Tags
San Diego Unified Board of Education, San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten, SDUSD Trustee Richard Barrera
Here are some interesting articles we received and discovered this past week…
ENJOY!
Governor, Lawmakers Agree on New Controls on California Charter Schools
Quote from Article:
Ending months of difficult negotiations, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced Wednesday they had reached a final deal on the most extensive changes to California’s charter school law since it was adopted nearly three decades ago.
The agreement would create a truce in the years-long battles in Sacramento over charter schools and resolve the most contentious education issue facing Newsom in his first year in office.
And…
School districts for the first time would be able to consider the financial and academic impact on the district or neighborhood of a new charter school or a charter school that wants to expand. Districts like Oakland Unified that could show they are under fiscal distress will be able to deny any proposed charter from opening. “The presumption in those districts will be that new charters will not open,” said a statement from the governor’s office.
The changes mark a victory for school districts and the teachers’ unions that have been clamoring for tighter restrictions and more local control. They argued that legislators who approved the 1992 charter school envisioned a small number of taxpayer-funded charter schools created by teachers and parents, not a sector that has grown to more than 1,300 schools — the most in the nation — often run by nonprofit management organizations with additional funding from wealthy donors. Charter schools serve more than 10 percent of California’s 6.2 million public school students.
Leading charter school advocates have expressed fears that allowing school districts to take financial impact into account would give districts an excuse to reject a charter petition — and bring charter school growth to a halt.
And…
The California Charter Schools Association, which had vigorously opposed the original bill, Assembly Bill 1505, said in a statement that it is taking a neutral position, having succeeded in tempering the language and gaining some concessions. Among these is preserving a full right of appeal to a county office of education. “Collective action” by the charter school community “was able to secure significant protections for charter school students and schools,” it said.
And…
Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, representing 120,000 educational employees, said he was “excited” by the bill’s affirmation of local control by allowing districts to take financial impact into account. He said his union would have preferred that charter schools be denied the right to appeal to the county or state after they had been turned down by a district.
And…
The latest version includes a compromise on a previously unresolved issue: preparation and credentialing requirements for charter school teachers.
Charter schools currently must hire teachers with a state-approved credential in all core academic subjects, including English language arts, math, science and social studies but not in other “non-core” subjects like music, foreign languages and art.
O’Donnell sought to require all charter school teachers to have a credential. Under the compromise, all teachers hired after July 1, 2020 must have the appropriate credential for whatever class they’re teaching. All current charter school teachers without a credential will have until July 2025 to obtain one. And, by next July, uncredentialed teachers must get a Certificate of Clearance showing they’ve undergone a fingerprint and background check. Under current law, all staff at both traditional public schools and charter schools must have a background check. But those working at charter schools without credentials or permits have not been required to record the results with the state.
And…
Approval process
A charter operator would have to justify the basis for a new school, particularly if similar programs exist. An applicant could point to low-performing district-run schools to justify the need for an additional school.
Appeals process
The amended version would basically keep the county-level appeal as is and allow an appeal to the state board only when a county or district “abused its discretion” — and acted arbitrarily. Oversight of the 29 charter schools that the state board has approved would revert to the districts where the schools are located.
Charter renewals
The new version would create a tiered system that, according to the governor’s office, would reward effective charters — those that have been successful in narrowing achievement gaps — with a renewal, while making it easier to close down poorly performing charters. Charter schools would be evaluated with the same criteria as other public schools: the multiple measures of performance on the color-coded California School Dashboard. These measures include standardized test scores, suspension rates and students’ readiness for college and careers.
And…
The compromise also will place a two-year moratorium on online charter schools; one of the goals of school employee unions had been a moratorium on all charter schools.
District Deeds Synopsis:
This agreement between “Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders” to change California’s Charter School Law clearly illustrates how education in our schools is really about the political and financial needs of adults, not the educational needs of children.
We think that the credentialing of all Teachers in all schools and that the approval and renewal of Charter Schools needs to be based on performance.
Our questions are:
Why aren’t dysfunctional school dostricts administrations like San Diego Unified (SDUSD) held accountable for similar accountability measures?
For example…
What credentials and standards did the State of California enforce when a corrupt Board of Education improperly promoted totally inexperienced Elementary School Principal Cindy Marten to Superintendent in violation of the Brown Act?
Answer: NONE
What standards does the the State of California enforce when every year certain SDUSD are horribly failing the neediest and poorest students? Do they force the SDUSD to not “renew” the district school?
Answer: Nothing is done by the State or the District…the SDUSD schools continue to fail year after year for decades and is made even worse when a crony of Elementary School Superintendent (ESS) Marten or Trustee “Tricky Dick” Barrera has been assigned as Principal at the failing SDUSD school.
The other political decision was to allow incompetent Superintendents and School Boards like the SDUSD to protect themselves for chronic financial mismanagement by denying Charter School applications for financial impact reasons.
This decision is totally centered upon maintaining the financial incompetence of districts like the SDUSD.
If the SDUSD was providing an excellent education to students there would be no way that Charter Schools could compete.
And what about the financial impact to parents who have to drive their kids to a better SDUSD school through traffic every morning and night to avoid sending them to a horrible local SDUSD school…and the inequity to those parents who can’t afford that daily commute?
The SDUSD DESERVES the negative financial impact of Charter Schools since the current Superintendent and Board of Educuation are incompetent, corrupt and injuring student education every single school day.
The District Deeds bigger question to our readers is:
When will Governor Newsome and the California Federation of Teachers begin to hold super majority Democrat Boards of Education (like the SDUSD) accountable for educational offenses 150 times worse than any Charter School Operator?
District Deeds Answer: When pigs fly.
How Playful Learning Can Help Leapfrog Progress in Education
Quote from Article:
We are born with the natural ability to gain skills through play. As children, we learn about social norms, roles and responsibilities, and language through curiosity-driven, playful interactions and activities. Learning through play harnesses the power of children’s imagination and inspires active engagement with the material.
At the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, we are studying innovations that strive to improve education. If the education sector stays on its current trajectory, half of all youth around the world entering the workforce in 2030 will lack basic secondary-level skills they need to thrive—from literacy and numeracy to critical thinking and problem solving.[1] We believe that leapfrogging, or rapid nonlinear progress, is needed to change this trajectory.
Education that allows students to leap forward in learning should incorporate experimentation and iteration, helping students make meaning of what they are learning, and engage with others in doing so. These types of student-centered, playful learning experiences are an essential component to leapfrogging in education because, without them, young people will not be able to develop the full breadth of competencies and skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing world.
And…
WHAT IS PLAYFUL LEARNING?
Playful learning is driven by student inquiry and needs, is meaningfully connected to students’ lives, and fosters experimentation and social interaction.[2] This type of learning can occur through various pedagogical practices such as project-based learning, where children develop knowledge by exploring a real-world problem, as well as personal learning experiences, where students set their own goals and teachers act as facilitators and guides on the learning journey.
And…
WHO ARE THE BENEFICIARIES OF PLAYFUL LEARNING INNOVATIONS?
Most innovations within our catalog provide services to multiple categories of beneficiaries spanning various income, geographic, and cultural groups.
WHAT AGES ARE PLAYFUL LEARNING INNOVATIONS FOCUSED ON?
SUPPORTING TEACHERS
Successful leapfrogging in education depends on freeing up teachers’ time so they can focus on pedagogy. Playful learning innovations incorporate elements that support teachers 80 percent of the time. This might mean that students engage in hands-on activities with other members of the community or use a technological tool with a playful, active, or experiential component— both scenarios free up teacher time to concentrate on lesson planning or other direct teaching duties.
District Deeds Synopsis:
After reading this study we began to understand the many ways that “Playful Learning” could benefit virtually every SDUSD classroom. We especially like the way Playful Learning can fit “through various pedagogical practices” and serve the needs of all demographic groups.
We are sure that many of our talented and skilled SDUSD Teachers are implementing some form of this “playful learning” strategy in their classrooms. As with many of these advanced strategies, we checked to see if the $1.3 billion SDUSD has implemented this strategy formally in any way by searching the SDUSD website…
Like usual, no results.
Any Teachers who are attempting to deploy this strategy are obviously attempting it with ZERO Central Office support.
Like usual, no Teacher support.
We urge our readers to read this study and to pass it on to your SDUSD schools, Principals, Teachers and fellow parents.
There remains a one in a $1.4 billion chance that the incompetent SDUSD senior leadership will get the hint.
How Districts Are Reexamining Policies to Encourage Parental Involvement
Ending fees for background checks is among steps schools are taking to remove barriers that keep parents from volunteering.
Quote from Article:
Less than a week into her new job as superintendent of El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, California, Frances Esparza is already working on ways to boost parent engagement.
Near the top of her to-do list was reviewing the district’s policies for parent volunteers — and whether families were footing the bill for routine background checks before they could step foot on campus.
“We want more parent involvement,” she said. “Parents shouldn’t have to pay for that.”
And…
It’s common for districts across the country to require background checks for parent volunteers — from one-time field trip chaperones to room parents. In schools that use Raptor Technologies, a popular software provider in this space, these checks can range from $5 to $25, according to a spokesperson for the company.
Fingerprinting is typically an additional cost charged by the U.S. Department of Justice. Some districts also require a health screening for tuberculosis, which may be covered by health insurance but not by the school system.
And…
Balancing parent engagement with student safety is a topic retired superintendent Joseph Erardi often discusses with school leaders in his role as a safety consultant for AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Though there are schools that close their doors to parents and other volunteers in the name of student safety, he doesn’t recommend that approach.
“I am a huge proponent of parents as partners,” he said.
District Deeds Synopsis:
Reading through this article, a couple quotes gave us flashbacks on similar interactions with the SDUSD.
“We want more parent involvement”
“More parent involvment” in the SDUSD includes volunteering for various committees and groups like SSC, DAC, DELAC and Cluster Committees. The attending of these meetings implies to many SDUSD stakeholders that there is extensive outreach to “involve” parents.
“I am a huge proponent of parents as partners”
The closest SDUSD Stakeholders get to becoming “partners” with ESS Marten, Tricky Dick Barrera and the rest of incomptent SDUSD Senior Staff is to stand behind them for a propaganda photo op with a blank look and a smile so they can continue to spread false advertising propaganda by distributing emails and posting pictures on the SDUSD website.
Stakeholders under Marten are definitely not partners with the SDUSD.
Propaganda Victims – Yes!
Partners – Not a chance!
District Deeds has attended hundreds of these “parent involvement” meetings and has discover that, since the ESS Marten dictatorship took over, involvement for a SDUSD Stakeholder in the SDUSD is similar to the involvement of a victim in a mugging…you are a participant without any control over the outcome.
You can vote in meetings – the vote is ignored by ESS Marten and her crony Trustees.
You can complete surveys – the survey results are ignored by ESS Marten and her crony Trustees.
You can go to SDUSD Board of Education meetings, be forced to wait for 2 or 3 hours to speak in Public Comment and express your suggestions and concerns – your comments are ignored by disinterested ESS Marten and her crony Trustees while they play games on their smartphones.
The article mentions how Los Angeles Unified is studying how to reduce “fiscal and bureaucratic hurdles” for volunteers.
Here are the SDUSD “fiscal and bureaucratic hurdles” Volunteer screening requirements:
As you can see, there are many “fiscal and bureaucratic hurdles” for a SDUSD Stakeholder to overcome to become a Volunteer. Obviously most all of the screening is necessary for school site safety.
The irony for well meaning SDUSD Stakeholders is that even though they are willing to go through all the screening, bear the expense and time to travel to the SDUSD venue (school site, Ballard Center, Education Center, etc), spend over two hours to speak, and prepare comments and documentation to support their position, the result of ALL their efforts is for the disgusting SDUSD Senior Leadership to completely IGNORE THEM unless they file a lawsuit.
The result for all Stakeholders when dealing with the corrupt SDUSD is also a complete betrayal of trust.
Parent “Partners” or REAL Parent “Involvement” under the incompetent Marten and Tricky Dick Barrera?
Like we said earlier in this Sunday Reads post…
When pigs fly!
Now for our Quote of the Week:
“Et tu, Brute?” ― Julius Caesar”
Have a great week!!!
__________________________________________________________
IF
- Your family has been injured by the San Diego Unified School District, go to the District Deeds Complaint Forms page to find instructions to fight for your Civil Rights!
- YOU ARE TIRED OF THE COVER UPS AND LIES BY SUPT. CINDY MARTEN…
Please Click the Link Below and sign the Petition Today and READ the COMMENTS to Support the REMOVAL of Marten by SDUSD Stakeholders!
District Deeds 