Slander against who??? You can’t slander an organization or libel it. Who wrote this?

Next, they did not vet the performers? What is this the McCain campaign. So you have kids at this Jubilee and no one thought to check out the performers??

Yet you say don’t associate them with the school. You already associated with them when you decided not to vet them.

This makes me wonder if you have done the proper checks on your staff.

“Avenson Administration” does not know the proper definition or usage of the words “vet” or “messaging” (look them up!), or the diffence between a comma and a semicolon! “Avenson Administration” books gangster rappers and tells them not to use bad words. How cute.

What a disgrace and disservice to the children they are expected to serve.

Where is John McEnroe when we need him; “Just answer the question(s)!”

It is difficult to let this response go without a comment, but there is only so much time in a day to devote to such nonsense. I will try a paragraph at a time to see if the spin can be unwound just a bit.

“We have experienced many learning and growth opportunities at Aveson.”
You should try to do more than experience the opportunities, but actually do some learning and growing. It was clear from day one when the first neighborhood contact was “Bring you lunch, your tools, and yourselves over to the school on a weekend to clean up the place for us” that someone had not learned much from life. For two years no meaningful contact or outreach, no returned phone calls regarding complaints, always a denial that you are doing anything wrong, always putting the little kids out front to do the heavy lifting, and an consistent arrogance to do whatever pleases Aveson. That has been the Aveson way.

“We are a school with an important methodology and important messages; we are trying to make our way.”
Running a public charter school should, from day one, be more than trying to make your way. If the Aveson methodology and message are reflective of your core values, then the basic and fundamental failure to protect your kids and guests from the type of hardcore filth and degrading lyrics typical of the artists you promoted shows that at its core your message is weak.

“The families who trust Aveson with their children and give thousands of volunteer hours to our school do not recognize some of the assumptions that have been made about us:. . .”
It is not an assumption that that you booked these acts and that Aveson management at the top had a responsibility to be sure the performers were consistent with good taste and would not affect, in a negative way, young impressionable children. That is a fact. Those who have observed your approaches for these past 2+ years are frankly amazed that the families do not see this or have chosen for some reason to look the other way.

“. . . that we may have incited graffiti in our very favorite outdoor learning place”
Whether you directly incited graffiti remains to be determined, but regardless you (and others who have elevated graffiti beyond the relevant context of vandalism to an academic discussion) do not seem to see that regardless of the Eaton Canyon disaster it was an inappropriate performer. Why would you knowingly invite someone to provide a one-time graffiti demonstration and tutorial to young kids unable to sort through the subtle differences between tagging, vandalism, and art? Or, is this now a part of your curriculum? Have you provided authorities a way to contact Mr. Walker so that he might help sort out the subtleties of his art versus common taggers?

“. . . or that we somehow stand for or even condone the vile things that some artists do with their music.”
You still do not admit that by finding, inviting, advertising, listening to, and profiting from the reputations and performances of the gangsta, hardcore, misogynistic discography associated with the performers that you do “stand for” and “condone the vile things” that these performers (not “some artists” out there somewhere) are known for.

Just a couple of comments on paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Aveson Administration’s response to try to present what seems to me to be a truer interpretation looking through what I believe is largely spin and disinformation. I could be wrong.

“At Aveson, we celebrate all forms of artistic expression that are life-affirming and holistic in nature.”
Please find me one speck of “life-affirming and holistic” content in the gangsta, hardcore, misogynistic music typical of the performers you invited? Give the average person maybe two minutes and some knowledge of Altadena and you could have booked real art, photography, and music (see north Lake Street), yoga, tai-chi, mountain rescuers, ecologists, habitat “restorationists”, fortune tellers, interesting local businesses, and probably even jugglers and clowns, who knows. You would not have had to advertise in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, and the risk would have been very low that even one kid would be damaged in the process.

“The artists that were booked by our volunteer to perform at June Jubilee did so on a purely voluntary basis.”
If you say so, but it seems uncharacteristic of most legitimate performers to volunteer without some understanding they will get something out of it, like a couple of months of promotion of their names and their record company’s website in ads all over southern California and on the Aveson home page. Or maybe giving out promo CDs to the parents who would rush the stage? And you are laying this decision and responsibility on “the volunteer?”

“They were duly informed that their audience included children of all ages and they were instructed not to use profane or violent language or images during their Saturday performance.”

Finally, we are getting somewhere. So you knew these performers’ repertoire was replete with “profane or violent language or images” typical of gangsta, hardcore, misogynistic discography before they were allowed to perform. Does that square with the “We did less than our due diligence in vetting them and we are sorry” excuse? Gee, sounds to me like you vetted them pretty darn well and maybe had to create some “facts” in the last few days none of us can check out in order to justify a really, really bad decision. Heaven forbid this decision making process is part of the core value system Aveson. Please bring on the jugglers, clowns, and verbal contortionists.

“They agreed to abide by these guidelines and they did so. Unfortunately, one of the performers decided he could disseminate his work and, without permission, gave out free CD’s which were totally unacceptable.”
It sounds like someone higher in the chain of command should have been giving Aveson Administration some guidelines. Having established that the performers are generally given to using “profane or violent language or images,” a thinking person is going to believe there would be 100% compliance? Unfortunate and unacceptable it was indeed.

“They were utterly offensive. As soon as parents and staff got wind of this, distribution was ceased, and many of the CD’s were confiscated.”
OK, so now when you found something utterly offensive (but long before had “wind” of the facts and knew these folks were subject to using “profane or violent language or images”) you sprang into action. Although the parents and staff (at least some) knew months in advance what was coming, ignoring for the moment that both groups through their inaction condoned and sanctioned these performers, only then was something done. Wow!

Aveson Administration writes:

“Graffiti art is a valid voice, though defacing public or private property and our natural
earth certainly is not.”

Where is valid Graffiti art displayed? What’s left over when you remove the three places above from the discussion?

My kids go to Aveson and we enjoy the school. They had the best test scores of and PUSD schools in year one. They generally operate as a small grassroots community, have a cutting edge curriculum, and there is TREMENDOUS parental involvement.

In all honesty, I now question these folks above who make these baseless claims and hide behind the veil of their first name only. Everyone I spoke to at Aveson about this was surprised, as they (like I)had not heard any inappropriate music.

I believe what I hear from Kate Bean, but I have seen only rhetoric and hot air from everyone who is posting here in (obvious) opposition to Aveson.

Maybe these are the folks who have nothing better to do than stand outside of Aveson in the morning and feverishly write down their notes about all the “inappropriate” traffic and noise at a PUBLIC school (sarcasm intended).

Here is an example of sanctioned graffiti art, where valid graffiti art is displayed:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/art-55908-graffiti-hackie.html

The piece from the generic “Aveson Administration” was thoughtfully analyzed by several people here, and found wanting in both form and content. School administrators should have a better grasp of word usage and punctuation. School administrators should have a better mastery of critical thinking and reasoning. Mr. Vrsalovich calls these thoughtful analyses “hot air”, yet has unquestioning faith in what he is told by Kate Bean, the only contact given in the piece from “Aveson Administration”. Aveson seems more like a religion than a public school.

Criticism of schools that cause problems in the neighborhood is not limited to public schools. Altadenablog has been reporting on the case of Sahag Mesrob, a private school which caused problems for its neighbors.

Atadenablog also published an invitation to the public Altadena Elementary School’s six hour event last Friday, a celebration which apparently occurred without any issues. I’m sure a good time was had by all.

We all love our freedom of speech. There are many forms of valid expression that are sanctioned in some contexts, but are inappropriate in others. I assume there is prayer in school at Sahag Mesrob, which identifies itself as a Christian school. Prayer in public schools has been ruled inappropriate. There are certain kinds of speech which, while constitutionally protected in some contexts, is deemed inappropriate in schools and other public situations. The issue is not the validity of Graffiti as a form of expression, but its appropriateness in a public elementary school context.

Yes, Aveson is a public school. That means we are all supporting Aveson with our tax dollars. That is why every taxpayer must be concerned about what goes on there and any effects there may be on the surrounding community.

According to one parent who removed their kids from Aveson “the wheels fell off at that school and they never got them back on.” This school feels entitled to inflict itself on its surroundings. As stated above, there has been NO ATTEMPT to work with the community, and at this point it appears to be a full court press to antagonize the community surrounding it. As “administration” wrote above: come check out our evening and weekend events. which are constant. None of you supporters contend with this in and near your homes (and the noise is IN our homes). the Aveson conduct flies in the face of its stated mission statements. What a dismal example you Avesonians are all setting for the impressionable children you impact. They know nothing through you except demand, entitlement, and dishonesty. Shame on you all.

True, Mr. Vrsalovich will continue to call rhetoric “hot air” until those who hide from their real identity (e.g., old old guy, tor, etc.) reveal who they are and what their true motivations are for dismissing the school as a religion or questioning word usage and punctuation.

It seems that staying on the subject bothers some supporters of Aveson practices. I guess it is easier and safer to pick one use of the word religion and one reference to punctuation, spread them across everyone who disagrees with you, and then feel better about defending the indefensible. Anonymity is a right (as you have chosen to use it) and with it comes a responsibility to stay on the subject, be factual, and bring reasonable opinions and dialogue. If you cannot see our “true motivations” to speak against what surrounded the Jubilee then we quite simply and fundamentally disagree. It seems this back and forth is being refereed fairly and I am sure many attempted posts are rejected. So let’s stay focused, analyze, discuss, and critique the subject at hand.