Throughout the last month, I have traveled the state extensively, meeting with parents, students, teachers, and staff in Sacramento, Alameda, Inglewood, San Diego, San Francisco, and Fresno to bring even more attention to the severe consequences that would occur under proposed education funding cuts of $4.8 billion and the call to suspend Proposition 98. Already, students, educators, districts, and schools are feeling the painful disruption of more than 24,000 pink slips issued to teachers and staff. A number of critical student programs including music, art, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and athletics are either being scaled back or done away with altogether. I understand California is in a difficult fiscal situation and that tough decisions need to be made, but I am certain that cutting education and leveraging our students’ futures is not the solution. I will continue to publicly fight cuts to our schools. We must persist in making the voice of the education community—especially our students and teachers—heard loud and clear.
In other news, I was pleased to announce that 11 awardees will receive $7.7 million in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) grants. These grantees were selected because of the critical role they play in implementing AVID programs that have a proven track record of helping more than 120,000 disadvantaged students succeed academically. AVID is one program with promise for addressing the achievement gap in our schools. We know that AVID students pass the California High School Exit Examination, graduate from high school, and go on to college at rates that far exceed their peers in non-AVID courses.
The California Courts of Appeal issued a ruling at the end of February regarding home schooling. After reviewing the court’s ruling, I assured parents opting to home school their kids that our department policy would not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to home school in our state, though I urge any who do to avail themselves of independent study resources through the public school system. I hope that every parent would want to send their children to public school, but I do realize that traditional public schools may not be the best fit for every student.
Also earlier this month, the State Board of Education unanimously adopted a series of corrective actions that I submitted to improve the academic success of 97 school districts identified by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law as in need of immediate intervention and assistance. The board’s action directs these educational agencies to reexamine their procedures and improve their practices in order to lead to increase student achievement. The recommendations were the result of a cooperative effort among Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Education David Long, and myself.
Honoring Teachers
Michael Allen Long, who teaches a combination fourth and fifth grade at Carmela Elementary School in Whittier in the South Whittier School District (Los Angeles County), is one of the five California Teachers of the Year 2008.
"Mr. Long is an extraordinary teacher who puts in long hours both in and out of the classroom as he instills in his students a love and respect for education, especially for the written word as his parents had instilled in him," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. "He finds fulfillment in knowing that he has taught students to write, a skill, he says, with the 'capacity to give voice to the masses.'"
In Mr. Long's application for the California Teachers of the Year Program, he wrote:
The issue of failing writing scores is not new to public schools in the United States, especially among upper grade students. However, experts are baffled by the fact that students, who are making gains in reading and other aspects of language, simply cannot seem to make the grade when it comes to composition. I believe this trend threatens the geo-political success of our future leaders, and if they are to become globally competitive, they must be able to master the written domain. Technology will change, as will the needs of the job market. The need for competent writers, however, will always exist, increasing simultaneously with the demands of the information age.
Mr. Long earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies in 1994 and Master of Arts degree in Education in 1999, both from Biola University, where he also received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. He received a Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) certificate from the University of San Diego in 2005.
April is Public Schools Month
Public Schools Month has been sponsored and promoted by the Free and Accepted Masons of California since 1920 and this year the organization has selected the theme, "Public Schools, Keeping Our Nation Strong." Its purpose is to recognize the fundamental service that public schools have provided to millions of young Americans over the years by teaching them the skills to lead productive lives, celebrating with them the richness of our nation's cultural diversity, and instilling in them an appreciation of the benefits of living in a democratic society.
For more information regarding Public Schools Month, please visit the Masons of California Web site (Outside Source).
Coming Up: The California Day of the Teacher—May 14, 2008
The Association of Mexican American Educators, Inc. (AMAE) and the California Teachers Association (CTA) are co-sponsors of the California Day of the Teacher that originated from Senate Bill 1546 authored by former Senator Joseph Montoya (D-El Monte) more than 20 years ago. The legislation was based on the Mexican and Latin American "el Dia del Maestro" festivities that are held in honor of teachers.
The Day of the Teacher is celebrated on the second Wednesday in May, which this year falls on May 14. The 2008 theme chosen by the AMAE is "Take Back Our Future." The CTA’s theme is “California Teachers: Making a Difference Every Day."
New Regulations for Educational Interpreters
An “educational interpreter” provides communication facilitation between students who are deaf, and others, in the general education classroom and for other school related activities. For deaf students in mainstream educational settings, the educational interpreter is the link that provides them with access to the curriculum and instruction in the classroom. The skill of the educational interpreter is critical to the academic success of a student who is deaf. Thus, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to define the qualification standards for educational interpreters.
Currently, the California Code of Regulations (5 CCR 3051.16) requires that educational interpreters be certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), or equivalent. On May 22, 2008, new regulations that further clarify the qualification standards for educational interpreters will go into effect. These new regulations amend 5 CCR 3051.16 to require the following:
- An educational interpreter shall be certified by the national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter shall have achieved a score of 3.0 or above on the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA), the Educational Sign Skills Evaluation-Interpreter and Receptive (ESSE-I/R), or the National Association of the Deaf/American Consortium of Certified Interpreters (NAD/ACCI) assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess a Testing/Evaluation and Certification Unit (TECUnit) certification, or have achieved a score of 3.0 or above on the EIPA—Cued Speech.
- By July 1, 2008, an educational interpreter shall be certified by the national RID or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter must have achieved a score of 3.5 or above on the EIPA, the ESSE-IR, or the NAD/ACCI assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess TECUnit certification, or have achieved a score of 3.5 or above on the EIPA—Cued Speech.
- By July 1, 2009, and thereafter, an educational interpreter shall be certified by the national RID, or equivalent; in lieu of RID certification or equivalent, an educational interpreter must have achieved a score of 4.0 or above on the EIPA, the ESSE-I/R, or the NAD/ACCI assessment. If providing Cued Language transliteration, a transliterator shall possess TECUnit certification, or have achieved a score of 4.0 or above on the EIPA—Cued Speech.
For further information regarding educational interpreter qualifications, please contact Nancy Sager, Special Education Consultant, State Special Schools and Services Division, at 916-327-3868 or by e-mail at nsager@cde.ca.gov.
Successful 2007-08 Statewide Student Identifier Data Submission
The Annual Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) maintenance activity was completed successfully. Approximately 1,300 local educational agencies (LEAs) submitted records for more than 6.2 million students. Only two school districts and two charter schools missed the deadline for the submission of the data. These student records represent the certified student enrollment counts for school year 2007-08 and will be used for the first time to calculate dropout and graduation reports.
The California School Information Services (CSIS) maintains the statewide student locator system that houses all of the SSIDs. LEAs will now be provided additional tools for detecting and resolving potential errors in the assignment of SSIDs. By using the Anomaly Detection and Resolution tools provided by CSIS, LEAs will be able to correct SSID errors and even locate students who were previously reported as dropouts.
The CSIS began training and support for this new functionality on March 24, 2008. These training sessions equip school districts with the information they need to understand and resolve SSID errors or anomalies. More information about SSIDs and these new tools can be located on the CSIS Web site (Outside Source).
School District Reorganization Summary Now Online
The 2008-09 School District Reorganization Summary has been posted on the District Reorganizations Web page.
This document provides information for the upcoming school year (2008-09) about new school districts, school district mergers, and lapsations as well as district name changes. School-level detail is also provided in the summary.
This report reflects information contained in the County-District-School (CDS) Database that is administered by the Educational Demographics Office.
If you have any questions regarding the summary please contact CDS Administration at 916-327-4014.
Sign Up for the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project Summer Conference
Applications for the 26th Annual Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP) Summer Conference are now being accepted.
Open to current tenth and eleventh grade California high school students, the week-long conference will take place at California State University, Sacramento from July 26—August 2, 2008. A maximum of 120 applicants will be selected to participate in the conference. Students selected to participate attend at no cost to themselves or their families. The deadline to apply is April 18, 2008.
Founded in 1982, the CLYLP is a volunteer-run, non-profit, non-partisan organization, which receives major support from the California Latino Legislative Caucus, the University of California system, the California State University system, the California Community Colleges, and more than 50 private foundations and organizations. More than 2,000 California high school students have participated in the summer conference with more than 90 percent of CLYLP participants going on to attend college. Through the training and tools provided at the conference, CLYLP alumni become successful leaders in both the public and private sector, becoming, among other things, successful educators, policymakers, business persons, doctors, and attorneys.
The student application materials can be downloaded from the CLYLP Web page (Outside Source) under the "Application and Forms" section. Please be aware that if applicants choose to download and print the student application from the CLYLP Web site, the application forms completed by the applicants must be the original document printed from the Web site and not a copied version of the form; the CLYLP does not guarantee the processing of applications using copied versions of the form.
Update on the Westland Beef Recall
The California Department of Education (CDE) is in the process of collecting information from school districts, independent charter schools, and county offices of education on the amount of recalled beef and the related destruction costs in order to report it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and receive reimbursement.
In an effort to meet the USDA’s original reporting deadline of February 28, the Nutrition Services Division (NSD) has been calling and faxing agencies to remind them to report their recalled beef destruction information. To date, approximately 70 percent of agencies have responded to our request for destruction cost information, and without inclusive information, the CDE will not be able to collect all money from the USDA that districts are owed. Approximately four million pounds of beef and more than 125,000 cases of finished end-products containing Westland beef have been reported as destroyed by agencies, distributors, and commodity processors in California.
Please work with your staff to report your recalled beef costs to the Food Distribution Program (FDP).
Agencies will be reimbursed for: destruction costs, transportation costs to a disposal facility, up to one month of storage costs, and processing costs. Agencies should submit receipts for all costs claimed to the FDP. For complete destruction and reimbursement information, please visit the Information Alert: USDA Beef Recall Web page. The USDA is pursuing every avenue available to provide replacement beef in a timely manner. The CDE will keep you apprised of new developments.
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Amy Bell, Commodity Consultant, Commodity Distribution Unit, at 916-322-5051 or by e-mail at abell@cde.ca.gov.
California Funded to Participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
We are pleased to announce the availability of grant funds for public school sites applying through their school districts or county offices of education to participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). Congress just expanded the FFVP to 37 additional states, including California, for the 2008-09 school year. California’s share of the funding is $250,000 (unless the Farm Bill is enacted, since both the House and Senate versions significantly expand the program).
The purpose of the FFVP Program is to provide all children in a participating school with a variety of free fresh fruit, dried fruit, or fresh vegetable snacks throughout the school day as a supplement to (and not part of) the school breakfast and school lunch programs and to teach students about good nutrition.
A Request for Applications (RFA) for the FFVP will be available later this month on the Available Funding Web page. Applications will be due in May with awards made in June. The grant period for the FFVP is from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009 (and an additional year to the extent that Congress continues its funding as it has for other states). The CDE will award grants to 25 schools based on geographic distribution and a competitive scoring of applications submitted by schools. The amount of the individual school grant awards will depend upon the total enrollment of the schools participating in the Program. All grants are subject to availability of funds.
If you have questions regarding the FFVP, please contact Elizabeth Moreno, Nutrition Education Consultant, Education and Nutrition Policy Unit, at 916-324-9749 or by e-mail at emoreno@cde.ca.gov, or David Hazeleaf, Staff Services Analyst, Education and Nutrition Policy Unit, at 916-323-5757 or by e-mail at dhazeleaf@cde.ca.gov.
School Garden Funding
In a recent letter dated February 20, 2008, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell notified you of recent state budget reductions to current year funds.
As you know, one of the current year budget reductions made to education is the elimination of a variety of unallocated grant funds, including the $4.2 million remaining of the $15 million appropriated for California Instruction School Garden (CISG) Program grants.
Due to this budget reduction, the Nutrition Services Division did not post a Request for Applications for the 2008 CISG Program grants in March. Please immediately notify principals, teachers, school garden coordinators, child nutrition directors, grant writers, and any other staff or parents who might be involved in the instructional school garden program. We know that many school site personnel were expecting to apply for a 2008 grant.
Please also note that the budget reduction in future garden grant awards will not impact the funds that we awarded in 2007. We have received concerns from some 2007 CISG Program grant recipients that their CISG Program grant funds have been frozen at the district level. While districts were provided one-time authority to use balances from state funded categorical programs for other purposes a couple of years ago, please also be aware that school districts currently do not have the authority to use the CISG Program grant funds for purposes other than instructional school gardens. The grant funds were authorized by Assembly Bill 1535, authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, and we want to underscore the expectation that current grant funds be expended for the purposes for which they were awarded.
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact David Hazeleaf, Staff Services Analyst, Education and Nutrition Policy Unit, at 916-323-5757 or by e-mail at dhazeleaf@cde.ca.gov.
Partnering for Healthy Students
The Nutrition Services Division is hosting nine Shaping Health As Partners in Education (SHAPE) California regional workshops focusing on the role of after school programs in supporting healthy youth.
Presenters at the workshops will highlight the Nutrition Competencies developed by the University of California, Davis and the CDE, as well as the recently adopted California Health Education Content Standards. Updates on the After School Snacks Manual and Physical Activity Guidelines will also be shared. Attendees will receive state program and legislative updates, classroom and after school best practices, as well as new resources to take back to their programs. The CDE is partnering with the California Department of Public Health (Network for a Healthy California) to offer this spring’s SHAPE workshop series in nine locations statewide from April 22, 2008, to May 30, 2008. Registration is $15 and includes a working lunch.
City |
Date |
Sacramento |
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 |
Ukiah |
Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
Fresno |
Thursday, May 1, 2008 |
Santa Clara |
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 |
Riverside |
Friday, May 16, 2008 |
Los Angeles |
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 |
Bakersfield |
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
Redding |
Thursday, May 29, 2008 |
Costa Mesa |
Friday, May 30, 2008 |
For more information, or if you are interested in sharing your success in your after school program at one or more of these workshops, please contact Shannan Young, Nutrition Education Consultant, Nutrition Services Division, at 916-445-9137 or 800-952-5609 or by e-mail at syoung@cde.ca.gov.
Conference Expected to Draw Hundreds of Migrant Parents
The Migrant Indian and International Education Office is proud to announce the convening of the 29th Annual Migrant Education State Parent Conference to be held April 4-6, 2008, at the Anaheim Marriot.
This year’s conference theme, “The Seeds are Planted at Home and the Growth is at the University,” stresses the importance of parental involvement from a very early age to ensure success in school and access to higher education.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will open the conference and provide the keynote address on Friday, April 4. More than 1,300 migrant parents from the 23 Migrant Education regions throughout California are expected to attend.
Career Technical Education Facilities to Receive Proposition 1D Funds
The State Allocation Board (SAB) approved funding for $199 million for Career Technical Education (CTE) Facilities. The funds are the first release of the $500 million in CTE facility funds made available through Proposition 1D, and will help to reinvigorate this program that has shown tremendous results in improving graduation rates and reducing the achievement gap.
The California Department of Education has completed its scoring of the second round of CTE facility applications and has mailed letters to the successful applicants. The scores are also posted on the CTE Facilities Program Web page.
Applicants with a successful score must submit a funding application to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) by April 31. For more information and a link to the OPSC please visit the What’s New Web page.
If funds remain after this second cycle, the SAB may choose to open a third filing period.
Successful California After School Demonstration Program (CASDP) Applicants to be Announced Soon
The After School Program Office (ASPO) is completing the final stages of the selection process for the first participants in the California After School Demonstration Program (CASDP). Proposals received in response to the CASDP Request for Applications (RFA) were reviewed and scored during a CASDP readers' conference. The ASPO conducted follow-up verification site review visits to the top ten highest scoring applications and to two alternate applications, and will shortly announce the successful applicants.
The CASDP is being developed as an important component of a statewide technical assistance system that will support after school programs across the state in achieving high standards of program quality. The CASDP will document and provide 'hands-on' demonstrations of how the effective practices and strategies that they have implemented have improved results for students. They will serve as resources for effective after school program delivery and for operating structures that align with and support the regular school day in closing the achievement gap.
The ASPO is supported in the development and implementation of an effective CASDP by a contract with Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), the agency selected by the U.S. Department of Education to house the National Partnership for Quality After School Learning. The SEDL's focus is to promote high-quality after school programs nationwide. The California Department of Education (CDE)/SEDL team will work with the newly identified grantees to provide the training and technical support necessary for the implementation and operation of an effective CASDP. Program implementation activities will include the development of training processes and materials, effective staff development for demonstration program staff, and exploring new ways of sharing effective practices and strategies across the state.
For more information regarding the CASDP please contact the After School Program Office at afterschool@cde.ca.gov or at 916-319-0923.
21st Century Community Learning Centers Readers’ Conference on Tap; Cohort 5 Awards Announced in May
The California Department of Education (CDE) After School Programs Office (ASPO) and After School Policy and Evaluation (ASPE) Office will conduct a Readers' Conference for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) for Cohort 5 on April 7-11, 2008, in Sacramento.
The 21st CCLC program began in 1996 as a partnership of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the C.S. Mott Foundation to make high-quality academic assistance and enrichment opportunities after school widely available to students and their families. Over the years, the 21st Century initiative has become the fastest growing program in the ED's history.
California began administering the 21st CCLC Program in 2002. The 21st CCLC Program supports students in grades kindergarten through twelve. Currently in California, there are four cohorts of 21st CCLC grants funded at approximately $131 million. More than 690 grants have been awarded to serve 615 elementary and middle schools and 187 high schools. (A grantee may serve multiple schools.)
For the Cohort 5 grant competition, approximately $20 million is available for elementary and middle schools with 170 applications submitted, and $25 million is available for high school programs with a submission of 72 applications. The CDE expects to post initial notification of grant awards on the CDE Web site by May 15, 2008.