Be Careful What You Wish For...

So since it came out last week, I have understood that there is a wrinkle in the Governor's proposed $7 Billion tax initiative for November 2012.  While the promise is that all of this $7 Billion will go to schools (and we would like that), the reality is that there is lots of internal shifting and the best you could anticipate actually receiving is $2 Billion.  Further, it looks to me that the real "winner" in this scenario is the state that is shifting money and responsibilities. 

As you can tell, I am having trouble explaining this -- however, I did find a good and credible explanation that I will share with you.  It is found at the Thoughts on Public Education blog.  Or here is the web address:  http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/12/15/jerry-browns-cagily-worded-initiative/

On another more optimistic note, my best wishes to you and yours for this Holiday Season.

Better, but not so good

So we have the results of the declaration of the “mid-year triggers” by the Department of Finance (DOF) which works for the Governor.  The news is that the DOF projections are better than the LAO (Legislative Analyst Office) and the State Controller.  That’s good news and shows that we are only short about 1/2 of the money that the Governor and Legislature projected out of thin air this past June -- we are only $2 Billion short rather than $4 Billion.

The impact of the shortfall falls predominately on Community Colleges and CSU systems across the state -- which is not so good news.  In my view, continuing to whittle away at our higher education system has huge long-term impacts as it ultimately diminishes our economic capacity in the state at a time when we need more that we ever have before.  

Beyond that, the primary impact on K-12 schools is the total elimination of transportation funding.  While that is a hit to all of us and does directly impact our schools, students, and communities -- it is disproportionate.  Transportation funding was built on a historic base rather than on a proportional ADA base.  As such, based on history, some got more, some got less.

Within 24 hours LAUSD announced publicly their intention of filing a lawsuit against the Governor and state for their mid-year actions.  Part of this issue is that the fact that LA has court-ordered desegregation busing -- and now the funding has vanished along with all the other transportation funding.

Before we get too thankful about all of this, we should also know that the Governor has essentially stated in his comments, “don’t worry it will get worse in 2012-13.”  And then in a curious move he went on to say that he is intending in his January budget projection to include as stable revenue his $7 Billion initiative for new taxes (Nov. 2012 ballot).  While we certainly like the idea of new revenue, I don't like the idea of expecting something before there is much evidence of it's existence (kinda' like expecting to get a bonus next year before there has been any commitment to such).

All of this again feels like "kicking the can down the road" and expecting that something wonderful will happen in our economic world without involving us in the process.  From my view and that of others, this only further complicates and compromises that future.

Following Up on Sal Khan

First of all my thanks to whomever pointed it out and apologies for misspelling Mr. Khan's name.  One of you pointed it out, and I appreciate the correction.  

For those of you that are interested, I am  including the URL for the speech Khan gave in San Diego.  This is the same presentation our Board of Education saw.  There is lots of other stuff there, so... my recommendation is that you slide the video slide across to 34:30 and then sit back and enjoy the next hour.

URL:  http://aec.csba.org/Programs/Sessions/~/link.aspx?_id=F3D6849A2B3F4D95B660FF55B1863849&_z=z

You should also know that this video will be archived in this spot until December 31, 2011.  Therefore, it is imperative that you and others that may be interested look at this prior to that time.

Enjoy!

Yah But

It was pointed out to me recently that the opposite of “YahBut” is “What If” – which is a rather interesting idea.  Actually, we have a school in RUSD that is discussing what happens, if we replace the word “can’t” with “how” – which is a similar idea. 

“What if” – allows us to dream a bit, even in the face of tough circumstances (or outstanding opportunities?).  Potentially, we may through this process "see" connections and possibilities that were not immediately obvious otherwise.

So in a crazy way here might be some “what ifs”:

• What if 2d became 3d?
• What if we were focused on learning rather than teaching and testing?
• What if we built ideas rather than tore them down?
• What if we doubled the college completion rate of all of our students in Riverside?
• What if we gave each other the benefit of the doubt rather than am allegation of dissonance?
• What if we doubled our math performance at all grades in RUSD?
• What if our students had access to high-quality learning 24 hours per day for everyday of the year?
• What if “YahButs” were replaced with what ifs half of the time?
• What if California led the nation in educational innovation?
• What if the U.S. led the world in the production of ideas and thought-leadership?
• What if?

So "what if" I am wrong about this "what if" stuff and the real question should be "how?"

December 15th is Getting Close

The budget drama continues with all the focus being on the “mid-year trigger.”  In an earlier post (November 17^th) we reported that the State Controller stated that we weren’t making the revenue as projected by the 2011-12 California budget.  Just prior to Thanksgiving, we received similar notification from the non-partisan LAO (Legislative Analyst Office) with similar information.

So it appears that in the middle of this month the Department of Finance (DOF) will declare that such is necessary.  It would also appear that it will actually happen and there will be budget reductions for both K-12 and institutions of higher education in California.  As the Governor himself stated two months ago, “This year, for the first time in a long time, we passed a no-gimmicks, on time budget. Why would we undermine the plan that has earned widespread respect and helped stabilize California's finances?” 

More recently, Assembly Speaker John Perez publicly stated that it is unlikely there will be any significant changes, or attempts to change, the budget cuts required should the DOF’s December 15 revenue projections fall below the $4 billion in new revenues.

"The only way to avoid those triggers is to get revenue," Perez told KQED’s John Myers. "And that's not going to happen, because none of the members of the minority party have shown a willingness to engage in that kind of conversation."

So what does this mean to RUSD?  Specifically, it means a reduction of $10.4 million in our budget for this year.  The only way that we can manage that reduction (in the remaining 6 months of the budget year) is to take it out of our reserve – which further complicates creating a manageable budget for 2012-13 without making further reductions to an already emaciated system.

What is becoming more interesting by the day and the looming potential of a "mid-year" trigger is the real testing of the concept of "too big to fail."  Recently Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee publicly talked about the potential problems of one our neighbors in San Diego (SD USD -- 2nd largest school district in the state).  I keep hoping (not a good strategy) that we will have leadership in Sacramento and we will realize that there is a REAL problem AND that we will create a plan to get us out of this interminable mess.

Truly FREE education?

Last week, I wrote about the article I happened to find about India and how potentially they will put a mobile computing device in the hands of every Indian student.  What would that mean for us?

This week, I had the occasion to see and hear Sal Kahn discuss the generation and vision of his Kahn Academy.  What is so striking to me is that he believes that he can offer learning and ultimately high quality education for FREE.  Further, he is getting lots of support from foundations, etc.

When Kahn talked to us he appears to be making a very different set of assumptions than we normally hold in American public schools.  As an example, he stated his propositions as:

• School no longer needs to be age-based as learning is not a respecter of age per se.
• The assignment of grades in a classroom for student performance begin to lose relevance as the issue is not the grade but the learning that makes the next learning possible.
• Ultimately this Kahn application and other applications will “crumble the textbook industry overnight”
• Learning should be based on achievement not the amount of time students spend in a chair or desk.
• As stated by Kahn, “For the ever decreasing cost of education you can get a pretty good education ...you can have the same educational option as Bill Gates kids” [BTW – Gates children utilize the Kahn Academy resources].

All of this would suggest a truly different paradigm for our schools and students.

I suppose that while his ideas are rather outlandish, his data would support that he is actually accomplishing his goal to some degree.  He reports that currently:

• The availability of 3,000 videos now – and found at Kahn Academy
• A use rate of these videos (primarily math …but growing including art history) is at 3.5 million separate users per month
• Each day students complete 2 million exercises on this website

Sal Kahn via a Google grant and others is expanding his program and videos to include 10 languages other than English.  He is currently prepping for deploying this opportunity to India in the very near future

So what do you think?

Guest Blogger

EQUAL ACCESS TO COLLEGE PREPARATORY CURRICULUM

by Dr. David Haglund 

It may surprise you to learn that more than one million high school students in California – upwards of 50% -- attend schools that do not offer sufficient courses for admission to state schools, the so-called A-G curriculum.  The California Student Bill of Rights Initiative, a project of Education Forward, seeks to remedy this inequity in access through an initiative slated for the November 2012 ballot.   

While many California students suffer from a lack of A-G coursework, low-income and minority students suffer most.  Latino and African American students graduate high school, complete    A-G courses and go to college at rates significantly below average.  These students are also more likely to live in low-income neighborhoods, a geographic factor that essentially determines their future: California’s existing public education system creates barriers that prevent students from attending schools or taking online courses outside of their district of residence.

Students can currently attend publically-funded virtual charter schools, but even this opportunity is geographically restricted – students can only attend these schools if they reside in a county contiguous to the one in which the school is based. In the age of the Internet, why are we still limiting students’ educational opportunities based on geography?   

The California Student Bill of Rights Initiative addresses this problem directly by utilizing technology to break down the barriers between students and the educational opportunities available to them.  Under this proposed law, students will be allowed to take online courses offered by districts other than their own to complete the college preparatory curriculum.  These courses must be accredited and taught by teachers with appropriate credentials.               

School funding is currently based on the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) formula, which gives schools money based on attendance regardless of educational outcomes or student needs.  The Student Bill of Rights Initiative restructures the school financing system so that ADA money can be appropriated to schools based on the classes students take – in the classroom or online – a  fairly simple modification since ADA is already based on time spent in class.

For some perspective, consider this: In 1966 the young Steve Jobs entered a low-income middle school in Mountain View, California, where he was confronted with gang violence, overcrowding and poor instruction, and he threatened to drop out.  His parents scraped together enough money to buy a house just three miles away on the other side of the district boundary, which meant that Jobs could attend a school in a more affluent neighborhood with better educational opportunities.  Other kids have not been so lucky.  Forty-five years later, the world has been transformed by technology – from the Internet to tablet computers.  Innovators like Jobs have fundamentally changed the way we do business, communicate, shop and learn.  The California public education system, however, remains stuck in the past.

With the passage of the Student Bill of Rights, California will be one step closer to educational equality across demographic, economic and geographic boundaries.  We will be one step closer to giving our kids the chance they deserve to succeed in the highly competitive 21^st century global economy.