California's new school funding formula brought foster-care youth into public attention, along with their stories of struggle and triumph. Before getting to policy issues, let's just listen to them.
Torlakson and Tuck disagree on fundamentals: how to improve student learning, how to organize the K-12 system, and how to build political support for public education.
People like the new funding formula; it's changing local politics and bringing educators and finance people together. But they fear for its future.
Pomona College professor David Menefee-Libey brings decades of policy analysis to the blog.
Steve Barr has organizing in his DNA, and he, along with retired union leader Joe Boyd, have announced an effort to recreate the California chapter of Democrats for Education Reform as a union-friendly environment. They want to go beyond wedge issues and toward big picture ideas that have broad support. But just getting used to saying pro-union and DFER in the same sentence is a stretch.
The Common Core will work in California if its adoption is driven by instruction rather than testing. Making this happen challenges the state to slow the consequences of testing and to find ways to invest in a modern educational infrastructure.
In a stunning, but little recognized gift, Esri, the makers of geographic information systems software, have given $1-Billion in free access and mentoring to public schools. Guest Blogger Charlie Fitzpatrick writes about its use as a powerful learning tool.
It could be firecrackers before the 4th of July as big decisions loom for California education: A contested election next week, the Vergara lawsuit, first results from the state's Local Control Funding Formula, and the end of Common Core pilot tests.
Here's my interview with California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson running for re-election on June 3. He talks about his accomplishments including the Common Core and local control financing.
Marshall Tuck is running to become state superintendent in California. He'd start by challenging the existing school code.
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