ENDORSEMENTS

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) • Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) • Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC) • Unión del Barrio • Association of Raza Educators (ARE) Los Angeles • Southern California Americans for Democratic Action (SCADA) • Progressive Democrats of Santa Monica Mountains • Professor Diane Ravitch • Professor Paul L. Thomas • Professor James Horn • Professor Stephen Krashen • Dr. Rosemary L. Lee • Dr. John Thompson • Dr. John Fernandez • Susan Ohanian • Cheryl Ortega • Teresa Sitz • Elliott Adams • Ron Kovic • Kathleen Hernandez • Ken Montenegro • James Lafferty • Ron Gochez • William Aparicio • Carolyn Jacobson • John Lincoln III • Kermit Gratts and Family • Anne Zerrien-Lee • Marcy Winograd • Ingrid Villeda • Martha Sanchez • Vik Chaubey • Matthew Kogan • Gillian Russom • Julie Carson • Janette Daniel-Whitney • Dianna Moreno

• Professor Diane Ravitch endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I am happy to endorse the candidacy of Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD school board.

He attended UCLA, is a veteran of the US Navy, and a staunch supporter of public education. He passionately defends the right of every child to a high-quality education.

His knowledge, experience and perspective would add a greatly needed new voice to the deliberations of the school board. He would stand up for children, parents and teachers.

The future of public education hangs in the balance, as the forces of privatization circle round it. I strongly urge voters to support Robert Skeels at this critical time.

Diane Ravitch — is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. She is the author of ten books and has edited an additional fourteen. Her latest is The Death and Life of the Great American School System. She blogs prolifically for numerous sites, including her own. Her full Curriculum Vitae.

• Educator & Activist Cheryl Ortega endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

Having known Robert since the PSC battles and having watched him arrive at schools at 7:00 am to help teachers reach out to parents, having worked with him in organizing parent rallys, and having enjoyed watching him take on Monica, I will 100% vouch for his integrity as well as his qualifications for school board member. He is in for the long fight and is a true and articulate advocate for public education. That Diane Ravitch has endorsed him is a strong message to all of us. Congratulations Robert.

Additional Video Endorsement by Cheryl Ortega.

Cheryl Ortega — Director of Bilingual Education in LAUSD

• Author & Educator Susan Ohanian endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

Robert D. Skeels has an important slogan for his candidacy for the LAUSD school board: "As an individual committed to social justice, I will stand up." I know first-hand of the difficulties faced by LAUSD teachers and I know what parents want for their kids. The solutions start with social justice and someone willing and able to stand up and speak l truth to power. Robert D. Skeels' strong activism in the community served by the schools in most need of a voice make him uniquely qualified for this position.

Susan Ohanian — Currently a freelance writer, Susan Ohanian’s writing draws on her own long career as a teacher grades K-14 and on current corporate-politico assaults on public education.

• Professor Paul L. Thomas endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

As a life-long educator, nearly thirty years, and education scholar, I strongly endorse the candidacy of Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD school board.

His life experiences and unwavering knowledge about and support of public education make him an ideal voice to reinforce the democratic purposes of universal public education.

In an era during which political and corporate support for democracy, equity, and social justice is eroding, the election of Skeels sends a powerful message that a voice for the public and the commons matters. I urge voters to recognize the importance of voting for Skeels and creating a school board that honors the interests of the people.

Paul Thomas, EdD — is Associate Professor of Education at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

• Professor James Horn endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

Robert D. Skeels has been writing at SM since June 11, 2011, and his astute, acerbic, and sometime acidic commentaries have effectively lifted many rocks where profiteer snakes hide, melted away many corporate leeches from their public hosts, and shamed many professional self-servers for their unwavering commitments to themselves. In doing so, he has shone his own true colors as a relentless advocate for public schools, democracy, and social justice.

And so I was excited to hear that Robert is now campaigning for a seat on the LAUSD Board of Education, which will hold its primary election a little over a hundred days from now.

I hope everyone in L.A. (and elsewhere) who believes that public schools are for the public rather than corporations will support Robert's candidacy, for I cannot think of anyone with more commitment, drive, and passion for humane public schools for all children and for the future of our democracy.

And besides, Schools Matter needs a blogger who is a school board member.

Dr. Jim Horn — Associate Professor, Ed. D. Program in Educational Leadership, Cambridge College and Editor of Schools Matter.

• Professor Stephen Krashen endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I STRONGLY SUPPORT THE CANDIDACY OF ROBERT SKEELS FOR SCHOOLBOARD. Imagine! A schoolboard member who actually understands how students learn!

Dr. Stephen Krashen — is professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, who moved from the linguistics department to the faculty of the School of Education in 1994. He is a linguist, educational researcher, and activist.

• Educator Dr. John Thompson endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I strongly support Robert Skeels because of what he has taught me. Mr. Skeels has a profound understanding of both the big picture and the nuances of education policy. He is clear-eyed about what must be done, and he is equally clear in explaining his vision. The LAUSD needs his analysis of problems and solutions.

John Thompson — was an award-winning historian, lobbyist, and guerrilla-gardener who became an award-winning inner city teacher after crack and gangs hit his neighborhood.

Robert D. Skeels is committed to providing comprehensive health education for our children, taught by qualified and credentialed health teachers. In Los Angeles, where the rates of sexually transmitted infections are some of the highest in the nation, where obesity is rampant and poverty exacts a toll on the mental and physical health of our students and their families, denying comprehensive health education, as Mayor Villaraigosa and LAUSD have done, is irresponsible and abusive. Robert D. Skeels has his priorities straight. I am proud to endorse him for school board.

Teresa Sitz — Community Representative DMHS, Member, Silver Lake Neighborhood Council (for identification purpose only)

• Former School Board President Elliott Adams endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

Speaking as a past school board present, I know well the complicated balancing act between money and education that is central to running a school district. Robert Skeels understands this and will work hard to provide a quality education for the children of the district even with the limited funds of today.

Good school districts must reflect the needs of the community. Robert has deep roots in the community and understands that a school board needs to be transparent and available to community members in order for it to reflect local needs. He has a record of working to protect local schools from big corporations who are trying to take them over through privatization.

In order to accomplish these ideals it takes determination and refusal to buckle under pressure, both of which are skills Robert has.

Elliott Adams — was President School Board in New York, President of Rotary, Mayor of his village, active member of Chamber of Commerce, national president of Veterans For Peace and a veteran of Vietnam and Korea.

• Dr. John Fernandez endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I strongly endorse the candidacy of Robert D. Skeels for the L.A. City School Board, District 2.

Robert D. Skeels clearly is an impressive candidate. Robert has a thorough understanding of the problems and needs facing public education today, especially those in the LAUSD. As a social justice advocate, Robert D. Skeels will fight for a critical pedagogy that is culturally relevant and meets the curricular, cultural, and linguistic needs of bicultural students. I am confident that Robert D. Skeels will be a tremendous addition to the L.A. City School Board and will be at the forefront in creating the conditions that will foster teacher, student, and parental success, which are urgently needed in the LAUSD.

Dr. John Fernandez — Teacher, Theodore Roosevelt High School (Ret.) and former Director of the Mexican-American Education Commission for the LAUSD.

• Ken Montenegro endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I'm very proud to endorse Robert D. Skeels' candidacy to the LAUSD school board. What makes me proud about Robert's candidacy is that few folks are unabashedly committed to defending public education from the forces of privatization. Moreover, Robert has a clear understanding that the teaching profession needs an advocate and not additional enemies on the school board.

As someone who attended LAUSD from K-12 and as the parent of a middle school child, I know that Robert's vision of an effective and compassionate public school system is possible and desired by the varied communities of Los Angeles.

Ken Montenegro — is a graduate of Peoples College of Law; technologist; former vice-chair of trustees of 1st Unitarian Church of Los Angeles; member of the advisory committee of the Coalition to Stop LAPD Spying; and a member of the executive committee of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (organizational affiliation for identification purposes only).

• Dr. Rosemary L. Lee endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I am honored to endorse Robert as a candidate who has the true interest of students parents and teachers at heart. He will work towards making their vision of a quality public education available to all students in our schools.

Dr. Rosemary L. Lee — LAUSD (Ret.), Trinational Coalition To Defend Public Education USA

• Ron Kovic endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I strongly and enthusiastically endorse Mr. Robert D. Skeels for the district 2 school board trustee seat in LAUSD! He is a man of great courage and commitment and will serve our community well. With much respect!

Ron Kovic — Vietnam Veteran, author, "BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY."

• Educator Ingrid Villeda endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

So happy and glad to be able to organize, and work hard for such a great candidate.

Ingrid Villeda — is a teacher at Stanford Avenue Elementary and the South Area Chair for LAUSD

Martha Sanchez — is a former adult ESL student, adult school graduate, and activist who led an environmental justice campaign resulting in the closing of a toxic chemicals plant. Ms. Sanchez continues to fight for her community and is an activist in the SaveAdultEd campaign while attending college at California State University.

• Educator Matthew Kogan endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

I support Robert D Skeels because he is a man of character who always puts the interests of the community first. I have no doubt that he will continue to fight the influence of billionaires who currently dominate education on our country. When adult education was threatened with elimination, Robert was there from beginning to end fighting with us for a program valued by the community.

Matthew Kogan — is a teacher at Evans Adult School and the Adult Education Chair for LAUSD

• Educator Gillian Russom endorses Robert D. Skeels for LAUSD

Robert is absolutely dedicated to fighting for fully-funded, quality education that nurtures all the talents of our students. He will stand up to the privatizers, the budget cutters, and the testing mania and will always stand with students, parents, and educators.

Gillian Russom — is a teacher at Roosevelt High School and the East Area Chair for LAUSD

I support Robert Skeels for The School Board of Los Angeles. As a decolonial scholar activist of the El Sereno schooling community, I stand by Robert for his radical politics. His campaign has shifted the discourse of public education from a neoliberal agenda to a socially conscious approach that supports a culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, dismantles high-stakes standardized testing, and opposes the privatization of public schooling. He is the only candidate that is endorsed by national experts like Diane Ravitch, the teacher’s union, and administrator’s union. As an elected official, Robert Skeels will continue to build a promising future for families in Los Angeles.