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...The Right To Be An American is the Right to Protest FOR Right

Here are three good reads to help fill the enormous gap between the surface hullaballoo about the nation's education crisis generated by WFS and Education Nation and the angry mob of teachers and educators who are seething against what some are calling the "war on teachers," (and their unions) -- Dana Goldstein's piece in The Nation about the successes of union-management collaboration (here), Jonathan Gyurko's piece on what Guggenheim left out of his piece (here), and Nick Lemann's New Yorker commentary about the overheated crisis rhetoric surrounding so-called reform (here). I'm hoping that there will be more about this in the mainstream sometime soon -- sketching out not only the controversies surrounding Guggenheim's proposed solutions but also the practical and political limits of going to war against traditional schools as we now now them. You'd think that the resounding defeat of Fenty and Rhee would have made this clear, but perhaps there wasn't enough time for it to sink into the journalistic consciousness enough before the WFS media juggernaut came through. Thank you. Alexander Russo July 19, 2010 Education Week.

I've really got to stop plag... recycling these articles.

School reform won’t help all (Most) struggling students. Though some will succeed, others will continue to fail.

Demonizing teachers for the failures of these students is both easy though misguided and counterproductive in that it misses the target for students with no support from home...
It appears that a  philosophical backlash is gaining momentum, as important empirical evidence and some insightful truths have begun to emerge on the national educational frontline. One of these truths, as AFT President Randi Weingarten noted in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, is that the evidence shows that the market-based reforms, which are so much in vogue today, have not delivered. While self-described education reformers may suggest that we double down on these reforms—such as creating more charter schools, implementing voucher programs, using student test scores to evaluate and compensate teachers, and relying more and more on corporate executives and business practices to run school districts—Weingarten suggests a different path, a path taken by the world’s most successful education systems:

These countries focus on developing great teachers and giving them the autonomy to hone their craft. There is an ethos of working together to continuously improve. They de-emphasize excessive standardized tests and test prep, and each has a well-rounded curriculum that engages students in gaining knowledge by developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills—not by rote memorization. These countries provide a more equitable education for all students, and they offset the effects of poverty through on-site wraparound services such as medical and dental care and counseling.

Another truth is that demonizing teachers is not a good starting point for a school improvement plan. As Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari write in the New York Times, “No one contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay and scant recognition. And yet in education we do just that.” The disrespect for teachers extends to salaries, which have declined in real terms over the past 30 years. Today, 62 percent of teachers work a second job, and 46 percent quit before their fifth year. The high turnover rates cost school systems more than $7 billion annually. As Eggers and Calegari write, “There is no silver bullet that will fix every last school in America, but until we solve the problem of teacher turnover, we don’t have a chance.”

All the best evidence shows that leading countries like Finland, Singapore and South Korea respect and revere their teachers. They support and mentor them, and give them the tools and conditions they need to do their jobs. While we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week, we should pay close attention to how these nations develop, support and respect their teachers.

It’s also true that teachers’ experience and class size matter. That’s the case in an Orlando, Fla., school highlighted by the New York Times’ Michael Winerip, who focuses on three sisters who live at a homeless shelter and get a terrific education at Fern Creek Elementary School. The school, where 20 percent of the students are homeless, has received an A on the state report card for each of the past five years. The principal credits experienced teachers, small class sizes and strong discipline.

Finally, a piece by Joe Nocera in the New York Times, titled “The Limits of School Reform,” points out some important truths. Nocera revisits a New York Times Magazine article about M.S. 223, a school in the South Bronx whose principal and teachers struggle valiantly to educate homeless children. Sometimes successful, sometimes not, the school offers a lesson for would-be school reformers, Nocera believes:

What needs to be acknowledged, however, is that school reform won’t fix everything. Though some poor students will succeed, others will fail. Demonizing teachers for the failures of poor students, and pretending that reforming the schools is all that is needed, as the reformers tend to do, is both misguided and counterproductive. Over the long term, fixing our schools is going to involve a lot more than, well, just fixing our schools.

The bottom line: Evidence does matter. It should guide us as we seek to transform schools and improve student learning—and it shouldn’t be ignored. 

Bone Marrow Transplant. Just a Swab.

Something IS Happening in Memphis

Why Did For-Profit College Stocks Rise After the Gainful Employment Rule Was Released?

 by David Halperin

On Thursday, June 3, 2011 the Obama Administration issued its long-awaited “gainful employment” rule, aimed at pushing for-profit colleges and career training schools to stop ripping off students and taxpayers. Although there are good programs in the for-profit sector, many programs are high-priced and low-quality, and some programs, as we have learned from recent government and media investigations, appear to be little more than straight-up swindles: Recruit students to fill slots, collect the federal checks, leave the students without career skills or options. Repeat.

The dramatic rise of such schools over the past decade has left hundreds of thousands of students deep in debt. For-profit colleges now have about 10 percent of US students, 25 percent of federal financial aid, and nearly half of all student loan defaults. Many of these schools get 90 percent of their revenue from federal grants and loans.  Left unchecked, this sector could produce a new subprime-like debt crisis.

The reaction to the new rule has been all over the place. Among representatives of for-profit schools, responses have ranged from “Congress must stop this rule” to “we’ll have to see what happens.” Groups who advocate holding these schools accountable (including Campus Progress), have issued statements with sentiments varying from “thanks Obama Administration!” to “thanks for nothing.”

Some insist that money talks and cite a rally in for-profit college stocks as proof that this is a critical victory for the industry.

I think the rule gives bad actors in the industry a few more years to do their worst. But their unrestrained orgy of waste, fraud, and abuse at taxpayer expense inevitably will come to an end.

It’s certainly true that the final rule is significantly weaker than the rule that the Administration proposed last summer (and even the standards of that original rule were too low). Under the final rule, a program can systematically fail to provide value to students and still be eligible for federal financial aid.  Sixty-five percent of students from a program can fail to pay back their loans, and loan repayment from a school’s graduates can consume 30 percent of their disposable income, and the program will nevertheless remain eligible [PDF] for federal grants and loans.

In fact, a program would have to slip below those low standards three out of four years in order to lose eligibility. That’s pathetic. But amazingly, some of today's for-profit programs would likely fail those standards because they are so high-priced and so low-quality. The Department of Education says that five percent of for-profit programs will run afoul of this rule and lose their aid.

So even under these low standards, the very worst programs will eventually have to shut down. But also, crucially, a much larger pool of bad programs will have to improve their performance for fear of being part of this bottom five percent. Before, there was little incentive to do more than take students’ and taxpayers’ money. Now industry players know they will have to provide at least some value or lose the federal aid that keeps them alive. Also important is that the new rule will provide students and the public with critical information about the effectiveness of individual career college programs. The programs that will have the best reputations will be those that keep debts low and prepare people for jobs that really exist—exactly what students want. These changes could help millions of students.

So what has driven up the for-profit stocks, at least for now?

First, the market values certainty. Few people are giving this rule a big hug, which suggests that the Administration may have found the political center between the fact-based arguments of our coalition and the cynical position of the for-profits, who have spent tens of millions of dollars on a furious campaign of lobbying, litigation, advertising, and political contributions in an effort to maintain the status quo. The concessions made by the Administration are likely to make the rule harder to overturn in Congress. So the rule may well be the standard that guides the industry for a while.

Second, Wall Street is focused on short-term profits. Even more significant than the degraded quality standards of the final rule is the extended delay in making the rule effective—programs are not at risk of losing eligibility until 2015. So for-profit companies can hope that the 2012 election will bring a new President and Congress that will overturn the rule. Some bad actors also could adopt a strategy that, rather than seeking to comply with the rule, instead starts to loot the assets of their schools, cutting costs and quality even further, and going out in a blaze of glory until the rule catches up with them in 2015.

If the for-profit education business is ultimately compelled to reform, it will be because the gainful employment rule is just one part of a changed landscape. The Administration already has issued other rules aimed at curbing misinformation and over-aggressive recruiting practice by for-profits. Senator Tom Harkin continues to hold public hearings focused on misconduct by these schools. Eleven state attorneys general have joined together to investigate for-profit abuses. More and more students who have been misled and mistreated by these schools are speaking up and even going to court.  And media investigations have exposed more bad practices in the industry and widespread abuses of students who need help the most–low-income people struggling to support families, students of color, and our veterans. Finally, there is now a strong coalition of civil rights, consumer, educator, and student groups, representing millions of Americans, that is determined to hold bad schools accountable and protect students and taxpayers.

Collectively, these developments will make it more and more difficult to sustain a business model based on deception, low investment in students, and skyrocketing prices. For-profit education companies will be forced to clean up their acts or shut their doors.

It would be a travesty if the for-profits now spend even more money—largely money that comes from taxpayers—on a continued pressure campaign to avoid accountability. But if the industry refuses to back down, Congress should act in the interests of fiscal responsibility, our economy, and especially our students, and resist efforts to roll back the new rules. Republicans and Democrats should support directing federal resources to programs that actually help students to learn, graduate, and succeed in the job market.

David is the Director of Campus Progress and a Senior Vice President at the Center for American Progress.

"Waiting for Superman" - selling the broken miracle

The Nation

by Dana Goldman

Here's what you see in Waiting for Superman, the new documentary that celebrates the charter school movement while blaming teachers unions for much of what ails American education: working- and middle-class parents desperate to get their charming, healthy, well-behaved children into successful public charter schools.

You don't see teen moms, households without an adult English speaker or headed by a drug addict, or any of the millions of children who never have a chance to enter a charter school lottery (or get help with their homework or a nice breakfast) because adults simply aren't engaged in their education. These children, of course, are often the ones who are most difficult to educate, and the ones neighborhood public schools can't turn away.

Here's what you don't see: the four out of five charters that are no better, on average, than traditional neighborhood public schools (and are sometimes much worse); charter school teachers, like those at the Green Dot schools in Los Angeles, who are unionized and like it that way; and noncharter neighborhood public schools, like PS 83 in East Harlem and the George Hall Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama, that are nationally recognized for successfully educating poor children.

You also don't learn that in the Finnish education system, much cited in the film as the best in the world, teachers are—gasp!—unionized and granted tenure, and families benefit from a cradle-to-grave social welfare system that includes universal daycare, preschool and healthcare, all of which are proven to help children achieve better results at school.

In other words, Waiting for Superman is a moving but vastly oversimplified brief on American educational inequality. Nevertheless, it has been greeted by rapturous reviews.

"Can One Little Movie Save America's Schools?" asked the cover of New York magazine. On September 20 The Oprah Winfrey Show featured the film's director, Davis Guggenheim, of An Inconvenient Truth. Tom Friedman of the New York Timesdevoted a column to praising the film. Time published an education issue coinciding with the documentary's release and is planning a conference built in part around the school reform strategies the film endorses. NBC, too, will host an education reform conference in late September; Waiting for Superman will be screened and debated there, and many of the reformers involved in its production will be there. Katie Couric of CBS Evening News has promised a series of segments based on the movie.

Meanwhile, mega-philanthropist Bill Gates, who appears inWaiting for Superman, hit the road in early September to promote the film; while he was at it, he told an audience at the Toronto International Film Festival that school districts should cut pension payments for retired teachers. Other players in the free-market school reform movement, most of whom had seen the documentary at early screenings for opinion leaders and policy-makers, anticipated its September 24 release with cautious optimism.

The media excitement around the film "is beginning to open up an overdue public conversation," says Amy Wilkins, vice president at the Washington advocacy group Education Trust. "Do I think the coverage is always elegant and superior and perfect? No. Of course there is going to be some bumbling and stumbling. But the fact that the film is provoking this conversation is really important for teachers and kids."

Indeed, a tense public sparring match over the achievement gap, unions and the future of the teaching profession is already under way. In August the Los Angeles Times defied the protests of unions and many education policy experts by publishing a searchable online database of elementary school teachers' effectiveness rankings. The newspaper's calculations were made using a new statistical method called value-added measurement, which is based on children's standardized test scores and which social scientists across the political spectrum agree is volatile and often flawed.

In Washington, Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his re-election bid in part because of black voters' skepticism toward his aggressive school reform efforts, led by lightning-rod schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, who pursued an agenda of closing troubled neighborhood schools, instituting a privately funded merit-pay program for teachers and firing teachers and principals deemed ineffective. And at the federal level, President Obama's signature education program, the Race to the Top grant competition, pressures states to implement many of the most controversial teacher reforms, including merit pay based on value-added measurement.

Yet under the radar of this polarized debate, union affiliates across the country are coming to the table to talk about effective teaching in a more meaningful way than they ever have before. These stories of cooperation, from Pittsburgh to Memphis, are rarely being told, in part because national union leaders are worried about vocally stepping out beyond their members, and in part because of the media's tendency to finger-point at organized labor.

As in the work of influential magazine writer Steven Brill, this intra-union ferment is ignored in Waiting for Superman. The film presents teachers unions as the villains in the struggle to close the achievement gap, despite their long history of advocating for more school funding, smaller class sizes and better school resources and facilities. Guggenheim represents the unions through Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5 million–member American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Ominous music plays during some of her interviews, which are presented alongside footage of Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada and former Milwaukee superintendent and school-voucher proponent Howard Fuller complaining that union contracts protect bad teachers.

But in real life, Weingarten is the union leader most credited by even free-market education reformers with being committed to retooling the teaching profession to better emphasize professional excellence and student achievement.

"The education landscape has changed pretty profoundly, and the unions have to adapt," says Tim Daly, president of the New Teacher Project, a Teach for America (TFA) (profit focused, neo-con backed,) offshoot often seen as a counterweight to (the purpose of Public Schools) the power of unions and teachers colleges. "It's no longer just school districts they're dealing with but charter schools, accountability measures that flow from Washington and new governance structures such as mayoral control and state takeovers.

"Teachers unions have really struggled over the last two decades to recruit good, visionary new leadership prepared to help the unions navigate this," Daly continues. "There are exceptions. The most glaring, notable exception is Randi. She has a long career ahead of her."

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The Cost of Courage

Libertarians' and Ultra Conservatives' New (old) Hero - Ayn Rand. Her affair of words with and in defense of Child Molester/Serial Butcher David Hickman... Her idolized "Super Human"

Re-warmed Hedonism and the Apostle of Greed

click on the title for in-depth analysis 

Warning Signs in Children and Adolescents of Possible Child Sexual Abuse

Any one sign doesn't mean that a child was sexually abused, but the presence of several suggests that you begin asking questions and consider seeking help. Keep in mind that some of these signs can emerge at other times of stress such as:

• During a divorce
• Death of a family member or pet
• Problems at school or with friends
• Other anxiety-inducing or traumatic events

Behavior you may see in a child or adolescent

• Has nightmares or other sleep problems without an explanation
• Seems distracted or distant at odd times
• Has a sudden change in eating habits
  • Refuses to eat
  • Loses or drastically increases appetite
  •  Has trouble swallowing.
• Sudden mood swings: rage, fear, insecurity or withdrawal
• Leaves “clues” that seem likely to provoke a discussion about sexual issues
• Writes, draws, plays or dreams of sexual or frightening images
• Develops new or unusual fear of certain people or places
• Refuses to talk about a secret shared with an adult or older child
• Talks about a new older friend
• Suddenly has money, toys or other gifts without reason
• Thinks of self or body as repulsive, dirty or bad
• Exhibits adult-like sexual behaviors, language and knowledge

Signs more typical of younger children

• An older child behaving like a younger child (such as bed-wetting or thumb sucking)
• Has new words for private body parts
• Resists removing clothes when appropriate times (bath, bed, toileting, diapering)
• Asks other children to behave sexually or play sexual games
• Mimics adult-like sexual behaviors with toys or stuffed animal
• Wetting and soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training
  

  Signs more typical in adolescents

• Self-injury (cutting, burning)
• Inadequate personal hygiene
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Sexual promiscuity
• Running away from home
• Depression, anxiety
• Suicide attempts
• Fear of intimacy or closeness
• Compulsive eating or dieting

Physical warning signs

Physical signs of sexual abuse are rare.  If you see these signs, bring your child to a doctor.   Your doctor can help you understand what may be happening and test for sexually transmitted diseases.

• Pain, discoloration, bleeding or discharges in genitals, anus or mouth
• Persistent or recurring pain during urination and bowel movements
• Wetting and soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training

What You Can Do If You See Warning Signs

• Create a Safety Plan. Don’t wait for “proof” of child sexual abuse.
• Look for patterns of behavior that make children less safe. Keep track of behaviors that concern you. This Sample Journal Page can be a helpful tool.
• See our Let’s Talk Guidebook for tips on speaking up whenever you have a concern.
• If you have questions or would like resources or guidance for responding to a specific situation, visit our Online Help Center,http://GetHelp.StopItNow.org.

Remember, the most effective prevention takes place before there’s a child victim to heal or an offender to punish.

Share this Handout

Warning Signs in Children and Adolescents of Possible Child Sexual Abuse by Stop It Now! is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.  For permissions beyond the scope of this license go to www.StopItNow.org/terms_of_use.

Click on the attachment below to download the handout version of this page.

Age-Appropriate Sexual Behavior

Behaviors to Watch for When Adults Are With Children

Signs That an Adult May Be At-Risk to Harm a Child

Signs That a Child or Teen May Be At-Risk to Harm Another Child

What is Considered Child Sexual Abuse?

Update to Email Posted "Not Again"

UPDATE: Moreno Valley, CA

"Police found the guy, he admitted it.
He is 17 years old, with no arrests and he said "wanted just to talk to a pretty girl"....hmmm, He made a illegal U-turn in the street, put the car in park right next to her and she saw him place his hand on the door knob. All while she was saying no. (? talk).
Anyways, PD can't arrest him on that. His parents are notified too. I have an address and license plate, so I will be keeping an eye on him.

Safety training came in handy, as my daughter was able to give enough information to help the Police. Moreno Valley Police was awesome, not one flaw. Even to the extent in bringing in a sketch artist. (They may still ask the other girls and see if this is the same guy doing this back in Dec...hmmm). At least that will put to ease the community here (to a point).

We learned from this and I do plan on finding out why the schools policy is NOT to activate the 911 system. That needs to change. Give an Officer the chance to stop the car. But with no call, how can MVPD respond? And if it turns out to be a call like this.. okay. 
Any young girl/boy that is so frightened that they are in fear of their safety and feel they must run, that needs to be looked into. And what does it teach our young girls when adults do not call the Police. Is that setting in her mind that this is not a big deal? Thank you to Officer Gordon, my daughter was not treated like a no big deal.

Let's do what we can this coming school week. Walking and driving around the schools with our eyes open. Remember we are the eyes and ears, let MVPD do the rest. 951-247-8700-5 MVPD non-emergency line.

FACTS:
368 registered sex offenders in Moreno Valley, all accounted for (registered). Thank you MVPD!
1 in 5 girls & 1 in 10 boys before the age of 18 will become a victim of a sexual crime.

Safety tips for all ages:
Play the license plate game. Pass a car and ask what that plate was? Get your child use to looking at the plates.

If approached, remind your child/youth to yell "NO" and run in opposite direction or towards people and Tell or 911.

If approached on the street, you can go under a parked car and grab onto the pipes. This is very hard to remove a person from. Remember Yell! Yell! When safe Tell Tell!

Never, Never get in a car. Even if faced with a weapon. RUN, YELL! TELL!

Teach all ages to use the phone and how to dial 911. When not sure if it is important, call the non-emergency and let the Officers decide.

Have a secret password. Teach then, that if said around them, that they need to get to a phone and call 911, even if they do not understand where is the danger. If younger the password is used in-case another person is picking up your child, the child can ask for the password and know that the person is safe.

Buddy system.. never to old for this.

We all have to be more aware. Not just our children, But our Community Children.
Thank you and Stay Safe!"
JulieAnn Stewart-Cleaveland

NOT AGAIN!

Talk to your children NOW!

Moreno Valley and neighboring cities must face the reality of the most heinous crimes: a growing number of attempted snatching of adolescent girls on their way to or from school. 

Where as most victims have been able to flee, that hasn't been the case for some. The following is a word for word copy of an email sent out just yesterday by President of the East Area Neighborhood Watch:

"My 14 year old daughter was on her way to school (Mountain View Middle School), when a car (black El Camino) pulled over and the male tried to get her into the car. When he put his hand on the handle to get out of his vehicle, my daughter ran fast to school and told the Principal and Vice Principal.

Suspect is a male Hispanic, about 30 yrs old, weird eyes.. possibly one smaller than the other. This happened 6-3-2011 today at 8AM off of Morrison and Dracea.

I contacted Moreno Valley Police, Officer Gordon (3737) made a report (File# MV11 1540075). He brought in an forensic-artist to make a computerized sketch of the male. The sketch will be available next week, and Officer Gordon is going to ask the other girls if this is the same guy. MVPD handled this very professionally and very prompt. Thank You MVPD!

The school did not call the Police nor inform me (her mother). My daughter informed me through her cell phone at school. The Principal has informed me that activating the 911 system is NOT their policy. Only if the male had opened the door or touched her. I can not say how stomach-churning I feel, that no one called me or the Police. The policy according to Principle Fay, is that they call the SRO and the SRO writes an indecent report and that it lands on ___ desk. I have not spoken to ___ yet. But I will have more to say about this.

Back in December 2010, three girls had the same problem with a male trying to get them into his car. But the car was beige. Male Hispanic, about 30 years old, shaved head, once again on Dracea.. between Nason and Morrison. Norma Lopez was killed walking home from school at Dracea and Nason (one street away).

Lets get an active group to walk/drive around the schools at 7:30AM and 2:30PM. Only one more week of school. Please email me back to join in as we keep a look out for this guy or guys. Remember we are just the eyes and ears, the Police do the rest. 951-247-8700-5 Police non-emergency line, report all suspects.

PS, My daughter has only walked to school maybe four times this whole school year."

Thank you and Stay Safe!
JulieAnn Stewart-Cleaveland

Thank you Julie all of us that know you or your daughter are relieved. This writer is aware of similar attempts that have not made mainstream news on the N.W. side of Moreno Valley.

NO! He was only trying to express his "Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech."

A Police Department DUI check point near where this horrible accident happened MIGHT have saved this girl's young promising life. The budding life and dreams of an innocent crushed by a few minutes of selfish, self-center behavior (drunk at twice the legal limit) in getting behind the wheel and stoked by a life time of apathy towards the suffering of others (Type II Sociopath.) Victoria Baca and her philanthropic organ, the"United Dem.s of MPA" as in "Dems dat get United to Support Dems dat pay Dems." must be happy? Austin Farley  faces a probable life sentence and Ashton Sweet was killed before she was old enough to drive however, Farley wasn't deprived of his 'right to express his freedom of speech.' This of course is the now infamous statement by Victoria Baca about her behavior, when arrested for physically interfering with a Riverside County Sheriff carrying out his duty at a check point and endangering the safety of the officer, the driver and everyone else in the area.  


Thanks again Vickie, you make  those tricky, obscure and even literal applications of constitutional law bow in the presence of your scathing repartee' regardless. Not to mention your singular tenacity with light poles - inspiring!. Of course it is the light from your light pole that guides us through the darkness of "the man's" petty rules into the promised land! The Promise: every drunk driver is revered like a conquering hero and every developer/Israeli Ex-patriate is graciously liberal with the cash he slips into the hand of the truly loyal  and NO illegal immigrant or drunk has to ever again live in fear of the surprise DUI check point. 

Viva La Raza!

Driver charged with DUI, murder in death 

of Irvine teen Ashton Sweet

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Austin Farley, 26, was charged with one felony count each of murder and driving under the influence in the crash that killed 14-year-old Ashton Sweet. (KABC Photo)

TAGS:

dui, car crash, orange county news

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  By Elex Michaelson and Jovana Lara

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- An Orange County man has been charged with DUI and murder for a collision that resulted in the death of Irvine teenager Ashton Sweet.

Police say 26-year-old Austin Farley's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he crashed into the car Ashton Sweet was riding in Sunday morning.

Farley appeared in court to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and DUI charges. A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for June 24 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. If convicted, Farley faces a maximum sentence of 20 years to life in state prison.

According to Orange County court records, Farley has a long criminal record.

• In 2009 Farley pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, battery on a peace officer, driving on a suspended license, and vandalism over $400.

• In 2008 he pleaded guilty to battery and damaging a monitoring device.

• In 2005 he pleaded guilty for refusing to take a chemical test for drugs or alcohol.

Farley now sits in jail and is held on $1 million bail. Irvine police say his vehicle struck a Mercedes-Benz carrying five passengers, including Sweet.

Sweet sustained an irreversible brain injury from the crash. She was being kept on life support so her organs could be donated. She was declared deceased Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday, nearly all of Sweet's classmates at Northwood High School wore white to celebrate her life. The memorial at the crash site is also growing.

"I think it's really hard for everyone," said junior Ashley Yonamine. "I hope that her family is doing all right and her friends remember all the joy that she brought and not all the sadness that comes with her death."

"Really nice kid," said Northwood High Principal Leslie Roach. "Very sweet, well liked. I think she'll certainly be missed."

Another passenger in the crash, 15-year-old Krista Merassa, remains in critical condition. Irvine police say her condition is improving and her injuries are not life-threatening.