williams , associate chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Cal State L.A. Williams directs a teacher residency program for math , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Angeles .
The Cal State L.A. program requires teachers-in-training to learn about and acknowledge their biases , and provides paid classroom residencies where they are paired with mentor teachers in L.A. and Pasadena schools .
Aspiring teachers are encouraged to ground their lessons in what ’ s happening in the community — connecting climate change principles not just to polar ice caps , but to the students ’ own water quality , for instance .
Ideally , Williams said , teachers would return to the communities where they grew up .
He believes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work may have a stronger understanding of its history , be able to connect with students and relate lesson plans to the community .
This would also help give students teachers who look like them — research suggests that children benefit from having a teacher of the same ethnicity .
Yet in California , white students are much more likely to have that experience than black or Latino students .
In 2018-19 , 21 % of California teachers were Latino compared to 55 % of students , while 61 % of teachers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Most of these people who are teaching , most of them have been raised in an environment of subject matter isolation and a lack of grounding in the communities , ” Williams said .
“ They ’ re doing these experiments in their labs ... they ’ ve never been given the resources to go out and do that in their communities.
” A lot of schools haven ’ t started teaching science this way The State Board of Education only released its framework a few years ago .
Experts say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and many schools have not even adopted the new curriculum in their schools yet .
L.A. Unified , which educates almost one in 10 of the state ’ s public school students , won ’ t roll theirs out completely until next school year .
“ Much of the state is just beginning to implement their new science curriculum , ” Darling-Hammond said .
School districts and teachers looking at this year ’ s test scores should ask themselves — “ What does this tell us about the kinds of resources we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help kids ?
” Sandoval said .
School leaders say they need more information from the state to answer that question .
“ We ’ re looking closer now to the results , with our colleagues from the local districts to try to make some sense of the data and develop an action plan , ” said Ayham Dahi , the secondary science coordinator for the L.A. Unified instruction division .
Dahi hopes the state will share more granular breakdowns of the test results , so the district can see what areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the more disaggregated the data are , the better we could provide better and more targeted supports for teachers .
”

Science teacher Jeanette Chipps, right, who also trains educators on the state’s new science standards, works with a student at Granada Hills Charter High School in December.
Adults who took high school biology might remember a lecture on cell structure, then a test asking to identify its parts, plus an assignment to build a cell, perhaps with papier mâché and dry macaroni.
Today, California students are supposed to learn about science in a whole new way.
A teacher might start the lesson by posing a question: How does a wound heal? Well, that involves cell reproduction. So to understand how a wound heals, the teacher might say, we must first learn how a cell works. The instructor might ask: What elements do you think a cell must have to help heal the wound? How about making a model and discussing your hypotheses with each other?
This approach is aimed at leading students, ideally, to the right answer, with the teacher as a guide. The method is embedded in the “Next Generation Science Standards,” which California adopted in 2013. Students were tested for the first time on the new standards last spring, even though some districts have yet to introduce the new curricula.
The scores are in for public school students in grades 5, 8, and 10-12 — and California students got far more answers wrong than right.
Advertisement
Less than a third of students met standards
Across the state, 29.9% of students met or exceeded the new science standards on this first test, with fluctuations according to grade level. High school students must take the test once between 10th and 12th grade.
There was a spike in 11th grade scores, with about 30% proficiency, but overall high school students did worse than younger students.
Low-income students and black students had especially low scores, a pattern also seen in the state’s math and English assessments. On the science test, only about 3% of English learners and 8% of students with disabilities demonstrated proficiency.
“The scores show that we’re continuing to fail students and we’re failing the same students who historically we always have,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of the Oakland-based research and advocacy nonprofit Education Trust-West. “What actually makes it more egregious is that we’re in a state that is this bastion of technological advancement. … We’re not connecting the dots between the tech world and what we see in classrooms.”
So why the low scores?
Advertisement
It’s the first year of the test
Typically, the first year of a new standardized test does not yield stellar results. In 2015, the first year of new English and math tests in California, scores showed an overall proficiency of 44% in English and 34% in math in grades 3 through 8 and 11. Scores improved by three to four percentage points the following year and have continued to go up, though by a smaller margin.
But five years into those same tests, only half of students met state English standards and 40% met math standards. The so-called Smarter Balance Summative Assessments, based on Common Core English and math standards, are designed to measure how well students have met learning goals set by the state and create statistical snapshots of learning at their schools, their district and California.
Students took the science tests on computer programs that they may not have used before. The test requires students to read, comprehend and analyze questions, some of which build on each other or require written explanations.
“I think these test results should be taken with a grain of salt,” said Bill Sandoval, a UCLA education professor who studies how children learn science and observed teachers who used the “healing a wound” approach to teaching students about cells.
Instead of “summative” assessments like this, Sandoval said, it would be more productive to give students assessments throughout the school year that are more closely aligned to what they are learning in each classroom, and enable teachers to figure out what students need. “It’s not that clear” what these test results say about how to improve or what to improve on, Sandoval said.
Although the standards are challenging, when implemented well, research suggests that the new approach can help students learn and retain concepts better than they would through rote memorization, he said.
Yet the real-world challenge lies in the ability of educators to actually teach to the standards.
There aren’t enough teachers
There is a shortage of teachers in California, especially in math, science and special education.
New teachers may be long-term substitutes or working with emergency teaching permits, and many veteran teachers are not well-trained in the new standards, explained State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond.
Convincing college students in STEM majors to teach science can be a hard sell because they can pursue much higher-paying careers. Also, earning a full teaching credential in a single subject can be expensive, and many aspiring teachers must complete classroom hours without pay.
“About half of the folks coming into science teaching are not fully prepared,” Darling-Hammond said. What California students need most when learning science, she said, are “well prepared teachers who have the materials.”
But the new standards call on even experienced science teachers to change their approach, relying less on their own authority and more on scientific method and classroom engagement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget includes $900 million for teacher training and retention, including a large chunk for STEM teacher professional development.
“When you bring the standards out you also have to develop teachers’ capacity to teach the standards,” Darling-Hammond said. “The standards do not teach themselves.”
Memorization alone wouldn’t be enough to pass the test, which requires students to engage in tasks that include — on a fifth-grade practice exam, for example — ordering the stages of a plant’s life cycle on a diagram, and explaining how a hare’s changing fur color protects it in the winter.
Many schools don’t even offer lab experiments
After the last recession, from around 2009 until 2014, “a lot of science programs got really decimated,” Darling-Hammond said. That’s especially true in elementary schools and in high-poverty schools.
“The idea is to learn the core scientific concepts through doing scientific work — so doing versions of modeling and experimentation,” Sandoval explained. “If you don’t really have the capacity in the classroom to do legitimate versions of scientific work, then you’re not going to meet those goals. It’s not going to happen.”
In one L.A. County high school where Sandoval and colleagues were helping a group of teachers implement the new science standards from 2015 to 2018, about 40 students crowded into a science class, and the tight space and lack of materials prevented them from conducting experiments. There were not enough computers for the students, so virtual labs were out too.
Sandoval was able to help secure a grant for some materials, “but it doesn’t go that far,” he said.
He could not name the school to maintain its privacy in his research, but it was in a majority low-income and Latino school district, he said.
Schools could look to the booming technology industry in California for assistance, student advocates say.
Smith Arrillaga said such classroom scenarios “should just not be possible in a state this diverse and with this much science.... We as a state should be able to come together across sectors and figure out some solutions.”
But school involvement shouldn’t end with a one-time donation of a 3-D printer, she said. Tech industry leaders need to engage with educators and classrooms to better understand what students need to succeed in the workforce, remain invested in schools and help fund teacher preparation programs, Smith-Arrillaga said.
Teachers need to better connect with black and Latino students
Another problem that may contribute to achievement gaps is that teachers do not fully understand the communities in which they’re teaching, said A.Dee Williams, associate chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Cal State L.A. Williams directs a teacher residency program for math, special education and science teachers in Los Angeles.
The Cal State L.A. program requires teachers-in-training to learn about and acknowledge their biases, and provides paid classroom residencies where they are paired with mentor teachers in L.A. and Pasadena schools. Aspiring teachers are encouraged to ground their lessons in what’s happening in the community — connecting climate change principles not just to polar ice caps but to the students’ own water quality, for instance.
Ideally, Williams said, teachers would return to the communities where they grew up. He believes teachers with roots in the place they work may have a stronger understanding of its history and be able to connect with students and relate lesson plans to the community. This would also help give students teachers who look like them — research suggests that children benefit from having a teacher of the same ethnicity.
Yet in California, white students are much more likely to have that experience than black or Latino students. In 2018-19, 21% of California teachers were Latino compared with 55% of students, while 61% of teachers were white compared with 23% of students.
“Most of these people who are teaching, most of them have been raised in an environment of subject matter isolation and a lack of grounding in the communities,” Williams said. “They’re doing these experiments in their labs.... They’ve never been given the resources to go out and do that in their communities.”
A lot of schools haven’t started teaching science this way
The State Board of Education released its framework only a few years ago. Experts say this kind of change takes time, and many schools have not even adopted the new curriculum yet.
Officials at L.A. Unified, which educates almost 1 in 10 of the state’s public school students, won’t roll theirs out completely until next school year.
“Much of the state is just beginning to implement their new science curriculum,” Darling-Hammond said.
School districts and teachers looking at this year’s test scores should ask themselves: “What does this tell us about the kinds of resources we need to help teachers do this better and to help kids?” Sandoval said.
School leaders say they need more information from the state to answer that question.
“We’re looking closer now to the results with our colleagues from the local districts to try to make some sense of the data and develop an action plan,” said Ayham Dahi, the secondary science coordinator for the L.A. Unified instruction division. Dahi hopes the state will share more granular breakdowns of the test results, so the district can see what areas students faltered in.
“I think the more disaggregated the data are, the better we could provide better and more targeted supports for teachers.”
Times staff reporter Iris Lee contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-02-13--The LAPD branded them as gang associates. But they fought back and got removed from CalGang database

Larry Sanders was chatting with friends in South L.A. ’ s Green Meadows Recreation Center in April when two police officers approached .
They said they had received a call about people drinking in the park .
The officers asked them to lift up their shirts , Sanders recalled .
The 59-year-old singer , known for his vocals on Coolio ’ s hit “ Gangsta ’ s Paradise , ” showed them a tattoo of a cross on his left arm .
About two weeks later , Sanders received a letter that said he would be added to CalGang , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shocked .
He had worked in the park for years as a gang interventionist for the city ’ s Summer Night Lights program .
“ I wasn ’ t what they were claiming me to be , ” said Sanders .
“ I can ’ t just accept it.
” In fact , everyone who has challenged the LAPD ’ s decision to place them or their child in the gang database in court has had their name removed , according to a Times review of records and interviews .
Sanders was among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ designation .
The city lost two cases in court , and the LAPD agreed to remove 13 others who subsequently filed petitions , the analysis found .
Petitioners like Sanders say their removals show that they never should have been on the list and that the evidence against them was flimsy .
Los Angeles Police Department officials , however , say the removals were due to how the court interpreted a state law that prohibits them from submitting more evidence to the court than they originally disclosed to petitioners .
The department insists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is putting people in the database who don ’ t deserve to be there .
The petitions offer a window into how the LAPD adds and removes people to the secretive database .
The agency ’ s use of CalGang erupted into scandal in January after it announced it was investigating allegations that officers intentionally falsified information used to identify gang members or their associates .
The LAPD has since taken steps to add oversight to its use of the database and the California attorney general ’ s office on Monday announced that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s handling of CalGang .
In 2017 , a state law established a process for people seeking removal from the list .
Individuals first appeal to the law enforcement agency that put them on the list .
If the request is denied or they don ’ t receive a response , they can petition the court .
The city attorney ’ s office , which represented the LAPD in the 2019 petitions , wrote in a statement that it lost the first two petitions when the court ruled that the LAPD ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter listing the general reasons but not the underlying facts supporting inclusion in the database , was not clear and convincing proof .
The petitions filed since then involved similar circumstances , so “ the city determined not to pursue those cases , ” it said .
In the face of the losses in court , LAPD Assist .
Chief Horace Frank said the department in December began requiring its CalGang notification letter to provide more details about the reasons for inclusion .
Individuals will now be given a spreadsheet that in addition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met , gives the name of the officer involved .
It also includes a space for additional details .
“ We decided , ‘ OK , we ’ ll make sure we send the person all the information as to why we ’ re putting you in the system , ’ ” he said .
“ Unfortunately we weren ’ t doing that initially .
We were basically just checking the boxes.
” The LAPD places more people on CalGang than any other law enforcement agency in the state .
According to 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office , the department was responsible for 20,583 individuals — more than 20 % of the names in the database .
The public has no access to CalGang .
For decades , police officers have used the database to check on suspected gang ties and affiliations .
Work to reform the process is underway .
A 2016 state audit found some of the agencies entering alleged gang members ’ names , including the LAPD , could not substantiate the claims for some entries .
Currently , law enforcement can use information like clothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reliable ” sources .
Only two or three of eight possible criteria need to be documented , depending on the circumstances .
California Atty .
Gen. Xavier Becerra said Monday that an erroneous placement could lead to unwarranted scrutiny by law enforcement .
Larry Droeger , head deputy of the hardcore gang division at the Los Angeles County district attorney ’ s office , said a detective who has access to CalGang can be asked to go into the database and identify the officers who made contact with an individual .
If those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be used as one piece of evidence to show that a crime was committed to benefit a gang .
But he added , “ Officers testifying as to a person being a member of a gang is not going to make or break a gang allegation.
” Requesting to be removed from the database is rare .
According to the attorney general ’ s report , only 53 requests for removal were made between Nov. 1 , 2017 and Oct. 31 , 2018 .
The San Bernardino County Sheriff ’ s Department and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While San Bernardino County granted three of 18 requests , the LAPD denied all 15 it received .
LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said the department plans to review those denials .
The attorney general ’ s 2019 report on CalGang , which will include the requests for removal made in the subsequent reporting period , will be published this week .
“ There are very few stories of people getting off the CalGang database , ” said Jorja Leap , a gang expert at UCLA ’ s Luskin School of Public Affairs .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of distrust and people not trying and people not succeeding.
” But Wes McBride , a former gang deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department who created the precursor to CalGang in the 1980s , said most of the people on the list should be there .
“ The vast majority of these guys know they ’ re gang members , ” he said .
“ Generally speaking , they know who they are and they know why they are ” there .
Sanders ’ letter said he had met @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the database — arrest for offenses consistent with gang activity , association with documented gang members and frequenting gang areas .
With nothing more to go on , Sanders could issue only a blanket denial , said Sean Garcia-Leys , an attorney at the Urban Peace Institute who represented Sanders .
The singer had been arrested in his 20s for reasons that he said were unrelated to gang crime .
He did not know the identities of the alleged gang members .
“ It said he was in a gang area — does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a gang area ?
That that park is a gang area ?
[ Sanders ] couldn ’ t adequately respond to that , ” said Garcia-Leys .
Garcia-Leys wrote a letter to the LAPD saying it had not provided clear and convincing evidence of Sanders ’ gang membership , association or affiliation — the standard the agency would need to meet in court .
The LAPD didn ’ t respond to the request , he said , so he filed a court petition .
He then entered into an agreement with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ October — five months after the encounter at the park — Sanders learned that he was no longer on CalGang .
In a statement , Assist .
Chief Frank wrote that his removal did not mean that he was wrongfully placed in the database .
“ We are neither asserting nor conceding that removing him from the database means that he should not have been placed there to begin with , ” he said .
Sanders sees things differently .
“ They had no evidence , no nothing to say that I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hang with a million people but that don ’ t make me one of them.
” In a June 25 letter to the California attorney general ’ s office , a group of attorneys who have represented clients petitioning for removal asked for greater transparency from law enforcement .
Police departments , they wrote , should provide the name of the gang with which their clients were allegedly involved .
“ They need to provide the actual evidence , including the video evidence if it ’ s based on that interaction , photographic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a social media post , ” said Melanie Ochoa , an attorney at the ACLU of Southern California .
The current LAPD scandal began last year when a Van Nuys mother complained that her teenage son was erroneously added to CalGang after a field interview with officers .
Police supervisors reviewed body camera footage from the officers and found it did not match their accounts , leading to an expanded internal investigation and a recent recommendation by Chief Michel Moore to fire of one of the officers involved .
The controversy is already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Frank said the department has begun training officers to be more specific when identifying on a field interview card the evidence to justify someone ’ s addition to the database , including why a particular area is a gang location .
“ They have to specifically articulate where that person was found in the park that is considered a gang location .
‘ In this particular area of the park , this is where gang X , Y , Z hangs out and they have claimed this part of the park by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The department is increasing oversight of how it adds people to CalGang and how it reviews requests for removal .
A deputy chief will review requests for removal if lower-ranking officials deny it .
Before adding someone to the list , a gang supervisor will go over any arrests or citations the individual received and ensure that the information on the field interview card is consistent with the officer ’ s body-worn camera video .
Then , a gang impact team lieutenant will conduct another review .
Tina Padilla , a program manager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which serves at-risk youth in Los Angeles , said she ’ s received about 10 inquiries since January from families who worry that they or their child could be in the database because they live in neighborhoods with gang activity .
While the LAPD mails individuals a notice that they ’ ll be entered into the database , families are concerned that they might have missed a letter .
Parents who want to find out if they or their child are in the database often worry about being stigmatized for being seen going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They also fear the repercussions of bringing themselves to the attention of the police department .
“ They don ’ t want to go in and ask LAPD if they ’ re on it , ” she said .
“ If they do ask LAPD and they ’ re not on it , they ’ ll feel like they ’ ll get put on it because they asked.
” Even if an individual feels they should not be on the database , they are often too discouraged to fight the department .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because in their mind , LAPD put them on this list , why would they take me off ?
” she said .

Larry Sanders was stopped last year by police in South L.A. A few weeks later, he received a letter from the LAPD saying he would be included in CalGang. Sanders appealed and was removed.
Larry Sanders was chatting with friends in South L.A.’s Green Meadows Recreation Center in April when two police officers approached. They said they had received a call about people drinking in the park.
The officers asked them to lift up their shirts, Sanders recalled. The 59-year-old singer, known for his vocals on Coolio’s hit “Gangsta’s Paradise,” showed them a tattoo of a cross on his left arm.
About two weeks later, Sanders received a letter that said he would be added to CalGang, the statewide gang database. He was shocked. He had worked in the park for years as a gang interventionist for the city’s Summer Night Lights program.
Advertisement
“I wasn’t what they were claiming me to be,” said Sanders. “I can’t just accept it.”
In fact, everyone who has challenged the LAPD’s decision to place them or their child in the gang database in court has had their name removed, according to a Times review of records and interviews.
Sanders was among 15 people who appealed their LAPD CalGang designation. The city lost two cases in court, and the LAPD agreed to remove 13 others who subsequently filed petitions, the analysis found.
Petitioners like Sanders say their removals show that they never should have been on the list and that the evidence against them was flimsy.
Los Angeles Police Department officials, however, say the removals were due to how the court interpreted a state law that prohibits them from submitting more evidence to the court than they originally disclosed to petitioners. The department insists the removals don’t suggest it is putting people in the database who don’t deserve to be there.
Larry Sanders at Green Meadows Recreation Center. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
The petitions offer a window into how the LAPD adds and removes people to the secretive database. The agency’s use of CalGang erupted into scandal in January after it announced it was investigating allegations that officers intentionally falsified information used to identify gang members or their associates.
The LAPD has since taken steps to add oversight to its use of the database and the California attorney general’s office on Monday announced that it would be investigating the department’s handling of CalGang.
In 2017, a state law established a process for people seeking removal from the list. Individuals first appeal to the law enforcement agency that put them on the list. If the request is denied or they don’t receive a response, they can petition the court.
The city attorney’s office, which represented the LAPD in the 2019 petitions, wrote in a statement that it lost the first two petitions when the court ruled that the LAPD’s evidence, which consisted primarily of a letter listing the general reasons but not the underlying facts supporting inclusion in the database, was not clear and convincing proof.
The petitions filed since then involved similar circumstances, so “the city determined not to pursue those cases,” it said.
In the face of the losses in court, LAPD Assist. Chief Horace Frank said the department in December began requiring its CalGang notification letter to provide more details about the reasons for inclusion. Individuals will now be given a spreadsheet that in addition to indicating the general criteria a person met, gives the name of the officer involved. It also includes a space for additional details.
“We decided, ‘OK, we’ll make sure we send the person all the information as to why we’re putting you in the system,’” he said. “Unfortunately we weren’t doing that initially. We were basically just checking the boxes.”
The LAPD places more people on CalGang than any other law enforcement agency in the state. According to 2018 data by the attorney general’s office, the department was responsible for 20,583 individuals — more than 20% of the names in the database.
The public has no access to CalGang. For decades, police officers have used the database to check on suspected gang ties and affiliations.
Advertisement
Work to reform the process is underway. A 2016 state audit found some of the agencies entering alleged gang members’ names, including the LAPD, could not substantiate the claims for some entries. Currently, law enforcement can use information like clothing or identification as gang members by “reliable” sources. Only two or three of eight possible criteria need to be documented, depending on the circumstances.
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra speaks at a news conference Tuesday with Secretary of State Alex Padilla. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Monday that an erroneous placement could lead to unwarranted scrutiny by law enforcement. Larry Droeger, head deputy of the hardcore gang division at the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, said a detective who has access to CalGang can be asked to go into the database and identify the officers who made contact with an individual. If those officers testify in court, that can be used as one piece of evidence to show that a crime was committed to benefit a gang.
But he added, “Officers testifying as to a person being a member of a gang is not going to make or break a gang allegation.”
Requesting to be removed from the database is rare. According to the attorney general’s report, only 53 requests for removal were made between Nov. 1, 2017 and Oct. 31, 2018. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD received the most requests. While San Bernardino County granted three of 18 requests, the LAPD denied all 15 it received.
LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said the department plans to review those denials. The attorney general’s 2019 report on CalGang, which will include the requests for removal made in the subsequent reporting period, will be published this week.
“There are very few stories of people getting off the CalGang database,” said Jorja Leap, a gang expert at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. “All of this creates a stew of distrust and people not trying and people not succeeding.”
But Wes McBride, a former gang deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who created the precursor to CalGang in the 1980s, said most of the people on the list should be there.
“The vast majority of these guys know they’re gang members,” he said. “Generally speaking, they know who they are and they know why they are” there.
Sanders’ letter said he had met three criteria to justify his inclusion on the database — arrest for offenses consistent with gang activity, association with documented gang members and frequenting gang areas. With nothing more to go on, Sanders could issue only a blanket denial, said Sean Garcia-Leys, an attorney at the Urban Peace Institute who represented Sanders. The singer had been arrested in his 20s for reasons that he said were unrelated to gang crime. He did not know the identities of the alleged gang members.
“It said he was in a gang area — does that mean they think all of South-Central is a gang area? That that park is a gang area? [Sanders] couldn’t adequately respond to that,” said Garcia-Leys.
Garcia-Leys wrote a letter to the LAPD saying it had not provided clear and convincing evidence of Sanders’ gang membership, association or affiliation — the standard the agency would need to meet in court. The LAPD didn’t respond to the request, he said, so he filed a court petition. He then entered into an agreement with the city attorney’s office.
In October — five months after the encounter at the park — Sanders learned that he was no longer on CalGang.
In a statement, Assist. Chief Frank wrote that his removal did not mean that he was wrongfully placed in the database. “We are neither asserting nor conceding that removing him from the database means that he should not have been placed there to begin with,” he said.
Sanders sees things differently. “They had no evidence, no nothing to say that I’m a gang banger. I can hang with a million people but that don’t make me one of them.”
In a June 25 letter to the California attorney general’s office, a group of attorneys who have represented clients petitioning for removal asked for greater transparency from law enforcement. Police departments, they wrote, should provide the name of the gang with which their clients were allegedly involved.
“They need to provide the actual evidence, including the video evidence if it’s based on that interaction, photographic evidence if it’s based on a social media post,” said Melanie Ochoa, an attorney at the ACLU of Southern California.
The current LAPD scandal began last year when a Van Nuys mother complained that her teenage son was erroneously added to CalGang after a field interview with officers. Police supervisors reviewed body camera footage from the officers and found it did not match their accounts, leading to an expanded internal investigation and a recent recommendation by Chief Michel Moore to fire of one of the officers involved.
The controversy is already leading to changes. Assist. Chief Frank said the department has begun training officers to be more specific when identifying on a field interview card the evidence to justify someone’s addition to the database, including why a particular area is a gang location.
“They have to specifically articulate where that person was found in the park that is considered a gang location. ‘In this particular area of the park, this is where gang X, Y, Z hangs out and they have claimed this part of the park by the graffiti,’” Frank said.
The department is increasing oversight of how it adds people to CalGang and how it reviews requests for removal. A deputy chief will review requests for removal if lower-ranking officials deny it. Before adding someone to the list, a gang supervisor will go over any arrests or citations the individual received and ensure that the information on the field interview card is consistent with the officer’s body-worn camera video. Then, a gang impact team lieutenant will conduct another review.
Tina Padilla, a program manager at Breaking Through Barriers to Success, which serves at-risk youth in Los Angeles, said she’s received about 10 inquiries since January from families who worry that they or their child could be in the database because they live in neighborhoods with gang activity. While the LAPD mails individuals a notice that they’ll be entered into the database, families are concerned that they might have missed a letter.
Parents who want to find out if they or their child are in the database often worry about being stigmatized for being seen going to a station, she said. They also fear the repercussions of bringing themselves to the attention of the police department.
“They don’t want to go in and ask LAPD if they’re on it,” she said. “If they do ask LAPD and they’re not on it, they’ll feel like they’ll get put on it because they asked.”
Even if an individual feels they should not be on the database, they are often too discouraged to fight the department.
“It’s lack of trust, because in their mind, LAPD put them on this list, why would they take me off?” she said.


latimes--2020-02-13--Coronavirus fears expose a cultural divide over masks in the San Gabriel Valley

Marta Ayala and Chong Taing , both Rosemead residents , couldn ’ t see the threat of the coronavirus more differently .
You can see it on their faces .
While walking out of Superior Grocers supermarket in El Monte , Ayala ’ s face scrunched in annoyance as she spotted an Asian customer wearing a white medical mask coming from the opposite direction .
Despite hearing about the fast-spreading illness , to the 64-year-old Mexican immigrant , the mask is an overreaction that just stokes alarm .
“ I don ’ t believe in using masks and I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she said .
“ I know there ’ s a serious disease out there , but who has time to think about that ?
” For the 39-year-old Taing , who wears a mask , the item makes as much sense as wearing long-sleeve shirts or sunglasses to protect from the sun .
The masks aren ’ t just designed to protect the person wearing them from illness , but to protect others as well .
It ’ s a common courtesy in a place he calls “ the 626 '' — the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Valley .
“ People wearing masks are being considerate , ” Taing said .
“ Yes , we ’ re going to wash our hands , but we ’ re going to take extra precautions when we pick up our kids , do our shopping and go outside .
We want to avoid getting sick as much as anyone , and at least we ’ re taking steps to do that.
” The virus , officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization , has seen cases worldwide rise to over 60,000 while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as of Wednesday evening .
In the U.S. , there have been 14 confirmed cases with investigations ongoing in 41 states and territories .
Few places illustrate the parallel reactions to the illness the way the diverse San Gabriel Valley does .
According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau statistics , Latinos and Asians make up 46 % and 28 % , respectively , of the area ’ s 1.85 million residents .
The two largest groups frequently shop , eat and send their children to the same schools .
But how they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be more different .
It is among the Asian population that concern over the disease manifests itself most visibly , with changing eating and shopping habits , the cancellation of large public events like Lunar New Year celebrations , avoidance of large family gatherings and the masks .
While the majority of people in the San Gabriel Valley do not wear the masks , those who do wear them — whether as protection against illnesses or pollution — are almost always of Asian descent .
That can provoke misunderstanding and prejudice .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a little bit like asking why do people wear hats in the U.S. , ” said Emma Teng , a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT .
Across the Pacific , masks have been worn for everything from disease control to anonymity during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong , Teng said .
She said masks to protect against illness in Asia may have first emerged in Japan during the influenza pandemic in 1918 that lasted two years and claimed 50 million lives worldwide .
In more recent years , masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for employees who didn ’ t want to miss work — or infect colleagues .
“ I find it interesting that a lot of American people find it so strange , ” Teng said .
“ Like for us , you ’ re sick and you wouldn ’ t blow your nose into a tissue and leave it on top of someone ’ s desk .
This is just a courtesy.
” Still , Teng said she is selective about where she wears surgical masks .
During a recent trip to Taiwan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public transportation .
But in the U.S. , including at her job at MIT , she often refrains from wearing a mask .
“ I believe it would make the students very nervous if they saw their teacher wearing a face mask , ” Teng said .
“ So , I think there are some deep cultural differences.
” In the San Gabriel Valley , Latinos and Asians often work in the same places .
Many of the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants that line streets such as Valley Boulevard and Garvey Avenue have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet it ’ s exceedingly rare to see a Latino , or non-Asian , wearing a surgical mask .
News about the coronavirus also doesn ’ t dominate Spanish-language media the way it does Chinese-language media .
“ I think there is a panic too , especially within the Chinese community , ” said Karina Hernandez , 25 , as she shopped at Superior market with her three-year-old daughter Caroline .
She added : “ There needs to be more information out there because I ’ m not hearing anything.
” Many Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus as “ distant ” and “ nothing to be worried about , ” while some expressed skepticism .
“ I heard the word ‘ contagious ’ with the virus and if I hear it gets bad here , then I ’ ll do it , ” said Elizabeth Robles , 26 , of El Monte , of wearing a mask .
“ But , I haven ’ t seen anything here yet.
” As he shopped at Superior market , 23-year-old Van Yin said he didn ’ t understand why some non-Asians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks .
Yin did not wear one , but he said he understood why many people did .
“ If you live in the San Gabriel Valley , you ’ re just going to see a lot of masks , ” he said .
“ It ’ s not a big deal.
” What worried Yin was that social media might be stoking fears of coronavirus to unnecessary levels .
“ A lot of the news has been blown out of proportion and it ’ s scared a lot of people , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Gabriel Valley Lunar festival , a smaller-than-normal crowd showed up .
Most people , regardless of their background , did not wear masks .
Gabrielino High School junior Kevin He said he felt totally comfortable chatting with hundreds of people as an information booth volunteer without wearing a mask .
Not that the 16-year-old begrudged anyone wearing the facial covering .
“ I ’ m not going to criticize those who wear masks because they ’ re just trying to stay safe and healthy and not spread anything , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough people understand that.
” Outside the San Gabriel Mission after evening mass , 73-year-old Dora Oros of Alhambra said she was both confused and intrigued by the masks .
“ I see people wearing them , but I don ’ t know what that means , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t know if that means they ’ re sick or they ’ re trying to prevent others from getting sick.
” Oros said she considered purchasing a mask , but was told by her daughter that the nearest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks .
“ I guess I ’ ll just wait , ” she said with resignation .
“ I haven ’ t seen anyone I know getting sick yet , so I won ’ t worry .
”

Marta Ayala and Chong Taing, both Rosemead residents, couldn’t see the threat of the coronavirus more differently. You can see it on their faces.
While walking out of Superior Grocers supermarket in El Monte, Ayala’s face scrunched in annoyance as she spotted an Asian customer wearing a white medical mask coming from the opposite direction. Despite hearing about the fast-spreading illness, to the 64-year-old Mexican immigrant, the mask is an overreaction that just stokes alarm.
“I don’t believe in using masks and I don’t understand the need,” she said. “I know there’s a serious disease out there, but who has time to think about that?”
For the 39-year-old Taing, who wears a mask, the item makes as much sense as wearing long-sleeve shirts or sunglasses to protect from the sun. The masks aren’t just designed to protect the person wearing them from illness, but to protect others as well. It’s a common courtesy in a place he calls “the 626” — the area code-based nickname for the San Gabriel Valley.
Advertisement
“People wearing masks are being considerate,” Taing said. “Yes, we’re going to wash our hands, but we’re going to take extra precautions when we pick up our kids, do our shopping and go outside. We want to avoid getting sick as much as anyone, and at least we’re taking steps to do that.”
The virus, officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, has seen cases worldwide rise to over 60,000 while the death toll has surpassed 1,300, as of Wednesday evening. In the U.S., there have been 15 confirmed cases with investigations ongoing in 41 states and territories.
Few places illustrate the parallel reactions to the illness the way the diverse San Gabriel Valley does. According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Latinos and Asians make up 46% and 28%, respectively, of the area’s 1.85 million residents. The two largest groups frequently shop, eat and send their children to the same schools. But how they have responded to the virus couldn’t be more different.
It is among the Asian population that concern over the disease manifests itself most visibly, with changing eating and shopping habits, the cancellation of large public events like Lunar New Year celebrations, avoidance of large family gatherings and the masks.
While the majority of people in the San Gabriel Valley do not wear the masks, those who do wear them — whether as protection against illnesses or pollution — are almost always of Asian descent. That can provoke misunderstanding and prejudice.
“Asking why people wear face masks... it’s a little bit like asking why do people wear hats in the U.S.,” said Emma Teng, a professor of Asian Civilizations at MIT.
Across the Pacific, masks have been worn for everything from disease control to anonymity during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, Teng said.
She said masks to protect against illness in Asia may have first emerged in Japan during the influenza pandemic in 1918 that lasted two years and claimed 50 million lives worldwide.
In more recent years, masks in Japan have served as a compromise for employees who didn’t want to miss work — or infect colleagues.
“I find it interesting that a lot of American people find it so strange,” Teng said. “Like for us, you’re sick and you wouldn’t blow your nose into a tissue and leave it on top of someone’s desk. This is just a courtesy.”
Still, Teng said she is selective about where she wears surgical masks. During a recent trip to Taiwan, she wore one, particularly while taking public transportation. But in the U.S., including at her job at MIT, she often refrains from wearing a mask.
“I believe it would make the students very nervous if they saw their teacher wearing a face mask,” Teng said. “So, I think there are some deep cultural differences.”
Advertisement
In the San Gabriel Valley, Latinos and Asians often work in the same places. Many of the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants that line streets such as Valley Boulevard and Garvey Avenue have kitchens manned by Latino immigrants. And yet it’s exceedingly rare to see a Latino, or non-Asian, wearing a surgical mask.
News about the coronavirus also doesn’t dominate Spanish-language media the way it does Chinese-language media.
“I think there is a panic too, especially within the Chinese community,” said Karina Hernandez, 25, as she shopped at Superior market with her three-year-old daughter Caroline. She added: “There needs to be more information out there because I’m not hearing anything.”
Many Latino residents interviewed by The Times described the virus as “distant” and “nothing to be worried about,” while some expressed skepticism.
“I heard the word ‘contagious’ with the virus and if I hear it gets bad here, then I’ll do it,” said Elizabeth Robles, 26, of El Monte, of wearing a mask. “But, I haven’t seen anything here yet.”
As he shopped at Superior market, 23-year-old Van Yin said he didn’t understand why some non-Asians were taken aback by the wearing of masks. Yin did not wear one, but he said he understood why many people did.
“If you live in the San Gabriel Valley, you’re just going to see a lot of masks,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.” What worried Yin was that social media might be stoking fears of coronavirus to unnecessary levels.
“A lot of the news has been blown out of proportion and it’s scared a lot of people,” he said.
At Saturday’s San Gabriel Valley Lunar festival, a smaller-than-normal crowd showed up. Most people, regardless of their background, did not wear masks.
Gabrielino High School junior Kevin He said he felt totally comfortable chatting with hundreds of people as an information booth volunteer without wearing a mask. Not that the 16-year-old begrudged anyone wearing the facial covering.
“I’m not going to criticize those who wear masks because they’re just trying to stay safe and healthy and not spread anything,” he said. “I don’t think enough people understand that.”
Outside the San Gabriel Mission after evening mass, 73-year-old Dora Oros of Alhambra said she was both confused and intrigued by the masks.
“I see people wearing them, but I don’t know what that means,” she said. “I don’t know if that means they’re sick or they’re trying to prevent others from getting sick.”
Oros said she considered purchasing a mask, but was told by her daughter that the nearest Rite Aid had been sold out for weeks.
“I guess I’ll just wait,” she said with resignation. “I haven’t seen anyone I know getting sick yet, so I won’t worry.”