This month we learned that 68 percent of California’s public schools met all of their academic growth targets on the Academic Performance Index for the 2004-05 school year. That represents a 20-point gain over 2003-04, and indicates significant improvement by schools and by all subgroups of students. I was particularly pleased to see the growth made by high schools on the API. While elementary schools continue to show the highest overall performance, high schools posted the highest solid gain — a 36-point increase over 2004 in median API performance.
The percentage of schools meeting their school-wide growth targets increased from last year by 17.0 percent (from 64.2 percent in 2004 to 81.2 percent in 2005. Steady improvement among all student groups indicates a focus on standards is serving our students well. It’s important that we keep this focus. While our schools are improving in nearly every subject and grade level we clearly still have a long way to go to close the achievement gap and to better prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century global economy. The 2004-05 API Growth reports are available on the Academic Performance Index Web page.
Results of the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress were also released in October, showing that California’s overall performance tracks closely with nationwide trends. While there are valid reasons to question the fairness of state-to-state comparisons, it is clear that California schools must do more to improve student achievement.
When considering the NAEP scores, it is important to remember some significant differences between NAEP and our state assessments, and also to take a close look at California’s demographics and the performance gains of specific student groups. Unlike our statewide assessments, NAEP is not aligned to the content taught in California’s classrooms and, therefore, is not as sensitive to changes in student achievement as our California Standards Tests. Unlike the California STAR assessments (which everyone take), average scale scores and other results from NAEP (which a much smaller number of students take) contain sampling error, so it takes a greater increase in achievement to register as significant on NAEP.
Results on our statewide tests, which are directly aligned to our rigorous standards, indicate that a focus on high expectations is leading to steady gains in student achievement. In California, we believe it is important to test all students regardless of their challenges, and we have stuck to high standards and expectations for all students. The result is that our state doesn’t fare as well as we’d like on some national comparisons, but our students are better served if we hold high standards and gather more complete data. If we continue to focus on California’s rigorous standards in the classroom we can expect the achievement gains seen on our state tests to be reflected on the next NAEP results.
California’s poor NAEP showing relative to other states in reading is at least in part due to the fact that California has the highest proportion of English learners in the nation and also that we had a higher proportion of our English learner students than any other state take NAEP. While California excluded 12 percent of its English learner students from the 2005 reading assessment, Texas’ exclusion rate, for example, was 37.5 percent, and New York’s was 29 percent.
There is some positive news in the results. For example, California Hispanic students who are not English learners have made significant gains in reading and math, and the gap between those students and white students has narrowed. Score gaps among black and white students and economically disadvantaged students have also narrowed, even as the proportion of economically disadvantaged students has steadily increased.
California Kids Care Update
Districts in California have reported that 745 children displaced by Hurricane Katrina have enrolled in school in our state. This total includes: 569 K-12 grade students, 16 preschool age students, and 160 aged birth to preschool.
We should all be proud of the generosity of California students, who raised a grand total of $625,366.37 to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts through the California Kids Care project. On Sept. 2, I called on schools to voluntarily participate in the project by encouraging students to donate their pennies, nickels and dimes to the Red Cross, with the idea that we could teach our students something important about citizenship and turn feelings of hopelessness into genuine helpfulness. I am proud to say that it is our students who have taught us something about what true citizenship and true heart looks like.
Nearly 400 schools have reported that they collected disaster relief donations, and some schools are continuing to collect funds for the victims of Katrina.
In a particularly moving demonstration of selfless generosity, six-year-old Joe Aubuchon of Long Beach donated his entire savings of $250 — money he had been saving for several years to buy a rare white German shepherd puppy he planned to name "Marshmallow." See the News Release in the CDE Newsroom.
I learned of Joe’s donation on a visit to Gompers Elementary School, and knew immediately we’d have to find him the puppy he’d been saving for. We found just the puppy and presented him to Joe at a surprise school assembly October 19, thanking him and all California students for their efforts on behalf of Katrina evacuees. It is not often we see such remarkable kindness in the world, and nothing is more pleasurable than rewarding it when we can.
Legislative Wrap-Up
As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed and vetoed legislation at the end of session I can only describe the effects on improving public education as mixed, with some successes and some setbacks. Of course, that is on top of his disappointing "status quo" budget.
I am pleased the governor signed a bill I sponsored to improve intervention services for struggling schools. AB 953 by Assemblymember Joe Coto (D-San Jose) will improve intervention services for school districts designated as "Program Improvement" by clarifiying requirements of the Local Educational Agency Intervention Program. It also will ensure that the use of Federal intervention funds are prioritized based on the academic performance of each district’s socioeconomically disadvantaged students. It is critically important that we target intervention funds to help students that most need assistance to reach their full potential. This measure will allow us to strategically use these funds to help make changes at our most challenging schools.
I was also pleased that the Governor vetoed two bills that would have undermined the integrity of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE): AB 1531 by Assemblymember Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) would have allowed for an alternative performance assessment to the exam, and SB 586 by Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) would have conditionally exempted pupils with disabilities in the class of 2006 and 2007 from the CAHSEE graduation requirement. As I have consistently said, awarding a student a diploma without the knowledge and skills to back it up does that student a great disservice. I want every student in California to get a high school diploma, but more importantly, I want every student in California to complete high school with the necessary skills to truly compete in today’s information-driven global economy.
While the Governor maintained high standards in regard to the exit exam, I am disappointed that he failed to reauthorize an important program to provide teacher professional development in California’s rigorous standards. He vetoed SB 414 by Senator Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, which would have reauthorized California’s mathematics and reading professional development program for teachers. The bill also included specific training to ensure that we meet the needs of students with disabilities and English learners. The Governor’s veto message specifies concerns with the bill that were never raised by his office or his Department of Finance throughout the entire legislative process. As a result, the Governor's veto of SB 414 now puts in jeopardy critical professional development for thousands of California teachers.
I was also very disappointed in the Governor’s veto of AB 564 by Assemblymember Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach), which would have helped high schools select standards-aligned instructional materials. The measure would simply have allowed CDE to work with county offices of education and local education agencies to develop reports on the extent to which high school basic instructional materials are aligned to California’s academic content standards. adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE). I believe giving school boards such guidance just makes sense, and I will continue to continue to try and make it possible.
The governor did reauthorize and expand the Principal Training Program to provide professional development and support to California school principals. AB 430, a bill I sponsored, renamed the program "The Administrator Training Program," and extends it until 2012. It will include training on instruction of students with disabilities and English language learners.
Gains were also made in the area of health and nutrition. . The Governor signed Senate Bills 12 and 965,by Senator Martha Escutia, which adopt the most rigorous nutrition standards in the country.SB 12 restricts the amount of fat, sugar, and calories an individually sold food item can contain. The companion measure, SB 965, limits the type of beverages that can be sold on high school campuses during school hours to water, milk, juice, and electrolyte replacement drinks.
Also passed and signed into law were bills to require the state adoption of model content standards for health education by March 1, 2008 ( AB 689 by Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), AB 1392 by Assemblymember Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), to ensure that economically disadvantaged children have access to nutritious meals during summer school programs. The Governor vetoed SB 567 by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), requiring local educational agencies that participate in federal school lunch programs to establish and implement a local school wellness policy that complies with federal and state requirements.
The Governor’s signature on AB 1662 by Assemblymember Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View) conforms state law to the new federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Reauthorization 2004 provisions, as required by the U.S. Department of Education. This measure ensures that California will not lose $1.3 billion in federal special education funds, California's projected share of funds in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
Governor Schwarzenegger also signed into law SB 687, by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), a measure I supported, to bring more transparency into the allocation of education funds per school by requiring districts to include the salaries of personnel on the School Accountability Report Card. I hope that this spotlight on the distribution of funds for teacher salaries will encourage school districts to employ well-trained and experienced teachers at schools that need them the most.
I am pleased at the governor’s signature on a bill I sponsored to support my efforts to reduce the paperwork burden for school districts. AB 110 by Assembly Member Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) will delete certain redundant and duplicative data collection and reporting requirements contained in existing law, and modify procedures that apply to data collection and reporting relating to pupil expulsions.
Other bills in my sponsored legislative package that were signed by the governor are:
AB 1071 by Assemblymember Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park ) increases the amount of funding that may be used for the School Assistance and Intervention Team to $17,648,050. The measure ensures that 17 specified schools will receive sufficient funds to implement academic interventions. This measure has been signed into law.
AB 1610 by Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis) ensures that students who leave a charter school without graduating or completing the school year for any reason do not fall through the cracks by requiring charter schools to notify the district of residence of pupils who are expelled or leave the charter school, and, upon request, provide a copy of the cumulative record of that pupil. It requires charter petitions to include a description of procedures to be used if the charter schools were to close. The measure also extends charter schools’ ability to seek waivers directly from the State Board of Education, even if the school was chartered by a district or county office of education.
AB 1642 by Assemblymember Simon Salinas (D-Salinas) streamlines the process for school district reorganizations.
AB 831 by the Assembly Committee on Education, and SB 512 by the Senate Committee on Education, two annual education omnibus bills that correct errors, resolve conflicts in code sections, deletes obsolete references, and makes other noncontroversial changes to the Education Code.
Additional measures I am sponsoring which will continue into next year include AB 1246 by Assemblymember Lois Wolk (D-Davis) which authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop preschool learning standards and develop curriculum guides in early literacy and early numeracy, history/social science, and science, and AB 1032 by Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) that would provide professional learning opportunities for preschool classroom teachers and paraprofessionals on those preschool learning standards.
Finally, I am deeply disappointed in the Legislature’s failure to approve AB 1758 by Assembly member Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) which would have created exit criteria for the High Priority Schools Grant Program and provided $60 million for California’s lowest performing schools. It would also have provided $4.1 million in federal NCLB funds that are available to districts with schools in Program Improvement.
It was the clear intent of NCLB and the Williams settlement that these funds be made available to our most needy schools. I will take this issue back to the Legislature as soon as they reconvene to ensure that students at these eligible schools receive the benefit of these funds as quickly as possible.
CDE Honored for Partnership Programs
Recently, I was pleased to accept, on behalf of the California Department of Education, the prestigious 2005 Partnership State Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University. This is the second time in as many years my department has received this honor.
CDE is being honored for excellent leadership in developing family, school, and community partnership programs to help students succeed in school. NNPS’ state award committee said it was impressed with the quality of CDE’s leadership and collaborative activities for program development, strong commitment to improving these partnerships, and progress over time.
"The California Department of Education is showing that research-based approaches can be used to help families and communities become involved in their children’s education in ways that increase student success in school," said Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS. "All of us at the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University are proud of your state’s accomplishments. The California Department of Education is, indeed, a leader in strengthening programs of school, family, and community partnerships."
CDE provided evidence for a strong statewide program of technical assistance in parent/family involvement, intradepartmental partnerships that include nutrition, physical fitness, child development, migrant education, learning support, school improvement, and accountability, and a newly created Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents. The award entitles CDE to special recognition from NNPS, a $500 prize to support partnership programs, a plaque, and free attendance at an NNPS leadership conference in Maryland. CDE has been a member of NNPS since 1998.
For more information on CDE educational partnerships, please see the Educational Partnerships section of the Fact Book beginning on page 119. For parent, family, and community learning support, nutrition, physical fitness, and the Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents, please visit the Learning Support Web page.
Honoring Teachers
This month Highlights honors San Diego County Teacher of the Year Kathy K. Toon, a 27-year teaching veteran who has devoted her career to challenging, uplifting and supporting students who face extreme challenges. She began her career in Appalachia, where, she writes, "there were few role models to instill the importance of a good education," and where empathy for the impoverished led her to a commitment to spend her future in education with underprivileged children. It’s not unusual for young teachers to be so inspired, but Ms. Toon’s commitment endured, through years of teaching in residential treatment centers, juvenile hall, a community home education program and, for the past nine years, homeless children at Harbor Elementary School.
"One would know, instantly, that these children are special," Toon writes about her students. "They live under over-passes, in cars, doorways, or homeless shelters. They are thrilled to be sitting at their desks with their ‘school things,’ knowing they have the day to look forward to, being in school. The worries of where they will sleep tonight or what they will eat are all forgotten. ... As their teacher, I am faced with the task of filling their day with innovative lessons that will convince them that they have a bright future and that it is within their grasp to be whatever they wish to be. I must give them hope. It is a big challenge for me. Their challenge, however, is far greater."
Her 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students have very little structure in their lives, so she creates a classroom that is welcoming and structured. The California Standards are the backbone of her curriculum, and assessment logs are posted in the classroom to keep students aware of their progress. Written reports, textbook-generated tests, oral presentations and group projects are listed on the log to show student progress in demonstrating their understanding of lessons.
Ms. Toon has helped to enrich the lives of her students and broaden their horizons by working in partnership with businesses and community organizations. A local bank and law firm donate supplies and the time of employees, taking students to the zoo and teaching them about their jobs. Local churches organize a "career day" to explain various occupations and the benefits of being productive, involved community members.
"The greatest accomplishment I have experienced in my job was the day an ex-student called me," Ms. Toon recalls. "He had once lived in the St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter. He said that he remembered the day that school became 'fun.' He had never believed in himself, nor felt he was one of the 'smart' kids. He went on to say that, whether he was or wasn’t, I had made him believe in himself and it had turned his life around. He said that he saw on a calendar that it was 'Teacher Day,' and he just wanted to call and thank me."
There could be no more powerful incentive for taking on the challenges of California’s most challenging students. The state and the students at Harbor Elementary are lucky to have the dedication of Kathy Toon.
Making Sense of Acronyms
Even educators are sometimes left scratching their heads at the profusion of acronyms used in the education field. To help you with decoding these acronyms, we are pleased to announce a new and improved CDE Acronyms page on the CDE Web site, Acronyms - Department Information (Temporarily Suspended).
School Bus Watch Program Aids Homeland Security
CDE’s Office of School Transportation staff has recently received training and certification in the new US Department of Homeland Security School Bus Watch program. The program is based on the premise that no one knows a community and what may be out of the ordinary in that community better than a school bus driver. The School Bus Watch program is designed to instruct school bus drivers in the history of criminal and terrorist activities, how to recognize and assess their threat and how to properly notify public safety authorities. Office of School Transportation staff will be providing School Bus Watch training to school bus instructors and drivers upon request. For further information on the program, please contact the Office of School Transportation, at 916-375-7100.
Language and Literacy for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
An increasing number of schools and programs for the deaf have recognized the importance of educating their deaf and hard of hearing students using both American Sign Language (ASL) and English for academic instruction and promoting full proficiency in both languages. The California School for the Deaf, Fremont has become involved in a federally funded grant through the U.S. Department of Education that promotes effective instruction of language and literacy for deaf and hard of hearing students. It applies current research in ASL and English acquisition related to the unique learning needs of deaf and hard of hearing children and frames language acquisition and language instruction within the concept of Language Planning. The school will hold weekly professional development seminars for its staff on effective bilingual (ASL and English) instruction during the 2005-2006 school year.
The Wall of Respect
Middle school students at the California School for the Deaf (CSD) Fremont this year will build a Wall of Respect: a monumental art project to reflect new attitudes and behaviors. It will be a middle school community project with teachers, students and their families, all participating in a day of sharing under the school’s yearlong theme, "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World," by Mahatma Gandhi. The Wall of Respect is part of a character development program by the same name, now in its second year at CSD’s middle school. Teachers chose the theme and students will continue to participate in monthly activities designed to build their awareness of diversity and create a middle school atmosphere of personal accountability and mutual respect. Last year, for example, the 7th graders mentored the new 6th graders, and made them a special lunch. Math students interviewed each other about social topics relevant to their age group, such as bullying and friendship, and presented information during assemblies. For more information, call Ron Kadish, Director, State Special Schools and Services Division, at 916-327-3850.
From State Special Schools and Services
During the 2005-2006 school year, the work of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Unit is focusing on improving the capacity of Special Education Early Start (Birth-3) Programs in providing services to families of infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Early Start projects are funded by a federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention) grant, and include the following:
- the development of Best Practices for Early Start for Infants and Toddlers Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
- the development of Early Start Referral Guidelines for Audiologists.
- eight regional trainings for Early Start providers on the Learn to Talk Around the Clock parent-infant curriculum, between July and December, 2006. Participating LEAs receive a free curriculum "toolkit."
- a statewide training in the SKI-HI parent-infant curriculum, to be held in January and February, 2006. Participating LEAS receive free curriculum materials.
- eight regional trainings on the Rossetti Infant Language Scale, and Starting With Assessment (a tool for assessing development of American Sign Language), between January and June 2006. Participating LEAs receive free assessment materials.
For more information, contact Nancy Grosz Sager, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Programs Consultant, at 916-327-3868 v/tty or at nsager@cde.ca.gov .
School Safety
The School Facilities Planning Division is continuing its efforts to update the protocol districts use to evaluate the health and safety effects of high pressure pipelines and electricity transmission lines near proposed school sites or where new classrooms are being added to existing schools. The updated pipeline protocol is slated for release in November and the guidance for electricity transmission lines in early 2006. For more information, please contact Michael O'Neill, Director, Personnel Services Division, at 916-322-1463.
Healthy Children Ready to Learn
The School Facilities Planning Division, in collaboration with the Nutrition Services Division and the Professional Development and Curriculum Support Division, has completed the public draft of Healthy Children Ready to Learn – Facilities Best Practices. The recommendations in this report are based upon observations of school facilities throughout the state that have addressed the rising obesity epidemic among California school children.
This report highlights food service and physical education facilities that have found creative ways of providing exemplary facilities despite the challenges that face many districts, overcrowding, inadequate budget, undersized school site acreage, and so on. Many of these best practices are simple, inexpensive ideas that can be incorporated with a limited budget.
If you are interested in reading this report yourself and commenting on it, you may contact Diane Waters, Architect, at 916-327-2884 or by e-mail at dwaters@cde.ca.gov.
From the Charter Schools Division
Over the past 7 months, the Charter Schools Division has been working and training with the National Charter School Authorizers Association (NACSA). The training has improved authorizing practices and built capacity and skills in the Division. The Charter Schools Division is better prepared to provide oversight for the State Board of Education authorized charter schools, and has developed some model oversight documents to be shared with the field. The Charter Schools Division will continue to be recognized as a national leader for their work in California to promote high quality charter schools. For more information on the Charter Schools Division, please call Marta Reyes, Director, Charter Schools Division, at 916-322-6029.
