- Public employee retirement systems and reconciling the budget and compensation issues involved.
- Resolving some the issues and equity issues with what is currently being called "Open Enrollment" schools (formerly, Persistently Low Achieving Schools) -- all of which is part of the Race To The Top legislative legacy. The reality is that how the list was created and what is now being required of these schools doesn't make a lot of sense.
- "Teacher reform" issues that are really about taking a new look at "evaluations" of all of us, based on some of the press and allegations from the LA Times over the past year.
- The issue of "bullying" at schools -- particularly in regard to sexual orientation.
- Tweaks and twists regarding "on-line" education that have very little definition at this point -- other than the notion that it is functional part of expected system in this century.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Coming Issues?
To continue with the directional issues (for public education) we are hearing about in Sacramento -- what else is out there on the horizon (but less directly related to budget)? Obviously, this is all speculative, but the pundits and politicos in Sacramento seem to think that the hot issues that will gain traction and discussion in the next year will include:
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Budget issues - how to get California as a whole on the same page, to work together as Californians, not Democrats and Republications.
ReplyDeleteIt is my hope that the state will address the pressing issue regarding the writing of new frameworks for the Common Core California Standards. Under Education Code Section 60200.7, the Department of Education cannot begin writing a new framework for the newly adopted standards until 2014 or until the legislature repeals this portion of the law. This poses a significant problem. If the legislation is not repealed, the CDE estimates that a new framework will not be completed until 2015 for math and 2017 for ELA. The problem arises in that the PARC Consortium assessment, which California has signed onto, will begin implementation in the 2014-2015 school year. This means that we will have the assessment before the framework and text books are written. It is essential that the legislature examine this portion of the law, and carefully consider its repeal.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it will be another 3 years until the writing of new framework can begin is extremely problematic. The legislature created the Academic Content Standards Commission under SB X5 1, in order to evaluate the Common Core Standards in relation to the California Content Standards. With the recommendation of the ACSC, the State Board would then decide to adopt the new standards or leave the old ones in place. The legislature put in place a law that would have a chance of altering the standards, but failed to look beyond the adoption process to the implementation process.
If we are unable to accompany the new standards with a framework in a timely manner, our districts, schools, and teachers will be greatly under resourced. It has been argued that the framework that accompanied the previous CA standards was one of the pieces that made them so rigorous and clear. (http://edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2010/201007_state_education_standards_common_standards/California.pdf)
Without a new framework, we will be leaving out an enormous piece of the puzzle.
I'm not sure what will be addressed, but what needs to be addressed is the lack of discipline at "some" of our schools, particularly high schools.
ReplyDeleteCan you please let me know how parents can get on this so called "Calendar Committee?" I am very concerned that the carefree summers will be stolen from my children!
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