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"content": "\u003cp>Puppetry is more than just child’s play at Children’s Fairyland, Oakland’s iconic storybook theme park. Small children have been stimulated by the wonders of live performance at the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://fairyland.org/events-and-performances/puppet-shows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Storybook Puppet Theater\u003c/a> since 1956, but now they will also be exposed to arts education programming specially crafted for preschool learners. A new puppet education initiative, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://fairyland.org/events-and-performances/puppet-shows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Puppet Playdates\u003c/a>, takes hands-on learning to the next level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once upon a time comes alive for a new generation every Thursday after the 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. puppet shows, when children are cordially invited to a nearby meadow to make friends with marionettes after the curtain falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent morning, Amber Rose Arthur, 5, wasted no time breathing life into the unicorn puppet, its sparkles glittering in the sun. Every so often, she gently nudged other children with the unicorn’s horn to bestow them with magic powers. In the interests of total disclosure: She gave this reporter some enchantment, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992939\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2033px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992939\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A young girl wearing a pink vest holds a puppet on her right hand.\" width=\"2033\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg 2033w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-800x1007.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1020x1284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1220x1536.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1626x2048.jpg 1626w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1920x2418.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2033px) 100vw, 2033px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Rose Arthur plays with a puppet. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They don’t get enough arts in school anymore, so events like this are great,” said her father, Gregory Arthur, watching as the little girl explored the craft of puppetry and social interactions in one fell swoop. “It stimulates the brain more than a lot of other things. It gets them to think and learn, and it makes them smile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nestled on the shores of Lake Merritt, this bewitching arts education program invites children to learn the magic of puppetry while immersing themselves in classic fables, including James M. Barrie’s \u003cem>Peter Pan\u003c/em>, Frank L. Baum’s \u003cem>The Wizard of Oz\u003c/em> and Hans Christian Andersen’s \u003cem>The Snow Queen\u003c/em>. This program also lays the groundwork for a proposed puppet education program that will pay visits to early-learning classrooms in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fairyland is designed to inspire a young child to have a great imagination,” said Joy Peacock, client and community relations director for the PNC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PNC Bank, which is partnering on the puppet-based early-learning program. “It’s not all laid out there for you, like in TV. You have to rely on your own imagination. Puppetry is very interactive, it’s very tactile, it’s very creative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coming out of the pandemic, Fairyland held focus groups with local teachers to pinpoint what kinds of activities would be most beneficial for the preschool cohort, and the takeaway was that children today need more social-emotional learning as well as more exposure to the creative impulse. Enter puppets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things that actually made me really sad is that the teachers were saying the children are losing their imagination,” said Maria Rodriguez, manager of the puppet theater. “They’re losing their ability to make-believe. For me, you know, I can’t imagine life without imagination, so I was just like, oh goodness. We need to help inspire the children to learn how to make-believe. We want to help them to light that spark.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/01ZRaXTZKcM?si=xVwohBbWND7N_X9T\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s basically Jacqui June Whitlock’s calling in life. A former transitional kindergarten teacher with a background in theater and an affinity for puppetry, this is her dream gig. She studied child development in college and the art of shadow puppetry in Bali. She has encountered more than one child who was too afraid to express themselves until she handed them a puppet. Suddenly, they found their voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, this has been like a lifelong career. Incorporating social-emotional learning with puppetry, that’s my bread and butter,” said Whitlock, a puppet education specialist. “Something wonderful happens when you hand a child a puppet. Puppets are a great conduit for storytelling and learning without putting any pressure on the child.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whitlock is a master at teaching through play. Holding court with a cavalcade of puppets, from rabbits and dragons to cats, after a recent performance of “Peter Pan,” she relishes helping children spin yarns of their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been dreaming of doing a program like this for years. It’s amazing that we finally have the funding to do it,” she said. “In America, we tend to think of puppets as simple toys for children, but really, there’s so much more to puppetry. Many other cultures think of them as more than that. They can be a very complex tool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the play dates, she helps guide groups of pint-sized puppeteers as they learn and play. If a child has a puppet pretend to bite her, for example, she inquires whether the puppet is hungry, opening up a dialogue with the child. But she always wants the kiddo to lead the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They weave their own story,” said Whitlock, who crafts a lot of her own puppets by hand. “You’re not really telling them what the story is, they’re telling you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Empowering children to express themselves is particularly critical right now, experts say, because this generation missed out on so many formative experiences because of school closures and other pandemic disruptions. The arts can be an effortless way to boost special emotional learning, she says, through the kind of make-believe games that children are naturally drawn to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992940\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Children play with puppets outside.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jacqui June Whitlock, a puppet education specialist at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, teaches through puppet play and imagination. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Teachers were saying that they were seeing a lack of imagination or a lack of pretend play happening in their classrooms, noticing that children weren’t interacting as much,” she said. “And puppets are an excellent tool for cultivating that pretend play, also just communicating with each other, it’s sort of like a conduit for your personality … It just makes it so easy for them to communicate with each other and break down that barrier.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Puppets can play a role in helping children communicate on a deeper level, experts say, by externalizing their emotions onto the inanimate object. The puppet becomes a proxy that helps kids process hard situations, grapple with fears and explore their feelings through metaphor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"mindshift_63891,news_11992142,news_11989955\" label=\"Related Stories\"]“One of my favorite things that I’ve observed is that puppet playtime creates a lot of interaction between the grownup and the kiddo,” said Whitlock. “It’s like time slows down for them. Also, I put in a bench recently, so now I’m also seeing a lot of elders, and I love the interactions between grandparents and their littles. It’s very nurturing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, puppetry can also fuel expressions of pure escapism, encouraging little children to create their own big adventures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Children and puppetry go hand in hand because kids have no trouble suspending their disbelief and endowing the simplest props with life,” said Carey Perloff, former artistic director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater and a longtime puppet proponent. “Puppets are a direct conduit to the imagination. Because they can be realistic or totally abstract, they invite audience members to project their own idea of character and circumstance onto a piece of fabric or some papier mache, and thus to transform it into something magical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992942\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992942\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A young boy wearing a blue shirt plays with a puppet next to a woman wearing a green dress who is putting string into a bag.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-800x715.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1020x911.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-160x143.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1536x1372.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-2048x1830.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1920x1715.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trevor Aguilar finds joy in using his imagination with a dragon puppet. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Trevor Aguilar, for one, celebrated his sixth birthday by weaving a tale of intrigue with his new fuzzy friends. He narrated an adventure in which the grandmother puppet saved the townspeople from the evil machinations of the fire-breathing dragon puppet. The last child at the puppet play date didn’t seem to want the fun to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, some children become so enamored of the marionettes that they make a point of paying a visit to Whitlock and her buckets of puppets every time they visit the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve got my regulars, which is so great,” said Whitlock. “They know exactly what they want. ‘OK, I’m here. I’m getting the raccoon puppet today.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/puppetry-is-far-more-than-childs-play-for-young-learners-in-oakland/715230\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Puppetry is more than just child’s play at Children’s Fairyland, Oakland’s iconic storybook theme park. Small children have been stimulated by the wonders of live performance at the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://fairyland.org/events-and-performances/puppet-shows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Storybook Puppet Theater\u003c/a> since 1956, but now they will also be exposed to arts education programming specially crafted for preschool learners. A new puppet education initiative, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://fairyland.org/events-and-performances/puppet-shows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Puppet Playdates\u003c/a>, takes hands-on learning to the next level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once upon a time comes alive for a new generation every Thursday after the 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. puppet shows, when children are cordially invited to a nearby meadow to make friends with marionettes after the curtain falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent morning, Amber Rose Arthur, 5, wasted no time breathing life into the unicorn puppet, its sparkles glittering in the sun. Every so often, she gently nudged other children with the unicorn’s horn to bestow them with magic powers. In the interests of total disclosure: She gave this reporter some enchantment, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992939\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2033px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992939\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A young girl wearing a pink vest holds a puppet on her right hand.\" width=\"2033\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1.jpg 2033w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-800x1007.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1020x1284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1220x1536.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1626x2048.jpg 1626w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Amber-Rose-Arthurjpg-scaled-1-1920x2418.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2033px) 100vw, 2033px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Rose Arthur plays with a puppet. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They don’t get enough arts in school anymore, so events like this are great,” said her father, Gregory Arthur, watching as the little girl explored the craft of puppetry and social interactions in one fell swoop. “It stimulates the brain more than a lot of other things. It gets them to think and learn, and it makes them smile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nestled on the shores of Lake Merritt, this bewitching arts education program invites children to learn the magic of puppetry while immersing themselves in classic fables, including James M. Barrie’s \u003cem>Peter Pan\u003c/em>, Frank L. Baum’s \u003cem>The Wizard of Oz\u003c/em> and Hans Christian Andersen’s \u003cem>The Snow Queen\u003c/em>. This program also lays the groundwork for a proposed puppet education program that will pay visits to early-learning classrooms in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fairyland is designed to inspire a young child to have a great imagination,” said Joy Peacock, client and community relations director for the PNC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PNC Bank, which is partnering on the puppet-based early-learning program. “It’s not all laid out there for you, like in TV. You have to rely on your own imagination. Puppetry is very interactive, it’s very tactile, it’s very creative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coming out of the pandemic, Fairyland held focus groups with local teachers to pinpoint what kinds of activities would be most beneficial for the preschool cohort, and the takeaway was that children today need more social-emotional learning as well as more exposure to the creative impulse. Enter puppets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things that actually made me really sad is that the teachers were saying the children are losing their imagination,” said Maria Rodriguez, manager of the puppet theater. “They’re losing their ability to make-believe. For me, you know, I can’t imagine life without imagination, so I was just like, oh goodness. We need to help inspire the children to learn how to make-believe. We want to help them to light that spark.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/01ZRaXTZKcM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/01ZRaXTZKcM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>That’s basically Jacqui June Whitlock’s calling in life. A former transitional kindergarten teacher with a background in theater and an affinity for puppetry, this is her dream gig. She studied child development in college and the art of shadow puppetry in Bali. She has encountered more than one child who was too afraid to express themselves until she handed them a puppet. Suddenly, they found their voice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, this has been like a lifelong career. Incorporating social-emotional learning with puppetry, that’s my bread and butter,” said Whitlock, a puppet education specialist. “Something wonderful happens when you hand a child a puppet. Puppets are a great conduit for storytelling and learning without putting any pressure on the child.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whitlock is a master at teaching through play. Holding court with a cavalcade of puppets, from rabbits and dragons to cats, after a recent performance of “Peter Pan,” she relishes helping children spin yarns of their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been dreaming of doing a program like this for years. It’s amazing that we finally have the funding to do it,” she said. “In America, we tend to think of puppets as simple toys for children, but really, there’s so much more to puppetry. Many other cultures think of them as more than that. They can be a very complex tool.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the play dates, she helps guide groups of pint-sized puppeteers as they learn and play. If a child has a puppet pretend to bite her, for example, she inquires whether the puppet is hungry, opening up a dialogue with the child. But she always wants the kiddo to lead the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They weave their own story,” said Whitlock, who crafts a lot of her own puppets by hand. “You’re not really telling them what the story is, they’re telling you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Empowering children to express themselves is particularly critical right now, experts say, because this generation missed out on so many formative experiences because of school closures and other pandemic disruptions. The arts can be an effortless way to boost special emotional learning, she says, through the kind of make-believe games that children are naturally drawn to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992940\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"Children play with puppets outside.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Childrens-Fairyland-scaled-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jacqui June Whitlock, a puppet education specialist at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, teaches through puppet play and imagination. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Teachers were saying that they were seeing a lack of imagination or a lack of pretend play happening in their classrooms, noticing that children weren’t interacting as much,” she said. “And puppets are an excellent tool for cultivating that pretend play, also just communicating with each other, it’s sort of like a conduit for your personality … It just makes it so easy for them to communicate with each other and break down that barrier.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Puppets can play a role in helping children communicate on a deeper level, experts say, by externalizing their emotions onto the inanimate object. The puppet becomes a proxy that helps kids process hard situations, grapple with fears and explore their feelings through metaphor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“One of my favorite things that I’ve observed is that puppet playtime creates a lot of interaction between the grownup and the kiddo,” said Whitlock. “It’s like time slows down for them. Also, I put in a bench recently, so now I’m also seeing a lot of elders, and I love the interactions between grandparents and their littles. It’s very nurturing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, puppetry can also fuel expressions of pure escapism, encouraging little children to create their own big adventures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Children and puppetry go hand in hand because kids have no trouble suspending their disbelief and endowing the simplest props with life,” said Carey Perloff, former artistic director of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater and a longtime puppet proponent. “Puppets are a direct conduit to the imagination. Because they can be realistic or totally abstract, they invite audience members to project their own idea of character and circumstance onto a piece of fabric or some papier mache, and thus to transform it into something magical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11992942\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11992942\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A young boy wearing a blue shirt plays with a puppet next to a woman wearing a green dress who is putting string into a bag.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-800x715.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1020x911.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-160x143.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1536x1372.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-2048x1830.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/Trevor-Aguilar1-scaled-1-1920x1715.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trevor Aguilar finds joy in using his imagination with a dragon puppet. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Trevor Aguilar, for one, celebrated his sixth birthday by weaving a tale of intrigue with his new fuzzy friends. He narrated an adventure in which the grandmother puppet saved the townspeople from the evil machinations of the fire-breathing dragon puppet. The last child at the puppet play date didn’t seem to want the fun to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, some children become so enamored of the marionettes that they make a point of paying a visit to Whitlock and her buckets of puppets every time they visit the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve got my regulars, which is so great,” said Whitlock. “They know exactly what they want. ‘OK, I’m here. I’m getting the raccoon puppet today.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/puppetry-is-far-more-than-childs-play-for-young-learners-in-oakland/715230\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>True to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise, the 2024–25 budget compromise that the Legislature announced Saturday and will pass this week will spare TK–12 and community colleges from cuts that other state operations will bear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TK–12 funding will be flat and will continue Newsom’s major commitments to multiyear, multibillion-dollar programs, including community schools and before- and after-school expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget will even throw in a couple of billion in new revenue that Newsom didn’t call for in January or in his May budget revisions. Newsom and legislators, meanwhile, struggled to squeeze an additional $28 billion out of a $211 billion general fund spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, protection for schools and community colleges will carry a risk. To balance the budget, Newsom and legislative leaders rely on budget maneuvers that would give a button-down accountant acid reflux.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They include creating a $6 billion debt that won’t be fully repaid to the state treasury for a dozen years and draining most of the $8.4 billion education rainy day fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal also requires delaying payments to schools and community colleges and suspending — for only the third time in its 36-year history — Proposition 98 obligations for the current school year on the assumption the money will be repaid quickly. Proposition 98, a constitutional amendment voters passed in 1988, established a formula for determining the minimum level of general fund spending on transitional kindergarten through grade 12 and community colleges — generally about 40%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/18501128/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than punish schools for money already spent, the budget bill creates a $6.2 billion debt that the general fund, not schools and community colleges, will repay the state treasury over a decade, starting in 2026–27. The remaining $2.6 billion will be a Proposition 98 obligation pushed ahead to 2023–24; that unfunded amount is called a deferral.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California State University and the University of California won’t fare as well in the budget deal, although better than Newsom had proposed in January, even with a drop in state revenues since then. Both will get a 5% budget increase in 2024–25 that Newsom had proposed delaying, equal to $227.8 million for UC and $240.2 million for CSU, to support enrollment growth of California residents this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another promised 5% budget increase for both systems in 2025–26, however, will be put off a year. UC and CSU also face one-time cuts in 2024–25 of $125 million and $75 million, respectively, which will be restored in 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both CSU and UC will also face a 7.95% cut in their administrative expenses in 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There will be no reforming the Cal Grant program in 2024–25, but at the Legislature’s insistence, the $637 million ongoing funding for middle-class scholarships will continue, with a $289 million one-time increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Late spending changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The final budget will also restore some TK–12 and child care cuts that Newsom had proposed in his May budget revision while maintaining others. They include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Restoring $60 million for the Golden State Teachers Program, which provides $20,000 in scholarships to teacher candidates, although a new means test may pare back $10 million in eligibility.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Restoring $100 million in funding to help preschools prepare classrooms and train teachers in order to enroll more children with disabilities while withdrawing larger plans to expand the program.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Continuing the existing agreement to serve 200,000 more children in the state-subsidized child care system but pushing back the timetable for full compliance to 2028.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rescinding $895 million in one-time spending on electric-powered school buses that Newsom had made a priority. Instead, the money will be used to reduce some of the late payments in state funding for schools.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>School districts receive the bulk of their funding through the Local Control Funding Formula, which is based on daily student attendance and a yearly cost-of-living adjustment. So, even though overall state funding won’t be cut, many districts with declining enrollments and high absenteeism rates will face financial challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11991747,news_11985798,news_11989857\"]The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is based on a federal formula tied to the cost of goods and services but does not factor in regional costs, including housing, will be only 1.07% for 2024–25, forcing further belt-tightening. One option for school districts, giving layoff notices to staff, will be off the table. State law allows an additional round of layoffs in August in years when the COLA is less than 2%, but at the urging of public employee unions, Newsom and legislative leaders included a clause prohibiting late summer layoffs. They have done the same statutory override before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial reaction from two veteran TK–12 budget watchers was mixed. “This budget remarkably insulates K–14 funding from cuts, abides by constitutional requirements to restore funding in the future, and even provides a modest cost-of-living increase, all amid a record budget shortfall. Pretty amazing,” wrote Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, a school consultancy firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rob Manwaring, senior policy and fiscal adviser with the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, was cautious. “While the final budget is perhaps the best schools could anticipate given the budget challenges, we worry about the size of the suspension for schools, $8.3 billion,” he wrote. “Schools will eventually get paid back those funds in future years on top of the minimum guarantee, but these payments will result in increased school funding volatility and uncertainty until they are paid back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if revenues falter next year, schools and community colleges will no longer have a rainy day fund to turn to since it will be depleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Proposition 98 juggling act\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The proposed 2024–25 budget for schools and community colleges will be balanced, if revenue projections hold true, by juggling three years of Proposition 98 shortfalls, with one year’s solution creating the next year’s dilemma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big drop was in 2022–23 when the Legislature “over-appropriated” the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee by $8.8 billion, while state revenue from the post-COVID stock market and the tech sector plummeted. Legislators didn’t see the warning signals because winter storms had pushed back the tax filing deadline from April to November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the mechanics of Proposition 98, the funding level for 2022–23 becomes the base level for 2023–24, even though the state still lacks the revenue to pick up the tab. So, all but $1 billion of the $8.4 billion in the education rainy day fund will be drained to cover some of the 2023–24 deficit and the $2.6 billion deferral from the year before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of that, the budget deal calls for suspending $8.3 billion of the Proposition 98 funding for 2023–24. That has the effect of lowering the minimum guaranteed funding by that amount while freeing up money to avoid deeper cuts in other state operations. That’s how the Legislature can restore cuts in 2024–25 for child care and preschool that Newsom had planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The architects of Proposition 98 wanted to discourage the Legislature from suspending the law. So, it requires the Legislature to declare a fiscal emergency and to make the suspended funding a priority for repayment as soon as there is new revenue. The 2024–25 budget assumes the state will have enough new revenue to pay back at least $4 billion of the suspended $8 billion, maybe more. But if revenues falter, districts won’t get what they’re entitled to, with no set date for repayment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/prop_98_2024-25_outline.svg\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the deal is also a gamble for schools and community colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s one more wrinkle. To raise revenue quickly, the Legislature has accelerated the temporary, three-year suspension of two tax benefits for large and medium-sized businesses: net operating loss deductions and tax credits. The period will start in 2024–25, one year ahead of schedule. It will yield a projected $5 billion, with $2 billion going to Proposition 98 — funding that will be used to pay down deferrals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between this new money and the $4 billion payback for suspended funding, the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee is expected to rise to a record $115.3 billion in 2024–25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As with all deadline negotiations, legislators will have at most three days to review hundreds of pages of budget details spread over 16 separate bills. Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) expect that legislators will demand some changes when they return from vacation in August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/gov-newsoms-twists-and-tricks-to-spare-cuts-to-schools-and-community-colleges-in-state-budget/714604\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>True to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise, the 2024–25 budget compromise that the Legislature announced Saturday and will pass this week will spare TK–12 and community colleges from cuts that other state operations will bear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TK–12 funding will be flat and will continue Newsom’s major commitments to multiyear, multibillion-dollar programs, including community schools and before- and after-school expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget will even throw in a couple of billion in new revenue that Newsom didn’t call for in January or in his May budget revisions. Newsom and legislators, meanwhile, struggled to squeeze an additional $28 billion out of a $211 billion general fund spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, protection for schools and community colleges will carry a risk. To balance the budget, Newsom and legislative leaders rely on budget maneuvers that would give a button-down accountant acid reflux.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They include creating a $6 billion debt that won’t be fully repaid to the state treasury for a dozen years and draining most of the $8.4 billion education rainy day fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal also requires delaying payments to schools and community colleges and suspending — for only the third time in its 36-year history — Proposition 98 obligations for the current school year on the assumption the money will be repaid quickly. Proposition 98, a constitutional amendment voters passed in 1988, established a formula for determining the minimum level of general fund spending on transitional kindergarten through grade 12 and community colleges — generally about 40%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/18501128/embed\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rather than punish schools for money already spent, the budget bill creates a $6.2 billion debt that the general fund, not schools and community colleges, will repay the state treasury over a decade, starting in 2026–27. The remaining $2.6 billion will be a Proposition 98 obligation pushed ahead to 2023–24; that unfunded amount is called a deferral.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California State University and the University of California won’t fare as well in the budget deal, although better than Newsom had proposed in January, even with a drop in state revenues since then. Both will get a 5% budget increase in 2024–25 that Newsom had proposed delaying, equal to $227.8 million for UC and $240.2 million for CSU, to support enrollment growth of California residents this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another promised 5% budget increase for both systems in 2025–26, however, will be put off a year. UC and CSU also face one-time cuts in 2024–25 of $125 million and $75 million, respectively, which will be restored in 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both CSU and UC will also face a 7.95% cut in their administrative expenses in 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There will be no reforming the Cal Grant program in 2024–25, but at the Legislature’s insistence, the $637 million ongoing funding for middle-class scholarships will continue, with a $289 million one-time increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Late spending changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The final budget will also restore some TK–12 and child care cuts that Newsom had proposed in his May budget revision while maintaining others. They include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Restoring $60 million for the Golden State Teachers Program, which provides $20,000 in scholarships to teacher candidates, although a new means test may pare back $10 million in eligibility.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Restoring $100 million in funding to help preschools prepare classrooms and train teachers in order to enroll more children with disabilities while withdrawing larger plans to expand the program.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Continuing the existing agreement to serve 200,000 more children in the state-subsidized child care system but pushing back the timetable for full compliance to 2028.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rescinding $895 million in one-time spending on electric-powered school buses that Newsom had made a priority. Instead, the money will be used to reduce some of the late payments in state funding for schools.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>School districts receive the bulk of their funding through the Local Control Funding Formula, which is based on daily student attendance and a yearly cost-of-living adjustment. So, even though overall state funding won’t be cut, many districts with declining enrollments and high absenteeism rates will face financial challenges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is based on a federal formula tied to the cost of goods and services but does not factor in regional costs, including housing, will be only 1.07% for 2024–25, forcing further belt-tightening. One option for school districts, giving layoff notices to staff, will be off the table. State law allows an additional round of layoffs in August in years when the COLA is less than 2%, but at the urging of public employee unions, Newsom and legislative leaders included a clause prohibiting late summer layoffs. They have done the same statutory override before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The initial reaction from two veteran TK–12 budget watchers was mixed. “This budget remarkably insulates K–14 funding from cuts, abides by constitutional requirements to restore funding in the future, and even provides a modest cost-of-living increase, all amid a record budget shortfall. Pretty amazing,” wrote Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, a school consultancy firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rob Manwaring, senior policy and fiscal adviser with the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, was cautious. “While the final budget is perhaps the best schools could anticipate given the budget challenges, we worry about the size of the suspension for schools, $8.3 billion,” he wrote. “Schools will eventually get paid back those funds in future years on top of the minimum guarantee, but these payments will result in increased school funding volatility and uncertainty until they are paid back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if revenues falter next year, schools and community colleges will no longer have a rainy day fund to turn to since it will be depleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Proposition 98 juggling act\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The proposed 2024–25 budget for schools and community colleges will be balanced, if revenue projections hold true, by juggling three years of Proposition 98 shortfalls, with one year’s solution creating the next year’s dilemma.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big drop was in 2022–23 when the Legislature “over-appropriated” the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee by $8.8 billion, while state revenue from the post-COVID stock market and the tech sector plummeted. Legislators didn’t see the warning signals because winter storms had pushed back the tax filing deadline from April to November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the mechanics of Proposition 98, the funding level for 2022–23 becomes the base level for 2023–24, even though the state still lacks the revenue to pick up the tab. So, all but $1 billion of the $8.4 billion in the education rainy day fund will be drained to cover some of the 2023–24 deficit and the $2.6 billion deferral from the year before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of that, the budget deal calls for suspending $8.3 billion of the Proposition 98 funding for 2023–24. That has the effect of lowering the minimum guaranteed funding by that amount while freeing up money to avoid deeper cuts in other state operations. That’s how the Legislature can restore cuts in 2024–25 for child care and preschool that Newsom had planned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The architects of Proposition 98 wanted to discourage the Legislature from suspending the law. So, it requires the Legislature to declare a fiscal emergency and to make the suspended funding a priority for repayment as soon as there is new revenue. The 2024–25 budget assumes the state will have enough new revenue to pay back at least $4 billion of the suspended $8 billion, maybe more. But if revenues falter, districts won’t get what they’re entitled to, with no set date for repayment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/prop_98_2024-25_outline.svg\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the deal is also a gamble for schools and community colleges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s one more wrinkle. To raise revenue quickly, the Legislature has accelerated the temporary, three-year suspension of two tax benefits for large and medium-sized businesses: net operating loss deductions and tax credits. The period will start in 2024–25, one year ahead of schedule. It will yield a projected $5 billion, with $2 billion going to Proposition 98 — funding that will be used to pay down deferrals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between this new money and the $4 billion payback for suspended funding, the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee is expected to rise to a record $115.3 billion in 2024–25.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As with all deadline negotiations, legislators will have at most three days to review hundreds of pages of budget details spread over 16 separate bills. Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) expect that legislators will demand some changes when they return from vacation in August.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/gov-newsoms-twists-and-tricks-to-spare-cuts-to-schools-and-community-colleges-in-state-budget/714604\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Four-year-olds, many of whom have never attended school or day care, are entering California classrooms in droves following the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/how-californias-new-universal-transitional-kindergarten-program-will-be-rolled-out/657818\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rapid expansion\u003c/a> of transitional kindergarten, a grade preceding kindergarten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this grade, known as TK, young students are exposed to academics and become familiar with letters, sounds and numbers. They also acquire social, emotional and intellectual skills through play and exploration. For example, by sharing toys with their peers in a structured environment, they learn to communicate with each other and handle conflict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once designed to serve only children who missed the kindergarten age cutoff, TK has evolved and is now projected to reach all the state’s 4-year-olds by the 2025–26 school year. TK is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a curriculum modified for the age and developmental level of the participating children. When fully implemented, California will have the\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/what-parents-should-know-about-transitional-kindergarten/688373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> largest universal preschool program\u003c/a> in the nation, serving nearly 400,000 children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s largest school districts, including \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/lausd-teachers-hesitant-but-hopeful-as-tk-expansion-set-to-roll-out/669620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Los Angeles Unified \u003c/a>and Fresno Unified, are ahead of the state’s timeline in offering that access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified operates 116 transitional kindergarten classes. Los Angeles Unified has not released the number of TK classes it offers, but according to\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://my.lausd.net/opendata/landing_page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> district data\u003c/a>, they serve nearly 11,000 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though imperative for students, the expansion has created a problem: Some districts are not staffing TK classrooms with enough adults to maintain the required 1:12 staff-student ratio, a problem that educators say puts the 4-year-old pupils at risk, hampers learning and violates state legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twenty schools in LAUSD have been cited by the state for understaffing classes and violating the ratio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers told EdSource that 4-year-olds can’t learn if they aren’t safe and properly supervised by adults and that not having enough adults in the classroom jeopardizes children’s safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re one adult and you’re managing so many children that have never been to school before, there isn’t any teaching going on,” said David Hunter, a teacher in Fresno Unified who has taught TK for the last six years of a 17-year career. “You’re just keeping them safe as best as you can, but you’re not actually able to teach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts jeopardize state funding if they fail to meet the state-set TK requirements of the 1:12 staff-student ratio and the average class size of 24 kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/these-districts-charters-were-fined-for-violating-tk-requirements/712207\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Out of the 1,815 audit reports t\u003c/a>hat the California Department of Education reviewed, just seven school districts and 16 charter schools have been fined and will lose thousands of dollars in funding from their Local Control Funding Formula for failing to meet the staffing ratios during the 2022–23 school year. Teachers and others in the classroom say that many more districts and charters are not meeting the requirements but are managing to avoid punishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, which is facing multimillion-dollar fines, considers being fined because the classes do not have one additional adult unfair, district leaders said at a board meeting earlier this year. Many other penalized districts blamed the national shortage of teachers and paraprofessionals, while some districts were critical of the California Department of Education for not clearly outlining the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some teachers, on the other hand, say that what is unfair is that TK classes are not being staffed as outlined by the legislation to support young students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Fresno Teachers Association, more than a dozen TK classes were out of compliance with staffing ratios during the 2022–23 school year, yet Fresno Unified was not fined. Fresno educators told EdSource that school districts that were not in compliance last year, such as Fresno Unified, escaped detection and fines because fiscal penalties are based on sample auditing that did not check every school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a systems issue,” Hunter said, “and I want to see the system be better for everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do TK classes need extra staffing?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Education (CDE) \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/documents/tkrequirementswebinar.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has outlined numerous benefits\u003c/a> of a lower adult-to-student ratio in TK classes, including opportunities for individualized instruction, additional adult support, attention and supervision at all times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislation requires district staff such as paraprofessionals to work alongside teachers to meet the ratio requirement and share responsibilities of serving the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any given day, a TK student may need to use the restroom or have a potty accident; another may get sick, and others will require different types of attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you manage that when there’s one of you and 21 4-year-olds?” Hunter said. “You need another adult to help deal with those situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said he taught a class of 21 TK students without an aide from August to December 2022 during the 2022–23 school year, the first school year after the state added fiscal penalties related to TK requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said a teacher and an aide can split a large class into small groups to foster individualized learning, improve student assessment and evaluation and, ultimately, educate the young students — things that won’t happen in one large group of up to 24 4-year-olds.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verifying compliance is difficult\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State compliance with TK requirements is verified in a district’s annual audit at the end of the school year, which is based on a representative sample of the district’s schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools that are out of compliance may go unchecked if the sampled schools in the district are compliant because the sampled schools meet compliance, even though other schools do not, some districts and charters avoid penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified, Hunter’s district, was not one of the school systems fined. District spokesperson AJ Kato told EdSource that Fresno Unified has not had problems meeting the requirements other districts may be experiencing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not what teachers say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 13 classes, according to Fresno Teachers Association President Manuel Bonilla, only had one adult for more than 12 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district could have done a better job at hiring additional folks … or in an emergency term, having their administrative staff provide additional support, but that seemingly didn’t happen,” Bonilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Fresno Unified TK teacher and union leader surveyed his colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were out of compliance with the state, and ultimately, the problem is that the students aren’t getting the additional support that’s necessary,” Bonilla added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said this is the second consecutive school year he’s been teaching out of compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This school year, Hunter has a part-time aide but is still out of compliance because he is the only adult for 16 students on days the aide isn’t scheduled to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a full-time aide or the equivalent, he said, should be the baseline and is mandated by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the state Education Department, to be counted in the staffing ratio, the “assigned” adult must be a district employee who is dedicated and available to all TK students the entire school day. Student teachers and volunteers do not count toward it, nor do staff such as a special education aide or speech therapist who are assigned to work with specific students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part-time aides can satisfy the classroom staffing ratio, but only if the working time equals 100% of the time of a full-time aide, according to the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/tkfiscalfaq.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CDE\u003c/a>. Because Hunter’s class has 16 students, he needs more than one part-time aide working enough hours to equal the hours of a full-time aide. He has only had one part-time aide this school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laton Joint Unified was penalized $30,943 for having a 1:16 ratio last school year. The school had a paraprofessional scheduled for 1 hour, 45 minutes each day, and that person was not available for all students the entire school day, the audit report detailed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are also instances of aides being pulled for recess or cafeteria duty or other teaching responsibilities, such as removing that aide from the instructional minutes with students, teachers told EdSource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rina,” a former TK teacher who asked to be identified only by her nickname, said that when she took a job at Ballington Academy in San Bernardino City Unified in the 2023–24 school year, the school’s one TK classroom had 18 students. Rina and her aide would align with state compliance for the 18 students. About a week before school started, Rina said the school informed her that the aide, though assigned to her TK students, would be pulled to other elementary classrooms whenever a teacher was absent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was wrong,” she said. She only stayed in the position for about a week after school started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some schools and districts, such as Scholarship Prep Charter School in Oceanside, Pomona Unified in eastern Los Angeles County, and Culver City Unified in Los Angeles County, said in their audit reports that staffing shortages prevented them from complying with state guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s no excuse, teachers say, because it’s up to district administration to recruit, hire and retain paraprofessionals, instead of making it the teacher’s problem, Rina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some suggest that the problem with hiring and retaining paraprofessionals is the low compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A preschool teacher’s aide at Ericson Elementary in Fresno Unified is not in the TK classroom but works with students who are the same age as those entering transitional kindergarten. Speaking with EdSource on condition of anonymity, she said aides, whether in the TK or preschool class, are dealing with the same challenge: subpar pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the day, especially when working in groups, she helps the preschoolers with writing their names and learning letters and numbers. At other times during the day, such as during reading time, the aide ensures students keep their hands to themselves and listen to the teacher. As an aide, she sees the impact and importance of her role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re like their (teacher’s) spine,” she said about paraprofessionals. “We’re there to support and help. We do so much for these kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is paid $15.90 an hour and has, over the last two years, questioned whether she should remain in the role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s not helping me,” she said. She’s had to take on side jobs in the district, such as at sporting events, or resorted to borrowing money from friends and family. “I have to buy food, pay bills and then, I have four kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they’re still going keep that low (salary), people are not going … to apply for a position as an aide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can teachers do anything?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a teacher who’s been working out of compliance, Hunter wants districts to be held accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a mechanism there, and I’d like to see that enforced,” Hunter said about the fiscal penalties outlined in legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11983586,news_11983016,news_11979071\"]While the only way to address the compliance is with fines — which Hunter called “reactive” — he said a tool to report violations throughout the year could push districts to comply sooner and stop teachers from working out of compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, there is no such system or tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if teachers are providing instruction in classrooms that are out of compliance, they would not report the violation to the state, CDE spokesperson Scott Roark said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Complaints against a district, school, principal, teacher or school personnel are not within the jurisdiction of the CDE unless the complaint falls within the scope of the Uniform Complaint Procedures\u003cem>,” \u003c/em>Roark said, explaining that the TK requirements are under local control, with each district’s school board having authority over the complaint process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same reasoning applies to a teachers union hoping to report compliance concerns or violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the struggles teachers are experiencing shouldn’t detract from the importance of TK.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TK expansion is necessary; schools just need support\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Patricia Lozano, executive director of the advocacy group Early Edge California and a champion for expanding transitional kindergarten,\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/what-parents-should-know-about-transitional-kindergarten/688373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> told EdSource last year about the importance\u003c/a> of the program, including how it provides children who were infants during the pandemic with social and intellectual engagement as well as age- and developmentally-appropriate structure and routine to help them thrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simply put, TK is imperative for students, said many teachers interviewed by EdSource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter, who has a background in early childhood education, said TK is vital for introducing students to what school is, for teaching socialization and exposing them to academics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any child who’s been through TK is that much more ready to hit the ground running in kindergarten,” he said. “I just want to see the appropriate support that not only the state promised, but I want to see the districts live up to that support so we can show these learners the best we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/staffing-ratios-arent-being-met-teachers-say-why-are-some-districts-escaping-fines/712442\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Four-year-olds, many of whom have never attended school or day care, are entering California classrooms in droves following the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/how-californias-new-universal-transitional-kindergarten-program-will-be-rolled-out/657818\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rapid expansion\u003c/a> of transitional kindergarten, a grade preceding kindergarten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this grade, known as TK, young students are exposed to academics and become familiar with letters, sounds and numbers. They also acquire social, emotional and intellectual skills through play and exploration. For example, by sharing toys with their peers in a structured environment, they learn to communicate with each other and handle conflict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once designed to serve only children who missed the kindergarten age cutoff, TK has evolved and is now projected to reach all the state’s 4-year-olds by the 2025–26 school year. TK is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a curriculum modified for the age and developmental level of the participating children. When fully implemented, California will have the\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/what-parents-should-know-about-transitional-kindergarten/688373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> largest universal preschool program\u003c/a> in the nation, serving nearly 400,000 children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s largest school districts, including \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/lausd-teachers-hesitant-but-hopeful-as-tk-expansion-set-to-roll-out/669620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Los Angeles Unified \u003c/a>and Fresno Unified, are ahead of the state’s timeline in offering that access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified operates 116 transitional kindergarten classes. Los Angeles Unified has not released the number of TK classes it offers, but according to\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://my.lausd.net/opendata/landing_page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> district data\u003c/a>, they serve nearly 11,000 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though imperative for students, the expansion has created a problem: Some districts are not staffing TK classrooms with enough adults to maintain the required 1:12 staff-student ratio, a problem that educators say puts the 4-year-old pupils at risk, hampers learning and violates state legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twenty schools in LAUSD have been cited by the state for understaffing classes and violating the ratio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers told EdSource that 4-year-olds can’t learn if they aren’t safe and properly supervised by adults and that not having enough adults in the classroom jeopardizes children’s safety.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you’re one adult and you’re managing so many children that have never been to school before, there isn’t any teaching going on,” said David Hunter, a teacher in Fresno Unified who has taught TK for the last six years of a 17-year career. “You’re just keeping them safe as best as you can, but you’re not actually able to teach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School districts jeopardize state funding if they fail to meet the state-set TK requirements of the 1:12 staff-student ratio and the average class size of 24 kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/these-districts-charters-were-fined-for-violating-tk-requirements/712207\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Out of the 1,815 audit reports t\u003c/a>hat the California Department of Education reviewed, just seven school districts and 16 charter schools have been fined and will lose thousands of dollars in funding from their Local Control Funding Formula for failing to meet the staffing ratios during the 2022–23 school year. Teachers and others in the classroom say that many more districts and charters are not meeting the requirements but are managing to avoid punishment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified, which is facing multimillion-dollar fines, considers being fined because the classes do not have one additional adult unfair, district leaders said at a board meeting earlier this year. Many other penalized districts blamed the national shortage of teachers and paraprofessionals, while some districts were critical of the California Department of Education for not clearly outlining the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some teachers, on the other hand, say that what is unfair is that TK classes are not being staffed as outlined by the legislation to support young students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the Fresno Teachers Association, more than a dozen TK classes were out of compliance with staffing ratios during the 2022–23 school year, yet Fresno Unified was not fined. Fresno educators told EdSource that school districts that were not in compliance last year, such as Fresno Unified, escaped detection and fines because fiscal penalties are based on sample auditing that did not check every school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a systems issue,” Hunter said, “and I want to see the system be better for everyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do TK classes need extra staffing?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Education (CDE) \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/documents/tkrequirementswebinar.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has outlined numerous benefits\u003c/a> of a lower adult-to-student ratio in TK classes, including opportunities for individualized instruction, additional adult support, attention and supervision at all times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislation requires district staff such as paraprofessionals to work alongside teachers to meet the ratio requirement and share responsibilities of serving the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On any given day, a TK student may need to use the restroom or have a potty accident; another may get sick, and others will require different types of attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you manage that when there’s one of you and 21 4-year-olds?” Hunter said. “You need another adult to help deal with those situations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said he taught a class of 21 TK students without an aide from August to December 2022 during the 2022–23 school year, the first school year after the state added fiscal penalties related to TK requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said a teacher and an aide can split a large class into small groups to foster individualized learning, improve student assessment and evaluation and, ultimately, educate the young students — things that won’t happen in one large group of up to 24 4-year-olds.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verifying compliance is difficult\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State compliance with TK requirements is verified in a district’s annual audit at the end of the school year, which is based on a representative sample of the district’s schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools that are out of compliance may go unchecked if the sampled schools in the district are compliant because the sampled schools meet compliance, even though other schools do not, some districts and charters avoid penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified, Hunter’s district, was not one of the school systems fined. District spokesperson AJ Kato told EdSource that Fresno Unified has not had problems meeting the requirements other districts may be experiencing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not what teachers say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 13 classes, according to Fresno Teachers Association President Manuel Bonilla, only had one adult for more than 12 students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district could have done a better job at hiring additional folks … or in an emergency term, having their administrative staff provide additional support, but that seemingly didn’t happen,” Bonilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Fresno Unified TK teacher and union leader surveyed his colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were out of compliance with the state, and ultimately, the problem is that the students aren’t getting the additional support that’s necessary,” Bonilla added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter said this is the second consecutive school year he’s been teaching out of compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This school year, Hunter has a part-time aide but is still out of compliance because he is the only adult for 16 students on days the aide isn’t scheduled to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a full-time aide or the equivalent, he said, should be the baseline and is mandated by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the state Education Department, to be counted in the staffing ratio, the “assigned” adult must be a district employee who is dedicated and available to all TK students the entire school day. Student teachers and volunteers do not count toward it, nor do staff such as a special education aide or speech therapist who are assigned to work with specific students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part-time aides can satisfy the classroom staffing ratio, but only if the working time equals 100% of the time of a full-time aide, according to the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/tkfiscalfaq.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CDE\u003c/a>. Because Hunter’s class has 16 students, he needs more than one part-time aide working enough hours to equal the hours of a full-time aide. He has only had one part-time aide this school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Laton Joint Unified was penalized $30,943 for having a 1:16 ratio last school year. The school had a paraprofessional scheduled for 1 hour, 45 minutes each day, and that person was not available for all students the entire school day, the audit report detailed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are also instances of aides being pulled for recess or cafeteria duty or other teaching responsibilities, such as removing that aide from the instructional minutes with students, teachers told EdSource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rina,” a former TK teacher who asked to be identified only by her nickname, said that when she took a job at Ballington Academy in San Bernardino City Unified in the 2023–24 school year, the school’s one TK classroom had 18 students. Rina and her aide would align with state compliance for the 18 students. About a week before school started, Rina said the school informed her that the aide, though assigned to her TK students, would be pulled to other elementary classrooms whenever a teacher was absent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was wrong,” she said. She only stayed in the position for about a week after school started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some schools and districts, such as Scholarship Prep Charter School in Oceanside, Pomona Unified in eastern Los Angeles County, and Culver City Unified in Los Angeles County, said in their audit reports that staffing shortages prevented them from complying with state guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s no excuse, teachers say, because it’s up to district administration to recruit, hire and retain paraprofessionals, instead of making it the teacher’s problem, Rina said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some suggest that the problem with hiring and retaining paraprofessionals is the low compensation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A preschool teacher’s aide at Ericson Elementary in Fresno Unified is not in the TK classroom but works with students who are the same age as those entering transitional kindergarten. Speaking with EdSource on condition of anonymity, she said aides, whether in the TK or preschool class, are dealing with the same challenge: subpar pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the day, especially when working in groups, she helps the preschoolers with writing their names and learning letters and numbers. At other times during the day, such as during reading time, the aide ensures students keep their hands to themselves and listen to the teacher. As an aide, she sees the impact and importance of her role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re like their (teacher’s) spine,” she said about paraprofessionals. “We’re there to support and help. We do so much for these kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is paid $15.90 an hour and has, over the last two years, questioned whether she should remain in the role.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s not helping me,” she said. She’s had to take on side jobs in the district, such as at sporting events, or resorted to borrowing money from friends and family. “I have to buy food, pay bills and then, I have four kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they’re still going keep that low (salary), people are not going … to apply for a position as an aide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can teachers do anything?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As a teacher who’s been working out of compliance, Hunter wants districts to be held accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a mechanism there, and I’d like to see that enforced,” Hunter said about the fiscal penalties outlined in legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>While the only way to address the compliance is with fines — which Hunter called “reactive” — he said a tool to report violations throughout the year could push districts to comply sooner and stop teachers from working out of compliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, there is no such system or tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if teachers are providing instruction in classrooms that are out of compliance, they would not report the violation to the state, CDE spokesperson Scott Roark said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Complaints against a district, school, principal, teacher or school personnel are not within the jurisdiction of the CDE unless the complaint falls within the scope of the Uniform Complaint Procedures\u003cem>,” \u003c/em>Roark said, explaining that the TK requirements are under local control, with each district’s school board having authority over the complaint process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same reasoning applies to a teachers union hoping to report compliance concerns or violations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the struggles teachers are experiencing shouldn’t detract from the importance of TK.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">TK expansion is necessary; schools just need support\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Patricia Lozano, executive director of the advocacy group Early Edge California and a champion for expanding transitional kindergarten,\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/what-parents-should-know-about-transitional-kindergarten/688373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> told EdSource last year about the importance\u003c/a> of the program, including how it provides children who were infants during the pandemic with social and intellectual engagement as well as age- and developmentally-appropriate structure and routine to help them thrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simply put, TK is imperative for students, said many teachers interviewed by EdSource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hunter, who has a background in early childhood education, said TK is vital for introducing students to what school is, for teaching socialization and exposing them to academics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any child who’s been through TK is that much more ready to hit the ground running in kindergarten,” he said. “I just want to see the appropriate support that not only the state promised, but I want to see the districts live up to that support so we can show these learners the best we can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/staffing-ratios-arent-being-met-teachers-say-why-are-some-districts-escaping-fines/712442\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "UC Stands Firm on $32 Billion Investment Plans Amid Pro-Palestinian Calls for Withdrawal",
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"content": "\u003cp>The University of California disclosed Tuesday that it has $32 billion invested in assets that pro-Palestinian protesters demand the university divest from, including weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disclosure came the same day that pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UC Berkeley, who have camped out in Sproul Plaza for nearly a month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11986306/uc-berkeley-encampment-is-packing-up-for-merced-heres-what-admin-agreed-to\">dismantled their tents\u003c/a> after Chancellor Carol Christ met with organizers and\u003ca href=\"https://chancellor.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/encampment_letter_051424.pdf\"> agreed to take steps\u003c/a> to review the university’s investments to make sure they align with its “core values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those values include a respect for equality, human rights, a commitment to fostering the conditions for human growth and development, and an abhorrence of war,” Christ wrote in a letter to demonstrators on Tuesday. ” We should examine whether UC Berkeley’s investments continue to align with our values or should be modified in order to do so.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christ added that the university will also develop a transparent process for assessing whether any of its global exchange and internship programs are out of step with the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of activists who participated in the UC Berkeley encampment said they were headed to UC Merced, where the UC Board of Regents is holding its bimonthly meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of the regents meeting, protesters at UC Merced\u003ca href=\"https://abc30.com/post/pro-palestinian-protest-underway-uc-merced-campus-encampment/14810224/\"> set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus\u003c/a>, making it the latest of UC’s 10 campuses to establish such an encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement posted on Instagram, organizers of the encampment wrote that they are demanding UC to divest, call for a cease-fire in Gaza and end ties with Israel, including study-abroad programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The UC regents are meeting on our campus. … They will hear us!” the organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher outlined UC’s current investment portfolio on Tuesday, the first day of the three-day regents meeting at UC Merced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bachher’s list responded to specific demands from the protesters and included broader investments in U.S. treasuries, which he added in response to the request that UC divest from assets that support Israel. “The answer to that question is the U.S. government,” he said, referring to the aid and weapons that the government sends to Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full list of investments include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$3.3 billion in weapons manufacturers\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$12 billion in U.S. Treasurys\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$163 million in BlackRock, an asset manager that owns shares of companies that support Israel\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$2.1 billion in investments managed for UC by BlackRock\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$8.6 billion in the investment firm Blackstone, also targeted by protesters\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$3.2 billion in 24 other companies targeted by protesters, including Coca-Cola and Disney\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“So if I interpret the questions and the responses mathematically with numbers, the letter sent to us would suggest that we should sell $32 billion of assets out of the $175 billion,” Bachher said, referring to the system’s entire investment portfolio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investments committee took no action toward divestment on Tuesday, nor did it suggest they considered doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When reached Tuesday, a spokesperson for the system also said UC stands behind its April 26 statement opposing the idea of divestment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” UC said at the time. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='israel-hamas-war']Demands for UC and other universities to divest from Israel have heightened in recent weeks as pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have swept the country since last month, including at UCLA and other UC campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving the encampments are calls for divestment from companies doing significant business with Israel. The protesters see universities as complicit in Israel’s war in Gaza. More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including many women and children, according to health authorities. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s financial disclosures followed a lengthy public comment period in which many commenters called on UC to divest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to emphasize my support for the Palestinian encampment students and faculty and to strongly support their call for divestment from all investments in the military-industrial complex,” said Darlene Lee, a faculty member in UCLA’s teacher education program and a UCLA alum. “Educational funds should go towards education and community and not war.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/uc-has-32-billion-in-assets-targeted-by-pro-palestinian-protesters-but-no-plans-to-divest/711864\">This story was first published on EdSource\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The University of California disclosed Tuesday that it has $32 billion invested in assets that pro-Palestinian protesters demand the university divest from, including weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The disclosure came the same day that pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UC Berkeley, who have camped out in Sproul Plaza for nearly a month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11986306/uc-berkeley-encampment-is-packing-up-for-merced-heres-what-admin-agreed-to\">dismantled their tents\u003c/a> after Chancellor Carol Christ met with organizers and\u003ca href=\"https://chancellor.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/encampment_letter_051424.pdf\"> agreed to take steps\u003c/a> to review the university’s investments to make sure they align with its “core values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those values include a respect for equality, human rights, a commitment to fostering the conditions for human growth and development, and an abhorrence of war,” Christ wrote in a letter to demonstrators on Tuesday. ” We should examine whether UC Berkeley’s investments continue to align with our values or should be modified in order to do so.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christ added that the university will also develop a transparent process for assessing whether any of its global exchange and internship programs are out of step with the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A number of activists who participated in the UC Berkeley encampment said they were headed to UC Merced, where the UC Board of Regents is holding its bimonthly meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of the regents meeting, protesters at UC Merced\u003ca href=\"https://abc30.com/post/pro-palestinian-protest-underway-uc-merced-campus-encampment/14810224/\"> set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus\u003c/a>, making it the latest of UC’s 10 campuses to establish such an encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement posted on Instagram, organizers of the encampment wrote that they are demanding UC to divest, call for a cease-fire in Gaza and end ties with Israel, including study-abroad programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The UC regents are meeting on our campus. … They will hear us!” the organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher outlined UC’s current investment portfolio on Tuesday, the first day of the three-day regents meeting at UC Merced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bachher’s list responded to specific demands from the protesters and included broader investments in U.S. treasuries, which he added in response to the request that UC divest from assets that support Israel. “The answer to that question is the U.S. government,” he said, referring to the aid and weapons that the government sends to Israel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The full list of investments include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>$3.3 billion in weapons manufacturers\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$12 billion in U.S. Treasurys\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$163 million in BlackRock, an asset manager that owns shares of companies that support Israel\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$2.1 billion in investments managed for UC by BlackRock\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$8.6 billion in the investment firm Blackstone, also targeted by protesters\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>$3.2 billion in 24 other companies targeted by protesters, including Coca-Cola and Disney\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>“So if I interpret the questions and the responses mathematically with numbers, the letter sent to us would suggest that we should sell $32 billion of assets out of the $175 billion,” Bachher said, referring to the system’s entire investment portfolio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The investments committee took no action toward divestment on Tuesday, nor did it suggest they considered doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When reached Tuesday, a spokesperson for the system also said UC stands behind its April 26 statement opposing the idea of divestment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” UC said at the time. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Demands for UC and other universities to divest from Israel have heightened in recent weeks as pro-Palestinian encampments and protests have swept the country since last month, including at UCLA and other UC campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Driving the encampments are calls for divestment from companies doing significant business with Israel. The protesters see universities as complicit in Israel’s war in Gaza. More than 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including many women and children, according to health authorities. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza followed the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s financial disclosures followed a lengthy public comment period in which many commenters called on UC to divest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to emphasize my support for the Palestinian encampment students and faculty and to strongly support their call for divestment from all investments in the military-industrial complex,” said Darlene Lee, a faculty member in UCLA’s teacher education program and a UCLA alum. “Educational funds should go towards education and community and not war.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/uc-has-32-billion-in-assets-targeted-by-pro-palestinian-protesters-but-no-plans-to-divest/711864\">This story was first published on EdSource\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Supporters of bolstering how teacher candidates in California are taught to teach reading cheered in 2021 when the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">agreed and mandated change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They remained enthusiastic a year later when \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/californias-plan-to-change-literacy-instruction-advances/692569\">the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted new standards \u003c/a>emphasizing explicit instruction of fundamental skills, including phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, advocates are charging that the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and its oversight body, the Committee on Accreditation, have failed their first test to stand behind those new standards. Instead, after a one-hour hearing Friday, the commission confirmed full accreditation to Mills College at Northeastern, which critics argue is ignoring critical new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This approval will set a bad example for other programs facing a fall deadline to overhaul their literacy instruction and begin teaching the revised standards, critics said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly, the commission is unwilling to uphold the state’s own curriculum framework and its guidance for new teacher prep programs, as outlined” in state law, said Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for parents. “Given that, what chance is there that literacy instruction will ever change, and what chance is there that our children will be successful in learning to read?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ad fullwidth] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer may become clearer as other programs come up for review. However, the credential commission’s unanimous vote to reaffirm Mills College at Northeastern’s accreditation found support not only among the peer reviewers for the Committee on Accreditation but also from leaders of other teacher prep programs who submitted comments and testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing and the commission’s decision revealed ongoing disagreements over how California’s new literacy standards should be interpreted and implemented and raised the question of whether the Legislature’s intent in ordering a different approach to literacy instruction will be followed with fidelity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentialing commission’s decision was in response to a complaint filed by Families in Schools and the nonprofits Decoding Dyslexia and California Reading Coalition. The organizations hoped that the commission would investigate the accreditation approval for Mills College at Northeastern or order that the program get technical help to bring it into compliance with the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commissioners, it is up to you to make sure the letter and intent of the law is followed. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done, and these terrible results won’t change,” testified Todd Collins of the California Reading Coalition, referring to the low reading proficiency rate of California third graders: 43% overall and less than a third for Black and Latino children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Credentialing commissioners instead took a third option — referring the complaint to the Committee on Accreditation without comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioners made clear they trusted the accreditation committee’s judgment and peer-review process, which relies on an evaluation by professors of teacher prep programs. Credentialing Commission Chair Marquita Grenot-Scheyer and others said they found no merit to the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have an established, coherent and effective process for program review and accreditation in the state of California,” said Grenot-Scheyer, a professor emeritus in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach.[aside postID=news_11945189 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/CMTeachers01-1020x680.jpg']Commissioner Ira Lit, a professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, agreed, adding that he sees “no indication that attention to those frameworks, guidelines and standards of review were amiss in this particular case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature’s mandate in \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a> directed the commission to incorporate evidence-based methods of teaching foundational reading skills in its programs for multiple-subject credentials and reading specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The literacy skills that teacher candidates would learn to teach include not only phonics, which correlates sounds with letters in the alphabet but also vocabulary, oral language, fluency, reading comprehension and writing. The commission appointed two dozen reading experts to recommend research-based literacy practices aligned to the state’s existing curriculum frameworks that all teacher preparation programs would adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins, Flores and others praised the final package of teacher performance expectations, known as Standard 7 in the program requirements. They said it would meet the needs of all students, including English learners and students with dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So did two members of the work group of experts who were skeptical of Mills College at Northeastern’s literacy instruction: Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist who directs the UCLA Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, and Sue Sears, a professor of special education at CSU Northridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They called Standard 7 “a rigorous and comprehensive set of requirements which reflect current reading research and practice.” After examining Mills College at Northeastern’s course syllabi, reading lists, and materials for literacy instruction, they said the program fell far short of the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In testimony and written comments, they said the school paid “lip service” to foundational skills and failed to document how prospective teachers would teach phonics explicitly and effectively. Among other flaws, the program didn’t mention the importance of screening for dyslexia and how to provide additional help for struggling and multilingual students, Wolf and Sears wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills at Northeastern was formed from the merger of Mills College, a 170-year-old former women’s college in Oakland that closed in 2022, with Northeastern University in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Structured versus balanced literacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In expressing confidence in a thorough accreditation review process while not commenting on the substance of the complaint, the credentialing commission dodged the underlying issue. The state had taken a stand in the debate over “structured literacy” versus “balanced literacy.” Standard 7 incorporates structured literacy. Taught under the banner of “science of reading,” it stresses evidence-proven reading strategies using, in the early grades, direct and sequential instruction of phonics and decodable texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Balanced literacy, an outgrowth of the once-popular “whole language” approach, downplays phonics, which it views as just one of several strategies in teaching reading. Other methods include “three-cueing,” the technique in which readers use pictures in a book, the first letter of a word and other contextual clues to determine words. It’s grounded in the belief that reading more books tied to the skill level of a child’s fluency and comprehension will make them better, more engaged readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern stresses balanced literacy and three-cueing. Its reading assignments include multiple chapters by Fountas and Pinnell, the publisher most identified with balanced literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approving credential programs like Mills “to provide contradictory instructional practices, some of which are supported by research and others that have been debunked by cognitive scientists years ago, will only serve to create confusion for teaching credential candidates,” Decoding Dyslexia CA co-directors Lori DePole and Megan Potente wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Burns, a University of Florida reading researcher who said he had studied the effectiveness of Fountas and Pinnell instructional programs and intervention strategies, was blunt. “The three-cueing system should have no place in public education and should not be part of any preservice training,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>In defense of Mills College\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other leaders of teacher preparation programs and advocacy groups in California urged the credentialing commission to uphold the approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stating that a comprehensive literacy curriculum includes background knowledge, multilingualism motivation and diverse text and assessments — not just phonics, Nancy Walker, a professor of literacy education at the University of La Verne, said, “By limiting our focus to the claims made by the popular press and media, we have underrepresented other pieces of reading pedagogy. The Mills College program represents the broad range of literacy as represented in the California literacy frameworks and standards.”[aside postID=news_11914203 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/MillsCommencement-1020x608.jpg']Karen Escalante, an assistant professor of teacher education and foundations at CSU San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education, warned that “efforts to pick and choose select elements of teacher preparation syllabi undermine the teaching profession and aim to deprofessionalize a professional workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mimi Miller, a professor and literacy teacher educator at CSU Chico, said, “The complaint against Mills privileges one line of research over another. It has inaccurately cited research to confirm a set of beliefs about reading instruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The science of reading is not settled and will never be settled,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English and expanding multilingual education, also urged commissioners to uphold the accreditation approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I call on the commission to not make any decisions that would restrict reading instruction in California,” said Manuel Buenrostro, director of policy at Californians Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf used her two-minute comment to refute what opponents said regarding the state of research. “Of course, there is the unsettled, but there is far more of the settled neuroscience of reading,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern “fails to meet the standards that you asked us to bring to every teacher so that every teacher could be prepared to teach every child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am worrisomely seeing in California that there is becoming more loyalty to past methods that have been shown to be ineffective for our most struggling readers. We can never put loyalty to past methods over loyalty to our children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>SB 488 under attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several commissioners indicated they, too, support a “balanced” approach to reading instruction tied to research. Others said the key to improved instruction is understanding socioeconomic and cultural differences among children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Culturally responsive teaching practices are what’s going to work to teach those children how to read,” said Commissioner Christopher Davis, pointing to his own experience as a Black child in Los Angeles who did not read an entire book until he was a high school junior. Davis, a middle school language arts teacher in the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, said, “I want to encourage the public to stop using Black and brown children to prop up their misguided views of what’s happening in schools because I am one of those people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 488 requires all teacher candidates, starting in the spring of 2025, to take a performance assessment demonstrating they can effectively teach the new literacy instruction standards. The law also requires the Committee on Accreditation to visit all teacher prep programs in 2024–25 to verify they employ the new literacy strategies.[aside label='Related Coverage' tag='education']But a bill that would remove those provisions before they take effect is moving forward in the Legislature.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1263\"> Senate Bill 1263\u003c/a>, sponsored by the California Teachers Association, would eliminate the California \u003ca href=\"https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/CalTPA_TestPage.html\">Teaching Performance Assessment\u003c/a>, known as the CalTPA. And that would include the performance assessment in teaching reading now being developed. The bill, authored by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), would also drop the on-site visits to verify that teacher prep programs are adhering to the literacy standards. The periodic general accreditation and re-accreditation process, like the one that Mills College passed, would be the sole accountability check that California’s new teachers know how to teach structured literacy and the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another bill, which would have extended the same training in structured literacy for new teachers to all elementary school teachers, also would have strengthened the credentialing commission’s literacy expertise. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a> would have required that at least one member of the Committee on Accreditation be an expert in the science of reading. And it would have funded several literacy experts for the commission staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same adversaries that fought over Mills College at Northeastern battled over AB 2222. Decoding Dyslexia CA, Families in Schools and California Reading Coalition sponsored the bill. Opposition by CTA, Californians Together and the California Association of Bilingual Educators led Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to pull the bill without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins of the California Reading Coalition said he wasn’t surprised by the credentialing commission’s decision. The view of those involved in teacher preparation programs, which is not unique to California, is: “‘Let us professionals do our job. We are the ones who can arbitrate whether we’re doing a good job or not. No one else can do that,'” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To the extent that the credentialing commission defers to the process and defers to the people in the higher ed institutions, then change is going to come very, very slowly, if at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Supporters of bolstering how teacher candidates in California are taught to teach reading cheered in 2021 when the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">agreed and mandated change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They remained enthusiastic a year later when \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/californias-plan-to-change-literacy-instruction-advances/692569\">the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted new standards \u003c/a>emphasizing explicit instruction of fundamental skills, including phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, advocates are charging that the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and its oversight body, the Committee on Accreditation, have failed their first test to stand behind those new standards. Instead, after a one-hour hearing Friday, the commission confirmed full accreditation to Mills College at Northeastern, which critics argue is ignoring critical new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This approval will set a bad example for other programs facing a fall deadline to overhaul their literacy instruction and begin teaching the revised standards, critics said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly, the commission is unwilling to uphold the state’s own curriculum framework and its guidance for new teacher prep programs, as outlined” in state law, said Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families in Schools, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for parents. “Given that, what chance is there that literacy instruction will ever change, and what chance is there that our children will be successful in learning to read?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answer may become clearer as other programs come up for review. However, the credential commission’s unanimous vote to reaffirm Mills College at Northeastern’s accreditation found support not only among the peer reviewers for the Committee on Accreditation but also from leaders of other teacher prep programs who submitted comments and testimony.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hearing and the commission’s decision revealed ongoing disagreements over how California’s new literacy standards should be interpreted and implemented and raised the question of whether the Legislature’s intent in ordering a different approach to literacy instruction will be followed with fidelity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The credentialing commission’s decision was in response to a complaint filed by Families in Schools and the nonprofits Decoding Dyslexia and California Reading Coalition. The organizations hoped that the commission would investigate the accreditation approval for Mills College at Northeastern or order that the program get technical help to bring it into compliance with the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Commissioners, it is up to you to make sure the letter and intent of the law is followed. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done, and these terrible results won’t change,” testified Todd Collins of the California Reading Coalition, referring to the low reading proficiency rate of California third graders: 43% overall and less than a third for Black and Latino children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Credentialing commissioners instead took a third option — referring the complaint to the Committee on Accreditation without comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Commissioners made clear they trusted the accreditation committee’s judgment and peer-review process, which relies on an evaluation by professors of teacher prep programs. Credentialing Commission Chair Marquita Grenot-Scheyer and others said they found no merit to the complaint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have an established, coherent and effective process for program review and accreditation in the state of California,” said Grenot-Scheyer, a professor emeritus in the College of Education at California State University, Long Beach.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Commissioner Ira Lit, a professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, agreed, adding that he sees “no indication that attention to those frameworks, guidelines and standards of review were amiss in this particular case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature’s mandate in \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB488\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a> directed the commission to incorporate evidence-based methods of teaching foundational reading skills in its programs for multiple-subject credentials and reading specialists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The literacy skills that teacher candidates would learn to teach include not only phonics, which correlates sounds with letters in the alphabet but also vocabulary, oral language, fluency, reading comprehension and writing. The commission appointed two dozen reading experts to recommend research-based literacy practices aligned to the state’s existing curriculum frameworks that all teacher preparation programs would adopt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins, Flores and others praised the final package of teacher performance expectations, known as Standard 7 in the program requirements. They said it would meet the needs of all students, including English learners and students with dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So did two members of the work group of experts who were skeptical of Mills College at Northeastern’s literacy instruction: Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist who directs the UCLA Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, and Sue Sears, a professor of special education at CSU Northridge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They called Standard 7 “a rigorous and comprehensive set of requirements which reflect current reading research and practice.” After examining Mills College at Northeastern’s course syllabi, reading lists, and materials for literacy instruction, they said the program fell far short of the requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In testimony and written comments, they said the school paid “lip service” to foundational skills and failed to document how prospective teachers would teach phonics explicitly and effectively. Among other flaws, the program didn’t mention the importance of screening for dyslexia and how to provide additional help for struggling and multilingual students, Wolf and Sears wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills at Northeastern was formed from the merger of Mills College, a 170-year-old former women’s college in Oakland that closed in 2022, with Northeastern University in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Structured versus balanced literacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In expressing confidence in a thorough accreditation review process while not commenting on the substance of the complaint, the credentialing commission dodged the underlying issue. The state had taken a stand in the debate over “structured literacy” versus “balanced literacy.” Standard 7 incorporates structured literacy. Taught under the banner of “science of reading,” it stresses evidence-proven reading strategies using, in the early grades, direct and sequential instruction of phonics and decodable texts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Balanced literacy, an outgrowth of the once-popular “whole language” approach, downplays phonics, which it views as just one of several strategies in teaching reading. Other methods include “three-cueing,” the technique in which readers use pictures in a book, the first letter of a word and other contextual clues to determine words. It’s grounded in the belief that reading more books tied to the skill level of a child’s fluency and comprehension will make them better, more engaged readers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern stresses balanced literacy and three-cueing. Its reading assignments include multiple chapters by Fountas and Pinnell, the publisher most identified with balanced literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Approving credential programs like Mills “to provide contradictory instructional practices, some of which are supported by research and others that have been debunked by cognitive scientists years ago, will only serve to create confusion for teaching credential candidates,” Decoding Dyslexia CA co-directors Lori DePole and Megan Potente wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Burns, a University of Florida reading researcher who said he had studied the effectiveness of Fountas and Pinnell instructional programs and intervention strategies, was blunt. “The three-cueing system should have no place in public education and should not be part of any preservice training,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>In defense of Mills College\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other leaders of teacher preparation programs and advocacy groups in California urged the credentialing commission to uphold the approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stating that a comprehensive literacy curriculum includes background knowledge, multilingualism motivation and diverse text and assessments — not just phonics, Nancy Walker, a professor of literacy education at the University of La Verne, said, “By limiting our focus to the claims made by the popular press and media, we have underrepresented other pieces of reading pedagogy. The Mills College program represents the broad range of literacy as represented in the California literacy frameworks and standards.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Karen Escalante, an assistant professor of teacher education and foundations at CSU San Bernardino and president of the California Council on Teacher Education, warned that “efforts to pick and choose select elements of teacher preparation syllabi undermine the teaching profession and aim to deprofessionalize a professional workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mimi Miller, a professor and literacy teacher educator at CSU Chico, said, “The complaint against Mills privileges one line of research over another. It has inaccurately cited research to confirm a set of beliefs about reading instruction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The science of reading is not settled and will never be settled,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Teachers Association and Californians Together, which advocates for English and expanding multilingual education, also urged commissioners to uphold the accreditation approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I call on the commission to not make any decisions that would restrict reading instruction in California,” said Manuel Buenrostro, director of policy at Californians Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf used her two-minute comment to refute what opponents said regarding the state of research. “Of course, there is the unsettled, but there is far more of the settled neuroscience of reading,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mills College at Northeastern “fails to meet the standards that you asked us to bring to every teacher so that every teacher could be prepared to teach every child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am worrisomely seeing in California that there is becoming more loyalty to past methods that have been shown to be ineffective for our most struggling readers. We can never put loyalty to past methods over loyalty to our children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>SB 488 under attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several commissioners indicated they, too, support a “balanced” approach to reading instruction tied to research. Others said the key to improved instruction is understanding socioeconomic and cultural differences among children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Culturally responsive teaching practices are what’s going to work to teach those children how to read,” said Commissioner Christopher Davis, pointing to his own experience as a Black child in Los Angeles who did not read an entire book until he was a high school junior. Davis, a middle school language arts teacher in the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, said, “I want to encourage the public to stop using Black and brown children to prop up their misguided views of what’s happening in schools because I am one of those people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 488 requires all teacher candidates, starting in the spring of 2025, to take a performance assessment demonstrating they can effectively teach the new literacy instruction standards. The law also requires the Committee on Accreditation to visit all teacher prep programs in 2024–25 to verify they employ the new literacy strategies.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But a bill that would remove those provisions before they take effect is moving forward in the Legislature.\u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1263\"> Senate Bill 1263\u003c/a>, sponsored by the California Teachers Association, would eliminate the California \u003ca href=\"https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/CalTPA_TestPage.html\">Teaching Performance Assessment\u003c/a>, known as the CalTPA. And that would include the performance assessment in teaching reading now being developed. The bill, authored by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), would also drop the on-site visits to verify that teacher prep programs are adhering to the literacy standards. The periodic general accreditation and re-accreditation process, like the one that Mills College passed, would be the sole accountability check that California’s new teachers know how to teach structured literacy and the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another bill, which would have extended the same training in structured literacy for new teachers to all elementary school teachers, also would have strengthened the credentialing commission’s literacy expertise. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a> would have required that at least one member of the Committee on Accreditation be an expert in the science of reading. And it would have funded several literacy experts for the commission staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same adversaries that fought over Mills College at Northeastern battled over AB 2222. Decoding Dyslexia CA, Families in Schools and California Reading Coalition sponsored the bill. Opposition by CTA, Californians Together and the California Association of Bilingual Educators led Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to pull the bill without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Collins of the California Reading Coalition said he wasn’t surprised by the credentialing commission’s decision. The view of those involved in teacher preparation programs, which is not unique to California, is: “‘Let us professionals do our job. We are the ones who can arbitrate whether we’re doing a good job or not. No one else can do that,'” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To the extent that the credentialing commission defers to the process and defers to the people in the higher ed institutions, then change is going to come very, very slowly, if at all,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Legislature Halts 'Science of Reading' Mandate, Prompting Calls for Thorough Review",
"headTitle": "California Legislature Halts ‘Science of Reading’ Mandate, Prompting Calls for Thorough Review | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A bill that would have required California teachers to use the “science of reading,” which spotlights phonics, to teach children to read has died without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB2222/2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) will not advance in the Legislature this year, according to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who described the state’s student reading and literacy rates as “a serious problem,” adding that the bill should receive a “methodical” review by all key groups before there is a “costly overhaul” of how reading is taught in California.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Martha Hernandez, executive director, Californians Together\"]‘We know that addressing equity and literacy outcomes is a high priority for California and that our state is not yet where it needs to be with literacy outcomes for all students.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the Legislature to study this problem closely, so we can be sure stakeholders are engaged and, most importantly, that all students benefit, especially our diverse learners,” Rivas said in a statement to EdSource, referring to English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill, which had the support of the California State PTA, state NAACP and more than 50 other organizations, hit a snag two weeks ago when the California Teachers Association — the state’s largest teachers union — sent a letter stating its opposition to the bill to Assembly Education Committee Chairman Al Muratsuchi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EarllyLit-AB2222-CTA-no-032824.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> union claimed\u003c/a> that the proposed legislation would duplicate and potentially undermine current literacy initiatives, would not meet the needs of English learner students and would cut teachers out of decisions, especially on curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubio, who could not be reached late Thursday\u003cstrong>,\u003c/strong> told EdSource last week that Muratsuchi asked her to work with the teachers union on a compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy nonprofit co-sponsoring the bill, said he was surprised the bill didn’t get a hearing considering the importance of the issue.[aside postID=\"news_11982196,news_11969236,news_11972684\" label=\"Related Stories\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand it’s a tough budget year, but we also believe that the most important priority for the education budget is helping our kids learn how to read,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he called the move to table the bill a “bump in the road.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we launched with Assemblymember Rubio and the sponsors behind this, we knew it might be a multi-year effort,” he said. “So you get up tomorrow and keep it moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say that it is imperative that California mandates this change in reading instruction. In 2023, just 43% of California third-graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of low-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The California NAACP was right; this is a civil rights issue,” said Kareem Weaver, a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and co-founder of the literacy advocacy group FULCRUM. “And you don’t play politics with civil rights. The misinformation and ideological posturing on AB 2222 effectively leveraged the politics of fear. We have to do better, for kids’ sake, and can’t give up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is the science of reading?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The science of reading refers to research-based teaching strategies that reflect how the brain learns to read. While it includes phonics-based instruction, which teaches children to decode words by sounding them out, it also includes four other pillars of literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, identifying distinct units of sounds, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. It is based on research on how the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/why-theres-more-to-the-science-of-reading-than-phonics/695976\">brain connects \u003c/a>letters with sounds when learning to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation would have gone against the state policy of local control that gives school districts authority to select curriculum and teaching methods as long as they meet state academic standards. Currently, the state encourages, but does not mandate, districts to incorporate instruction in the science of reading in the early grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would have required that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour-minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>English learner advocates opposed bill\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It appears lawmakers heard the pleas of advocates for English learners who opposed the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that addressing equity and literacy outcomes is a high priority for California and that our state is not yet where it needs to be with literacy outcomes for all students,” said Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, one of the organizations that opposed the bill. “AB 2222 is not the prescription that is needed for our multilingual, diverse state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she is willing to work with lawmakers for a literacy plan based on reading research but that “centrally addresses” the needs of English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s proposed legislation to adopt the science of reading approach to early literacy would have been in sync with other states that have passed similar legislation. States nationwide are rejecting balanced literacy as failing to effectively teach children how to read since it de-emphasizes explicit instruction in phonics and instead trains children to use pictures to identify words on sight, also known as three-cueing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi had until the end of the day Thursday to put the bill on the calendar for the April 17 meeting of the Assembly Education Committee. It would then have had to be heard by the Assembly Higher Education Committee before the April 26 deadline for legislators to get bills with notable fiscal impacts to the Appropriations Committee. Now, the bill will have to be reintroduced next year to get a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really too bad. Lots of kids are not being well-served now. But on the other hand, I hope this will be an opportunity to regroup and present a more robust version of the bill,” said Claude Goldenberg, a Stanford University professor emeritus of education who supported the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldenberg said a future version of the bill should include a “more comprehensive definition” of the “science of reading” and should make clear that this includes research on teaching reading to all students, including English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“English learners, for example, would benefit if teachers knew and used research that is part of the science of reading and applies whether they’re learning in their home language or in English. Same for children with limited literacy opportunities outside of school and children having difficulty learning to read,” Goldenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Backroom politics’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lori DePole, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, one of the supporters of the bill, expressed frustration Thursday evening over the decision to table it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is shameful that when more than half of CA kids aren’t reading at grade level that our legislators are okay with the status quo, and they have killed this literacy legislation without even allowing it to be heard,” she said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“… CA kids’ futures are too important to allow backroom politics to silence this issue. We will no longer accept lip service in addressing our literacy crisis. It is time for action, and we aren’t going away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for students with dyslexia support the phonics-based teaching methods as especially effective for children with a learning disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said he supports the science of reading. “However, we need to make sure that we do this right by serving the needs of all California students, including our English learners,” he said in a statement to EdSource. “California is the most language-diverse state in the country, and we need to develop a literacy instruction strategy that works for all of our students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thank Speaker Robert Rivas for his decision to pursue a more deliberative process involving all education stakeholders before enacting a costly overhaul of how reading is taught statewide,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>EdSource reporter Karen D’Souza contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A bill that would have required California teachers to use the “science of reading,” which spotlights phonics, to teach children to read has died without a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/bill/AB2222/2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assembly Bill 2222\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) will not advance in the Legislature this year, according to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who described the state’s student reading and literacy rates as “a serious problem,” adding that the bill should receive a “methodical” review by all key groups before there is a “costly overhaul” of how reading is taught in California.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the Legislature to study this problem closely, so we can be sure stakeholders are engaged and, most importantly, that all students benefit, especially our diverse learners,” Rivas said in a statement to EdSource, referring to English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill, which had the support of the California State PTA, state NAACP and more than 50 other organizations, hit a snag two weeks ago when the California Teachers Association — the state’s largest teachers union — sent a letter stating its opposition to the bill to Assembly Education Committee Chairman Al Muratsuchi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EarllyLit-AB2222-CTA-no-032824.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> union claimed\u003c/a> that the proposed legislation would duplicate and potentially undermine current literacy initiatives, would not meet the needs of English learner students and would cut teachers out of decisions, especially on curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rubio, who could not be reached late Thursday\u003cstrong>,\u003c/strong> told EdSource last week that Muratsuchi asked her to work with the teachers union on a compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy nonprofit co-sponsoring the bill, said he was surprised the bill didn’t get a hearing considering the importance of the issue.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand it’s a tough budget year, but we also believe that the most important priority for the education budget is helping our kids learn how to read,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he called the move to table the bill a “bump in the road.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we launched with Assemblymember Rubio and the sponsors behind this, we knew it might be a multi-year effort,” he said. “So you get up tomorrow and keep it moving forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say that it is imperative that California mandates this change in reading instruction. In 2023, just 43% of California third-graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of low-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The California NAACP was right; this is a civil rights issue,” said Kareem Weaver, a member of the Oakland NAACP Education Committee and co-founder of the literacy advocacy group FULCRUM. “And you don’t play politics with civil rights. The misinformation and ideological posturing on AB 2222 effectively leveraged the politics of fear. We have to do better, for kids’ sake, and can’t give up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What is the science of reading?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The science of reading refers to research-based teaching strategies that reflect how the brain learns to read. While it includes phonics-based instruction, which teaches children to decode words by sounding them out, it also includes four other pillars of literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, identifying distinct units of sounds, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. It is based on research on how the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/why-theres-more-to-the-science-of-reading-than-phonics/695976\">brain connects \u003c/a>letters with sounds when learning to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation would have gone against the state policy of local control that gives school districts authority to select curriculum and teaching methods as long as they meet state academic standards. Currently, the state encourages, but does not mandate, districts to incorporate instruction in the science of reading in the early grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would have required that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour-minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>English learner advocates opposed bill\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It appears lawmakers heard the pleas of advocates for English learners who opposed the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that addressing equity and literacy outcomes is a high priority for California and that our state is not yet where it needs to be with literacy outcomes for all students,” said Martha Hernandez, executive director of Californians Together, one of the organizations that opposed the bill. “AB 2222 is not the prescription that is needed for our multilingual, diverse state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said she is willing to work with lawmakers for a literacy plan based on reading research but that “centrally addresses” the needs of English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s proposed legislation to adopt the science of reading approach to early literacy would have been in sync with other states that have passed similar legislation. States nationwide are rejecting balanced literacy as failing to effectively teach children how to read since it de-emphasizes explicit instruction in phonics and instead trains children to use pictures to identify words on sight, also known as three-cueing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi had until the end of the day Thursday to put the bill on the calendar for the April 17 meeting of the Assembly Education Committee. It would then have had to be heard by the Assembly Higher Education Committee before the April 26 deadline for legislators to get bills with notable fiscal impacts to the Appropriations Committee. Now, the bill will have to be reintroduced next year to get a hearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really too bad. Lots of kids are not being well-served now. But on the other hand, I hope this will be an opportunity to regroup and present a more robust version of the bill,” said Claude Goldenberg, a Stanford University professor emeritus of education who supported the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Goldenberg said a future version of the bill should include a “more comprehensive definition” of the “science of reading” and should make clear that this includes research on teaching reading to all students, including English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“English learners, for example, would benefit if teachers knew and used research that is part of the science of reading and applies whether they’re learning in their home language or in English. Same for children with limited literacy opportunities outside of school and children having difficulty learning to read,” Goldenberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Backroom politics’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lori DePole, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, one of the supporters of the bill, expressed frustration Thursday evening over the decision to table it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is shameful that when more than half of CA kids aren’t reading at grade level that our legislators are okay with the status quo, and they have killed this literacy legislation without even allowing it to be heard,” she said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“… CA kids’ futures are too important to allow backroom politics to silence this issue. We will no longer accept lip service in addressing our literacy crisis. It is time for action, and we aren’t going away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates for students with dyslexia support the phonics-based teaching methods as especially effective for children with a learning disability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said he supports the science of reading. “However, we need to make sure that we do this right by serving the needs of all California students, including our English learners,” he said in a statement to EdSource. “California is the most language-diverse state in the country, and we need to develop a literacy instruction strategy that works for all of our students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I thank Speaker Robert Rivas for his decision to pursue a more deliberative process involving all education stakeholders before enacting a costly overhaul of how reading is taught statewide,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>EdSource reporter Karen D’Souza contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s largest teachers union has moved to put the brakes on legislation that mandates instruction, known as the “science of reading,” that spotlights phonics to teach children to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move by the politically powerful California Teachers Association (CTA) puts the fate of Assembly Bill 2222 in question as supporters insist that there is room to negotiate changes that will bring opponents together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CTA’s complaints include some recently voiced by some advocacy organizations for English learners and bilingual education that \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learner-advocates-oppose-science-of-reading-bill/707178\">oppose the bill\u003c/a> and have refused to negotiate any changes to make the bill more acceptable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Yolie Flores, president, Families in Schools\"]‘It’s not the only thing that teachers will need to do and to adhere to, but it’s sort of the basic foundational knowledge of how children’s brains work in order to learn to read.’[/pullquote]The teachers union put its opposition to \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AB 2222\u003c/a> in writing in a lengthy letter to Assembly Education Committee Chairman Al Muratsuchi last week. The committee is expected to hear the bill, introduced in February, later this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EarllyLit-AB2222-CTA-no-032824.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The letter \u003c/a>includes a checklist of complaints including that the proposed legislation would duplicate and potentially undermine current literacy initiatives, would not meet the needs of English learner students and cuts teachers out of the decision-making process, especially when it comes to curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Educators are best equipped to make school and classroom decisions to ensure student success,” the letter said. “Limiting instructional approaches undermines teachers’ professional autonomy and may impede their effectiveness in the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy nonprofit co-sponsoring the bill, said he was surprised that CTA would oppose legislation that would ensure all teachers are trained to use the latest brain research to teach children how to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, a lot of folks in the field haven’t actually been trained on that, and a lot of the instruction materials in classrooms today don’t align with that,” Tuck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuck said CTA appears to misunderstand the body of evidence-based research known as the science of reading. It “is not a curriculum and is not a program or a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “It will give teachers a foundational understanding of how children learn to read. Teachers will still have a lot of room locally to decide which instructional moves to make on any given day for any given children. So, you’ll still have significant differentiation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A nationwide push\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s push to adopt the science of reading approach to early literacy is in sync with \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-science-of-reading-in-2024-5-state-initiatives-to-watch/2024/01#:~:text=These%20actions%20join%20a%20mounting,to%20evidence%2Dbased%20reading%20instruction.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">37 states \u003c/a>and some cities, such as New York City, that have passed similar legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11972684,mindshift_63241,news_11969236\" label=\"Related Stories\"]States nationwide are rejecting balanced literacy as failing to effectively teach children how to read, since it trains children to use pictures to recognize words on sight, also known as three-cueing. The new method would teach children to decode words by sounding them out, a process known as phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although phonics, the ability to connect letters to sounds, has drawn the most attention, the science of reading focuses on four other pillars of literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, identifying distinct units of sounds; vocabulary; comprehension; and fluency. It is based on research on how the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/why-theres-more-to-the-science-of-reading-than-phonics/695976\">brain connects \u003c/a>letters with sounds when learning to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would require that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour-minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation goes against the state policy of local control that gives school districts authority to select curriculum and teaching methods as long as they meet state academic standards. Currently, the state encourages, but does not mandate, districts to incorporate instruction in the science of reading in the early grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a big bill,” said Yolie Flores, president of Families in Schools, a co-sponsor. “We’re very proud that it’s a big bill because that means it is truly consequential in the best way possible for children. It’s not a sort of tweak around the edges kind though, it’s the kind of bill that really brings transformation. So we are hoping that the Legislature sees beyond the sort of typical pushback and resistance, and in the end, I think, teachers will see that this was a huge benefit for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Seeking compromise\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The bill’s author, Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) said she took CTA’s seven-page letter not as an outright rejection but as an opportunity for negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad they sent this letter,” she said. “They outline their objections and the reasons why, and that’s something I can work with. It’s not a flat, ‘No, we don’t want you to do it.’ They gave me specific items that I can look at and have a conversation about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that Assemblymember Muratsuchi asked her to work with the CTA on a compromise. She is also meeting with consultants for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) “to look at the big picture,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Flores says the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/legislative-analyst-update-projects-bigger-funding-drop-for-schools-community-colleges/706457\">budget problems\u003c/a>, with predictions of no money for new programs, may be a bigger hurdle to getting the bill passed than the CTA opposition. The cost of paying for the required professional development for teachers would total $200 million to $300 million, she said. Because it is a mandate, the state would be required to repay districts for the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is a drop in the bucket for something so transformational, so consequential,” Flores said. “I hope that the Legislature really comes to that realization. We’re in a budget deficit, but our budget is a statement of priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say that it is imperative that California mandate instruction in the science of reading. In 2023, just 43% of California third graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of lower-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s foundational,” Flores said. “It’s not the only thing teachers need to know. It’s not the only thing that teachers will need to do and to adhere to, but it’s sort of the basic foundational knowledge of how children’s brains work in order to learn to read.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would sunset in 2028 when all teachers are required to have completed training. Beginning in July, all teacher preparation programs would be required to teach future educators to base literacy instruction on the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Needs of English learners\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CTA and other critics of AB 2222 charge that it ignores the need of English learners for oral language skills, vocabulary and comparison between their home languages and English, which they need in order to learn how to read.\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-lags-behind-other-states-in-bilingual-education-for-english-learners/701270\"> Four out of 10 students\u003c/a> in California start school as English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuck disputes this. “We actually emphasize oral language development,” he said. “This would be the first statute that would say when instructional materials are adopted, and when teachers are trained in the science of reading, they must include a focus on English learners and oral language development.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Representatives from Californians Together, an advocacy organization for English learners and bilingual education, applauded the CTA’s opposition to the bill. They oppose the bill, rather than suggest amendments, because they disagree with its overall approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just don’t think this is the right bill to address literacy needs,” said Executive Director Martha Hernandez. “It’s very restrictive. We know that mandates don’t work. It lacks a robust, comprehensive approach for multilingual learners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Californians Together and the California Association for Bilingual Education have both said they would prefer California fund the training of teachers and full implementation of the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/cf/documents/elaeldfwintro.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The framework was adopted in 2014 and encourages, but does not mandate, explicit instruction in foundational skills and oral language development for English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Language Teachers Association has requested the bill be amended to include information about teaching literacy in languages not based on the English alphabet, such as Japanese, Chinese or Arabic, according to Executive Director Liz Matchett. However, the organization has not yet taken a position on the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I agree that we want to support all children to be able to read. If they can’t read, they can’t participate in education, which is the one way that is proven to change people’s circumstances,” said Matchett, who teaches Spanish at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. “There’s nothing to oppose about that. I’m still a classroom teacher, and all the time, you get kids in high school who can’t read.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://west.edtrust.org/press-release/statement-on-ab-2222-rubio-early-literacy-science-of-reading/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Education Trust-West\u003c/a> urges changes in the bill to center the needs of “multilingual learners” — children who speak languages other than English at home — and to include more oversight and fewer mandates, such as those that may discourage new teachers from entering the profession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If our recommended amendments were to be accepted, EdTrust-West would support it as a much-needed solution to California’s acute literacy crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claude Goldenberg, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, said “it was disappointing” to see CTA’s opposition, particularly because the union did not suggest amendments. He said he had met with representatives from CTA and urged them to identify what could be changed in the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learners-too-would-benefit-from-fixing-how-we-teach-reading-in-california-this-bill-is-a-good-start/708799\"> EdSource commentary\u003c/a>, Goldenberg urged opponents to “do the right thing for all students. AB 2222’s introduction is an important step forward on the road to universal literacy in California. We must get it on the right track and take it across the finish line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Referring to the CTA’s opposition, Goldenberg said, “Obviously my urgings fell flat. They identified why they’re opposing, but there’s no indication of any possible re-evaluation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learners-too-would-benefit-from-fixing-how-we-teach-reading-in-california-this-bill-is-a-good-start/708799\">Goldenberg\u003c/a>, who served on the National Literacy Panel, which synthesized research on literacy development among children who speak languages other than English, has called on the bill’s authors to amend it to include a more comprehensive definition of the “science of reading” and include more information about teaching students to read in English as a second language and in their home languages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CTA has \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/cta-sponsored-legislation-would-remove-one-of-states-last-required-tests-for-teachers/706391\">changed its position\u003c/a> on bills related to literacy instruction in the last two years. It had originally supported \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/cta-sponsored-legislation-would-remove-one-of-states-last-required-tests-for-teachers/706391\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a>, which passed in 2022. The legislation requires a literacy performance assessment for teachers and oversight of literacy instruction in teacher preparation. The union is now in support of a bill that would do away with both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change of course was attributed to a survey of 1,300 CTA members, who said the assessment caused stress, took away time that could have been used to collaborate with mentors and for teaching, and did not prepare them to meet the needs of students, according to Leslie Littman, vice president of the union, in a prior interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran political observer Dan Schnur said he’s not surprised CTA would oppose the bill since some of its political allies are against it; the question is how important CTA considers the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it becomes a pitched battle, CTA will have to decide whether it is one of its highest priorities in this session,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t indicated his position yet, but Schnur, the press secretary for former Gov. Pete Wilson, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and USC, said, “This is not the type of fight Newsom needs or wants right now. If he has strong feelings, it’s hard to see him going to war for or against.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/bill-to-mandate-science-of-reading-in-california-schools-faces-teachers-union-opposition/709193\">\u003cem>This story was originally published in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s largest teachers union has moved to put the brakes on legislation that mandates instruction, known as the “science of reading,” that spotlights phonics to teach children to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move by the politically powerful California Teachers Association (CTA) puts the fate of Assembly Bill 2222 in question as supporters insist that there is room to negotiate changes that will bring opponents together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CTA’s complaints include some recently voiced by some advocacy organizations for English learners and bilingual education that \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learner-advocates-oppose-science-of-reading-bill/707178\">oppose the bill\u003c/a> and have refused to negotiate any changes to make the bill more acceptable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The teachers union put its opposition to \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AB 2222\u003c/a> in writing in a lengthy letter to Assembly Education Committee Chairman Al Muratsuchi last week. The committee is expected to hear the bill, introduced in February, later this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EarllyLit-AB2222-CTA-no-032824.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The letter \u003c/a>includes a checklist of complaints including that the proposed legislation would duplicate and potentially undermine current literacy initiatives, would not meet the needs of English learner students and cuts teachers out of the decision-making process, especially when it comes to curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Educators are best equipped to make school and classroom decisions to ensure student success,” the letter said. “Limiting instructional approaches undermines teachers’ professional autonomy and may impede their effectiveness in the classroom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy nonprofit co-sponsoring the bill, said he was surprised that CTA would oppose legislation that would ensure all teachers are trained to use the latest brain research to teach children how to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, a lot of folks in the field haven’t actually been trained on that, and a lot of the instruction materials in classrooms today don’t align with that,” Tuck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuck said CTA appears to misunderstand the body of evidence-based research known as the science of reading. It “is not a curriculum and is not a program or a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “It will give teachers a foundational understanding of how children learn to read. Teachers will still have a lot of room locally to decide which instructional moves to make on any given day for any given children. So, you’ll still have significant differentiation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A nationwide push\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California’s push to adopt the science of reading approach to early literacy is in sync with \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-science-of-reading-in-2024-5-state-initiatives-to-watch/2024/01#:~:text=These%20actions%20join%20a%20mounting,to%20evidence%2Dbased%20reading%20instruction.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">37 states \u003c/a>and some cities, such as New York City, that have passed similar legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>States nationwide are rejecting balanced literacy as failing to effectively teach children how to read, since it trains children to use pictures to recognize words on sight, also known as three-cueing. The new method would teach children to decode words by sounding them out, a process known as phonics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although phonics, the ability to connect letters to sounds, has drawn the most attention, the science of reading focuses on four other pillars of literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, identifying distinct units of sounds; vocabulary; comprehension; and fluency. It is based on research on how the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/why-theres-more-to-the-science-of-reading-than-phonics/695976\">brain connects \u003c/a>letters with sounds when learning to read.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would require that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour-minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The legislation goes against the state policy of local control that gives school districts authority to select curriculum and teaching methods as long as they meet state academic standards. Currently, the state encourages, but does not mandate, districts to incorporate instruction in the science of reading in the early grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a big bill,” said Yolie Flores, president of Families in Schools, a co-sponsor. “We’re very proud that it’s a big bill because that means it is truly consequential in the best way possible for children. It’s not a sort of tweak around the edges kind though, it’s the kind of bill that really brings transformation. So we are hoping that the Legislature sees beyond the sort of typical pushback and resistance, and in the end, I think, teachers will see that this was a huge benefit for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Seeking compromise\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The bill’s author, Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) said she took CTA’s seven-page letter not as an outright rejection but as an opportunity for negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad they sent this letter,” she said. “They outline their objections and the reasons why, and that’s something I can work with. It’s not a flat, ‘No, we don’t want you to do it.’ They gave me specific items that I can look at and have a conversation about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that Assemblymember Muratsuchi asked her to work with the CTA on a compromise. She is also meeting with consultants for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) “to look at the big picture,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Flores says the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/legislative-analyst-update-projects-bigger-funding-drop-for-schools-community-colleges/706457\">budget problems\u003c/a>, with predictions of no money for new programs, may be a bigger hurdle to getting the bill passed than the CTA opposition. The cost of paying for the required professional development for teachers would total $200 million to $300 million, she said. Because it is a mandate, the state would be required to repay districts for the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That is a drop in the bucket for something so transformational, so consequential,” Flores said. “I hope that the Legislature really comes to that realization. We’re in a budget deficit, but our budget is a statement of priorities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates say that it is imperative that California mandate instruction in the science of reading. In 2023, just 43% of California third graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of lower-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s foundational,” Flores said. “It’s not the only thing teachers need to know. It’s not the only thing that teachers will need to do and to adhere to, but it’s sort of the basic foundational knowledge of how children’s brains work in order to learn to read.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill would sunset in 2028 when all teachers are required to have completed training. Beginning in July, all teacher preparation programs would be required to teach future educators to base literacy instruction on the science of reading.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Needs of English learners\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The CTA and other critics of AB 2222 charge that it ignores the need of English learners for oral language skills, vocabulary and comparison between their home languages and English, which they need in order to learn how to read.\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-lags-behind-other-states-in-bilingual-education-for-english-learners/701270\"> Four out of 10 students\u003c/a> in California start school as English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tuck disputes this. “We actually emphasize oral language development,” he said. “This would be the first statute that would say when instructional materials are adopted, and when teachers are trained in the science of reading, they must include a focus on English learners and oral language development.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Representatives from Californians Together, an advocacy organization for English learners and bilingual education, applauded the CTA’s opposition to the bill. They oppose the bill, rather than suggest amendments, because they disagree with its overall approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just don’t think this is the right bill to address literacy needs,” said Executive Director Martha Hernandez. “It’s very restrictive. We know that mandates don’t work. It lacks a robust, comprehensive approach for multilingual learners.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, Californians Together and the California Association for Bilingual Education have both said they would prefer California fund the training of teachers and full implementation of the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/cf/documents/elaeldfwintro.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework (PDF)\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The framework was adopted in 2014 and encourages, but does not mandate, explicit instruction in foundational skills and oral language development for English learners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Language Teachers Association has requested the bill be amended to include information about teaching literacy in languages not based on the English alphabet, such as Japanese, Chinese or Arabic, according to Executive Director Liz Matchett. However, the organization has not yet taken a position on the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I agree that we want to support all children to be able to read. If they can’t read, they can’t participate in education, which is the one way that is proven to change people’s circumstances,” said Matchett, who teaches Spanish at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. “There’s nothing to oppose about that. I’m still a classroom teacher, and all the time, you get kids in high school who can’t read.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://west.edtrust.org/press-release/statement-on-ab-2222-rubio-early-literacy-science-of-reading/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Education Trust-West\u003c/a> urges changes in the bill to center the needs of “multilingual learners” — children who speak languages other than English at home — and to include more oversight and fewer mandates, such as those that may discourage new teachers from entering the profession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If our recommended amendments were to be accepted, EdTrust-West would support it as a much-needed solution to California’s acute literacy crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claude Goldenberg, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, said “it was disappointing” to see CTA’s opposition, particularly because the union did not suggest amendments. He said he had met with representatives from CTA and urged them to identify what could be changed in the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a recent\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learners-too-would-benefit-from-fixing-how-we-teach-reading-in-california-this-bill-is-a-good-start/708799\"> EdSource commentary\u003c/a>, Goldenberg urged opponents to “do the right thing for all students. AB 2222’s introduction is an important step forward on the road to universal literacy in California. We must get it on the right track and take it across the finish line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Referring to the CTA’s opposition, Goldenberg said, “Obviously my urgings fell flat. They identified why they’re opposing, but there’s no indication of any possible re-evaluation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/english-learners-too-would-benefit-from-fixing-how-we-teach-reading-in-california-this-bill-is-a-good-start/708799\">Goldenberg\u003c/a>, who served on the National Literacy Panel, which synthesized research on literacy development among children who speak languages other than English, has called on the bill’s authors to amend it to include a more comprehensive definition of the “science of reading” and include more information about teaching students to read in English as a second language and in their home languages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The CTA has \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/cta-sponsored-legislation-would-remove-one-of-states-last-required-tests-for-teachers/706391\">changed its position\u003c/a> on bills related to literacy instruction in the last two years. It had originally supported \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/cta-sponsored-legislation-would-remove-one-of-states-last-required-tests-for-teachers/706391\">Senate Bill 488\u003c/a>, which passed in 2022. The legislation requires a literacy performance assessment for teachers and oversight of literacy instruction in teacher preparation. The union is now in support of a bill that would do away with both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change of course was attributed to a survey of 1,300 CTA members, who said the assessment caused stress, took away time that could have been used to collaborate with mentors and for teaching, and did not prepare them to meet the needs of students, according to Leslie Littman, vice president of the union, in a prior interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Veteran political observer Dan Schnur said he’s not surprised CTA would oppose the bill since some of its political allies are against it; the question is how important CTA considers the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it becomes a pitched battle, CTA will have to decide whether it is one of its highest priorities in this session,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t indicated his position yet, but Schnur, the press secretary for former Gov. Pete Wilson, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and USC, said, “This is not the type of fight Newsom needs or wants right now. If he has strong feelings, it’s hard to see him going to war for or against.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/bill-to-mandate-science-of-reading-in-california-schools-faces-teachers-union-opposition/709193\">\u003cem>This story was originally published in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "california-local-districts-try-to-recruit-and-retain-more-black-teachers-is-it-working",
"title": "Why Can't California, Districts Recruit and Retain More Black Teachers?",
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"content": "\u003cp>Recruiting and retaining Black teachers has taken on new urgency in recent years as California lawmakers try to ease the state’s teacher shortage. The state and individual school districts have launched initiatives to recruit teachers of color, but educators and advocates say more needs to be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hiring a diverse group of teachers helps all students, but the impact is particularly significant for students of color, who then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11971463/how-this-east-bay-school-district-improved-its-black-students-scores\">score higher on tests\u003c/a> and are more likely to graduate from college, \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/diversifying-teaching-profession-report\">according to the Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a>. A recently released \u003ca href=\"https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/Study-Black-Boys-Are-Less-Likely-to-Be-Identified-for-Special-Education-When-Matched-with-Black-Teachers\">report\u003c/a> also found that Black boys are less likely to be identified for special education when they have a Black teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last five years, state lawmakers have made earning a credential easier and more affordable, and have offered incentives for school staff to become teachers — all moves meant to ease the teacher shortage and help to diversify the educator workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite efforts by the state and school districts, the number of Black teachers doesn’t seem to be increasing. Black teachers say that to keep them in the classroom, teacher preparation must be more affordable, pay and benefits increased, and more done to ensure they are treated with respect, supported and given opportunities to lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black educators specifically said that they felt like they were being pushed out of the state of California,” said Jalisa Evans, chief executive director of the Black Educator Advocates Network of a recent survey of Black teachers. “When we look at the future of Black educators for the state, it can go either way, because what Black educators are feeling right now is that they’re not welcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Task force offers recommendations\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond called diversifying the teacher workforce \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2019/effort-to-increase-the-number-of-teachers-of-color-in-california-classrooms-gains-momentum/618412\">a priority\u003c/a> and established the California Department of Education Educator Diversity Advisory Group in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advisory group has made several \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/documents/dtwcouncilreportapril22.pdf\">recommendations (PDF)\u003c/a>, including beginning a public relations campaign and offering sustained funding to recruit and retain teachers of color, and providing guidance and accountability to school districts on the matter. The group also wants universities, community groups and school districts to enter into partnerships to build pathways for teachers of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=mindshift_61973,news_11958048,mindshift_58898]Since then, California has created a set of \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/sh/twsl602cpvewo7c/AACOY6RtvFwAcHyskC25k7_ya?dl=0\">public service announcements\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CIRWxU0o6JR6UmNbU6k4lUlAstFouDqj/view\">a video\u003c/a> to help recruit teachers and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/eb/ba2023-24.asp\">invested $10 million\u003c/a> to help people of color to become school administrators, said Travis Bristol, chairman of the advisory group and an associate professor of education at UC Berkeley. Staff from county offices of education also have been meeting to share ideas on how they can support districts’ efforts to recruit and retain teachers of color, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also has invested more than $350 million over the past six years to fund \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-sunk-millions-into-teacher-residency-program-but-many-cant-afford-to-enroll/685984\">teacher residency programs\u003c/a>, and recently passed legislation to ensure residents are paid a minimum salary. Residents work alongside an experienced teacher-mentor for a year of clinical training while completing coursework in a university preparation program — a time commitment that often precludes them from taking a job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators have also proposed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1391\">a bill\u003c/a> that would require that student teachers be paid. Completing the 600 hours of unpaid student teaching required by the state, while paying for tuition, books, supplies and living expenses, is a challenge for many Black teacher candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black teacher candidates typically take on much more student debt than their white counterparts, in part, because of the large racial wealth gap in the United States. \u003ca href=\"https://files.epi.org/uploads/228660.pdf\">A 2019 study (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Economic Policy Institute showed that the median white family had $184,000 in family wealth (property and cash), while the median Latino family had $38,000 and the median Black family had $23,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lack of data makes it difficult to know what is working\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to know if state efforts are working. California hasn’t released any data on teacher demographics since the 2018–19 school year, although the data is submitted annually by school districts. The California Department of Education (CDE) did not provide updated data or interviews requested by EdSource for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed-data.org/state/CA?_gl=1*1jpjs0a*_ga*MTgzMjkyMjEyNC4xNzEyMjUxMDEy*_ga_475QR6J62K*MTcxMjI1MzEzNC4yLjEuMTcxMjI1Mzc4OS41NS4wLjA.\">most recent data\u003c/a> from CDE shows the number of Black teachers in California declined from 4.2% in 2009 to 3.9% during the 2018–19 school year. The National Center for Education Statistics data from the 2020–21 show that Black teachers made up 3.8% of the state educator workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having current data is a critical first step to understanding the problem and addressing it, said Mayra Lara, director of Southern California partnerships and engagement at The Education Trust-West, an education research and advocacy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s be clear: The California Department of Education needs to annually publish educator demographic and experience data,” Lara said. “It has failed to do so for the past four years. … Without this data, families, communities and decision-makers really are in the dark when it comes to the diversity of the educator workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>LA Unified losing Black teachers despite efforts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While most state programs focus on recruiting and retaining all teachers of color, some California school districts have initiatives focused solely on recruiting Black teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, passed \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ki8U010oqK0bRw0dX6z94Dgy53T0Hgda/view\">the Black Student Excellence through Educator Diversity, Preparation and Retention resolution (PDF)\u003c/a> two years ago. It required district staff to develop a strategic plan to ensure schools have Black teachers, administrators and mental health workers, and to advocate for programs that offer pathways for Black people to become teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the resolution was passed, in February 2022, Los Angeles Unified had 1,889 Black teachers — \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=73819&dataid=122974&FileName=IAU%20Report%202022%200506%20-%20Black%20Educators%20in%20L.A.%20Unified.pdf\">9% of its teacher workforce (PDF)\u003c/a>. The following school year, that number declined to \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/468/2022-2023%20TDemo.pdf\">1,823 or 7.9% of district teachers (PDF)\u003c/a>. The number of Black teachers in the district has gone down each year since 2016. The district did not provide data for the current school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Whitman, director of the Educational Transformation Office at Los Angeles Unified, attributed the decrease, in part, to the difficulty of attracting teachers to the district, primarily because of the area’s high cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those who are coming out of colleges now, in some cases, we find that they can make more money doing other things,” Whitman said. “And so, they may not necessarily see education as the most viable option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The underrepresentation of people of color prompted the district to create its own \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/districtinternprogram\">in-house credentialing program\u003c/a>, approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Whitman said. The program allows classified staff, such as substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, administrative assistants and bus drivers, to become credentialed teachers while earning a salary and benefits at their original jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grow-your-own programs such as this, and the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2020/californias-effort-to-turn-school-staff-into-teachers-starts-to-pay-off/621726\">Classified School Employee Credentialing program\u003c/a>, and a soon-to-be launched \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/california-adding-apprenticeships-to-teacher-recruitment-toolbox/705245\">apprenticeship program\u003c/a>, are meant to diversify the educator workforce because school staff recruited from the community more closely match the demographics of the student body than traditionally trained and recruited teachers, according to research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified has other initiatives to increase the number of Black educators in the district, Whitman said, including working with universities and colleges to bring Black teachers, counselors and psychiatric social workers to their campuses. The district also has programs that help school workers earn a credential for free, and channels employees completing a bachelor’s degree toward the district’s teacher-preparation program where they can begin teaching while earning their credential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All new teachers at Los Angeles Unified are supported by mentors and affinity groups, which have been well received by Black teachers, who credit them with inspiring and helping them to see themselves as leaders in the district, Whitman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oakland has more Black teachers than students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Recruiting and retaining Black teachers is an important part of the Oakland Unified three-year strategic plan, said Sarah Glasband, director of recruitment and retention for the district. To achieve its goals, the district has launched several partnerships that make an apprenticeship program, and a residency program that includes a housing subsidy, possible. A partnership with the Black Teacher Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, offers affinity groups, workshops and seminars to support the district’s Black teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district also has a Classified School Employee Program funded by the state and a new high school program to train future teachers. District pathway programs have an average attrition rate of less than 10%, Glasband said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, 21.3% of the district’s K–12 teachers are Black, compared with 20.3% of their student population, according to district data. Oakland Unified had a retention rate of about 85% for Black teachers between 2019 and 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Better pay, a path to leadership will help teachers stay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black teachers interviewed by EdSource and researchers say that to keep them in the classroom, more needs to be done to make teacher preparation affordable, improve pay and benefits, and ensure they are treated with respect, supported and given opportunities to lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://blackeducatorsadvocate.org/reports\">The Black Educator Advocates Network\u003c/a> came up with five recommendations after surveying 128 former and current Black teachers in California about what it would take to keep them in the classroom:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hire more Black educators and staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Build an anti-racist, culturally responsive and inclusive school environment.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Create safe spaces for Black educators and students to come together.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Provide and require culturally responsive training for all staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Recognize, provide leadership opportunities and include Black educators in decision making.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Teachers interviewed by EdSource said paying teachers more also would make it easier for them to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say that it’s the pay that’s going to get more Black teachers,” Brooke Sims, a Stockton teacher, told EdSource. “But you get better pay, you get better health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average teacher salary in the state is $88,508, with the average starting pay at $51,600, according to the 2023 National Education Association report, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank\">State of Educator Pay in America\u003c/a>.” California’s minimum living wage was $54,070 last year, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State efforts, such as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/nbptsprogramfaq.asp\">initiative\u003c/a> that pays teachers $5,000 annually for five years after they earn National Board Certification, will help with pay parity across school districts, Bristol said. Teachers prove through assessments and a portfolio that they meet the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. To be eligible for the grant, teachers must work at least half of their time in a high-needs school. Teachers who qualify are also given $2,500 to cover the cost of certification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incentive will help teachers continue their education and improve their practice, said Los Angeles teacher Petrina Miller. “It’s awesome,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Teacher candidates must be actively recruited\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many Black college students have not considered a teaching career because they have never had a Black teacher, said Preston Jackson, who teaches physical education at California Middle School in Sacramento. Those who consider a teaching career are often deterred by the cost of teacher preparation, taking required tests and unpaid student teaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In order to increase the number of Black teachers in schools, it has to become deliberate,” Jackson said. “You have to actively recruit and actively seek them out to bring them into the profession.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since starting in 2005, Jackson has been one of only a handful of Black teachers at his school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And for almost every single one of my kids, I’m the first Black teacher they’ve ever had,” said Jackson. “… And for some of them, I’m the first one they’ve ever seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mentors are needed to help retain new teachers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mentor teachers are the key ingredient to helping new Black educators transition successfully into teaching, according to teachers interviewed by EdSource. Alicia Simba says she could have taken a job for $25,000 more annually in a Bay Area district with few Black teachers or students, but opted to take a lower salary to work in Oakland Unified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=mindshift_61254 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/03/mg_5379_slide-e0fcdc0a61cb5bc22b69be662b738acd7609a685-1020x680.jpg']But like many young teachers, Simba knew she wanted mentors to help her navigate her first years in the classroom. She works alongside Black teachers in Oakland Unified who have more than 20 years of teaching experience. One of her mentor teachers shared her experience of teaching on the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. Other teachers told her about teaching in the 1980s during the crack cocaine epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really helps dispel some of the sort of narratives that I hear, which is that being a teacher is completely unsustainable,” Simba said. “Like, there’s no way that anyone could ever be a teacher long term, which are things that, you know, I’ve heard my friends say, and I’ve thought it myself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most obvious way to retain Black teachers would be to make sure they are treated the same as non-Black teachers, said Brenda Walker, a Black teacher and president of the Associated Chino Teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are a district administrator, site administrator, site or colleague, parent or student, my bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and my special education credential are just as valuable and carry as much weight, and are as respected as any other educator,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“However, it’s just as critical for all those groups to acknowledge and respect the unique cultural experience I bring to the table and acknowledge and respect that I’m a proud product of my ancestral history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/state-school-districts-try-to-recruit-and-retain-black-teachers-heres-whats-keeping-them-away/708715\">This story originally appeared in EdSource\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/author/dlambert\">Diana Lambert\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Recruiting and retaining Black teachers has taken on new urgency in recent years as California lawmakers try to ease the state’s teacher shortage. The state and individual school districts have launched initiatives to recruit teachers of color, but educators and advocates say more needs to be done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hiring a diverse group of teachers helps all students, but the impact is particularly significant for students of color, who then \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11971463/how-this-east-bay-school-district-improved-its-black-students-scores\">score higher on tests\u003c/a> and are more likely to graduate from college, \u003ca href=\"https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/diversifying-teaching-profession-report\">according to the Learning Policy Institute\u003c/a>. A recently released \u003ca href=\"https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/Study-Black-Boys-Are-Less-Likely-to-Be-Identified-for-Special-Education-When-Matched-with-Black-Teachers\">report\u003c/a> also found that Black boys are less likely to be identified for special education when they have a Black teacher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the last five years, state lawmakers have made earning a credential easier and more affordable, and have offered incentives for school staff to become teachers — all moves meant to ease the teacher shortage and help to diversify the educator workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite efforts by the state and school districts, the number of Black teachers doesn’t seem to be increasing. Black teachers say that to keep them in the classroom, teacher preparation must be more affordable, pay and benefits increased, and more done to ensure they are treated with respect, supported and given opportunities to lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Black educators specifically said that they felt like they were being pushed out of the state of California,” said Jalisa Evans, chief executive director of the Black Educator Advocates Network of a recent survey of Black teachers. “When we look at the future of Black educators for the state, it can go either way, because what Black educators are feeling right now is that they’re not welcome.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Task force offers recommendations\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond called diversifying the teacher workforce \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2019/effort-to-increase-the-number-of-teachers-of-color-in-california-classrooms-gains-momentum/618412\">a priority\u003c/a> and established the California Department of Education Educator Diversity Advisory Group in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The advisory group has made several \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/documents/dtwcouncilreportapril22.pdf\">recommendations (PDF)\u003c/a>, including beginning a public relations campaign and offering sustained funding to recruit and retain teachers of color, and providing guidance and accountability to school districts on the matter. The group also wants universities, community groups and school districts to enter into partnerships to build pathways for teachers of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since then, California has created a set of \u003ca href=\"https://www.dropbox.com/sh/twsl602cpvewo7c/AACOY6RtvFwAcHyskC25k7_ya?dl=0\">public service announcements\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CIRWxU0o6JR6UmNbU6k4lUlAstFouDqj/view\">a video\u003c/a> to help recruit teachers and has \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/eb/ba2023-24.asp\">invested $10 million\u003c/a> to help people of color to become school administrators, said Travis Bristol, chairman of the advisory group and an associate professor of education at UC Berkeley. Staff from county offices of education also have been meeting to share ideas on how they can support districts’ efforts to recruit and retain teachers of color, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also has invested more than $350 million over the past six years to fund \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-sunk-millions-into-teacher-residency-program-but-many-cant-afford-to-enroll/685984\">teacher residency programs\u003c/a>, and recently passed legislation to ensure residents are paid a minimum salary. Residents work alongside an experienced teacher-mentor for a year of clinical training while completing coursework in a university preparation program — a time commitment that often precludes them from taking a job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislators have also proposed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1391\">a bill\u003c/a> that would require that student teachers be paid. Completing the 600 hours of unpaid student teaching required by the state, while paying for tuition, books, supplies and living expenses, is a challenge for many Black teacher candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black teacher candidates typically take on much more student debt than their white counterparts, in part, because of the large racial wealth gap in the United States. \u003ca href=\"https://files.epi.org/uploads/228660.pdf\">A 2019 study (PDF)\u003c/a> by the Economic Policy Institute showed that the median white family had $184,000 in family wealth (property and cash), while the median Latino family had $38,000 and the median Black family had $23,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lack of data makes it difficult to know what is working\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s difficult to know if state efforts are working. California hasn’t released any data on teacher demographics since the 2018–19 school year, although the data is submitted annually by school districts. The California Department of Education (CDE) did not provide updated data or interviews requested by EdSource for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.ed-data.org/state/CA?_gl=1*1jpjs0a*_ga*MTgzMjkyMjEyNC4xNzEyMjUxMDEy*_ga_475QR6J62K*MTcxMjI1MzEzNC4yLjEuMTcxMjI1Mzc4OS41NS4wLjA.\">most recent data\u003c/a> from CDE shows the number of Black teachers in California declined from 4.2% in 2009 to 3.9% during the 2018–19 school year. The National Center for Education Statistics data from the 2020–21 show that Black teachers made up 3.8% of the state educator workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having current data is a critical first step to understanding the problem and addressing it, said Mayra Lara, director of Southern California partnerships and engagement at The Education Trust-West, an education research and advocacy organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Let’s be clear: The California Department of Education needs to annually publish educator demographic and experience data,” Lara said. “It has failed to do so for the past four years. … Without this data, families, communities and decision-makers really are in the dark when it comes to the diversity of the educator workforce.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>LA Unified losing Black teachers despite efforts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While most state programs focus on recruiting and retaining all teachers of color, some California school districts have initiatives focused solely on recruiting Black teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, passed \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ki8U010oqK0bRw0dX6z94Dgy53T0Hgda/view\">the Black Student Excellence through Educator Diversity, Preparation and Retention resolution (PDF)\u003c/a> two years ago. It required district staff to develop a strategic plan to ensure schools have Black teachers, administrators and mental health workers, and to advocate for programs that offer pathways for Black people to become teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the resolution was passed, in February 2022, Los Angeles Unified had 1,889 Black teachers — \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=73819&dataid=122974&FileName=IAU%20Report%202022%200506%20-%20Black%20Educators%20in%20L.A.%20Unified.pdf\">9% of its teacher workforce (PDF)\u003c/a>. The following school year, that number declined to \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/468/2022-2023%20TDemo.pdf\">1,823 or 7.9% of district teachers (PDF)\u003c/a>. The number of Black teachers in the district has gone down each year since 2016. The district did not provide data for the current school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Whitman, director of the Educational Transformation Office at Los Angeles Unified, attributed the decrease, in part, to the difficulty of attracting teachers to the district, primarily because of the area’s high cost of living.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those who are coming out of colleges now, in some cases, we find that they can make more money doing other things,” Whitman said. “And so, they may not necessarily see education as the most viable option.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The underrepresentation of people of color prompted the district to create its own \u003ca href=\"https://www.lausd.org/districtinternprogram\">in-house credentialing program\u003c/a>, approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Whitman said. The program allows classified staff, such as substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, administrative assistants and bus drivers, to become credentialed teachers while earning a salary and benefits at their original jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grow-your-own programs such as this, and the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2020/californias-effort-to-turn-school-staff-into-teachers-starts-to-pay-off/621726\">Classified School Employee Credentialing program\u003c/a>, and a soon-to-be launched \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/california-adding-apprenticeships-to-teacher-recruitment-toolbox/705245\">apprenticeship program\u003c/a>, are meant to diversify the educator workforce because school staff recruited from the community more closely match the demographics of the student body than traditionally trained and recruited teachers, according to research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified has other initiatives to increase the number of Black educators in the district, Whitman said, including working with universities and colleges to bring Black teachers, counselors and psychiatric social workers to their campuses. The district also has programs that help school workers earn a credential for free, and channels employees completing a bachelor’s degree toward the district’s teacher-preparation program where they can begin teaching while earning their credential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All new teachers at Los Angeles Unified are supported by mentors and affinity groups, which have been well received by Black teachers, who credit them with inspiring and helping them to see themselves as leaders in the district, Whitman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oakland has more Black teachers than students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Recruiting and retaining Black teachers is an important part of the Oakland Unified three-year strategic plan, said Sarah Glasband, director of recruitment and retention for the district. To achieve its goals, the district has launched several partnerships that make an apprenticeship program, and a residency program that includes a housing subsidy, possible. A partnership with the Black Teacher Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, offers affinity groups, workshops and seminars to support the district’s Black teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district also has a Classified School Employee Program funded by the state and a new high school program to train future teachers. District pathway programs have an average attrition rate of less than 10%, Glasband said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, 21.3% of the district’s K–12 teachers are Black, compared with 20.3% of their student population, according to district data. Oakland Unified had a retention rate of about 85% for Black teachers between 2019 and 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Better pay, a path to leadership will help teachers stay\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black teachers interviewed by EdSource and researchers say that to keep them in the classroom, more needs to be done to make teacher preparation affordable, improve pay and benefits, and ensure they are treated with respect, supported and given opportunities to lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://blackeducatorsadvocate.org/reports\">The Black Educator Advocates Network\u003c/a> came up with five recommendations after surveying 128 former and current Black teachers in California about what it would take to keep them in the classroom:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Hire more Black educators and staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Build an anti-racist, culturally responsive and inclusive school environment.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Create safe spaces for Black educators and students to come together.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Provide and require culturally responsive training for all staff.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Recognize, provide leadership opportunities and include Black educators in decision making.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Teachers interviewed by EdSource said paying teachers more also would make it easier for them to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say that it’s the pay that’s going to get more Black teachers,” Brooke Sims, a Stockton teacher, told EdSource. “But you get better pay, you get better health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average teacher salary in the state is $88,508, with the average starting pay at $51,600, according to the 2023 National Education Association report, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank\">State of Educator Pay in America\u003c/a>.” California’s minimum living wage was $54,070 last year, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State efforts, such as an \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/nbptsprogramfaq.asp\">initiative\u003c/a> that pays teachers $5,000 annually for five years after they earn National Board Certification, will help with pay parity across school districts, Bristol said. Teachers prove through assessments and a portfolio that they meet the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. To be eligible for the grant, teachers must work at least half of their time in a high-needs school. Teachers who qualify are also given $2,500 to cover the cost of certification.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incentive will help teachers continue their education and improve their practice, said Los Angeles teacher Petrina Miller. “It’s awesome,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Teacher candidates must be actively recruited\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many Black college students have not considered a teaching career because they have never had a Black teacher, said Preston Jackson, who teaches physical education at California Middle School in Sacramento. Those who consider a teaching career are often deterred by the cost of teacher preparation, taking required tests and unpaid student teaching.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In order to increase the number of Black teachers in schools, it has to become deliberate,” Jackson said. “You have to actively recruit and actively seek them out to bring them into the profession.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since starting in 2005, Jackson has been one of only a handful of Black teachers at his school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And for almost every single one of my kids, I’m the first Black teacher they’ve ever had,” said Jackson. “… And for some of them, I’m the first one they’ve ever seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mentors are needed to help retain new teachers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mentor teachers are the key ingredient to helping new Black educators transition successfully into teaching, according to teachers interviewed by EdSource. Alicia Simba says she could have taken a job for $25,000 more annually in a Bay Area district with few Black teachers or students, but opted to take a lower salary to work in Oakland Unified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But like many young teachers, Simba knew she wanted mentors to help her navigate her first years in the classroom. She works alongside Black teachers in Oakland Unified who have more than 20 years of teaching experience. One of her mentor teachers shared her experience of teaching on the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. Other teachers told her about teaching in the 1980s during the crack cocaine epidemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It really helps dispel some of the sort of narratives that I hear, which is that being a teacher is completely unsustainable,” Simba said. “Like, there’s no way that anyone could ever be a teacher long term, which are things that, you know, I’ve heard my friends say, and I’ve thought it myself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most obvious way to retain Black teachers would be to make sure they are treated the same as non-Black teachers, said Brenda Walker, a Black teacher and president of the Associated Chino Teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are a district administrator, site administrator, site or colleague, parent or student, my bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and my special education credential are just as valuable and carry as much weight, and are as respected as any other educator,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“However, it’s just as critical for all those groups to acknowledge and respect the unique cultural experience I bring to the table and acknowledge and respect that I’m a proud product of my ancestral history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/state-school-districts-try-to-recruit-and-retain-black-teachers-heres-whats-keeping-them-away/708715\">This story originally appeared in EdSource\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Lawmakers Propose New Measures to Combat Sexual Harassment in Higher Education",
"headTitle": "California Lawmakers Propose New Measures to Combat Sexual Harassment in Higher Education | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>California lawmakers introduced a series of bills on Monday to prevent and address sexual discrimination and harassment in the state’s colleges and universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 12-bill package led by Assemblymember Mike Fong, who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee, follows a \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/students-and-faculty-distrust-state-college-systems-handling-of-title-ix-cases/705360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2024/students-and-faculty-distrust-state-college-systems-handling-of-title-ix-cases/705360\">report released in February\u003c/a> that detailed significant deficiencies in how the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges handle Title IX. That federal law prohibits schools from sex-based discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This package is a crucial step in creating a system of compliance and oversight that will increase transparency and accountability to address and prevent sex discrimination and harassment on college campuses,” said Fong (D-Monterey Park). “While there is still much work ahead, I am confident in the impact this legislative package will have for campus communities, especially students and staff. I look forward to continual collaboration between the Legislature and all California’s higher education institutions to address this issue of safety and equity on campus.”[aside postID=\"news_11955960\" label=\"Related Story\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 12 bills include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB810/id/2766210\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 810\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) would require all public colleges and universities to use UC Davis’ policy to conduct employment verification checks to determine if a job applicant for any athletic, academic or administrative position had any substantial misconduct allegations from their previous employer.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1790/id/2869964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1790/id/2869964\">AB 1790\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) would require CSU to implement recommendations made in a Title IX report conducted last year by the California State Auditor by Jan. 1, 2026. That report found the 23-campus system lacked resources and failed to carry out its Title IX responsibilities.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1905/id/2900190\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 1905\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo) would create parameters around employee retreat rights, letters of recommendations and settlements for administrators who have a substantiated sexual harassment complaint against them.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2047/id/2912487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2047\u003c/a>, from Fong, would create an independent, statewide Title IX office to assist the community colleges, CSU and UC systems with Title IX monitoring and compliance, and create a statewide Title IX coordinator.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2048/id/2912488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2048\u003c/a>, from Fong, would require each community college district and each CSU and UC campus to have an independent Title IX office.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2326/id/2925395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2326\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-Chula Vista) would create entities responsible for ensuring campus programs are free from discrimination and would require the community colleges, CSU and UC to annually present to the Legislature how their systems are actively preventing discrimination.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2407/id/2925478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2407\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) would require the California State Auditor to audit the community colleges, CSU and UC systems every three years on their ability to address and prevent sexual harassment on the campuses.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2492/id/2927222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2492\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) would create additional positions on college campuses to assist students, faculty and staff during the adjudication of sexual harassment complaints.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2608/id/2928943\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2608\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino)would require campuses to offer drug-facilitated sexual assault prevention training.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2987/id/2932297\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2987/id/2932297\">AB 2987\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-Hayward) would mandate that the community colleges and CSU provide timely updates on the outcomes of sexual discrimination and harassment cases to the people involved. The bill would request the same of UC.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1166/id/2929096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1166/id/2929096\">Senate Bill 1166\u003c/a>, from Sen. Bill Dodd, would establish annual reporting requirements for the community colleges and CSU to conduct a report on sexual harassment complaint outcomes and a summary of how each campus worked to prevent sex discrimination. The bill would request the same of UC.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1491/id/2932771\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1491/id/2932771\">SB 1491\u003c/a>, from Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Hayward) would create a notification process for students who attend private institutions to disclose discriminatory events to the U.S. Department of Education, even if their college or university is exempt from Title IX.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The slate of bills follows a series of news nationally and statewide about\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/terms/title-ix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/terms/title-ix\"> mishandled Title IX cases\u003c/a>. Last year, the CSU system was found to have mishandled a variety of cases, based on reports from an independent law firm and the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-state-auditor-also-finds-cal-state-failed-to-address-some-sexual-harassment-on-campuses/694251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-state-auditor-also-finds-cal-state-failed-to-address-some-sexual-harassment-on-campuses/694251\">state auditor\u003c/a>. CSU is currently implementing the changes and reforms called for in both reports, and it has already \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/faculty-perk-at-center-of-issues-that-led-to-castro-resignation-in-use-on-other-csu-campuses/675356\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2022/faculty-perk-at-center-of-issues-that-led-to-castro-resignation-in-use-on-other-csu-campuses/675356\">changed its policy\u003c/a> allowing administrators who have committed misconduct to “retreat” to faculty positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination or any other form of misconduct, no student should feel unsafe or unwelcome in their learning environment,” said Lisa Baker, a representative from the student senate for California Community Colleges. “Unfortunately, harassment remains prevalent on college campuses, potentially affecting students’ mental health and academic performance. We students and future students, are relying on Title IX and this package of bills for our success.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California lawmakers introduced a series of bills on Monday to prevent and address sexual discrimination and harassment in the state’s colleges and universities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 12-bill package led by Assemblymember Mike Fong, who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee, follows a \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/students-and-faculty-distrust-state-college-systems-handling-of-title-ix-cases/705360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2024/students-and-faculty-distrust-state-college-systems-handling-of-title-ix-cases/705360\">report released in February\u003c/a> that detailed significant deficiencies in how the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges handle Title IX. That federal law prohibits schools from sex-based discrimination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This package is a crucial step in creating a system of compliance and oversight that will increase transparency and accountability to address and prevent sex discrimination and harassment on college campuses,” said Fong (D-Monterey Park). “While there is still much work ahead, I am confident in the impact this legislative package will have for campus communities, especially students and staff. I look forward to continual collaboration between the Legislature and all California’s higher education institutions to address this issue of safety and equity on campus.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 12 bills include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB810/id/2766210\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 810\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) would require all public colleges and universities to use UC Davis’ policy to conduct employment verification checks to determine if a job applicant for any athletic, academic or administrative position had any substantial misconduct allegations from their previous employer.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1790/id/2869964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1790/id/2869964\">AB 1790\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) would require CSU to implement recommendations made in a Title IX report conducted last year by the California State Auditor by Jan. 1, 2026. That report found the 23-campus system lacked resources and failed to carry out its Title IX responsibilities.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1905/id/2900190\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 1905\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo) would create parameters around employee retreat rights, letters of recommendations and settlements for administrators who have a substantiated sexual harassment complaint against them.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2047/id/2912487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2047\u003c/a>, from Fong, would create an independent, statewide Title IX office to assist the community colleges, CSU and UC systems with Title IX monitoring and compliance, and create a statewide Title IX coordinator.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2048/id/2912488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2048\u003c/a>, from Fong, would require each community college district and each CSU and UC campus to have an independent Title IX office.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2326/id/2925395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2326\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-Chula Vista) would create entities responsible for ensuring campus programs are free from discrimination and would require the community colleges, CSU and UC to annually present to the Legislature how their systems are actively preventing discrimination.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2407/id/2925478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2407\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) would require the California State Auditor to audit the community colleges, CSU and UC systems every three years on their ability to address and prevent sexual harassment on the campuses.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2492/id/2927222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2492\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) would create additional positions on college campuses to assist students, faculty and staff during the adjudication of sexual harassment complaints.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2608/id/2928943\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB 2608\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino)would require campuses to offer drug-facilitated sexual assault prevention training.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2987/id/2932297\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2987/id/2932297\">AB 2987\u003c/a>, from Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-Hayward) would mandate that the community colleges and CSU provide timely updates on the outcomes of sexual discrimination and harassment cases to the people involved. The bill would request the same of UC.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1166/id/2929096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1166/id/2929096\">Senate Bill 1166\u003c/a>, from Sen. Bill Dodd, would establish annual reporting requirements for the community colleges and CSU to conduct a report on sexual harassment complaint outcomes and a summary of how each campus worked to prevent sex discrimination. The bill would request the same of UC.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1491/id/2932771\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1491/id/2932771\">SB 1491\u003c/a>, from Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Hayward) would create a notification process for students who attend private institutions to disclose discriminatory events to the U.S. Department of Education, even if their college or university is exempt from Title IX.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The slate of bills follows a series of news nationally and statewide about\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/terms/title-ix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/terms/title-ix\"> mishandled Title IX cases\u003c/a>. Last year, the CSU system was found to have mishandled a variety of cases, based on reports from an independent law firm and the \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-state-auditor-also-finds-cal-state-failed-to-address-some-sexual-harassment-on-campuses/694251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-state-auditor-also-finds-cal-state-failed-to-address-some-sexual-harassment-on-campuses/694251\">state auditor\u003c/a>. CSU is currently implementing the changes and reforms called for in both reports, and it has already \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/faculty-perk-at-center-of-issues-that-led-to-castro-resignation-in-use-on-other-csu-campuses/675356\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https://edsource.org/2022/faculty-perk-at-center-of-issues-that-led-to-castro-resignation-in-use-on-other-csu-campuses/675356\">changed its policy\u003c/a> allowing administrators who have committed misconduct to “retreat” to faculty positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination or any other form of misconduct, no student should feel unsafe or unwelcome in their learning environment,” said Lisa Baker, a representative from the student senate for California Community Colleges. “Unfortunately, harassment remains prevalent on college campuses, potentially affecting students’ mental health and academic performance. We students and future students, are relying on Title IX and this package of bills for our success.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In a move faculty say infringes on their academic freedom, the University of California will soon consider a policy restricting them from using university websites to make opinionated statements. Such statements have come under scrutiny since last fall, when some faculty publicly criticized Israel over its war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"James Vernon, professor, UC Berkeley\"]‘At a moment when across the country, academic freedom is being challenged, we’re worried that the regents have lost their way on this issue.’[/pullquote]The proposed policy, which goes to the system’s board of regents for a vote next week, would prevent faculty and staff from sharing their “personal or collective opinions” via the “main landing page” or homepages of department websites, according to a new draft of the policy. Faculty would be free to share opinions elsewhere on the university’s websites, so long as there is a disclaimer that their viewpoint doesn’t represent the university or their department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version of the policy may not be complete until next week. Regents are accepting feedback from the university’s Academic Senate through Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the final version says, the fact that regents are considering the issue at all is alarming to some UC faculty. They argue that issues of academic freedom are outside the purview of the regents and question how the university would enforce the policy. And although the policy doesn’t explicitly mention a specific issue, faculty see it as an attempt to prevent them from discussing Israel’s war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At a moment when across the country, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-condemns-escalating-assault-academic-freedom-penn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">academic freedom is being challenged\u003c/a>, we’re worried that the regents have lost their way on this issue,” said James Vernon, a professor of history at UC Berkeley and chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association. “I think it’s out of their purview, and I think they’re doing it for very obvious reasons. It’s about Palestine and the political positions of some regents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC officials have said action is needed to ensure that faculty opinions are not interpreted as representing the views of the university as a whole. \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/uc-moves-to-ban-political-statements-from-its-websites-by-faculty-and-others/704664\">The regents previously discussed a similar policy in January but delayed a vote until March.\u003c/a> At the time, one regent said the board was considering the policy because “some people were making political statements related to Hamas and Palestinians,” seemingly referring to the statements made by some faculty last fall in support of Palestine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By only disallowing statements on “main landing pages,” the latest version is less restrictive than the policy initially proposed in January, which would have banned statements made on any “official channel of communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To some faculty, the issue was already settled in 2022, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/reports/rh-senate-divs-recs-for-dept-statements.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when the Academic Senate determined\u003c/a> that UC faculty departments have the right to “make statements on University-owned websites,” so long as the statements don’t take positions on elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Academic Senate came out with very clear recommendations,” said Christine Hong, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz. “We have a group of regents who are running roughshod over what you would think would be the core commitments of the university to academic freedom and to the principle of shared governance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some faculty members, including Brian Soucek, professor of law at UC Davis and previous chair of the UC Academic Senate’s university committee on academic freedom, find the revised version of the policy to be an improvement. While he remains concerned with the regents “micromanaging” what faculty departments can say, Soucek said the revised policy “is not a major threat to academic freedom,” given that it only limits what can be said on the main landing pages of websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC officials declined to comment on this story, saying only that regents would consider the policy at next week’s meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Traced to Oct. 7 attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The new push to limit faculty statements can be traced to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. The Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with about another 240 taken hostage. Since Israel launched its military response, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 9, UC system leaders \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-statement-mideast-violence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued a statement\u003c/a> condemning the Hamas attack as an act of terrorism resulting in violence that was “sickening and incomprehensible.” Several of UC’s campus chancellors also issued their own statements condemning the attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/653821343640f73d00465584/t/65a9acdfcd414d62815a0438/1705618655382/Statement+on+bias+in+UC+statements+%281%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In a letter the following week\u003c/a>, the UC Ethnic Studies Council criticized UC’s statements, saying they lacked context by not acknowledging Israeli violence against Palestinians, including “75 years of settler colonialism and globally acknowledged apartheid.” The ethnic studies faculty also said UC’s statements “irresponsibly wield charges of terrorism” and called on UC to revoke those charges. UC later said it stood by those assertions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC ethnic studies faculty then engaged in a back-and-forth with regent Jay Sures. Sures wrote a letter responding to the Ethnic Studies Council letter, saying it was “rife with falsehoods about Israel and seeks to legitimize and defend the horrific savagery of the Hamas massacre.” The ethnic studies faculty subsequently criticized Sures for not condemning Israeli violence and called on him to resign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sures also wrote in his letter that he would do “everything in my power” to protect “everyone in our extended community from your inflammatory and out-of-touch rhetoric.” Now, Sures is the regent most fervently pushing the proposal to limit what faculty can say on UC websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since last fall, some faculty departments have displayed statements on their websites condemning Israel. \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cres.ucsc.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The website for UC Santa Cruz’s critical race and ethnic studies department\u003c/a>, for example, includes a statement calling on “scholars, researchers, organizers, and administrators worldwide” to take action “to end Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Involving faculty\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>UC isn’t the only university that has moved to restrict faculty from making political statements on department websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Barnard College, a private women’s liberal arts college in New York, the department of women’s, gender and sexuality studies published a statement last fall expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. The college removed the statement and then rewrote \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MhaP7a_fTHVhFPJNkL-maX60TGFWKKxmYBsgJfECSOM/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">its policy on political activity\u003c/a> to prohibit faculty departments from posting political statements on college-owned websites. The quick response \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://pen.org/press-release/quiet-rewrite-of-barnard-college-policy-appears-to-be-an-effort-to-suppress-speech/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prompted an outcry from some free speech advocates\u003c/a> who criticized the college for making the policy change without consulting faculty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Association of University Professors, an organization that advocates for academic freedom, doesn’t have guidance regarding whether departments should take political positions, spokesperson Kelly Benjamin said. However, if universities are to create such policies, they should “be formulated through shared governance channels, with substantial faculty input,” Benjamin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that regard, UC officials have made progress since January, Soucek said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to the January meeting, Soucek \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BRSoucek/status/1749192107376734488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">co-authored a letter to the regents urging them to reject the policy\u003c/a> being considered at that time. Among other criticisms, Soucek wrote that the development of the policy was “sudden, opaque, and seemingly devoid of any collaboration at all” with the staff and faculty it would impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the January meeting, regents shared a revised version of the policy with Academic Senate leaders, requesting their thoughts and giving them until this Friday 15 to share that feedback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Soucek commended the regents for “taking a breath” and accepting feedback on the revised policy. “That’s a great thing, and that’s what they should have done from the beginning,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the changes to the policy, some faculty still see it as a major threat. Hong, the UC Santa Cruz professor, is concerned with the intention behind the policy, even if the latest version is less restrictive than the original.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hong pointed out that UC’s general counsel, Charles Robinson, said during the January meeting that the policy’s intent was to “make sure that landing pages wouldn’t be associated with types of speech that the university would feel uncomfortable with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hong called that a “really striking disclosure,” saying that it violates the principle of academic freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever revisions they make, we have to address what the intention behind this policy is,” Hong said. “This is a joke of an exercise. Why are we being forced to go through this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faculty also say it’s unclear how UC would enforce the policy. The revised version doesn’t define what constitutes an opinionated statement and states that the “administrator responsible for maintaining the website” will be responsible for “assuring compliance with this policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Soucek, that suggests that UC’s IT staff will manage the policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s how it sounds,” he said. “Our IT staff has enormous expertise. For most of them, it doesn’t extend to issues of academic freedom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoever is ultimately in charge of scanning the many departmental websites across UC’s 10 campuses will have a “gigantic task,” said Vernon, the UC Berkeley professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then the next question is, who’s going to enforce it once they’ve actually found someone who’s violated this policy? That is really important to have clarified,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"headline": "UC Weighs Policy to Curb Faculty Opinions on University Websites",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In a move faculty say infringes on their academic freedom, the University of California will soon consider a policy restricting them from using university websites to make opinionated statements. Such statements have come under scrutiny since last fall, when some faculty publicly criticized Israel over its war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘At a moment when across the country, academic freedom is being challenged, we’re worried that the regents have lost their way on this issue.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The proposed policy, which goes to the system’s board of regents for a vote next week, would prevent faculty and staff from sharing their “personal or collective opinions” via the “main landing page” or homepages of department websites, according to a new draft of the policy. Faculty would be free to share opinions elsewhere on the university’s websites, so long as there is a disclaimer that their viewpoint doesn’t represent the university or their department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version of the policy may not be complete until next week. Regents are accepting feedback from the university’s Academic Senate through Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whatever the final version says, the fact that regents are considering the issue at all is alarming to some UC faculty. They argue that issues of academic freedom are outside the purview of the regents and question how the university would enforce the policy. And although the policy doesn’t explicitly mention a specific issue, faculty see it as an attempt to prevent them from discussing Israel’s war in Gaza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At a moment when across the country, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.aaup.org/news/aaup-condemns-escalating-assault-academic-freedom-penn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">academic freedom is being challenged\u003c/a>, we’re worried that the regents have lost their way on this issue,” said James Vernon, a professor of history at UC Berkeley and chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association. “I think it’s out of their purview, and I think they’re doing it for very obvious reasons. It’s about Palestine and the political positions of some regents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC officials have said action is needed to ensure that faculty opinions are not interpreted as representing the views of the university as a whole. \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/uc-moves-to-ban-political-statements-from-its-websites-by-faculty-and-others/704664\">The regents previously discussed a similar policy in January but delayed a vote until March.\u003c/a> At the time, one regent said the board was considering the policy because “some people were making political statements related to Hamas and Palestinians,” seemingly referring to the statements made by some faculty last fall in support of Palestine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By only disallowing statements on “main landing pages,” the latest version is less restrictive than the policy initially proposed in January, which would have banned statements made on any “official channel of communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To some faculty, the issue was already settled in 2022, \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/reports/rh-senate-divs-recs-for-dept-statements.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">when the Academic Senate determined\u003c/a> that UC faculty departments have the right to “make statements on University-owned websites,” so long as the statements don’t take positions on elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Academic Senate came out with very clear recommendations,” said Christine Hong, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Santa Cruz. “We have a group of regents who are running roughshod over what you would think would be the core commitments of the university to academic freedom and to the principle of shared governance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some faculty members, including Brian Soucek, professor of law at UC Davis and previous chair of the UC Academic Senate’s university committee on academic freedom, find the revised version of the policy to be an improvement. While he remains concerned with the regents “micromanaging” what faculty departments can say, Soucek said the revised policy “is not a major threat to academic freedom,” given that it only limits what can be said on the main landing pages of websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC officials declined to comment on this story, saying only that regents would consider the policy at next week’s meeting.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Traced to Oct. 7 attack\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The new push to limit faculty statements can be traced to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. The Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, with about another 240 taken hostage. Since Israel launched its military response, more than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Oct. 9, UC system leaders \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-statement-mideast-violence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued a statement\u003c/a> condemning the Hamas attack as an act of terrorism resulting in violence that was “sickening and incomprehensible.” Several of UC’s campus chancellors also issued their own statements condemning the attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/653821343640f73d00465584/t/65a9acdfcd414d62815a0438/1705618655382/Statement+on+bias+in+UC+statements+%281%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In a letter the following week\u003c/a>, the UC Ethnic Studies Council criticized UC’s statements, saying they lacked context by not acknowledging Israeli violence against Palestinians, including “75 years of settler colonialism and globally acknowledged apartheid.” The ethnic studies faculty also said UC’s statements “irresponsibly wield charges of terrorism” and called on UC to revoke those charges. UC later said it stood by those assertions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UC ethnic studies faculty then engaged in a back-and-forth with regent Jay Sures. Sures wrote a letter responding to the Ethnic Studies Council letter, saying it was “rife with falsehoods about Israel and seeks to legitimize and defend the horrific savagery of the Hamas massacre.” The ethnic studies faculty subsequently criticized Sures for not condemning Israeli violence and called on him to resign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sures also wrote in his letter that he would do “everything in my power” to protect “everyone in our extended community from your inflammatory and out-of-touch rhetoric.” Now, Sures is the regent most fervently pushing the proposal to limit what faculty can say on UC websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since last fall, some faculty departments have displayed statements on their websites condemning Israel. \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cres.ucsc.edu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The website for UC Santa Cruz’s critical race and ethnic studies department\u003c/a>, for example, includes a statement calling on “scholars, researchers, organizers, and administrators worldwide” to take action “to end Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Involving faculty\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>UC isn’t the only university that has moved to restrict faculty from making political statements on department websites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Barnard College, a private women’s liberal arts college in New York, the department of women’s, gender and sexuality studies published a statement last fall expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. The college removed the statement and then rewrote \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MhaP7a_fTHVhFPJNkL-maX60TGFWKKxmYBsgJfECSOM/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">its policy on political activity\u003c/a> to prohibit faculty departments from posting political statements on college-owned websites. The quick response \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://pen.org/press-release/quiet-rewrite-of-barnard-college-policy-appears-to-be-an-effort-to-suppress-speech/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prompted an outcry from some free speech advocates\u003c/a> who criticized the college for making the policy change without consulting faculty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Association of University Professors, an organization that advocates for academic freedom, doesn’t have guidance regarding whether departments should take political positions, spokesperson Kelly Benjamin said. However, if universities are to create such policies, they should “be formulated through shared governance channels, with substantial faculty input,” Benjamin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that regard, UC officials have made progress since January, Soucek said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prior to the January meeting, Soucek \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BRSoucek/status/1749192107376734488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">co-authored a letter to the regents urging them to reject the policy\u003c/a> being considered at that time. Among other criticisms, Soucek wrote that the development of the policy was “sudden, opaque, and seemingly devoid of any collaboration at all” with the staff and faculty it would impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following the January meeting, regents shared a revised version of the policy with Academic Senate leaders, requesting their thoughts and giving them until this Friday 15 to share that feedback.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, Soucek commended the regents for “taking a breath” and accepting feedback on the revised policy. “That’s a great thing, and that’s what they should have done from the beginning,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the changes to the policy, some faculty still see it as a major threat. Hong, the UC Santa Cruz professor, is concerned with the intention behind the policy, even if the latest version is less restrictive than the original.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hong pointed out that UC’s general counsel, Charles Robinson, said during the January meeting that the policy’s intent was to “make sure that landing pages wouldn’t be associated with types of speech that the university would feel uncomfortable with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hong called that a “really striking disclosure,” saying that it violates the principle of academic freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whatever revisions they make, we have to address what the intention behind this policy is,” Hong said. “This is a joke of an exercise. Why are we being forced to go through this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Faculty also say it’s unclear how UC would enforce the policy. The revised version doesn’t define what constitutes an opinionated statement and states that the “administrator responsible for maintaining the website” will be responsible for “assuring compliance with this policy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Soucek, that suggests that UC’s IT staff will manage the policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s how it sounds,” he said. “Our IT staff has enormous expertise. For most of them, it doesn’t extend to issues of academic freedom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoever is ultimately in charge of scanning the many departmental websites across UC’s 10 campuses will have a “gigantic task,” said Vernon, the UC Berkeley professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then the next question is, who’s going to enforce it once they’ve actually found someone who’s violated this policy? That is really important to have clarified,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "farm-to-desk-how-this-school-district-is-getting-fresh-produce-to-students",
"title": "Farm-to-Desk? How This School District Is Getting Fresh Produce to Students",
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"content": "\u003cp>When the end-of-school bell rang, groups of students, parents and community members headed for the on-campus farmers market displaying plump green vegetables, potted seedlings and even boxes of free food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting the community’s diversity, signs in the booths advertised crops not often seen in mainstream grocery stores, such as chijimisai (a hybrid Asian green that’s packed with nutrients) and other items popular with Asian or Latino families, alongside the standard fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As adults bagged and paid for the produce or helped themselves to any free items, young children questioned the farmers about how much water or sunshine a plant needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, when after-school activities ended, more parents and their student-athletes, many still wearing their game uniforms, joined the crowd in the schoolyard at Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno on Feb. 5 — one of a number of farmers markets being held on Fresno Unified campuses this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified contracted with Fresno Metro Ministry, a nonprofit organization, to bring farmers markets to schools and increase access to fresh, healthy and affordable food in neighborhoods where it’s not easy to come by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry leaders say the partnership is important for students, families and the community. Here’s how:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why start the program?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Much of Fresno is a \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://foodispower.org/access-health/food-deserts/#:~:text=Food%20deserts%20can%20be%20described,stores%20within%20convenient%20traveling%20distance.\">food desert\u003c/a>, lacking access to affordable, healthy food due to an absence of nearby grocery stores or a\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/food-swamps\"> food swamp\u003c/a> with better access to junk food than nutritious food options, said Amanda Harvey, director of nutrition services with Fresno Unified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bringing farmers markets to schools within a food desert or swamp — which mostly exist in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods — provides access to nutritious food.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is this the first time Fresno Unified has put farmers markets on its campuses?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the past, the district has hosted farmers markets sponsored and run through community partnerships, Harvey said, but the partnership with Fresno Metro Ministry is run with the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big difference is that through the new partnership, Fresno Unified students and staff will learn how to operate the markets, said Chris De León, the farm and gardens program manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why partner with Fresno Metro Ministry?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fresno Metro Ministry creates school and community gardens at locations throughout Fresno to educate the community about gardening and \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.fresnometmin.org/Farm-and-gardens\">provides land access\u003c/a> and other resources for beginning farmers and community members to grow fresh, local produce in food-insecure neighborhoods. De León said it was a “no-brainer” for the organization to partner with the school district to engage students and bring farmers to school campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s sold at the markets?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Fresno Unified partnership is funded, in part, through a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that requires the farmers market to sell \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp/specialty-crop\">specialty crops\u003c/a>, such as apricots, avocados, asparagus, beans, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and other fruits and vegetables, as well as tree nuts, herbs and other plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976920\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup of farm produce, mostly broccoli and cauliflower.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Xiong Farm Produce, one of the vendors at the Fort Miller Middle School farmers market, sells Romanesco broccoli. Fresno Unified has been placing farmers markets on its campuses to provide affordable, nutritious food options for families. \u003ccite>(Lasherica Thornton/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Crops from different cultural groups, such as Latino and Southeast Asian farmers, can be offered, too. For instance, Casillas Farms and Siembra y Cosecha Farms, managed by Spanish-speaking farmers, and Xiong Farm Produce, which sold Chinese cauliflower, were at the Fort Miller market.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How does the program impact students?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The farmers markets are meant to be student-led.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students learn how to seek out farmers, work with market vendors, organize, then promote the upcoming event and set up the market, Harvey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students can even earn food safety and handling certifications, an experience Harvey called a “resume-builder.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market itself highlights and promotes student clubs and district programs, especially activities related to agriculture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harvey said schools give students the autonomy to come up with ideas for the markets: “What do they want to see in their event?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976921\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1.jpg\" alt=\"People at a farmers market stall under a blue awning.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-800x579.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1020x738.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1536x1111.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1920x1388.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A community member and a student visit a booth run by a middle school ethnic studies class selling herbal plants. \u003ccite>(Lasherica Thornton/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eighth graders Lilly Blanco and Andrea Morgan (who managed a booth selling herbal plants) pointed out to shoppers how enslaved Africans used herbs, a topic they’re exploring in their ethnic studies class. Aloe vera was used to treat burns and inflammation, and mullein could treat whooping cough, chronic bronchitis and congestion, Morgan said about the research she and her classmates conducted and published in pamphlets for the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market allows students to sell, feature or display products, such as the ethnic studies class selling herbal plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ve been really excited planting their own herbs,” Morgan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having students lead, plan and facilitate the events puts them at the forefront, gives them a voice and teaches them responsibility, said Yang Soua Fang, a farm and gardens project manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How is it beneficial for families?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While picking up her daughter from a basketball game at Fort Miller, Chelsi Allen expressed how convenient it was for her, a mother of five, to be able to shop while on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Chelsi Allen, mother of a student\"]‘Being at the school setting, I never thought about it. It just feels right to get some healthy foods and go home and cook.’[/pullquote]“Being at the school setting,” Allen said, “I never thought about it. It just feels right to get some healthy foods and go home and cook.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen, whose children attend Holy Cross Junior High, a private school in Fresno, said that what Fresno Unified is doing gives families affordable access to items needed for a balanced meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She pointed out the stark difference between the convenience of the school farmers market and a grocery store, where most people shop for specifics and may not seek out healthy food options that aren’t “in your face” like those at the farmers market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get to serve our students every day,” said Harvey, the district’s nutrition services director, “but to be able to also bring nutritious meals to our adults in our community is huge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will the school district do anything differently?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the markets, the Fresno Metro Ministry can offer food demonstrations to show families ways to serve the farm-grown produce. The food demos weren’t available at the Fort Miller market on Feb. 5, but Fresno Unified plans to do its part to promote nutritious food options to families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Amanda Harvey, director of nutrition services, Fresno Unified\"]‘The more familiar students are with them, the more likely they are to ask for them at home. ‘I had this item at lunch; it was delicious. Let’s buy it.”[/pullquote]Harvey said the district’s nutrition team can obtain participants’ input on introducing products into the food students eat in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is this something you’d be interested in seeing on school menus?” a survey asked farmers market attendants about kale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more familiar students are with them, the more likely they are to ask for them at home,” she said. “‘I had this item at lunch; it was delicious. Let’s buy it.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What else do markets mean for families, school and community?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The farmers market also “puts a face to produce,” De León said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s so much: ‘What is this? How did you grow it? How do you cook it?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he believes those conversations will build relationships between farmers and families, leading to more awareness and a better understanding of the importance of local farming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"forum_2010101904432,forum_2010101894562,forum_2010101895266\"]Patricia Hubbard is a farmer who grows produce at Fresno Metro Ministry’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/permaculturefresno/\">Yo’Ville Community Garden & Farm\u003c/a> behind the Yosemite Village housing complex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Fort Miller market, Hubbard sold starter plants of sweet peas and kale, including Ethiopian and Portuguese kale. The products are easy-to-grow plants that can hold kids’ interest in growing their own vegetables, Hubbard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need young people farming,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market can pique that interest while changing the narrative about farmworkers, Soua Fang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s such a negative stereotype to being a farmworker or laborer, but yet their contribution to our society is so important for us: That’s how we can sustain ourselves,” he said. “But … it’s like we put them at the bottom of the pedestal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connecting and engaging with farmers places value and respect in their craft, especially when they share how they overcome barriers to becoming farmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Are there more markets?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With plans for different schools to host markets on a monthly or quarterly basis, Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry hope to set up about 15 farmers markets on campuses this school year. In addition to the Fort Miller market, Phoenix Secondary Academy held a farmers market in the fall to launch the partnership, and a couple of markets have been held in collaboration with the Fresno High School Flea Market. For the rest of the school year, markets will be at:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fort Miller Middle School on the first Monday of each month. The March 4 market has been rescheduled for March 18.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fresno High School on the second Saturday of each month.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>McLane High School, which is still planning dates but has confirmed April 6 for its first market.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Soua Fang\"]‘There’s such a negative stereotype to being a farmworker or laborer, but yet their contribution to our society is so important for us: That’s how we can sustain ourselves.’[/pullquote]Some of the designated schools are located in the middle of food deserts or serve high numbers of students experiencing food insecurity, Soua Fang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At other Fresno Unified schools where there may be agricultural programs offering gardening and farming, Fresno Metro Ministry hopes to “fill the last little gap” by creating a culture around farmers markets. At the Fresno High Flea Market, De León said the organization adds healthy food access to an already thriving market “to connect that bridge from community to school, so it’s not so separate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools interested in hosting a farmers market should reach out to Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To host a farmers market, schools can contact De León at \u003ca href=\"mailto:chris@fresnometmin.org\">chris@fresnometmin.org\u003c/a> or Soua Fang at \u003ca href=\"mailto:yang@fresnometmin.org\">yang@fresnometmin.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen, the mother who attended the Fort Miller market in early February, said, “More schools should do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/farmers-markets-in-this-school-district-provide-access-to-healthy-food-options/706070\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Farm-to-Desk? How This School District Is Getting Fresh Produce to Students | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When the end-of-school bell rang, groups of students, parents and community members headed for the on-campus farmers market displaying plump green vegetables, potted seedlings and even boxes of free food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting the community’s diversity, signs in the booths advertised crops not often seen in mainstream grocery stores, such as chijimisai (a hybrid Asian green that’s packed with nutrients) and other items popular with Asian or Latino families, alongside the standard fare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As adults bagged and paid for the produce or helped themselves to any free items, young children questioned the farmers about how much water or sunshine a plant needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, when after-school activities ended, more parents and their student-athletes, many still wearing their game uniforms, joined the crowd in the schoolyard at Fort Miller Middle School in Fresno on Feb. 5 — one of a number of farmers markets being held on Fresno Unified campuses this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified contracted with Fresno Metro Ministry, a nonprofit organization, to bring farmers markets to schools and increase access to fresh, healthy and affordable food in neighborhoods where it’s not easy to come by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry leaders say the partnership is important for students, families and the community. Here’s how:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why start the program?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Much of Fresno is a \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://foodispower.org/access-health/food-deserts/#:~:text=Food%20deserts%20can%20be%20described,stores%20within%20convenient%20traveling%20distance.\">food desert\u003c/a>, lacking access to affordable, healthy food due to an absence of nearby grocery stores or a\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/food-swamps\"> food swamp\u003c/a> with better access to junk food than nutritious food options, said Amanda Harvey, director of nutrition services with Fresno Unified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bringing farmers markets to schools within a food desert or swamp — which mostly exist in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods — provides access to nutritious food.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Is this the first time Fresno Unified has put farmers markets on its campuses?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the past, the district has hosted farmers markets sponsored and run through community partnerships, Harvey said, but the partnership with Fresno Metro Ministry is run with the school district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The big difference is that through the new partnership, Fresno Unified students and staff will learn how to operate the markets, said Chris De León, the farm and gardens program manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Why partner with Fresno Metro Ministry?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fresno Metro Ministry creates school and community gardens at locations throughout Fresno to educate the community about gardening and \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.fresnometmin.org/Farm-and-gardens\">provides land access\u003c/a> and other resources for beginning farmers and community members to grow fresh, local produce in food-insecure neighborhoods. De León said it was a “no-brainer” for the organization to partner with the school district to engage students and bring farmers to school campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What’s sold at the markets?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Fresno Unified partnership is funded, in part, through a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that requires the farmers market to sell \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp/specialty-crop\">specialty crops\u003c/a>, such as apricots, avocados, asparagus, beans, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots and other fruits and vegetables, as well as tree nuts, herbs and other plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976920\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1.jpg\" alt=\"A closeup of farm produce, mostly broccoli and cauliflower.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2735-2048x1536-1-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Xiong Farm Produce, one of the vendors at the Fort Miller Middle School farmers market, sells Romanesco broccoli. Fresno Unified has been placing farmers markets on its campuses to provide affordable, nutritious food options for families. \u003ccite>(Lasherica Thornton/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Crops from different cultural groups, such as Latino and Southeast Asian farmers, can be offered, too. For instance, Casillas Farms and Siembra y Cosecha Farms, managed by Spanish-speaking farmers, and Xiong Farm Produce, which sold Chinese cauliflower, were at the Fort Miller market.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How does the program impact students?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The farmers markets are meant to be student-led.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students learn how to seek out farmers, work with market vendors, organize, then promote the upcoming event and set up the market, Harvey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students can even earn food safety and handling certifications, an experience Harvey called a “resume-builder.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market itself highlights and promotes student clubs and district programs, especially activities related to agriculture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harvey said schools give students the autonomy to come up with ideas for the markets: “What do they want to see in their event?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976921\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1.jpg\" alt=\"People at a farmers market stall under a blue awning.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-800x579.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1020x738.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1536x1111.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/IMG_2724-2048x1481-1-1920x1388.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A community member and a student visit a booth run by a middle school ethnic studies class selling herbal plants. \u003ccite>(Lasherica Thornton/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Eighth graders Lilly Blanco and Andrea Morgan (who managed a booth selling herbal plants) pointed out to shoppers how enslaved Africans used herbs, a topic they’re exploring in their ethnic studies class. Aloe vera was used to treat burns and inflammation, and mullein could treat whooping cough, chronic bronchitis and congestion, Morgan said about the research she and her classmates conducted and published in pamphlets for the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market allows students to sell, feature or display products, such as the ethnic studies class selling herbal plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ve been really excited planting their own herbs,” Morgan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having students lead, plan and facilitate the events puts them at the forefront, gives them a voice and teaches them responsibility, said Yang Soua Fang, a farm and gardens project manager with Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How is it beneficial for families?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While picking up her daughter from a basketball game at Fort Miller, Chelsi Allen expressed how convenient it was for her, a mother of five, to be able to shop while on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Being at the school setting,” Allen said, “I never thought about it. It just feels right to get some healthy foods and go home and cook.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen, whose children attend Holy Cross Junior High, a private school in Fresno, said that what Fresno Unified is doing gives families affordable access to items needed for a balanced meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She pointed out the stark difference between the convenience of the school farmers market and a grocery store, where most people shop for specifics and may not seek out healthy food options that aren’t “in your face” like those at the farmers market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get to serve our students every day,” said Harvey, the district’s nutrition services director, “but to be able to also bring nutritious meals to our adults in our community is huge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Will the school district do anything differently?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the markets, the Fresno Metro Ministry can offer food demonstrations to show families ways to serve the farm-grown produce. The food demos weren’t available at the Fort Miller market on Feb. 5, but Fresno Unified plans to do its part to promote nutritious food options to families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Harvey said the district’s nutrition team can obtain participants’ input on introducing products into the food students eat in school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is this something you’d be interested in seeing on school menus?” a survey asked farmers market attendants about kale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more familiar students are with them, the more likely they are to ask for them at home,” she said. “‘I had this item at lunch; it was delicious. Let’s buy it.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What else do markets mean for families, school and community?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The farmers market also “puts a face to produce,” De León said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s so much: ‘What is this? How did you grow it? How do you cook it?’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said he believes those conversations will build relationships between farmers and families, leading to more awareness and a better understanding of the importance of local farming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Patricia Hubbard is a farmer who grows produce at Fresno Metro Ministry’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/permaculturefresno/\">Yo’Ville Community Garden & Farm\u003c/a> behind the Yosemite Village housing complex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Fort Miller market, Hubbard sold starter plants of sweet peas and kale, including Ethiopian and Portuguese kale. The products are easy-to-grow plants that can hold kids’ interest in growing their own vegetables, Hubbard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need young people farming,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The farmers market can pique that interest while changing the narrative about farmworkers, Soua Fang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s such a negative stereotype to being a farmworker or laborer, but yet their contribution to our society is so important for us: That’s how we can sustain ourselves,” he said. “But … it’s like we put them at the bottom of the pedestal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Connecting and engaging with farmers places value and respect in their craft, especially when they share how they overcome barriers to becoming farmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Are there more markets?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With plans for different schools to host markets on a monthly or quarterly basis, Fresno Unified and Fresno Metro Ministry hope to set up about 15 farmers markets on campuses this school year. In addition to the Fort Miller market, Phoenix Secondary Academy held a farmers market in the fall to launch the partnership, and a couple of markets have been held in collaboration with the Fresno High School Flea Market. For the rest of the school year, markets will be at:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Fort Miller Middle School on the first Monday of each month. The March 4 market has been rescheduled for March 18.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Fresno High School on the second Saturday of each month.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>McLane High School, which is still planning dates but has confirmed April 6 for its first market.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some of the designated schools are located in the middle of food deserts or serve high numbers of students experiencing food insecurity, Soua Fang said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At other Fresno Unified schools where there may be agricultural programs offering gardening and farming, Fresno Metro Ministry hopes to “fill the last little gap” by creating a culture around farmers markets. At the Fresno High Flea Market, De León said the organization adds healthy food access to an already thriving market “to connect that bridge from community to school, so it’s not so separate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools interested in hosting a farmers market should reach out to Fresno Metro Ministry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To host a farmers market, schools can contact De León at \u003ca href=\"mailto:chris@fresnometmin.org\">chris@fresnometmin.org\u003c/a> or Soua Fang at \u003ca href=\"mailto:yang@fresnometmin.org\">yang@fresnometmin.org\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Allen, the mother who attended the Fort Miller market in early February, said, “More schools should do this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2024/farmers-markets-in-this-school-district-provide-access-to-healthy-food-options/706070\">\u003cem>This story originally appeared in EdSource.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Leans on Larger Health System to Sustain Mental Health Services in Schools",
"headTitle": "California Leans on Larger Health System to Sustain Mental Health Services in Schools | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>To create an education system with stable mental health funds, California educators and leaders are turning to the health system and launching a statewide behavioral health initiative to fill funding gaps in fluctuating, sometimes unpredictable, school budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The health systems and the education systems are not bound together successfully enough to make sure we engage in both prevention and treatment,” said David Gordon, a commissioner at the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://mhsoac.ca.gov/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission\u003c/a>. “That’s particularly true for the most underserved communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funding for mental health in California public schools typically comes from general education budgets, which is why funds have never been stable. As demand for school-based mental health services and specialists skyrockets, administrators and experts are increasingly turning to the health system to better serve needs that existing education budgets often can’t cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools bridge some gaps by placing nurses, social workers, school counselors, and psychologists on campuses, but there’s never enough money to meet students’ mental health needs fully. Without a built-in, statewide system to fund mental health in schools, districts are left to figure it out themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re so used to trying to provide external funding to fund us to some sort of equitable level for every student,” said Loretta Whitson, executive director of the California Association of School Counselors. “It’s never been the general fund will cover us — it’s just sort of baked into the cake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been that way since at least the late 1980s when Whitson began her education career, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/#:~:text=LCFF%20Overview,succeed%20to%20their%20greatest%20potential.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Local Control Funding Formula\u003c/a>, legislation that changed how education was funded in California, created more funds for mental health and “a more holistic view and review of schools,” Whitson said. “But if there’s not enough money to go around, then school district administrators need to make very hard decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If districts have to rely on general fund money for mental health providers, it creates competition with funding for teachers and education programs, Whitson said. If budgets had more funds specifically for mental health, it would mean more money for education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California encourages but does not mandate districts to provide school counselors, social workers, nurses or psychologists. Some experts say mandates could ensure there would be mental health specialists at every school. But that goes against the idea of local control, Whitson said, which allows districts to make decisions based on their community’s needs and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grants for mental health have helped, but they’re not sustainable, Gordon said. School districts will receive grants for a few years or even less, and when those dollars run out, the services or mental health specialists do as well if districts don’t have money to keep them going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, districts turned to pandemic relief dollars to boost staffing for school counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses, but those funds expired in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofits and community organizations have stepped in to help fill needs at lower costs, put therapists on school campuses, and complete some of the burdensome paperwork involved. But if the services aren’t free to school districts, then most money for mental health must come from the education budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blending two systems\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Gordon credits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cybhi.chhs.ca.gov/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Children Youth and Behavioral Health Initiative\u003c/a> for beginning to merge the health and education system. Gordon said the goal for two major systems to come together is reachable, “but it will take a lot of coordination and collaboration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key component of the behavioral health initiative is supporting partnerships between Medi-Cal managed care plans and schools to increase access for children receiving Medi-Cal —\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Documents/Childrens-Health-Dashboard-March2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> nearly 5.7 million in 202\u003c/a>2. Another goal is to increase access to early interventions and preventative mental and behavioral health care.[aside label=\"more education coverage\" tag=\"education\"]The behavioral health initiative was part of the Budget Act of 2021 and the governor’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health\u003c/a>. The California Department of Health Care Services will \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/cybhi#:~:text=Established%20as%20part%20of%20the,%2C%20youth%2C%20and%20their%20families.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invest $4.7 billion\u003c/a> over multiple years in youth behavioral services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the master plan, more than 240,000 children cope with depression, and 66% don’t receive treatment. Suicide rates among children 10-to-18 years of age increased by 20% in 2019-2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cybhi.chhs.ca.gov/recent-progress-of-the-children-and-youth-behavioral-health-initiative/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Efforts to implement the behavioral health initiative\u003c/a> started in January 2022. So far, hundreds of millions of dollars in funding have been disbursed to dozens of organizations for training and retention of providers, loan repayments and scholarships to increase providers in underserved areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some of the funding is distributed as grants and won’t last long, Whitson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s important to consider: How do we sustain this? A lot of programs come in as temporary programs, so seed money,” Whitson said. “We look at sustainable money as Medi-Cal a lot of times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount of money school districts can bill to Medi-Cal recently increased, thanks to new legislation. The California Education Code was updated in January after \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/sites/aedn.assembly.ca.gov/files/AB%202508%20%28Quirk-Silva%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB-2058\u003c/a> passed, allowing districts to bill Medi-Cal for mental health services provided by school counselors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2018 statewide count of school counselors tallied about 11,000, Whitson said. She estimates there are about 14,000 now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“School counselors are one of the biggest billing forces in the state. It should be bringing in quite a bit of money,” Whitson said. “It could be used to lower the caseloads on all levels — social workers, psychologists, school counselors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the process for school districts to bill Medi-Cal can be long and cumbersome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes districts won’t get a full refund, and it could take a few years before the money is returned, said Marlon Morgan, founder and CEO of \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.wellnesstogether.org/story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wellness Together\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that brings mental health providers to school campuses in California and New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Schools are pretty reticent to use that billing option because they could end up spending $1 million but only get $500,000 back,” Morgan said. “If you’re on a school board and looking at ways to stabilize your budget and to know what to expect, that’s a huge wild card, and frankly, one that doesn’t get used very often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento County, schools are partnering with the Sacramento County Health Department to have one mental health provider at every school, Gordon said, who is also the superintendent of the Sacramento County Office of Education. The partnership works well because the county health departments already manage Medi-Cal and Medicaid plans — which insure more than 60% of people in the county, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The purpose isn’t only to provide direct services at schools but to have someone from the health system stationed at schools interacting with staff, students, and families every day, Gordon said. The goal is to have “centers of wellness and prevention, rather than a center of let’s go out and seek treatment for a problem that should’ve been caught many years ago,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some organizations combine billing insurance and grant funding to bring providers to schools. \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://campusclinic.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Campus Clinic\u003c/a>, which aims to remove barriers to health care access by putting providers at schools, has brought mental health providers and other physicians to 14 districts and more than 600 schools in California, said Thomas Shaffer, the organization’s founder and president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most districts haven’t had to foot the bill. Campus Clinic started paying for all the costs, Shaffer said and was able to sustain its offerings through billing insurance, including Medi-Cal, and applying for grants. One burden Campus Clinic and other similar organizations lift from districts is handling the paperwork and billing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We aim to complete, not compete, with existing resources,” Shaffer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the need for mental health services and providers is too great to catch up with demand. Campus Clinic is contracted with 28 more districts that are still in the planning stages, Shaffer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campus Clinic also offers universal health screenings that allow schools to quickly identify which students are showing signs of anxiety, depression and risk of self-harm, Shaffer said. Schools can see responses through a dashboard that includes real-time notifications for students who are at risk of self-harm. Campus Clinic has teams that start reaching out to families to offer services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it doesn’t come without challenges. Building trusting relationships with families so they feel comfortable accepting services can be an uphill battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The cultural and trust piece’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Officials at Feaster Charter School in Chula Vista saw immediate results after Campus Clinic gave universal mental health screenings to students in grades six through eight in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of the 350 students, roughly 40% were identified as having some level of anxiety and depression, said Karena Haro-Esparza, a school counselor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teams at Campus Clinic started contacting families right away, she said. Although it’s been a huge help, she added, it’s also created challenges — “the cultural and trust piece.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because they are not a regular part of our staff when Campus Clinic communicates with families, they have a lot of questions,” Haro-Esparza said. “Our challenge has been, ‘How do we educate families further to destigmatize and normalize the partnerships?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stigma around mental health — especially among people of color and different cultures — is one reason families or guardians don’t seek or access resources for students. Something most mental health experts working in education can agree on is the importance of maintaining trust among schools, providers and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just putting money out to buy services. It’s working to try to put the systems together so that they’re relating and families will come to know and trust the medical system even though they aren’t located in their community,” Gordon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One strategy Campus Clinic providers use is to rotate through different classrooms to speak with students about health and wellness for 15 minutes to become more familiar and create connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wellness Together is investing in interns to diversify the workforce and build trusting relationships between communities and mental health providers, Morgan, its CEO, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan, who started his career as a school counselor, said he’s seen dozens of people never get their licenses because they can’t afford to work for free. He said it contributes to the lack of diversity in the behavioral health workforce. Now, the nonprofit has more than 30 partnerships with universities in California to ensure interns are paid liveable wages and receive benefits. Meanwhile, Campus Clinic pays interns working toward their licenses to be social workers, clinical and mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is finding staff and making sure the staff reflects the communities they’re serving,” Morgan said. “By paying interns and paying associates, we now have an option and an opportunity to really hire the best person for the job and often hire a person who is local and from the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2023/california-looks-to-the-health-system-to-sustain-mental-health-funds-in-schools/702583\">This article was first published by EdSource.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "As demand for more school mental health services and specialists skyrockets, administrators and experts are increasingly turning to the state health system to cover services that education budgets often can’t.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>To create an education system with stable mental health funds, California educators and leaders are turning to the health system and launching a statewide behavioral health initiative to fill funding gaps in fluctuating, sometimes unpredictable, school budgets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The health systems and the education systems are not bound together successfully enough to make sure we engage in both prevention and treatment,” said David Gordon, a commissioner at the \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://mhsoac.ca.gov/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission\u003c/a>. “That’s particularly true for the most underserved communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Funding for mental health in California public schools typically comes from general education budgets, which is why funds have never been stable. As demand for school-based mental health services and specialists skyrockets, administrators and experts are increasingly turning to the health system to better serve needs that existing education budgets often can’t cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schools bridge some gaps by placing nurses, social workers, school counselors, and psychologists on campuses, but there’s never enough money to meet students’ mental health needs fully. Without a built-in, statewide system to fund mental health in schools, districts are left to figure it out themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re so used to trying to provide external funding to fund us to some sort of equitable level for every student,” said Loretta Whitson, executive director of the California Association of School Counselors. “It’s never been the general fund will cover us — it’s just sort of baked into the cake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s been that way since at least the late 1980s when Whitson began her education career, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/#:~:text=LCFF%20Overview,succeed%20to%20their%20greatest%20potential.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Local Control Funding Formula\u003c/a>, legislation that changed how education was funded in California, created more funds for mental health and “a more holistic view and review of schools,” Whitson said. “But if there’s not enough money to go around, then school district administrators need to make very hard decisions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If districts have to rely on general fund money for mental health providers, it creates competition with funding for teachers and education programs, Whitson said. If budgets had more funds specifically for mental health, it would mean more money for education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California encourages but does not mandate districts to provide school counselors, social workers, nurses or psychologists. Some experts say mandates could ensure there would be mental health specialists at every school. But that goes against the idea of local control, Whitson said, which allows districts to make decisions based on their community’s needs and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grants for mental health have helped, but they’re not sustainable, Gordon said. School districts will receive grants for a few years or even less, and when those dollars run out, the services or mental health specialists do as well if districts don’t have money to keep them going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Similarly, districts turned to pandemic relief dollars to boost staffing for school counselors, social workers, psychologists and nurses, but those funds expired in September.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonprofits and community organizations have stepped in to help fill needs at lower costs, put therapists on school campuses, and complete some of the burdensome paperwork involved. But if the services aren’t free to school districts, then most money for mental health must come from the education budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blending two systems\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Gordon credits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cybhi.chhs.ca.gov/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Children Youth and Behavioral Health Initiative\u003c/a> for beginning to merge the health and education system. Gordon said the goal for two major systems to come together is reachable, “but it will take a lot of coordination and collaboration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A key component of the behavioral health initiative is supporting partnerships between Medi-Cal managed care plans and schools to increase access for children receiving Medi-Cal —\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Documents/Childrens-Health-Dashboard-March2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> nearly 5.7 million in 202\u003c/a>2. Another goal is to increase access to early interventions and preventative mental and behavioral health care.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The behavioral health initiative was part of the Budget Act of 2021 and the governor’s \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/KidsMentalHealthMasterPlan_8.18.22.pdf?emrc=6d3847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health\u003c/a>. The California Department of Health Care Services will \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/cybhi#:~:text=Established%20as%20part%20of%20the,%2C%20youth%2C%20and%20their%20families.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">invest $4.7 billion\u003c/a> over multiple years in youth behavioral services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the master plan, more than 240,000 children cope with depression, and 66% don’t receive treatment. Suicide rates among children 10-to-18 years of age increased by 20% in 2019-2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://cybhi.chhs.ca.gov/recent-progress-of-the-children-and-youth-behavioral-health-initiative/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Efforts to implement the behavioral health initiative\u003c/a> started in January 2022. So far, hundreds of millions of dollars in funding have been disbursed to dozens of organizations for training and retention of providers, loan repayments and scholarships to increase providers in underserved areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some of the funding is distributed as grants and won’t last long, Whitson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s important to consider: How do we sustain this? A lot of programs come in as temporary programs, so seed money,” Whitson said. “We look at sustainable money as Medi-Cal a lot of times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount of money school districts can bill to Medi-Cal recently increased, thanks to new legislation. The California Education Code was updated in January after \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/sites/aedn.assembly.ca.gov/files/AB%202508%20%28Quirk-Silva%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AB-2058\u003c/a> passed, allowing districts to bill Medi-Cal for mental health services provided by school counselors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A 2018 statewide count of school counselors tallied about 11,000, Whitson said. She estimates there are about 14,000 now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“School counselors are one of the biggest billing forces in the state. It should be bringing in quite a bit of money,” Whitson said. “It could be used to lower the caseloads on all levels — social workers, psychologists, school counselors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the process for school districts to bill Medi-Cal can be long and cumbersome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes districts won’t get a full refund, and it could take a few years before the money is returned, said Marlon Morgan, founder and CEO of \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://www.wellnesstogether.org/story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wellness Together\u003c/a>, a nonprofit that brings mental health providers to school campuses in California and New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Schools are pretty reticent to use that billing option because they could end up spending $1 million but only get $500,000 back,” Morgan said. “If you’re on a school board and looking at ways to stabilize your budget and to know what to expect, that’s a huge wild card, and frankly, one that doesn’t get used very often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento County, schools are partnering with the Sacramento County Health Department to have one mental health provider at every school, Gordon said, who is also the superintendent of the Sacramento County Office of Education. The partnership works well because the county health departments already manage Medi-Cal and Medicaid plans — which insure more than 60% of people in the county, he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The purpose isn’t only to provide direct services at schools but to have someone from the health system stationed at schools interacting with staff, students, and families every day, Gordon said. The goal is to have “centers of wellness and prevention, rather than a center of let’s go out and seek treatment for a problem that should’ve been caught many years ago,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some organizations combine billing insurance and grant funding to bring providers to schools. \u003ca class=\"external\" href=\"https://campusclinic.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Campus Clinic\u003c/a>, which aims to remove barriers to health care access by putting providers at schools, has brought mental health providers and other physicians to 14 districts and more than 600 schools in California, said Thomas Shaffer, the organization’s founder and president.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most districts haven’t had to foot the bill. Campus Clinic started paying for all the costs, Shaffer said and was able to sustain its offerings through billing insurance, including Medi-Cal, and applying for grants. One burden Campus Clinic and other similar organizations lift from districts is handling the paperwork and billing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We aim to complete, not compete, with existing resources,” Shaffer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, the need for mental health services and providers is too great to catch up with demand. Campus Clinic is contracted with 28 more districts that are still in the planning stages, Shaffer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Campus Clinic also offers universal health screenings that allow schools to quickly identify which students are showing signs of anxiety, depression and risk of self-harm, Shaffer said. Schools can see responses through a dashboard that includes real-time notifications for students who are at risk of self-harm. Campus Clinic has teams that start reaching out to families to offer services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it doesn’t come without challenges. Building trusting relationships with families so they feel comfortable accepting services can be an uphill battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘The cultural and trust piece’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Officials at Feaster Charter School in Chula Vista saw immediate results after Campus Clinic gave universal mental health screenings to students in grades six through eight in May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out of the 350 students, roughly 40% were identified as having some level of anxiety and depression, said Karena Haro-Esparza, a school counselor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teams at Campus Clinic started contacting families right away, she said. Although it’s been a huge help, she added, it’s also created challenges — “the cultural and trust piece.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because they are not a regular part of our staff when Campus Clinic communicates with families, they have a lot of questions,” Haro-Esparza said. “Our challenge has been, ‘How do we educate families further to destigmatize and normalize the partnerships?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stigma around mental health — especially among people of color and different cultures — is one reason families or guardians don’t seek or access resources for students. Something most mental health experts working in education can agree on is the importance of maintaining trust among schools, providers and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just putting money out to buy services. It’s working to try to put the systems together so that they’re relating and families will come to know and trust the medical system even though they aren’t located in their community,” Gordon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One strategy Campus Clinic providers use is to rotate through different classrooms to speak with students about health and wellness for 15 minutes to become more familiar and create connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wellness Together is investing in interns to diversify the workforce and build trusting relationships between communities and mental health providers, Morgan, its CEO, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan, who started his career as a school counselor, said he’s seen dozens of people never get their licenses because they can’t afford to work for free. He said it contributes to the lack of diversity in the behavioral health workforce. Now, the nonprofit has more than 30 partnerships with universities in California to ensure interns are paid liveable wages and receive benefits. Meanwhile, Campus Clinic pays interns working toward their licenses to be social workers, clinical and mental health counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest challenge is finding staff and making sure the staff reflects the communities they’re serving,” Morgan said. “By paying interns and paying associates, we now have an option and an opportunity to really hire the best person for the job and often hire a person who is local and from the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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