Mrs. Kevin Finkelstein, a beloved third grade teacher at the Carpenter Community Charter school ("Carpenter"), has been removed from her classroom pending closure of paperwork associated with an alleged incident that purportedly took place in her classroom. We, the signers of this petition, feel strongly that she should be returned to her classroom at Carpenter as soon as possible.

Carpenter, and by extension, area schools that use Carpenter as a model for excellence, fundraising, and volunteering, are suffering in her absence. She is an inspiration to our children, an energetic and dedicated teacher, and a devoted colleague. Mrs. Finkelstein’s students get up in the morning every day, motivated to get to school and to soak up the rich learning material that she has created with 29 years of experience. 

Our children are confused and heartbroken in her absence. We expect excellence in the classroom at Carpenter, which has become one of the crown jewels of the LAUSD. Mrs. Finkelstein contributes directly to this excellence by consistently having extremely high CST scores, boasting a whopping eight perfect 600 scores in math last year alone, with 100% of her students scoring in the "advanced" category on the CSTs. Scores alone do not sufficiently describe the effect that Mrs. Finkelstein has on her students. In every single year, Mrs. Finkelstein advocates and works with children with special needs, and masterfully integrates a classroom with a mix of achievers, bringing them all to their personal best in a supportive environment. 

Her students go on to excel in future years as they make their way through Carpenter and other LAUSD schools, and many students describe her as their most pivotal and inspirational teacher. The Carpenter community and system as a whole, and especially the students in her Carpenter classroom who have been without their teacher for over a month, are suffering from this inordinately long absence. We ask you to act quickly to resolve this matter by coalescing your colleagues and returning Mrs. Finkelstein to her Carpenter classroom as soon as possible.