Vantage point: A whirlwind year for public education
By:
CSBA President Cindy MarksNovember 2013
It’s been a whirlwind year for public education and for me personally as CSBA’s president. As I look back, I’m both excited and proud of the work we’ve accomplished together on major issues like Assembly Bill 375, the Local Control Funding Formula, Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards.
All of these issues have been vitally important and couldn’t have been successful without all of your support. Many of you played a role in helping get AB 375, a deeply flawed piece of legislation that would have made it more difficult to dismiss a teacher who may be a threat to student safety, vetoed. While we celebrate Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of this bill, we must continue to move forward in working together to develop an appropriate and balanced solution that best protects our children.
This year I’ve also been fortunate to participate in CSBA’s Linked Learning Task Force and had the opportunity to tour very effective career-readiness programs and ROC/P schools throughout California to learn about their models for creating college and career success. Linked Learning is a program that I enthusiastically support as it’s a valuable program for students to become well prepared for college and a career upon completing high school.
With LCFF, I’ve had the opportunity to travel around the state to meet so many of you as we all learn more about LCFF, our roles as governance teams and what we need to do now to prepare for developing the required Local Control and Accountability Plans. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to connect with many of you at these workshops to learn about how to address the state’s LCAP priority areas, how to engage your community, and successful strategies for improving outcomes for your students.
I also want to take this opportunity to encourage your attendance at the Juanita Haugen Memorial Lecture on Civic Education: Common Core and Civic Learning at CSBA’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show in San Diego Dec. 5-7. It will showcase standout programs that have successfully engaged students in local civic life and provide you with the tools and ideas on how you can incorporate civic responsibility into the classrooms at an early age to encourage students to be active, productive and engaged citizens. This is a topic that I’m truly passionate about and encourage your attendance to learn more about how civic learning can be embedded into a school’s culture.
As 2013 comes to a close, I want to personally thank you for your service, dedication and leadership. It’s been a whirlwind year, but I feel inspired about what we’ve accomplished and the direction we’re heading. As governance leaders we have exciting yet challenging opportunities ahead, but I’m confident that together we can be successful in making a difference for our schools, students and communities.