Diane Ravitch On Gavin Newsom's Three Educational Challenges

Diane Ravitch

As Gavin Newsom prepares to take office, education looms large on the list of California’s top priorities. The nation’s most populous state faces major questions on everything from the cost of higher education to growing demands for increased oversight of charter schools. Capital & Main asked education scholar Diane Ravitch what advice she would give Newsom. Here is her response.
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The incoming administration of Governor-elect Gavin Newsom will not be cleaning up a mess. Governor Jerry Brown has been a good steward of the state during his time in office.

But Newsom faces three distinct challenges in the field of education. Although Governor Brown significantly increased spending for education, California has large unmet needs and much catching-up to do to maintain its edge as an incubator of talent and innovation, and of equal opportunity for all.

First, the state must substantially increase funding for K-12 education, which would enable districts to pay teachers better salaries, reduce class sizes and assure that all children, regardless of where they live, have access to a well-equipped, well-staffed school. The latest federal data (2016) show that California spends somewhat less than the national average per pupil. California’s per-pupil spending is $11,420, compared to a national average of $11,841. California is one of the richest states in the nation but spends far less than states such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Wyoming and North Dakota. California spends about the same on its students as states like Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and South Carolina, where the cost of living is far less than in California.

Second, California must recommit to the long established tradition that tuition for higher education must be free to all residents of the state. This principle was reiterated in the state’s Master Plan in 1960, but ended by Governor Ronald Reagan. The low-cost availability of higher education and the large pool of educated talent it created were the principle drivers of the state’s economic development and success. The primary reason that students drop out of college is cost, not ability. The state should recommit to provide higher education to all who wish to pursue it, by removing cost as a barrier to their opportunity and ambition.

Third, California must regulate the charter school industry, whose lobbyists have defeated all efforts to hold charter schools accountable and transparent. Where public money goes, public accountability must follow.

Charter schools now enroll 10 percent of the children in the state, and their representatives should have no more than 10 percent of the seats on the state board. Charters should be made subject to open-meetings laws and laws prohibiting conflicts of interest and nepotism. The law governing charters should be revised so that they are authorized solely by the district in which they are physically located, with no appeals to the county or state board. If there is no need for them, they should not exist.

Before any charter is authorized, there must be a determination of its fiscal impact on the host district. The host district should supervise the charter to assure that it is operating in accordance with state laws and serving the needs of students in the district. Every charter should enroll at least the same proportion of students with disabilities and English language learners as the district in which it is located.

Charters should be as accountable for their enrollment, discipline policies, finances and academic performance as district public schools. Charters should complement, not compete with, district public schools. They are all working towards the same goals, which is the development of every child’s abilities, equal opportunity and preparation for citizenship.

Diane Ravitch

Copyright Capital & Main

CAPITAL & MAIN NEWSLETTER

The Save our Schools tax initiative.

   The  Sacramento Bee in both its editorial position on Sunday, July 8,  and its news reporting name  the fall initiative tax measure  to preserve  funding for  our schools  Governor Brown's Tax proposal.   This naming, this framing, is selected to defeat the proposal.  It is not Governor Brown's proposal- it is a proposal from all of us who worked on the Millionaires Tax, from teachers, union members,  the majority in the California legislature and all of those who wish to save our schools from further devastation.

 The legal  title  is  the  Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.  It will be Proposition 30.  We should insist that the press use the proper title for this tax initiative.   If passed it would prevent  $4.8 billion in cuts from our  k-12 schools and $1.3 billion in cuts from our colleges and universities. 

 California voters  are faced with a choice.  Shall we raise taxes and fund the schools, or shall we continue the current practice of cut, cut, cut ?  In the fall election we will be faced with at least three choices.  Continue the present austerity program  or choose between two tax proposals.  If the anti tax forces have their way and we do not pass new taxes the effects on the schools will be devastating – as will be effects on public safety, health clinics and local services.

NCLB Waivers, What about California ?

Re: the announced NCLB waivers.

It is important to know that the basic rules of school program improvement, the  take over, the use of yearly progress reports, the use of tests as the measure of reform, the 5 options for reform, the use of subgroups as a a measure ( ie. English Language Learners),  the claim to have only  well qualified teachers, etc.  I believe are all part of California state law.  The use of waivers to suspend aspects of NCLB does not change the California laws.  Until and unless California laws are re-written not much will change in the classroom. 

L.A. Unified bests reform groups in most cases, data show

L.A. Unified bests reform groups in most cases, data show

Blueprint for Great Schools?

Legislature- heal thyself. 

A new strategic report for California schools, A Blueprint for Great Schools, was released by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on Aug.9 and included a number of valuable recommendations. ( available at www.cde.ca.gov).  We have seen these reports before.  Recall the Getting Down to Facts report of two years ago that was to be the culmination of years of research?

The new Blueprint sets out a new mission for the California Dept. of Education.  At least the report will due no harm. 

Lets suppose however, that you wanted to actually improve California schooling.  What would it require? For this post I will focus specifically  what would be required to  reduce  the California drop out rate.  I reluctantly conclude that only a few ideas  in the Blueprint would assist.

What would it take?  First. Increase the number of counselors in the schools and the number of social workers in high poverty schools.  California ranks 49 out of the 50 states in these categories.  The social workers could organize parents into the “wrap around” services mentioned in the blueprint.

Why won’t we add these counselors and social workers?  Because that costs money.  And, this is the key failing of the Blueprint.  Although it details the money issues in the section on finance, it offers no directions nor solutions.  

To improve the schools would require adequate funding of the schools – see Robles-Wong et al v State of California.

Education: State of Emergency- Mobilize!

It's time for lawmakers to finally get the problem solved now

Media Resources

Free Fall- Educational opportunities in California

Summary from the new report of UCLA Accord Center:
California Educational Opportunity Report.

Core Findings from our Surveys and Interviews:

• California high schools are providing less time and attention and fewer quality programs. As a consequence, student

engagement, achievement, and progress to graduation and college are suffering;

• School reform has all but sputtered to a halt due to staff cutbacks and the elimination of time for professional development;

• Even as high schools across the state are impacted by declining budgets, inequality is growing across and within schools;

• California’s high schools face growing demands from families experiencing economic crisis; these demands point to the interrelationship

of California’s education and social welfare budgets.

Rogers, J., Bertrand, M., Freelon, R., Fanelli, S. (2011). Free Fall: Educational Opportunities in 2011.

Los Angeles: UCLA IDEA, UC /ACCORD.

To access this report online, please visit http://www.edopp.org

Save Our Schools March

by Lisa Schiff
 

Exon Mobil, $156 million. Bank of America, $1.9 billion. General Electric, $4.1 billion. Chevron, $19 million. These highly profitable companies, and many others like them, received these extraordinarily large amounts of money back as tax refunds. Yes that’s right, Republican lawmakers at the state and federal levels are trying to convince the American public that we need to decimate critical services like Medicare and public education so that we can hand over our money to these companies.

In the most intense ideological battle since Newt Gingrich was in office, Republicans at state and federal levels are holding fast to plans to extend tax breaks and implement drastic cuts to a variety of social services, including education. In California, the health care community, K-12 public schools and public institutions of higher education are steeling themselves for unknown levels of losses.

But for public school supporters the challenge is doubly difficult. Not only do we need to fight more forcefully than ever for the minimal, insufficient funding that schools currently receive, we must also fight for a totally revamped approach to education. Education activists across the nation have made the painful realization that President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are no friends to the project of providing a quality education to all children. If anything, the programs and proposals of this administration have set schools back even further than under the Bush regime. Certainly they have only reinforced the approaches established by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and their destructiveness has been extended through the outrageous Race To The Top (RTTT) competition, that attempts to pass for policy.

We have no choice but to face facts--public education is under attack from all sectors of elected leadership, regardless of party. There is no one now to turn to other than ourselves, which may in fact be the best position to be in.

How Public School Budget Cuts Herald the End of Equality in the U.S.

How Public School Budget Cuts Herald the End of Equality in the United States

By Mark Naison

Throughout the United States, the nation’s public school system is being savaged by budget cuts that will make a mockery of federal legislation designed to reduce the achievement gap between children in low-income and high-income districts. 

In Detroit, the school district has been told by the state to close half of its schools to close a $347 million deficit, leading to high school classes that could contain as many as sixty students.  Providence, RI just handed out pink slips to its nearly 2,000 teachers to reduce its deficit (although, in an astonishing feat of creative accounting, most—but not all—of the teachers are expected to be rehired); and Austin, TX may do the same in a response to a ten percent reduction in state funding.  And in thousands of school districts throughout the country, teachers are being fired, sports and arts programs are being shut down, AP classes are being cancelled, and class size is going through the roof while state and local governments radically cut education funding to balance their budgets.

Make no mistake about it, these budget cuts will have a disproportionate effect in the poorest school districts, where parents depend on schools to impart skills which, because of educational background or language issues, they often lack.  You cut arts and science programs in a upper-middle-class school district, parents will compensate by finding private tutors or funding additional classes through the PTA.  In poor neighborhoods, once such programs are gone, they are gone for good.   You can squeeze the teachers in poor districts all you want to produce magical results on test days; as opportunities to give students individual attention and special training in arts and science disappear, the test score gap will grow wider, the dropout rate will increase, and college admission from such districts will plummet.

California Budget crisis grows

States’ Budget Woes Go Deep Below the Surface

New Brookings report shows seeds of deficit troubles were planted years ago, and problems may be larger than they appear

Washington, D.C. — As state governors and lawmakers begin work on their daunting budget challenges in the aftermath of the Great Recession, new research from the Brookings Institution’s Mountain West project and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University shows this situation actually has been building for several years, and may be worse that it first appears.

The new paper by the two research organizations, Structurally Unbalanced: Cyclical and Structural Deficits in California and the Intermountain West, looks at four states—Arizona, California, Colorado, and Nevada—and shows how these problems may go far beyond shorter- term revenue declines associated with the economic slowdown. Solving states’ budget challenges may be more difficult than is generally thought as they can involve massive, entrenched imbalances than will not disappear with economic recovery.

These four states have been among the hardest-hit by the Recession, and several are contending with deep, chronic imbalances that should serve as a caution to other states.

“The budgetary condition of many states is, if anything, worse than is recognized,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow and the policy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings. “The gravity of states’ short-term and especially longer-term deficits underscores that this is a time when state policymakers must break their bad habits and turn to more responsible budget planning practices that looks in a balanced way at the long-term fit of revenues to spending.”

How to fix education and schools

How to "fix things fast" in education: Support libraries and librarians
Sent to TIME Magazine, Dec 14, 2010

TIME's report that the US "lags behind" countries like Finland and South Korea" 
on the PISA reading test ("In school, China on the rise," Dec 20), and TIME's 
positive evaluation of the film Waiting for Superman (The Best Movies of 2010, 
Dec. 20), leads to the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with 
American education and that "we have to fix things fast." A closer look at the 
data shows that what is wrong is our unacceptably high rate of child poverty.

Poverty had a huge impact on American PISA reading test scores. American 
students in schools with less than 10% of students on free and reduced lunch 
averaged 551, higher than the overall average of any of the 34 member countries 
of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development).  Those in 
schools with 10 to 25% of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch 
averaged 527. Among the OECD countries, only Korea and Finland did better.

In contrast, American students in schools with 75% of more of children in 
poverty averaged 446, second to last among the 34 OECD countries. 

Our overall scores are less impressive because we have one of the highest rates 
of child poverty among all the countries tested. According to a 2005 UNICEF 
report, the US has a child poverty rate of over 21.9%; in contrast, the rate in 
high-scoring Finland is only 2.8%. 

California School Achievement-

By Peter Schrag

John Mockler has rarely been timid in his opinions about education policy. But he’s never been more in-your-face than in his blasts at what he’s been calling “the California Schools Suck Industry” and the “statistical pornography” of the business groups, foundations, politicians and journalists who are its principal members.

Late last month, in a teleconference run by Steve Rees and his School Wise Press, he went at it again, contending, with a fusillade of numbers, that California schools were doing a lot better than most of us were being told. They were not categorically failing, were not deeply flawed, and that anyone who claimed otherwise was peddling “drivel.”  

Mockler probably has more “formers” strung after his name than anyone in California education: former school lobbyist and consultant to unions and school districts, former executive director of the state Board of Education; former interim secretary of education; author of Proposition 98, the state’s minimum school funding law, and on.

But in what he sometimes insists is his retirement, he’s also become the chief critic and tormentor of the retailers of the conventional wisdom and accompanying rhetoric about failing schools.

At a time when there seems ever more unquestioning acceptance of that conventional wisdom, both in California and nationally, and when a film like Davis Guggenheim’s public school bashing film “Waiting for Superman” becomes a media favorite, Mockler’s loud demurrer becomes more important than ever.

California Schools- not in compliance????

Update on Education Jobs Money

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is urging governors to act quickly and submit their state applications for their share of the $10 billion education jobs funding as soon possible so that the emergency aid can begin flowing to districts. So far, 17 states have had their funding requests approved:

	Funds	Estimated Number of            Teaching Positions              Created/Saved*
Alabama	$149.5 million	2,250
California	$1.2 billion	13,318
Colorado	$159.5 million	2,393
Connecticut	$110.5 million	1,251
Georgia	$322.3 million	4,397
Illinois	$415.4 million	5,118
Iowa	$96.5 million	1,503
Kansas	$92.5 million	1,572
Maine	$39 million	614
Massachusetts	$204 million	2,083
Nebraska	$58.9 million	966
Nevada	$83.1 million	1,184
New Mexico	$64.9 million	1,077
New York	$607.6 million	6,263
South Dakota	$26.3 million	574
Tennessee	$195.9 million	3,279
Wisconsin	$179.7 million	2,329

The $10 billion education fund was created to support education jobs in the 2010–11 school year and will be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can then distribute their funding to school districts using their funding formulas or districts' relative share of federal Title I funds.

However, a provision in the bill requires states to have maintained their level of higher education spending this year, something many of the states have not been able to do. And the bill does not offer waivers for states to opt out of this requirement, which means that those states that have made drastic cuts to higher education could miss out on the windfall. Some states—such as California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island—are believed to be caught in this noncompliance situation.

Only Congress can rectify this issue by repealing this provision.

The Arrogance of some School Superintendents

Any school administrator who mis uses these funds should be fired!

A New York Times article today, with a Sacramento insert by  the Bee’s Diana Lambert,  makes the incendiary assertion that some  schools districts may not spend the just passed $10 Billion dollars on hiring teachers and preventing teacher layoffs.  Even State Senator Steinberg hinted that the money might be used to solve other problems in the state budget.

Let us be clear.  This is an budget emergency. That money was passed by the Congress  to hire teachers and other staff, not for superintendents to play with, to hide, or to use for their other plans.

Districts should hire the teachers now. The money is on the way.  Yes, that leaves a budget  problem for next year. But, the kids need a quality school system this year. And, the economy needs these teachers back to work.

It was teacher voices and teacher mobilization that passed the bill.  Senators received over 20,000 e mails, phone calls, and letters.  It took 4 votes to pass the bill over the Senator filibuster. 

If you are in the middle of a flood, or a fire, you don’t say, well lets not fight this because we might need the funds next year.  We need to respond to the crisis by hiring teachers now – and then working on next year’s crisis.

California school spending; How do we rank?

How Do California’s Education Spending and

Staffing Levels Compare  to Other States?

California’s spending for public schools lags that of the rest of the US.1 California’s schools:

·      Ranked 44^th among the 50 states in K-12 spending per student, spending $2,546 less per student than the rest of the US in 2009- 10 (Table 1). To reach the level of spending per student of the rest of the US, California’s schools would have had to spend an additional $15.4 billion in 2009-10, an increase of 28.9 percent.

·      Ranked 46^th in education spending as a percentage of personal income – a measure that reflects the size of a state’s economy and the resources available to support public services. To reach the level of the rest of the US, California would have had to spend an additional $15.3 billion on education in 2008-09, an increase of 29.5 percent.

California has more students per school staff than the rest of the US. California’s schools:

• Ranked 50th in the nation with respect to the number of students per teacher.

California averaged 21.3 students for each teacher in 2009-10, more than 50

percent larger than the rest of the US, which averaged 13.8 students per teacher.2

• Ranked 46th in the nation with respect to the number of students per

administrator.3 California’s schools averaged 358 students for each administrator

in 2007-08, compared to 216 students for each administrator in the rest of the US.

• Ranked 49th in the nation with respect to the number of students per guidance

counselor. California’s schools averaged 809 students for each guidance counselor

Source: California Budget Project.  Race to the Bottom.

Meanwhile the anti tax radicals continue to denounce our schools.  

Schools and the economic crisis

Schools and the budget crisis

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that since the beginning of this year the number of school districts that may be unable to meet future financial obligations because of the continuing state budget crisis and inadequate funding for public education has increased by 38 percent. For the list of school districts, please visit Second Interim Status Report, FY 2009-10 - Fiscal Status.

"We are seeing an alarming spike in the number of school districts that are having trouble meeting their financial obligations," said O'Connell. "Schools on this list are now forced to make terrible decisions to cut programs and services that students need or face bankruptcy. This trend will worsen if the Governor's proposed cuts to public education are enacted in the 2010-11 budget. I have grave concerns that more and more school districts will face financial crisis unless state lawmakers find solutions to the state budget crisis and provide adequate funding for our schools."

Public education in California received $17 billion less in state funding than anticipated over the last two budget years. As a result, more than 20,000 teachers have received pink slips this year. Summer school has been eliminated, class sizes are increasing, and art, music, libraries, school nurses, and sports programs have been cut.

Assembly district 9 - Chris Garland and Kevin McCarty

            Sacramento Progressive Alliance

www.sacramentopa.org

There is an important election on  June 8, and it is important that you vote.

Assembly District 9. Endorsed:  Chris Garland and Kevin Mc Carty. Sacramento Progressive Alliance

Why vote for Chris Garland?  Its time to shake up the Capitol.

The Sacramento Progressive Alliance and others interviewed each of the major candidates for Assembly District 9 on May 19.  Most of the district lies within Sacramento.  This is the seat currently held by Dave Jones.  District 9 has a 55.9 % Democrat, 19.8 Republican, 19.4 % decline to state voter registration.  ( Plus American Independent 2.5%, Green 1%, Libertarian 0.5%, and Peace and Freedom 0.8%).

After considering the major candidates on the issues most important to the Progressive Alliance,  on May 22 we voted to  recommend that you vote for either Chris Garland or Kevin Mc Carty.  All four of the major candidates on the Democratic side were impressive.  We will be able to support anyone of them who wins the primary.

Garland explains his advocacy this way.  “ California’s in trouble.

 Our state budget is in a constant state of crisis, our policy-makers are gridlocked, and vital services are at-risk. Teachers are being laid off, and the promise of quality higher education for all may be a thing of the past.”

Torlakson for Superintendent of Public Instruction

Re: The economic crisis in the state

There are three candidates for Superintendent who have any reasonable chance to win; Gloria Romero,  Tom  Torlakson, and  Larry  Aceves.

Romero and Torlakson have similar advantages and disadvantages.  They are both termed out legislators seeking a new position, not leaders in education.  A prior post examined Romero’s role and position.

While the eduwonks  (who do not work in schools) and Romero  continue their efforts and California achievement scores remain stagnant, others blame the  economic crisis that California and 42 other states find themselves in.

In Robles-Wong v. California (May 2010)  the plaintiffs note: Currently, the state ranks 47^th among all states in its per-pupil spending on education, spending $2,856 less per pupil than the national average.

Yet most Californians, according to a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, believe there is not enough state funding going to public schools, and a majority single out K-12 education as the area that they most want to protect from spending cuts.

“We require students to meet high education standards and then deny them the resources they need to meet those standards,” said Jo A.S. Loss, president of the California State PTA. “We must have a system that allows schools to deliver a high-quality education for all children – in good times and in tough times.”

The Governor and elected officials discuss the economic crisis as if  the crisis is a neutral act, or as if a natural act- like rain or snow.   But, the  California school budgets are  a disaster not because of   some natural phenomena.   The sustained crisis was created by the governor and  the state legislature.

Lawsuit Challenges California Unconstitutional Education Finance

Historic Lawsuit Challenges California’s Unconstitutional Education Finance System

A historic lawsuit was filed today against the State of California requesting that the current education finance system be declared unconstitutional and that the state be required to establish a school finance system that provides all students an equal opportunity to meet the academic goals set by the State.

The case, Robles-Wong, et al. v. State of California, was filed in the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. Specifically, the suit asks the court to compel the State to align its school finance system—its funding policies and mechanisms—with the educational program that the State has put in place. To do this, plaintiffs allege, the State must scrap its existing finance system; do the work to determine how much it actually costs to fund public education to meet the state’s own program requirements and the needs of California’s school children; and develop and implement a new finance system consistent with Constitutional requirements.

The lawsuit was filed by a broad coalition, including more than 60 individual students and their families, nine school districts from throughout the State, the California School Boards Association (CSBA), California State PTA, and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

“Filing this lawsuit was a last resort,” said CSBA President Frank Pugh. “Education funding has been in a deteriorating spiral in California for decades. A failure to act now threatens the future of California’s students and the future of our state. The Governor and lawmakers have known for some time that the current school finance system is harming students and they’ve done nothing to remedy the crisis. The $17 billion in cuts to education have only made a dire situation even worse. California’s unstable, unsound and insufficient school finance system is robbing our students of an education.”

“This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the State, the Legislature and the Governor comply with the Constitution and fund and deliver the promised education program to all students in the state,” said Bill Abrams, a partner at the law firm of Bingham McCutchen and counsel for plaintiff students and families. “The Constitution requires that school funding ‘first be set apart’ to meet program demands, and provides that education is a fundamental right and must be made equally available to every child. Too often, this isn’t the case, and the State balances its budget on the backs of its students by cutting or underfunding education programs, and thus prevents schools from meeting its own education standards.”