I’m hoping Monica’s lead widens as remainder of votes are counted.

We must restore the most basic element of education, which is vocabulary. It is the basic tool of learning and communication. The basic tool to assist with vocabulary is a simple dictionary. Helping our community make this fun is the adventure. All of the more complicated arguments about why education is failing miss this basic idea, which if handled will make education cost less and more fun.

Steven Caple’s experience is very powerful to hear. Let’s hope that Ms Ratliff is able to translate that expertise in the classroom to the boardroom, which is a rather different environment. But the political realities relayed by Mr Skeels make crystal clear why we must take a chance with her. I will do all I possibly can, to support this teacher’s bid for LAUSD schoolboard. It is vital that we keep our local school board free of overarching capitalistic forces. This school board seat must not be about enriching venture capitalists, but about, always, educating all our children, well.

At a time when the fate of public education hangs in the balance, the urgency of electing Monica Ratliff cannot be overstated. Ms. Ratliff left a lucrative law career in order to become an educator at a school that straddles the line between skid row and South Central Los Angeles. I can’t think of a more honorable thing to do. Her choice to teach the most vulnerable is the epitome of the type of authentic reforms our district so desperately needs. Ratliff’s experience and insight garnered from working with, rather than talking about, impoverished inner-city children provides a glimmer of hope for a district beholden to an incumbent board and Superintendent that has placed developer and corporate profits above the needs of students.

Her opponent, on the other hand, is a political opportunist supported by the likes of Rupert Murdoch, Philip Anschutz, Michelle Rhee, Michael Bloomberg, and Eli Broad. The millions of dollars these plutocrats have bestowed on Ratliff’s opponent must be seen for what they really are — a shrewd business investment. A day after Rupert Murdoch announced his quarter million dollar contribution to Coalition for School Reform supported candidates, his firm Amplify announced a new education tablet product which he expects CSR backed candidates to purchase. Moreover, Ratliff’s opponent has no experience in education, nor even a grasp of education policy. He sees LAUSD as a stepping stone to the California Assembly or City Hall.

We need a break from the LAUSD status quo of corporate giveaways and school privatization. We need a school board member who will prioritize pupils over profits. We need a woman who has dedicated her life to giving students the education they deserve. There’s only one thing to remember for the May 21, 2013 District 6 General Election — Vote for the Teacher! Vote Monica Ratliff for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education!

Robert D. Skeels, Primary Candidate District 2

Monica you got my STRONG SUPPORT! ANTONIO SANCHEZ Community Leader SAN FERNANDO VALLEY!

Congratulations to making the run off! Good luck!

I like this .

Good luck! I hope you win so all of us can win.

I must say Monica Ratliff has helped her students in her class and has made major contributions/efforts to make a difference within the LA education system. As a Grad student at USC, Ratliff has allowed me to sit in her classroom and talk to the children about life in college. She has arranged visits to our campus and I’ve witnessed this woman try to open the eyes of the children in her school to a life pass high school by instilling the possibilities of college. This is so rare to see in a tough community and with children so young. And its especially tough to do with as a teacher in the public school system and not a significantly financed program/institution. Has my vote!!