Groups Urge Governor Signature on Educational Reform Bill - Davis Vanguard

Groups Urge Governor Signature on Educational Reform Bill

localcontrolfunding(From Press Release) More than 300 groups across California delivered a letter to Governor Brown today, urging him to sign AB 2548 (Weber) that calls for an effective statewide school accountability system that includes key measures to give a clear and comprehensive understanding of how schools and students are doing. This approach for statewide accountability will help close California’s widening achievement gap and empower parents, community members and educators to improve schools.

The Dolores Huerta Foundation, California Business Roundtable, numerous chambers of commerce, the California Latino School Boards Association, EdVoice and United Ways of California are among the diverse set of business, community and civil rights group that joined together to support AB 2548 and the opportunity it provides to fulfill the promise of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).

The bill, co-sponsored by Children Now and Ed-Trust West, received unanimous approval from the Assembly (78-0) and Senate (39-0). The bill calls on the State Board of Education (State Board) to:

  • Create a single coherent local-state-federal accountability system;
  • Establish one aligned system based on a set of multiple measures, including academic performance, student growth, college and career readiness, school climate and student engagement, ensuring closing achievement gaps is a key element of a new accountability system;
  • Focus on closing gaps in achievement by setting specific improvement standards that require greater improvement for students that are farthest behind; and
  • Ensure usable information on school performance is accessible for the public to use and understand.

“The unanimous legislative vote and now the signatures of over 300 diverse organizations demonstrates the overwhelming support for an effective and transparent accountability system,” said Ted Lempert, President of Children Now whose group coordinated the letter through The Children’s Movement of California. “Governor Brown and the State Board of Education need to heed the call and ensure that the state has an aligned, effective system for holding schools accountable.”

The letter was delivered on the eve of Thursday’s State Board meeting (September 8) where they will discuss their current plan for California’s school accountability system, which falls short on many critical elements of school accountability essential to boosting student success. (see attached)

Statewide data shows that California has one of the largest gaps in student achievement, ranking 49th in the nation when compared with other states. While students are improving on state assessments overall, students who have historically been furthest behind — and are the intended focus of increased investments under LCFF — are progressing at a slower rate, widening the achievement gap.

“Closing gaps in achievement should be at the core of the state’s accountability system. We need to make sure there is every incentive to focus on the state’s most vulnerable children,” said Samantha Tran, Senior Managing Director, Education at Children Now.

Children Now is a leading national group, nonpartisan, umbrella research, policy development, and advocacy organization that works with opinion leaders and decisions makers to craft “win-win” approaches that help all children achieve their full potential. The organization also leads The Children’s Movement of California.

(Editor’s note: CTA opposes the bill “because it would impose new accountability restrictions on local schools before the State Board of Education and local districts have had a chance to implement fully the accountability provisions of the new Local Control Funding Formula. “)


Support equity in schools with strong accountability system

September 7, 2016
The Honorable Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Governor of California
Re: AB 2548 (Weber) – SUPPORT

Dear Governor Brown:

The undersigned organizations write to express our support for AB 2548 (Weber).

AB 2548 will empower parents, community members and educators to improve schools by providing the data and information they need to develop school improvement strategies. This legislation focuses on increasing equity in California’s schools by creating a robust information system based on multiple measures and ensuring that closing gaps in achievement is a central focus of the new accountability system.

AB 2548 would ensure transparent and meaningful comparison across schools and districts with respect to a baseline set of measures, including academic performance, student growth, college and career readiness, school climate and student engagement. The State Board of Education would also be able to expand on this set of measures.

In addition, AB 2548 calls on the state to create a single coherent local-state-federal accountability system, while giving the State Board of Education discretion to develop the vision for this alignment. A single, aligned system will preclude the confusing, conflicting messages educators and the broader public experienced previously with the two separate accountability systems used under the No Child Left Behind Act.

California has one of the largest gaps in student achievement, ranking 49th in the nation when compared with other states. While students are improving on state assessments overall, students who have historically been furthest behind — and are the intended focus of increased investments under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) — are progressing at a slower rate, widening the achievement gap.

AB 2548 represents an opportunity to fulfill the promise of LCFF, support these most vulnerable students and begin to close the growing achievement gap.
We respectfully ask you to join the Legislature, unanimous in their bipartisan support for this bill, and sign AB 2548. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
10,000 Degrees
4C’s of Alameda County
A Place Called Home
Acknowledge Alliance
Act 4 Entertainment
ACT for Women and Girls
Activating Teen Literacy
Active Advisors
Adorable Babies Jump Start Corporation
Aeries Software
Affinity Mentoring
After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles
All Pro Promotions
Alliance for a Better Community
Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
American Lakes After School Program
American Legion High School After School Program
Amethod Public Schools
Animal Rescue of Fresno
Armen Deveejian, Architect
Armory Center for the Arts
Arriba Juntos
Arts Bridging the Gap
Arts Council Santa Cruz County
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – California
Asian Health Services
Avalos Foundation
Bananas
Bay Area Central American Chamber of Commerce
Bay Area Children’s Association
Bay Area Tutoring Association
Bay Area Urban Debate League
Bay East Legacy & Associates
Beat the Streets Inc
Beats Rhymes and Life
Benevolence Health Centers
Bicycle Coffee
Big Bear Chamber of Commerce
Black Parallel School Board
BlueSkies for Children
BOCA
Bohbot & Riles, PC
Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County
Boys & Girls Clubs of La Habra
Boys & Girls Clubs of Merced County
Brea Chamber of Commerce
Breastfeed LA
Bret Hart After School Program
Bret Harte Before School Program
Brighter Beginnings
Bubbaloo Café
Building Blocks for Kids Collaborative
Butte County Child Abuse Prevention Council
CACE Adult Ed
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Alliance of African American Educators (CAAAE)
California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)
California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE)
California Business Roundtable
California Charter Schools Association
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
California Democrats for Education Reform
California Latino School Boards Association
California LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens)
California Mathematics Council
California Partnership
California School-Age Consortium
California Teacher Pathway
Californians Together
Camino Nuevo
Campaign for Business and Education Excellence (CBEE)
Capacity Builders, Inc.
Caulder Lamm Alliance for Children, Inc.
Center for Ecoliteracy
Center for Leadership, Equity, and Research (CLEAR)
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Central Valley Children’s Services Network
Cesar Chavez Intermediate After School Program
Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County
Children Now
Children Today
Children’s Defense Fund-California
Children’s Network of Solano County
Citizen Schools
Civicorps
Clovis Unified School District, Parent Academy Jr.
CodeWritingKids.com
Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth
College Board
Community Engagement Initiatives
Community Health Councils
CommUniverCity San Jose
Congregations Building Community
Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (C.O.P.E.)
Continuing Development Inc., Child Development Centers
Contra Costa Young Democrats
Counseling and Support Services for Youth
County of San Mateo
Crescent City Chamber of Commerce
CuriOdyssey
Davis Street Community Center Incorporated
Diana Casanova Photography
Dog Gon’ Clean
Dolores Huerta Foundation
Dorris Dann Kids Campus
Dr. Victor Cattolico, Clinical Psychologist
Early Years
East Bay Community Foundation
Educacy
Educate 78
Education Synergy Alliance
Educational Consulting
Educational Results Partnership
Educators 4 Excellence
EdVoice
Elder Creek After School Program
EMC Research
Engel & Völkers Beverly Hills
Epilepsy California
Escuela de la Raza Unida
Ethel I Baker Elementary After School Program
Ethel I Baker Elementary Before School Program
Extended Child Care Coalition of Sonoma County
Faith in Action Kern County
Faith in Community
Faith Lutheran Church
Families In Schools
Family Connections
Family Paths, Inc.
FASD Network of Southern California
Fathers & Families of San Joaquin
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
Financial Architects Partners
FIRST 5 Santa Clara
First 5 Yuba County
First Place for Youth
Footsteps Child Care, Inc.
Foster Care Counts
Franklin Elementary After School Program
Fresher Chefs
Fresno Metro Ministries
Friends of the Family
Full Court Press Communications
Funding the Next Generation Napa
Future Is Now
Future Partners
Gallagher-Chapman Insurance
Genesys Works – Bay Area
Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council
Girls Inc. of Orange County
Girls Inc. West Contra Costa County
Girls Leadership Institute
Give For A Smile
GO Public Schools Oakland
GO Public Schools West Contra Costa
Good Samaritan Family Resource Center
Good Seed CDC
Govern For California
GRACE
Great Beginnings for Black Babies
Guatemalan American Chamber of Commerce
Half Moon Bay Brewing Co
Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce
Harbour Consulting
Healing Hearts “one at a time” Inc.
Health Connected
Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA)
Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley
HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth)
ICUC (Inland Congregations United for Change)
iFoster
Inn at Mavericks
Inner-City Arts
InnerCity Struggle
Innovate Public Schools
Innovation Bridge, Inc.
InPlay
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Irene B. West After School Program
John Sloat Elementary After School Program
JUMA Ventures
Kern Community Foundation
Kidango, Inc.
Kids in Common, a program of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Kids’ Own Wisdom
KIPP Bay Area Schools
Krause Center for Innovation
La Clinica de La Raza
LA Voice
Law Offices of Barbara Goode
Lemonade Creative Consulting
Los Angeles Education Partnership
Los Angeles Urban League
LPC Consulting Associates, Inc.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
LULAC of Riverside
Lynch Associates, LLC
Mark Twain Elementary After School Program
Men & Women of Purpose
Merced Organizing Project (MOP)
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF)
Mission: Readiness
Modoc Local Planning Council
Moler Barber College
Montclair Physical Therapy
Morgan Family Foundation
Mothers’ Club Family Learning Center
Mountain View/Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Challenge Team
Mulvaney’s B&L
Mutual Assistance Network
Napa Valley Community Housing
National Academic Youth Corp
National Center for Youth Law
National Compadres Network
Natomas Gateway Middle School After School Program
Natomas Middle School After School Program
Nea Community Learning Center
Nicaraguan American Chamber of Commerce
Nuestra Casa de East Palo Alto
Oak Ridge Elementary After School Program
Oakland Community Organizations
Oakland Natives Give Back
Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce
Omnific Pictures
Optimal Solutions Consulting
Orange County Business Council
Orange County Congregations Community Organization
Our Family Coalition
P.S. ARTS
Pacific Community Solutions, Inc.
Para Los Niños
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE)
Parent Revolution
PARENT VOICES OAKLAND
Parent Voices, Solano
Partnership for Children & Youth
Partnership for LA Schools
Pathways LA
Peaceful Pets Petsitting
Peninsula Bridge
Peninsula Family Service
People And Congregations Together (Stockton-PICO)
PICO California
Placer People of Faith Together
Positive Discipline Community Resources
PRO Youth and Families
Professional Assn of Childhood Educators, Inc
Project Read
Promesa Boyle Heights
Public Counsel
Public Profit
Puente de la Costa Sur
Raconteur Designs
Radio Bilingue
Raineth Housing, LP
RDP Consulting
Reading and Beyond
ReadyNation
Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce
Resource Development Associates
Restorative Justice League
Richmond Community Foundation
Richmond Police Activities League
RodArte
Rodriguez Strategies
Rollman Properties
Rosa Parks K-8 After School Program
Roy Herburger Elementary After School Program
RYSE Center
Sacramento ACT (Area Congregations Together)
Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Sacramento Region Community Foundation
Saffron Strand
Salud Para La Gente
San Carlos Chamber of Commerce
San Diego Organizing Project
San Mateo Chamber of Commerce
San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA)
San Mateo County Sheriff’s Activities League (SAL)
Sententia Vera, LLC
Shasta Community Health Center
Smallify
Smile In Style DDPP
Sojourner Truth Museum of African American Art
Solano Community Foundation
South Stockton Schools Initiative
SpecialRelativity Education Foundation
Stanislaus Community Foundation
StarVista
Street Level Health Project
Students for Education Reform
Students For Education Reform at UC Davis
Students Matter
Summit Bank
Summit Public Schools
Synergy Moon
T4T.org
Target Excellence
Teach For America
Teach Plus
TechNet
The Alliance for Education Solutions (AES)
The BASIC Fund
The Children’s Movement Fresno
The Education Trust West
The Gabriella Foundation
The GreenHouse
The L.A. Trust for Children’s Health
The Latin American & Caribbean Chambers of Commerce
The Latina Center
The Mountain View Chamber of Commerce
The Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation
The Rhythmic Arts Project
The Unforeseen
The Village Method
The Women’s Foundation of California
Tikun Olam Foundation
Transforming Youth Outdoors
Trauma Camp
United States Entertainment Force Inc
United Ways of California
Valley Wine Connection
Venture Leadership Consulting
Vision to Learn
Walnut Creek Bulldawgs
Warmline Family Resource Center
Way Up Sacramento
West Contra Costa Council of Industries
West Contra Costa Education Foundation (The EdFund)
Wettig Law Firm, A Prof. Corp.
WHH Foundation
Women’s Economic Agenda Project
Women’s Empowerment
XTG Media
Youth Alliance
Youth Enrichment Strategies (YES)
Youth Together

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20 comments

    1. quielo:  Did you notice there is not a single union listed? What do you make of that?

      Probably because they perceive it as another piece of legislation on education accountability in the tradition of NCLB (No Child Left Behind), and the current regime of standardized testing of Common Core.  NCLB has been viewed broadly as having serious shortcomings, which for public schools created perverse incentives for education.

      Probably because it is viewed as legislation to offer a narrative for public officials to say that they are serious about public education in an election year, but may not have much useful relevance to teachers in practice.

      1.  

        That would be a good guess but it would be completely wrong. Torlakson issued a letter that clears the way for districts to use the additional funding for raises and benefits for existing employees without fund any additional programs or services at all.

        ““We are shocked at the reversal,” wrote Samantha Tran, senior managing director of education for Children Now. She said she failed to see how simply paying more for the same level of services complies with the funding law and regulations.”

        The unions want to take ALL the money allocated to educating the disadvantaged youth and certainly don’t want any programs that might ask questions about where the money went or what good came from it. Several of the districts that received LCFF money are now being sued by advocacy groups for using the money for a big party. It’s no coincidence that districts with the poorest students often have the worst financial controls.

        The unions believe they stole the money fair and square and now people need to shut up about it until we forget about it.

        1. I take from your answer that you don’t acknowledge and maybe don’t understand the problem at hand.  If you can’t staff a school with qualified teachers, what does it matter what other programs you want to spend money on?  You can’t staff it.  Attracting qualified teachers is a fundamental goal for all public schools.

          Would you be willing to give up your job to become a K-12 teacher, given the current salary/compensation?

        2. “I take from your answer that you don’t acknowledge and maybe don’t understand the problem at hand.” 

           

          The problem is clear. Money was transferred from districts like ours to other districts for the ostensible reason that the children there were disadvantaged and needed additional services. Instead of providing additional services the money was taken by the insiders for their own pocket and little or no additional services were provided. Of course this was the plan all along and therefore the “local control = no accountability” part of the bill. So some districts are giving teachers big raises while other districts, like ours, are broke. 

          And your response , edited

          [moderator] edited for language.

        3. Try to look up DTA, CTA, NEA dues… all I could find was that CTA assumes $20/month for “voluntary” contributions to PAC’s, etc.

          If someone knows, and is willing to share, what the monthly/yearly contributions are required by the union(s), absent a request for agency-only dues [which exemption has to be renewed yearly (been there, done that)], for a first year teacher, a teacher with 20 years of experience, and a part-time teacher (substitute), that would be good for the discussion of what teacher pay “might” be if the public payed the same, but there were no “union dues”. What a teacher actually sees in salary, absent taxes.

          Am not expecting a response, as it might reveal “inconvenient truths”…

        4. wdf1 We both know that this was all a big scam to take money from kids and give it to unions. I read David’s comments about “closing the achievement gap” and how we should focus on that. But he only writes that stuff because he is gullible and really believes that somehow this LCFF is going to help some kids somewhere. You know better.

        5. quielo:  You seem outraged.  I’m not super-thrilled, but if you’re trying to hire teachers, how do you do that without raising compensation?  And this (a lack of qualified teachers) affects lower income districts more than more affluent districts, because the pressure to show results, usually through increased standardized test scores, is higher.  That scenario wouldn’t appeal to me.   And usually teachers are going to want to live elsewhere.  The churn (turnover in teachers) is often higher in lower income districts, not establishing a very stable teacher force from year to year.  And then folks like you get outraged at the suggestion of paying them more.

          If that’s how you feel, then you can take comfort that Davis teachers seem to be underpaid relative to their counterparts:  Teachers are in high demand, but Davis salaries continue to lag

    1. quielo:  “And then folks like you get outraged at the suggestion of paying them more” No it’s the fraud that pisses me off.

      Early on I had heard that LCFF money was going to increase salary/compensation in various districts. I had not heard that there was a prohibition or promise against using additional LCFF revenue for such purposes.  (I follow a lot of education issues closely, but I still miss stuff)  So this issue didn’t come across to me as fraud.

      I think NCLB has probably done more overall damage to public education than good.  And one of those areas of damage is to distort what is worthwhile and valuable in education — standardized test scores in English and math.  In the long run, I think it makes the teaching profession less rewarding because teachers and administrators get little acknowledgement for much else except appropriately rising standardized test scores.  It means that salaries will have to rise to attract enough qualified teachers to tolerate the downsides of the profession.

  1. wdf1 and quielo

    It seems to me that the two of you are actually not far apart in your concerns. If you define “additional services” to include experienced teacher retention and ability to attract new teachers who have an interest in both living and teaching in areas of high cost of living within our state, then increasing salaries could easily be seen as a way to provide “additional services”. If you insist on defining “additional services” to mean new programs that have not existed in a school district before, then you will obviously see this very differently.

    I am not sure where the animosity is coming from in this discussion since it is clear to me that their could be equally valid, but differing interpretations of what “additional services” actually means when applied to individual districts.

    1. ““additional services” to include experienced teacher retention and ability to attract new teachers who have an interest in both living and teaching in areas of high cost of living within our state, then increasing salaries could easily be seen as a way to provide “additional services””

       

      Reagan’s “trickle down” theory makes a comeback wearing union duds.

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