School 94501/94502

This one may not be for everyone, but I’ll go ahead and share the (exciting for some of us) news:  The Legislative Analyst’s Office has just released a webcast/video that does a good job of explaining that complex beast at the center of school finance known as Proposition 98.

For those who dare, here it is.  It runs 21:38.

I wish everyone would take a deep breath before heading into the public hearing at Tuesday night’s School Board meeting.

State law now requires that school districts have policies to prevent harassment and discrimination of students based on actual and perceived gender identification and sexual orientation.

The law (appropriately) gives local school districts some discretion about what those policies are to include. Educating students with an additional lesson (proposed lesson #9) in the Caring School Curriculum in order to help prevent harassment or discrimination before it occurs occurs is a good, reasonable (and legal) part of such a policy.

The curriculum has been revised and improved substantially based on community input. The current curriculum includes age appropriate concepts and vocabulary. It doesn’t include any “sexual health education.”

If there are other forms of harassment or discrimination that AUSD policy is not addressing adequately, AUSD should examine changes in those policies as well. But that’s not a reason not to take this step now. If we accepted the argument that “We can’t take this step because it only solves part of the problem rather than the entire problem,” we’d never solve any problems.

To those who argue that the Board should postpone this decision past May, I’d submit that this isn’t going to get any easier in 6 or 12 months. The fundamental issues aren’t going to change. We’ve got all the facts and opinions we’re going to get. It is time to do the right thing. The Board should approve the revised curriculum.

As you may have read in today’s Alameda Journal or seen on Mike McMahon’s website or even noticed on AUSD’s own vastly improved (and improving) website, AUSD is launching a nine month master plan process.  The result of the process is to be a master plan setting AUSD’s long-term course for the coming years. 

For far too long and far too often, AUSD and Alameda have responded reactively and defensively to the many real challenges our schools face.  With the temporary shelter from the storm that Measure H provides, we now have our last, best chance to come together, to be proactive and to move forward strategically.  This is it.

We know our schools are the foundation of our community so that we all have a stake in the future.  We’ve got to move forward together.  Now. Supporters, critics, the engaged, the disenfranchised, and everyone else must join this effort. 

On Wednesday May 20 at 6:30 at Haight School, please come to the first (of many) community workshops to listen, learn, talk and think about the future of Alameda’s schools so that together we will build the best master plan we possibly can. 

Future workshops will be on Tuesday June 2 at Edison School, on Tuesday August 18 at Wood School, and on dates still to be announced for the fall.

See you on May 20th.  Bring a friend or two or three.

In recent weeks/months as Alamedans.com and the local blog scene have continued to expand and improve, the frequency of my postings here has declined.  In due time, I plan to explain why this has happened.  For now, I’d just like to acknowledge that I am going on a hiatus, probably for several weeks.  I look forward to posting here and commenting elsewhere again this spring.

As Michele Ellson reported in July, in 2008 the Paden School PTA completed a multi-year fundraising effort to purchase a new, cool, safe play structure to replace the very old, somewhat dangerous structure that had been in place since the 1990’s.

In the end, the Paden PTA decided to save thousands of dollars in installation costs by finishing the project with a volunteer “community build” last summer that drew upon the time and talents of the Paden community. This was an extremely time-and-labor-intensive effort that could not have happened without a large number of volunteers, all demonstrating the “life skills” we aim to teach our kids. The logistical and organizational challenges were immense. I think all of us who worked on the project would agree that this would not have come together as it did without the indefatigable, unflappable, awesome Paden PTA President Gwen Meyer.

Miracle Recreation Equipment Company just released a short video about the “community build.” If you’re interested, check it out.

2009 is sure to be a critical, busy year for AUSD. Hanging over and shaping all the other issues we face is the question of what the state education budget will look like after (1) the “mid-year cuts” (for the current 08-09 school year) that are likely to be enacted by February 1 and (2) the additional cuts for 09-10 the state will be enacting this spring/summer.

Last November I wrote a bit about how and why the state budget plays such a large role in AUSD’s fate. At this week’s School Board meeting, the Board will be adopting the Budget Adoption Calendar for the 09-10 budget so that we’ll all know the general schedule for the difficult budget days ahead.

In addition, the Board will also be adopting the school calendar for the 09-10 school year. It looks like the first day of school will be August 31.

Among other things, the meeting also includes a recognition of the undefeated NCS champion Encinal football team as well as reports on (a) upgrading the technology network and on (b) the Strategic Instruction Model. This will also be the first Board meeting for our new Superintendent Kirsten Vital.

So on Tuesday be sure to check out the School Board meeting live in person or on cable channel 15!

Interactions between teachers and students in the classroom are ultimately where most formal “education” happens.  Even if we may forget this simple truth from time to time, on some level we all know that improving “education” depends to a great extent on teachers teaching. 

And, although you might not know it from the political rhetoric in most debates over how best to improve public education, it is well worth remembering that teaching is quite complex. 

Simply “raising standards” isn’t the answer. 

In fact, by focusing attention on the wrong questions and the wrong issues, all the rhetorical hand-wringing in recent years about “raising standards” may have undermined efforts to improve education.  In essence, the obsession with “standards” has led to a diversion of attention, energy and resources (on the national, state and local level).  Those obsessed with standards have been “fighting the wrong war.”

What might be the focus of the right war?  Continue reading ‘Needs Improvement’

During the course of the debate over Measure H, it has struck me that a significant number of people who should know better still don’t understand the fundamentals of how AUSD’s finances work and how essential to our kids and our community Measure H really is.

The most important “missing piece” in many discussions around here about AUSD’s finances is the recognition that AUSD has very little control over its revenues. The overwhelming majority of AUSD revenues come from the state. So when the state economy is in a recession and the state budget is in free fall — as happened for 08-09 and as will happen again for the 09-10 budget cycle — AUSD’s revenues will drop precipitously. Even though “the district” and “the Board” have the responsibility of dealing with the resulting budget crisis, the situation is not of their making.

Furthermore, unlike a business that can balance its books by closing divisions and operations, AUSD may not cut costs by, for example, shutting down its highly unprofitable “special ed division” or suspending any of its other services for high needs (and therefore more expensive) students. AUSD must educate all students wishing to enroll in public schools in Alameda.

Accordingly, AUSD is largely at the mercy of a state system that cuts its revenues at the same time that it mandates much of its expenses. Continue reading ‘2 + 2.5 + 2.5 = 7 = Defend Measure H!’

Well, last week marked the end of the “first quarter” of the academic year for public schools in Alameda.  Although we’re less than 25% through the “calendar days” of the 2008-2009 school year, we’ve now passed the 25% mark of “school days.”

As we’ve all been working hard doing what we do in the classroom, the fast and furious pace of “stuff happening” in AUSD generally has accelerated this fall.  That trend seems sure to continue in the second quarter.

Among other things, in November we’ll elect a new majority of the school board, the current school board will choose a new Superintendent, and the current school board will decide the fate of the second Nea charter school application.  There will also surely be developments in the Borikas and Beery anti-Measure H lawsuits.  We may even see Sacramento hold a special legislative session imposing ridiculous, impossible-to-implement mid-year budget cuts on the schools.

By the end of the AUSD “second quarter” in late January, we will have heard the Governor’s first budget proposal for education spending/cuts for 09-10.  Especially in the winter and spring of 2009, I hope we’ll be able to turn more of our attention to Sacramento.  (By the way, I’ve been hard at work the past couple of months on a lot of Sacramento-related matters that I look forward to sharing in the future.)

Finally, please do your homework and vote on Tuesday!

For any who might be interested, last Monday’s PTAC-AEF School Board Candidate Forum is now online (in “chapter” form) via the AEF website.

A link is the “featured video” on the AEF home page http://alamedaeducationfoundation.org/

The total running time of the event was roughly 1:45ish.