We in California’s education communities continue to reel from the horrific slayings on the campus of Virginia Tech just two weeks ago as the victims continue to fill our thoughts and our hearts. Our schools must always be safe havens for learning. As we hope for the best, we must sadly and cautiously prepare for the worst on our own campuses. School safety depends on preparedness, and I and the Department are committed to helping you in whatever way we can in maintaining safe campuses that provide healthy, nurturing learning environments for students of all ages.
California’s high school seniors continue to make steady progress toward passing the High School Exit Exam – progress for which we can all be proud. When I released the latest results in mid-April, more than 390,697 students or 91.4 percent of the Class of 2007 had passed both the English-language arts and math portions of the test as of the February administration.And I am pleased to see that students in nearly every subgroup in the class of 2007 are passing the CAHSEE at a higher rate than their counterparts in the Class of 2006 did at the same point in time. This is significant progress toward closing the achievement gap between students who are African American or Latino and those who are white or Asian.
This year there is no confusion whether the test is here to stay or will somehow be modified. Students know what is expected of them, and are taking the test and its importance much more seriously. And for those students for which the test is still a struggle, there is help. I thank all of you for your leadership in helping to make the exit exam an instrument of purpose and opportunity.
I also was pleased to be able to tell school officials to expect more than $500 million in Arts, Music, and Physical Education grants for professional development, equipment, and supplies to improve instruction in physical education and the visual and performing arts.When I visit schools, I find it’s the children’s artwork posted on the wall, the music coming from the band room, and the friendly competition out on the playing field that most often symbolize the students’ sense of pride and accomplishment. We need to see and hear more of these valuable and beneficial activities.
As you know, I have made improving student health and nutrition one of my top educational priorities because hungry children simply cannot learn.
As part of the Department’s agenda to improve student health, we have focused our efforts on securing much-needed increases in state meal reimbursement, development and implementation of Local School Wellness Policies, adoption of health education standards, and other initiatives.
A critical component of improving the school nutrition environment is the quality of the school kitchens and eating areas available to students – since they determine how, where, and what food is prepared as well as where students eat.
As enrollment skyrocketed over the last decade, many districts did not include expanded and improved kitchens and eating areas in their expansion and modernization plans. The result has been that many district food service operations are forced to serve meals out of outdated and cramped facilities that do not allow for the provision of the most fresh and appealing fare as possible.
In addition, many schools have no eating areas, resulting in the purchase of food that can eat quickly and easily.
As we join together to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity, we must look at the total environment. We know that the physical environment is a clear determinant of behavior. Accordingly, I am asking that you consider the impact of your nutrition facilities when you prepare your requests for the following sources of facilities money currently available through Proposition 1D. (Please refer to Proposition 1D Updates below.)
I am looking forward to seeing some of you at the upcoming California Distinguished School and NCLB-National Blue Ribbon School nominees awards ceremony at Disneyland, where 171 California middle and high schools and Blue Ribbon nominated schools will be honored for being some of the state’s most exemplary schools. I commend you all on a wonderful, wonderful job.
Honoring Teachers
This month's Highlights honors another of California's five Teachers of the Year 2007.
Charles Reynes, a fourth and fifth grade science specialist and department chair for the Castro Valley Unified School District in Alameda County, divides his week among 700 students at five different elementary schools: Palomares, Proctor, Independent, Marshall, Stanton, and Castro Valley.
In his application for California Teacher of the Year, Mr. Reynes said, "For more than 20 years, I have been developing activities and building equipment to help students understand very complex ideas. I infuse each lesson with rich activities so that I can meet the needs of my auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners."
Mr. Reynes can relate to those students who struggle to learn, who often change schools, and who are very far behind everyone else. He was once one of them.
"By the time I completed sixth grade," he wrote, "I attended five elementary schools. I cannot recall a single lesson from those years. All I remember is the utter boredom, the noise, and the ceiling covered with spit balls of every imaginable color."
But the guidance of one teacher changed his life, and Mr. Reynes hopes he can pay it forward. Teaching, he said, is rewarding yet, at times, heartbreaking, and it is up to schools to find creative solutions to the complex issues that affect student success outside of the classroom and beyond school boundaries.
"Children lead very complicated lives, and I am continually inspired by the courage of my Title I students to learn in the midst of adversity," he wrote. "A child at my Wednesday school dropped by the lab to sharpen pencils and tidy the room. He looked up while wiping the counter and said, ‘I wish you were my father.’"
Mr. Reynes earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco in 1982, and a Multiple Subject Credential in 1986 from California State University, East Bay (formerly CSU Hayward), where he also earned 32 units in accounting.
PROPOSITION 1D UPDATES
Career Technical Education – Proposition 1D, provides $500 million for the construction of new career technical education (CTE) facilities and the modernization of existing career technical education facilities, including facilities for culinary arts programs.
Local educational agencies interested in obtaining CTE funds must submit an application by August 3, 2007 to the CDE for review and scoring. The application requires various elements as required in law including consultation with local industries, estimates of student enrollment and project costs.Applications meeting the minimum score will be transmitted to the Office of Public School Construction (in the Department of General Services not in CDE) for funding consideration.
Projects are limited to $3 million for new construction projects and $1.5 million for modernization projects. A district must provide a like cost of a project and may request a loan from the State Allocation Board for the local share. So a new construction can total $6 million: $3 million from the state, $3 million from the district. A modernization can total $3 million: $1.5 million from the state and $1.5 million from local sources.
Unlike other state facility programs, a district does not need to document the need for the building due to having "unhoused students.” For more information please visit the What's New: Career Technical Education Facilities Program Web page.
Overcrowded Relief Grants – Proposition 1D also provides $1 billion to aid districts in removing portables from overcrowded school sites. Funds awarded to districts may be used to construct new permanent school facilities, including food service facilities. For more information see the Overcrowded Schools Web page.
Modernization Funding – Proposition 1D provides modernization funding for school buildings over 25 years of age, including kitchens and multipurpose rooms. More than $2.9 billion remains in this program. For more information please visit the California Department of General Services: Office of Public School Contruction Web site(Outside Source).
New Construction Funding – More than $3 billion remains in Proposition 1D funding for new construction and additions projects that can include food service facilities when additional classrooms are being constructed. For more information pleae visit the California Department of General Services: Office of Public School Contruction Web site (Outside Source).
Sun Microsystems’ Matching Grant Program
Sun Microsystems' 2007 US Education Essentials Matching Grant Program offers substantial discounts to the education and research community by subsidizing the price of the equipment on its list. According to the company, some of the equipment is near its own internal cost. The company reports that such discounts are normally reserved for transactions in the high-seven-digit to eight-digit range, and not for single systems. The Matching Grant equipment is not limited to academic or research computing; now the equipment can also be used for administration use, a change from previous years. Application deadline: May 31. For more information please visit the Sun System: US Education Essentials Matching Grant Program Web page (Outside Source).
Honoring California Teachers Who Promote Physical Activity and Fitness
The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Spotlight Awards, presented by the Blue Cross of California Foundation, are designed to recognize teachers that have gone “above and beyond” their normal responsibilities to inspire increased physical activity levels for their students, especially those teachers who have demonstrated their understanding of the correlation between physical fitness and academic success. The gold medal winner in each category will receive $10,000 for their school to further promote physical activity and fitness.Silver medalists will win $2,500 for their schools, and bronze medalists will win $1,000. Deadline for nominations: May 31.
For more information please visit the Governor's Council on Physical Fittness & Sports: Spotlight Awards Web page (Outside Source).
To nominate a teachre please visit the the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports: Teacher of the Year Web page (Outside Source).
To nominate a principal visit Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports: http://www.calgovcouncil.org/spotlight/principalyear/ (Outside Source).
The California School for the Blind (CSB), Fremont
For the 2007-08 school year, CSB will be offering for the first time “short courses” of one and two weeks’ duration intended to give students intensive instructional time in the expanded core curriculum such as assistive technology, the Braille Math (Nemeth) Code, CAHSEE preparation, independent living skills and orientation and mobility. During these short courses, students will be given the opportunity to stay current with their local district’s homework, and will not be enrolled at CSB. When their one- or two-week course is finished, they will return to their home districts with new skills to be used in the mainstream settings. Data gathered through an online needs assessment has been instrumental in designing the new short course offerings.
For more information on the short courses, please contact Stuart Wittenstein, CSB Superintendent at 510-794-3800.
CSB also announced it is increasing offerings in low vision services. This program coordinates a low-vision clinic with UC Berkeley College of Optometry 12 times a year on CSB’s Fremont campus and in San Diego. Students with visual impairments may be referred to the clinic by LEA teachers of the blind, orientation and mobility specialists or by families. Most recently, the program began offering consultation and follow-up for students who have been seen in the clinic to learn how to use their optical devices or to modify their learning environment. On-campus students learn effective ways to use their low vision devices, and develop skills to communicate their visual needs to others. Beginning in fall 2007, teachers, students, and families can access information about specific eye diseases in student-friendly language on the CSB Web site (Outside Source) .
For more information about our low vision services, please contact Francey Liefert at fliefert@csb-cde.ca.gov.
You are invited to the State Distribution Center Open Houses and Tours
All District Superintendents and Food Service Directors should have received their invitations from CDE to visit the Sacramento and Pomona State Distribution Centers (SDC) during the month of May. The focus of the open houses/tours is to highlight the cost-effective benefits to districts of using the SDC and its services. Please come learn more about the department’s Food Distribution Program and what services are available at the SDC.
There are morning and afternoon sessions available in both the northern and southern parts of the state:
Northern California: Thursday, May 10, and Friday, May 11, at the Sacramento SDC, 401 North Third Street.
Southern California: Wednesday, May 16, and Thursday, May 17, at the Pomona SDC, 2550 Fulton Road.
Please complete the registration portion of the invitation and fax it to 916-327-3981. If you did not receive your invitation or need more information, please contact either Desirea Lee, Commodity Distribution Unit at 916-324-7130 or by e-mail at delee@cde.ca.gov; or Marina Villalpando, Commodity Distribution Unit at 916-324-0577 or by e-mail at mvillalp@cde.ca.gov. We look forward to seeing you!
Healthy Start Grants Final Funding Posted Online
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will award $10 million to 23 Healthy Start grantees, including four operational grants and 19 combined collaborative planning and operational grants.
The final funding list of the grantees is posted.
These grants will assist schools and their community partners to collaborate on providing children, youths, and families with linkages to critical supports and services. Collaboration with students, parents, philanthropic groups, community-based organizations, and other public agencies is an essential component of Healthy Start.
The goal of Healthy Start is to improve the lives of children, youths, and families. Local initiatives strive for measurable improvements in such areas as school readiness, academic achievement, physical health, and emotional well-being. Each local Healthy Start initiative provides or coordinates comprehensive school-integrated services and activities to meet locally identified needs. For more information on please vist the Healthy Start Web page.
New Williams 2006 List of All Deciles One Through Three Schools
The 2006 list of deciles one through three schools subject to monitoring for textbooks sufficiency pursuant to EC 1240(I)(3) is now available on the Beneficiaries of the Williams Case Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/wmsschools.asp].
The Eliezer Williams, et al., vs. State of California, et al. (Williams) case was filed as a class action in 2000 in San Francisco County Superior Court. The plaintiffs include nearly 100 San Francisco County students, who filed suit against the State of California and state education agencies, including the California Department of Education (CDE). The basis of the lawsuit was that the agencies failed to provide public school students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities, and qualified teachers.
The case was settled in 2004, resulting in the state allocating $138 million in additional funding for standards-aligned instructional materials for schools in the first and second ranks (known as deciles) determined through the 2003 Academic Performance Index Base. The settlement includes another $50 million for implementation costs and other oversight-related activities for schools in deciles one through three (2003 API Base). These two amounts were included in the state budget signed in July 2004 by Governor Schwarzenegger. Another $800 million will be provided for critical repair of facilities in future years for schools in deciles one through three (2003 API Base). The settlement will be implemented through legislation adopted in August 2004: Senate Bill (SB) 6, SB 550, Assembly Bills (AB) 1550, AB 2727, and AB 3001. Up to 2.3 million California public school students may benefit from funding from the Williams case settlement.
California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee Recruitment Fair
The Fire Fighter Committee’s Commission to Recruit Women for the Fire Service is encouraging female high school students to spend a few hours at one of the 2007 Firefighter Recruitment Fairs in May. The first will be held on May 12 in Orange, and the other is May 19 in Dublin. These events are geared toward teaching and empowering the young women of tomorrow who might be interested in beginning a career in the fire service. Male students interested in fire fighting are also welcome to attend. For more information please visit the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee Web site [http://www.cffjac.org/go/jac/] (Outside Source).
Update on Student Assistance Programs Awareness Campaign
The Safe and Healthy Kids Program Office has been overseeing the Governor’s Prevention Advisory Council’s Workgroup on High Rate Underage Users efforts to launch a statewide awareness campaign for Student Assistance Programs. These programs are a school-based approach to providing focused services to students seeking support or needing interventions for barriers to learning, including behaviors of concern.
As a process, Student Assistance Programs identify students in need of intervention, assess these students’ specific needs, and provide them with support and referral to appropriate resources. Their overarching goal is to remove barriers to education so that students can achieve academically.
According to the Healthy Kids Annual Report, more than 535 school districts reported having Student Assistance Programs. The Healthy Kids Office has already distributed more than 1,000 copies of the “Introduction to Student Assistance Programs: Supporting Student Achievement” packets that were developed by the Workgroup. The group’s plans for the future include a Student Assistance Program Web site, free online training, technical assistance, and a conference in 2008.
For more information, please contact the Safe and Healthy Kids Program Office, at 916-319-0920.
