CWC parents throw spikes in the street around Stoner ES

CWC parent removing graffiti filled fence cover

   This last week was Spring break and school was out, but this doesn't mean CWC stopped creating safety issues in our community. Based on the orders of CWC administration, a group of CWC parents threw spikes on the sidewalk and street around the Stoner Elementary School campus**. If this sounds too crazy to be true, then please read on.

    On Tuesday, April 22 around 6 pm, a crew of 3 Citizens of the World Mar Vista parents (and two children) were seen removing the tagged up CWC fence covering. An hour later, the fence covering was down, but the removal started a multiple day safety issue in our neighborhood.

CWC spikes picked up on April 15

   That evening, I went to check out the removed fence covering and began to notice some of the metal brackets that were used to secure the fence were lying all along the sidewalk and in street. There were scores of brackets all over the place. This was a very dangerous situation.  These brackets created a serious safety issue in that they could pop a car or bike tire, topple a scooter or skateboard, or even puncture through a shoe.
   My wife, a neighbor and I spent an hour cleaning up the spikes. We picked up all that we could find on the sidewalk and street, but could see many more spikes inside campus that we could not reach.
   I alerted CWC (and cc'd LAUSD) to the danger and asked that CWC come an clean up the dangerous situation that they created. I received no response.

More CWC spikes April 18

    On Friday, my wife was walking past the CWC entrance when she heard a "clink, clink" at her feet.  She looked down and found that there were still spikes around the school. She picked up all the spikes she could find.
   On Saturday morning, I emailed CWC to follow up and demanded that they clean up this safety issue immediately.  These spikes should have never been in the street in the first place and should have been immediately removed when CWC was notifed of the danger on Wednesday morning.
    The CWC principle responded that she would deal with problem in a day or two. A concerned LAUSD administrator immediately responded to the principle's email saying that if CWC could not be there that day, she would go herself.
    An hour later, I get an email from the CWC principle saying that she inspected the area and didn't see any problem. She also thanked me for alerting her to the problem (but not for cleaning up their dangerous mess that CWC created, but just for alerting her to the problem; a problem that she did not see as serious and thought could be addressed in a few days.) An hour after that, I received an email from CWC director stating that she had just been to the area and there was "not much to speak of" and that she cleaned up a few remaining brackets.

More CWC spikes found April 19 using magnet

   Ten minutes after receiving the directors email, I went to inspect the area myself. I took a magnet on a string and went "fishing" for brackets with my daughters. We found another two dozen brackets in the street and on the sidewalk.

    These brackets left on the ground are basically spikes that could cause serious injury. These brackets were left on the ground by the CWC parents who removed the fence covering. These spikes in the community are an example of the problems that occur when volunteer parents are performing the functions and duties of paid professionals. As such, these "helpful" parents end up creating more problems for all involved.
 
    This is another disturbing example of the safety issues CWC is bringing to our campus and neighborhood. It's troubling that even when a safety issue is pointed out to CWC administration, they either do not see a problem (principle) or try to minimize the extent of the problem (director). These spikes should have never been left on the street and sidewalk in the first place, and should have been addressed and cleaned up when CWC was first alerted to the danger, not days later after multiple complaints.

**Just so I am clear, I'm not saying that CWC directly ordered parents to throw spikes in the street, but CWC's reckless order to have volunteer parents remove the fence covering resulted in the spikes being thrown in the street. Therefore, based on the orders of CWC admin, CWC parents were throwing spikes in the streets.