Please scroll down the page to view A.J. Duffy's accomplishments as West Area Chair.
A. J. Duffy shares the podium with Former WEST VALLEY AREA CHAIR Gregg Solkolvits who is running for the office of West Valley Area Chair once again.
A. J. Duffy addresses the rally of 6,000 members gathered at LAUSD's former headquarters at 450 North Grand Ave. to protest potential givebacks on May 23, 2000. He exhorts the faithful to go back to their schools and organize their members to fight against the givebacks the district was proposing.
West Area led the way in creating a unique chapter chair training program. Hundreds of chapter chairs were trained in small group interactive settings with long term chapter chairs serving as the trainers. One of the most unique aspects of this training program was the creation of reference manuals by A. J. Duffy and other activists which are used to this day by chapter chairs and some UTLA staff members.
A. J. Duffy answers questions at the end of the day after another successful west area chapter chair training. This question and answer session was followed by a half hour in-service on the workings of school councils, which is one of his areas of expertise.
During his tenure as Area Chair, West Area hosted several political gatherings billed as "West Area Political Brunch." Local and state officials were invited to hear the concerns of classroom teachers and health and human service workers. At these events, a dialog was developed between the participants in the hopes that our concerns would be taken back to the LA Board of Education and the state legislature. Some of the participants included Antonio Villaraigoso, former Speaker of the California Assembly, George Nakano, A.D. #53, Herb Wesson, former Speaker of the California Assembly, Valerie Fields, former member of LAUSD Board of Education and Paul Koretz, A. D. #42.
During 6 years as West Area Chair (1996-2002) he worked with teachers, classified employees and parents to remove 12 principals. This picture shows A. J. Duffy holding a petition that over 200 parents, teachers and classified employees signed demanding the removal of the principal at Palms Elementary. The Principal was removed!
One of the most satisfying aspects of A. J. Duffy’s job as Area Chair was honoring west area chapter chairs who made a difference at their schools. This picture shows him presenting Laura Lemmo and Frances Williams (Co-Chapter Chairs at Walgrove Elementary) CFT’s “Emerging Leadership” awards. A. J. Duffy worked with Laura, Frances, many other teachers, classified employees, and parents to document the behavior of the principal over a two year period. The documentation they gathered was so compelling that the principal was not only removed, but was demoted.
On several occasions A. J. Duffy hosted gatherings of West Area Chapter Chairs and District officials (cluster leaders / mini-district Supts). These get-togethers were designed to highlight and share the positive programs at West Area schools. The ultimate goal was to get chapter chairs and district officials to work together to introduce some of these positive programs at other West Area schools.
A. J. Duffy's responsibilities and work ethic as West Area Chair and Dean of Students at Palms Middle School kept him busy 24/7. However, if another area needed help, he was always there to lend a hand. Here he is at a South Area rally to protest the retaliation by Fremont High School’s Principal towards UTLA Activist, Matt Taylor.
At UTLA’s annual Leadership Conference A. J. Duffy leads a workshop on how to organize your school site. The workshop’s co-leader was Gregg Solkovits who was West Valley Area Chair and is currently a candidate for that same office. Some of the topics discussed included creating steering committees, school councils, and how to access UTLA’s resources to strengthen your chapter.
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