The Board of Education has reversed its decision and our teachers will remain at Malibu Elementary. I am deeply appreciative of the sustained pressure you applied to ensure the district prioritized our students. Please observe the upcoming budget meetings to verify that these commitments remain in place.
July 22, 2020
Final supporters
Dear Board of Education and Dr. Drati:
We are writing to you because we believe in the strength of Malibu Elementary’s community, and we believe that we can survive this unprecedented crisis - but not without your help.
When our schools merged last year, we were promised that this would result in smaller class sizes. We were assured that no teachers would be lost, and no classes would be split. And yet we have learned that in the coming year the district plans to maximize class sizes, split at least once class, and has pink-slipped 2 beloved teachers at MES. Additionally, a THIRD teacher, Ms. Tafi, is being involuntarily transferred.
As a community, we have survived PCBs, fires and displacement, and now, along with the rest of the country, we are fighting to survive a pandemic. We should not, at this moment, be fighting for our teachers’ jobs - and our children’s educations - as well. We need your help.
These choices will, quite frankly, sound the death knell for Malibu schools. Under these conditions families new to the system will choose to enroll their children elsewhere - in schools where class sizes aren’t pushed to the extreme, and where the long-term needs of the children are prioritized over the short-term needs of the district. We simply cannot afford to lose a single student as we are still recovering from the fire; many families have not moved back yet as they have not been given permits to rebuild. Furthermore, maxed out class sizes (due to pink slipping two teachers) will mean that children who are seeking permits and whose parents wish to enroll them will be unable to do so.
The unique conditions imposed by Covid-19 suggest that we will have to create some degree of social distancing in our classrooms come fall, which will be challenging under any circumstances. With a reduced teaching staff and increased class sizes, maintaining these standards will be virtually impossible.
Malibu is not the same as Santa Monica. Santa Monica did not have half the teachers of an elementary school lose their homes; or have 25% of kids from Cabrillo lose their homes; 500 houses in Malibu were burned leaving people displaced. Please understand these differences and give us a chance to rebuild our school populations. I am asking that you rescind the pink slips that have been issued to Ms. Hammack and Ms. Harradine, and to stop the involuntary transfer of Ms. Tafi. This not only would retain their excellent teaching, but also reduce the high class sizes, which is something we were promised when the merger was being proposed and sold to the public.
In this moment of crisis for our society and our children, we need more educators and more support - not fewer, and not less.
Thank you so much for your hard work, consideration, and support of our community’s families.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
May 7, 2020
May 7, 2020
The momentum behind this effort has reached a level that the district can no longer ignore. This surge of public attention confirms that our community refuses to accept the current plan for our classrooms. We are preparing to present these concerns directly to the Board of Education to ensure they understand the gravity of their decisions.
Reached 100 supporters
May 7, 2020
May 4, 2020
Our community is approaching the one hundred signature milestone. Please distribute this link through your personal networks to help us reach this target before we meet with the Board of Education.
58 Comments
Please consider the unique small town-like community we have in Malibu. Reducing our staff and increasing our class size would detrimentally change our schools for the worse, we don’t want parents to transfer their kids to private schools. Let’s keep our public schools relevant!
We love Ms Tafi and she was who saved our child’s class a few years ago when the teacher left for multiple weeks due to a terrible situation with parents bullying a special needs child out. Please do not remove her. She is a precious resource in the district!!
Our son is due to start at "Malibu" elementary next year and this isn't what we want to see. You wonder why we want our own school district - this is it - broken promises and being given the least considoration.
If this is about money, maybe lay off the bloated SMMUSD personnel before you go after the people who actually do the work with the kids. It's always teachers that are the first to go. Ironic considering what a school district is supposed to be about.
Same - Ms. Hammack has been absolutely INSTRUMENTAL to my child's adjustment to the school. Words cannot express how highly I think of her, or how much I believe the Kindergarten program would suffer in her absence. Now is not the time to lose enormously valued educators.
Our children are our future, they deserve an education. Malibu Schools deserve better than what you are proposing. Go back to your budget meetings and design a plan that has the best interest of our community, our children and our tax payers dollars. We need our teachers, now more than ever. Please reconsider your thoughtless ways, find a different path that involves hearing from our community and finding a solution that will fit our needs and your budget concerns. It can not be that whenever you fall short in your planning for the SMMUSD, that you attack Malibu's already limited resources. Mrs. Tafi, lives in our community, understands the challenges our children have endured these past 2 years and has been paramount in supporting our children through these ever changing times. Why should a teacher that lives in our community, that has endured the tragedies of this community be transferred to another ??? This does not make sense, and is unacceptable on every level. Do a better job at working with our community and please keep your promises! Thank you
Please value our children's education by protecting and supporting our teachers. Please value pubic school teachers by providing them with the security they deserve in uncertain times. My daughter is in Ms. Tafi's second grade class. Mary Tafi is an outstanding educator and the school is fortunate to have her. She has completely transformed my daughter's social, emotional and academic experience at school. My daughter adores her and looks forward to going to school every day just to see her. She has given my daughter a love of learning and a sense of worth that only a gifted mentor can instill. In the current economic climate, I would hope a government school could ensure protection for all of their teachers. Thank you for your consideration.
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The Board of Education has reversed its decision and our teachers will remain at Malibu Elementary. I am deeply appreciative of the sustained pressure you applied to ensure the district prioritized our students. Please observe the upcoming budget meetings to verify that these commitments remain in place.
July 22, 2020
Final supporters
Dear Board of Education and Dr. Drati:
We are writing to you because we believe in the strength of Malibu Elementary’s community, and we believe that we can survive this unprecedented crisis - but not without your help.
When our schools merged last year, we were promised that this would result in smaller class sizes. We were assured that no teachers would be lost, and no classes would be split. And yet we have learned that in the coming year the district plans to maximize class sizes, split at least once class, and has pink-slipped 2 beloved teachers at MES. Additionally, a THIRD teacher, Ms. Tafi, is being involuntarily transferred.
As a community, we have survived PCBs, fires and displacement, and now, along with the rest of the country, we are fighting to survive a pandemic. We should not, at this moment, be fighting for our teachers’ jobs - and our children’s educations - as well. We need your help.
These choices will, quite frankly, sound the death knell for Malibu schools. Under these conditions families new to the system will choose to enroll their children elsewhere - in schools where class sizes aren’t pushed to the extreme, and where the long-term needs of the children are prioritized over the short-term needs of the district. We simply cannot afford to lose a single student as we are still recovering from the fire; many families have not moved back yet as they have not been given permits to rebuild. Furthermore, maxed out class sizes (due to pink slipping two teachers) will mean that children who are seeking permits and whose parents wish to enroll them will be unable to do so.
The unique conditions imposed by Covid-19 suggest that we will have to create some degree of social distancing in our classrooms come fall, which will be challenging under any circumstances. With a reduced teaching staff and increased class sizes, maintaining these standards will be virtually impossible.
Malibu is not the same as Santa Monica. Santa Monica did not have half the teachers of an elementary school lose their homes; or have 25% of kids from Cabrillo lose their homes; 500 houses in Malibu were burned leaving people displaced. Please understand these differences and give us a chance to rebuild our school populations. I am asking that you rescind the pink slips that have been issued to Ms. Hammack and Ms. Harradine, and to stop the involuntary transfer of Ms. Tafi. This not only would retain their excellent teaching, but also reduce the high class sizes, which is something we were promised when the merger was being proposed and sold to the public.
In this moment of crisis for our society and our children, we need more educators and more support - not fewer, and not less.
Thank you so much for your hard work, consideration, and support of our community’s families.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
May 7, 2020
May 7, 2020
The momentum behind this effort has reached a level that the district can no longer ignore. This surge of public attention confirms that our community refuses to accept the current plan for our classrooms. We are preparing to present these concerns directly to the Board of Education to ensure they understand the gravity of their decisions.
Reached 100 supporters
May 7, 2020
May 4, 2020
Our community is approaching the one hundred signature milestone. Please distribute this link through your personal networks to help us reach this target before we meet with the Board of Education.
58 Comments
Ms Tafi is my son’s teacher and a credit to MES. She has been an incredible support to our family and many others after losing our homes in the fire. My 3 children were at Juan Cabrillo so she knows what us and many families have gone through and she has been more than a teacher to many of us - giving great support and kindness. We would be devastated to lose her.
Please consider the unique small town-like community we have in Malibu. Reducing our staff and increasing our class size would detrimentally change our schools for the worse, we don’t want parents to transfer their kids to private schools. Let’s keep our public schools relevant!
We love Ms Tafi and she was who saved our child’s class a few years ago when the teacher left for multiple weeks due to a terrible situation with parents bullying a special needs child out. Please do not remove her. She is a precious resource in the district!!
Our son is due to start at "Malibu" elementary next year and this isn't what we want to see. You wonder why we want our own school district - this is it - broken promises and being given the least considoration.
If this is about money, maybe lay off the bloated SMMUSD personnel before you go after the people who actually do the work with the kids. It's always teachers that are the first to go. Ironic considering what a school district is supposed to be about.
Same - Ms. Hammack has been absolutely INSTRUMENTAL to my child's adjustment to the school. Words cannot express how highly I think of her, or how much I believe the Kindergarten program would suffer in her absence. Now is not the time to lose enormously valued educators.
Our children are our future, they deserve an education. Malibu Schools deserve better than what you are proposing. Go back to your budget meetings and design a plan that has the best interest of our community, our children and our tax payers dollars. We need our teachers, now more than ever. Please reconsider your thoughtless ways, find a different path that involves hearing from our community and finding a solution that will fit our needs and your budget concerns. It can not be that whenever you fall short in your planning for the SMMUSD, that you attack Malibu's already limited resources. Mrs. Tafi, lives in our community, understands the challenges our children have endured these past 2 years and has been paramount in supporting our children through these ever changing times. Why should a teacher that lives in our community, that has endured the tragedies of this community be transferred to another ??? This does not make sense, and is unacceptable on every level. Do a better job at working with our community and please keep your promises! Thank you
Please value our children's education by protecting and supporting our teachers. Please value pubic school teachers by providing them with the security they deserve in uncertain times. My daughter is in Ms. Tafi's second grade class. Mary Tafi is an outstanding educator and the school is fortunate to have her. She has completely transformed my daughter's social, emotional and academic experience at school. My daughter adores her and looks forward to going to school every day just to see her. She has given my daughter a love of learning and a sense of worth that only a gifted mentor can instill. In the current economic climate, I would hope a government school could ensure protection for all of their teachers. Thank you for your consideration.
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Ms Tafi is my son’s teacher and a credit to MES. She has been an incredible support to our family and many others after losing our homes in the fire. My 3 children were at Juan Cabrillo so she knows what us and many families have gone through and she has been more than a teacher to many of us - giving great support and kindness. We would be devastated to lose her.