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December 2007
 | CSBA Senior Director Jo Ann Yee speaks at the Achievement Gap Summit in Sacramento last month. "Solutions will have to be devised locally, with the help of school board leadership," Yee said. putting the discussion of gaps in academic performance in the context of longstanding efforts to raise achievement among all student groups. |
Web Only Articles
13 December 2007 - The Sacramento Bee reports that projections of California's budget shortfall have reached $14 billion, and now the pressure is on to consider spending cuts and tax hikes.
In California School News
Although they came with widely divergent perspectives on why the problem exists and what can be done to fix it, participants at the state Department of Education’s Achievement Gap Summit Nov. 13-14 seemed to share one thing: a commitment to break the cycle of failure when it comes to educating black, Latino and American Indian students.
Legislative Analyst's Office releases sobering forecast on state revenues
CSBA members can participate in the upcoming Forecast Conference Webcast from the comfort of their own home or office, and those wanting to attend a New and First-term Board Member Institute or Brown Act briefing won’t have to travel much farther.
Maria Diaz-Slocum, a member of the Redwood City Elementary School District and a Region 5 representative in the association’s Delegate Assembly, now also holds the distinction of being the 1,000th graduate of CSBA’s Masters in Governance program—or MiG, as it’s known.
Lisa Burlison, the administrative coordinator for CSBA’s Policy Analysis Department, ends every e-mail with the tag line “We’re in it for the kids!” As we move into 2008 and engage our communities, editorial boards, legislators and other elected leaders in courageous conversations about our schools, it will be good to remember that, indeed, we are in it for the kids.
Monday, Jan. 7, is the deadline to submit nominations and biographical sketch forms for prospective members and incumbent members seeking re-election to CSBA’s Delegate Assembly.
In an effort to transform theory into action, the nonprofit organization EdSource hosted a one-day education policy “Convening” in Sacramento that brought together 300 public school advocates, business leaders, researchers and state officials.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded CSBA a $125,000 grant—the fourth since 2003—to continue its work on various preschool initiatives, including in-depth research into local board members’ preferences on preschool policy, technical assistance to local education agencies and dissemination of the RAND Corp.’s ongoing “California Preschool Study” reports.
The latest study of the impact of the state’s exit exam requirement, prepared for the state Department of Education by the Human Resources Research Organization, found that graduation rates declined slightly and dropout rates were up for members of the class of 2006, the first students required to pass the California High School Exit Exam in order to get a diploma.
Public school supporters who backed 12 of 17 school bond and parcel tax measures on local California ballots this Nov. 6 had something to celebrate after the final votes were tallied.
The Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership has issued a report calling for California to extend services to foster youths past the age of 18 and saying that the more than 4,000 youths per year who “emancipate” or “age out” of foster care experience critical needs in housing, education, employment, behavioral health and sustaining personal relationships.
Wrapping up the year with vigorous activity on behalf of the state’s public schools, CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance has gone to court twice recently—most recently to contest the state government’s authority to defer repayment to schools of state-mandated expenses and, before that, to challenge the California Board of Education’s approval of a statewide benefit charter.
A task force chaired by CSBA President Kathy Kinley has released a report to spur education leaders to find ways to create and take advantage of increased instructional time for students and for teachers.
School districts and county offices of education need to get involved now if they want to participate in planning for new mental health funds generated by the Mental Health Services Act, a voter-approved initiative to pay for prevention and early intervention services.