Thank you. I want to first of all welcome the new members to the board. In my conversations with Governor Schwarzenegger I've been convinced of his commitment to education, and your appointments certainly confirm that commitment.
This is a board with an impressive range of talents and broad experience in education, and I am looking forward to working closely with you to continue our progress in raising California student achievement and providing our 7 million students with the education they deserve.
Unlike in so many issues of the day, where there are deep partisan differences over both process and goals, in education I think we can truly say we all share the same goal. There are issues over which we may disagree — some of them you may hear today. But regardless of our political philosophies, we all want each of our students to receive an education that will prepare them to become productive, engaged citizens of this state.
We are all on the same team when it comes to our students, and I look forward to working with you.
Now, I'd also like to introduce a new member of my staff, Deborah Sigman. Deb is Director of the Standards and Assessment Division in the Assessment and Accountability branch. She comes to us from the Sacramento City Unified School District, where she served as administrator of research, evaluation, and assessment. Deb is a valuable addition to our staff at CDE. So please welcome her as well.
Last month I delivered my state of education addressed and outlined my goals and areas of focus for this year. I'll leave you all with a copy of the speech but touch briefly on those areas today.
First, I think it is imperative that we focus on raising expectations and improving achievement in our high schools. I have introduced a package of legislation aimed at that goal that would provide funding flexibility with accountability for our high schools .
We have identified about $450 million in categorical funds over which high schools would have flexibility if they agree to focus on five areas:
- Number one, increasing expectations in our high schools as we have in the lower grades;
- Number two, focusing on professional development for teachers and principals to improve instruction and school leadership;
- Number three, to improve high school instructional materials and foster use of standards-based texts. On this goal I will be asking that you work with me to develop a state "seal of approval" for high school instructional materials so that our schools will have guidance in choosing materials that are standards-aligned;
- Number four, our schools and districts need to work with higher education and middle schools to smooth the transition for students as they enter and leave high school; and
- Number five, I'm asking schools to build a community of support for improving high school achievement.
Essentially, my plan focuses flexibility to areas and programs that have shown success in our elementary schools, but where we have failed to focus in high schools.
It is a reasonable, cost-effective way of moving us forward to the next important step in standards-based reform.
Also in my speech I focused on the goal of reducing the bureaucratic burden we here in sacramento place on our schools, by eliminating redundant requests for data and streamlining and reducing the data requests we make of schools.
I've established a top-to-bottom review of all data we collect from schools and districts. And I've asked the legislature to help, by placing an embargo on unnecessary data requests, particularly as our schools face budget cutbacks.
And today, I am asking you to help us reduce the burden on school districts by seeking changes in our no child left behind accountability workbook — important revisions to make this federal accountability law more flexible and fairer to our schools.
These changes address inconsistencies and areas of unfairness affecting in particular our small and rural schools, and schools with a small numbers of students in identified subgroups. They aim to remove the penalty to schools where parental opt-outs of testing lead to a school's failure to make adequate yearly progress. And they clean up situations where every school in a district makes AYP, but the district itself does not.
These proposed amendments stem from overwhelming concerns we've heard from school administrators, school boards and teachers. The department of education has been working carefully with your staff on these changes, and collaborated on the proposed language.
I am asking you to review and take action on these amendments today, because under the federal law, unless the changes to our workbook are made by April 1, we will have to wait another year until they are realized. So I appreciate your quick attention to this matter.
Finally, board members, I want to ask you to work with me on the third goal I laid out in my speech. That is to stay the course with the standards-based reforms we have made in order to increase the gains we have seen in student achievement.
As you know, the state board over the past several years has been an integral force for raising standards and improving achievement in our schools. Beginning with world-class academic content standards adopted under Governor Wilson, and continuing with accountability and alignment of our testing system to those standards under Governor Davis, we have made tremendous progress in creating a public education system that is focused, driven by research, accountable to parents and the public and working in the best interests of our students.
We cannot afford to lose ground on the progress we are seeing. We must focus on closing the achievement gap that leaves poor children, English learners and children of color lagging behind their peers. And to do that, we cannot roll back on our high standards-based reforms.
Given the quality of this new board, I am convinced that despite the many challenges we face in our state, we can meet the biggest challenge of them all — providing a top quality education for every student in the most diverse student population in the nation.
Thank you.
