California Continuation Education Association Newsletter:
| Volume: 11 | Number: 1 | Date: October 1996 |
I have always been impressed with our student's capacity for giving and becoming involved once they have shared the magic of being part of a continuation high school. They want to help, be part of something, and know that they have had a positive impact. When I came into continuation school I found that the same capacity for giving and involvement is found in our teachers and administrators also. We are blessed too because we work with people who know they make a difference for kids and have the capacity to care about what they do.
After being involved for a while I found also that we have an organization that serves the needs of our students and schools, not some ego satisfaction trip. I value the time I spend in CCEA because I know that we make a difference. I also know that whatever I can contribute is accepted as it adds to a positive movement to improve our schools and students. We have many advantages that help us to continue a positive outlook for the future. We also have some very real incentives this year that will help us keep focused on the prize as it is so near.
A little over a year ago a survey was taken from CCEA members and non-member continuation schools regarding what we needed to do for our schools and students. The number one concern about school management was providing adequate funding for our schools. Over the last five years we have worked hard to impact the legislature, the Department of Education, and the Department of Finance regarding the nature of our schools, mission, vision and how we serve our students. We believe that this year demonstrates that we have been heard. We have been successful in achieving some very positive gain for our students, and CCEA has had a string of successes that will have direct impact on your school finances this year.
A revenue limit add-on now receives a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) because of the efforts of CCEA. If your school has an add-on as a necessary small continuation high school you will receive this COLA which is only the second time this money has been given to our schools. In addition, all schools that do not receive an add-on (about 58%) will, for the first time, get a minimal revenue limit add-on ($8.00 per 1995-96 ADA count). This add on will result in approximately $250,000 new dollars going to continuation schools. The combined value of both of these revenue-limit improvements will bring in nearly $350,000 to our schools. The revenue limit money will be on-going money.
There is more good news, however. In addition to the improvement in revenue limit income there is another one-time block grant funding of $66 per ADA in the 1995-96 year or $25,000, whichever is greater, for every continuation high school for the 1996-97 school year. Without a concentrated effort over the last five years to present the causes and issues of continuation education, this money most probably would have been distributed differently. We believe your voice was heard and you now will have an excellent opportunity for quality improvement in your school. There are some rules for spending this money and you will find an article in this newsletter explaining those rules.
CCEA was also successful in having the legislature approve $2 million for equalization of funding for continuation high school revenue limit add-ons. Unfortunately the Governor vetoed this funding, but his veto message included the statement that, "While I cannot support the proposal in this bill, I would be receptive to reviewing a comprehensive proposal that addresses issues regarding continuation school funding formulas." Our agenda for this school year is clear and we need the support of every continuation school, teacher, administrator and friend for success this year. We have a singular opportunity to bring about equal funding of our schools that cannot help but enrich every continuation school and student.
The message is not all about money, however. CCEA continues to improve the process of assisting the California Department of Education to recognize our model continuation high schools. These school should be held up a exemplars for all of us to visit and use. We continue to produce quality documents that deal with our school management issues as well as focused workshops for training our leaders. The state and local organizations are still the most prolific and effective professional development operations for continuation education professionals. We all need to support these efforts.
There is an article on our new membership classes of individual Professional Memberships and the new category of School Memberships in this newsletter. We need your support in taking the steps necessary to meet the Governor's offer. When CCEA talks in Sacramento we need to be able to rightfully claim that we do speak for all continuation students, schools, educators, support staff, parents and friends. The efforts of CCEA have provided all in continuation with increased means to serve our students. We trust that the organization that serves our cause will be included in the benefit. Join us, join hands, join hearts, join now. We can do it this year. t
We now have a Model School Fly to flag or put in your offices. The cost is thirty dollars ($30.00).
Please order from: Richard Kuester
Abraham Lincoln High School
4341 Victoria Avenue
Riverside, CA 92507
This year is the beginning of a new membership structure for CCEA. Our intent is to involve more people in the organization so that when your Executive Board works with the Department of Education and the Legislature, we can say that we truly represent every continuation classroom in the state. Additionally, many more benefits may be provided to schools, teachers and, above all, students.
The Professional Membership is still only $35.00. Your money helps the organization provide: staff development activities, recognition programs for students and teachers, influence within the Legislature and Department of Education, sports programs, and a myriad of activities that take place at the local level If You Have Not Already Joined As A Professional Member, Please Give Your Support To This, The Only Organization That Supports Continuation Education.
If you cannot join as a Professional Member, please try to join as a school member. Ask your school leadership to consider a school membership so that your site will receive all the information from CCEA via newsletters and special mailings throughout the school year. Your support is needed and appreciated by all who are involved in continuation education; this includes administrators, teachers, classified staff, parents and, above all, the students who are the focus of our enormous efforts each day, week and year.
If you have already joined as a Professional Member, please accept my thanks in behalf of the Executive Board and the organization at large. Please also try your best to recruit another member for CCEA. Just think of the positive results that would come from each Prof
Problems in Continuation Education
From November 1, 1960
State Newsletter
Should there be different graduation requirements? Mary Lou Hill admonished a group of administrators to think very carefully before reducing the number of credits required for graduation because of the voluntary or involuntary transfers. Some schools lower credits because there are no physical education facilities on campus but the number of academic courses or credits required for graduation may not be reduce. Mary Lou said not to wipe out students Physical Education credits when they are entering your schools. These credits may be used for elective credits. t
Each spring at our annual state conference, the California State Department of Education (CDE) recognizes continuation high schools that provide exemplary programs for their students. CCEA works very closely with the CDE in identifying prospective model schools throughout the application process. Additionally, CCEA provides professional resources to conduct validation visits to each of the qualifying candidates.
Model School application packets are scheduled to be mailed by the CDE in December. CCEA is working very closely with our CDE consultant Clara Chappala to clarify the cover letter and the application forms so that schools who are applying clearly understand the criteria used to qualify them for a validation visit. Additionally, CCEA is working with the CDE to improve the process used during validation visits and to shorten the turn-around time required to inform schools of their status.
The above efforts by your association are in response to your input through the Council
of District Representatives (CDR) meeting and through communications from individuals
throughout California. We look forward to
having the opportunity to assist in recognizing many exemplary programs as Model Schools
this spring. t
For me there is magic in Indian summer. The crispness in the morning air followed by the warmth of afternoon, the glorious colors of fall as daylight dwindles, and the appallingly premature signs of retail's holiday-onslaught-preparations cause me to reflect on what I have done and what I want to do as one year rolls into another. For my housekeeper, there is no such magic only dread this is also the time of year when I become a compulsive cleaner. Nothing escapes my frontal cleaning assault. During this phase, I find a multitude of unusual things: sometimes treasures, sometimes trash.
Yesterday, the target was a filing cabinet filled with old teaching ideas and dated research mostly trash. But amongst the debris I also found an article/treasure written by Joseph J. Galbo, professor of education at California State University, Stanislaus, entitled "Significant Adults and At-Risk Youth" (School Safety, Winter, 1988). He writes, "...The fact remains that a large number of youths are opting to leave school and, in a very real sense, they are being driven out. They are being driven out in the name of higher standards.. ..economic circumstances... adverse home environments.... potentially dangerous school conditions... by school personnel who are ill-equipped to help young people deal with the complexities of growing up in today's modern world."
We, the continuation school educators of California, know these problems well, but we also have the unique opportunity to truly impact their outcome. Barbara Williams, alternative education mentor, award winning teacher, and California Literature Project Teacher Leader illustrates, "Continuation educators are in an enviable position. We get a chance to succeed where others have failed, and often we do it. We succeed because we believe that each student is gifted and that it is up to us to find that gift and nurture it Students often come to us feeling as if they have failed when In fact it is the comprehensive school that has failed: failed to find the strength that each student has. We find it because we try harder. We let each student know that there are no seventeen-year-old failures."
While it is important that we continue to develop and present academic curriculum based on sound educational research, it is equally important that we add family and community components. Professor Galbo suggests that necessary guidance and an enhanced environment for learning be maximized through the combined efforts of adults within the schools and within the community "Fundamental to this is the idea that significant adults are the essential carriers of the culture's wisdom. " Yet, as we enlarge upon the possibilities of this virtually untapped resource, the practical-pessimist (and there's at least one at every school) lifts his ugly head once more sneering," Oh yeah? How?" Well, let me help you out by sharing one successful idea.
Last year I was instrumental in developing FAMILY FUN NIGHTS FOR RlDGWAY HIGH SCHOOL. The evenings (a total of five in all, six weeks apart, the weekdays rotated to accommodate work schedules, etc.) included hands-on writing, science, math, and computer activities. The staff went to great lengths to ensure student and parent attendance (guests and family were encouraged, too). Flyers went home with skeptical students. We telephoned to personally invite parents and to explain the activities. We bribed them with refreshments, prizes, and bonus points for student-parent attendance. And it worked!!!! What a gratifying experience to see students interacting with adults in an informal, relaxed atmosphere, and to watch the pride and pleasure they took while escorting and introducing their families. Additionally, the evenings provided an opportunity for parents to visit with teachers, to inquire about student progress, and to volunteer on campus a refreshingly new approach to the age-old "Back-to-School Night."
We are significant adults for our students and, as such, we have very real responsibilities. We are their lifeline to learning, to positive relationships with adults and in society. We nurture and assist them to set realistic goals. We challenge them to succeed: to attend school and to learn, to become aware of themselves, of others and of their world at large. We teach them to sort the trash from the treasures. And we do it exceptionally well.
I know there are many successful parent and community components in continuation schools throughout California. If your school brings students and adults together in new and creative ways, please share them! I will be happy to pass on any ideas or suggestions. My address is Ridgeway High School, 325 Ridgeway Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401; FAX (707) 539-8802.
Peter Birdsall and Nancy Armentrout, Birdsall and Associates
On July 15, Governor Wilson signed the 1996-97 State Budget. This particular budget represents a bitter-sweet victory for the California Continuation Education Association (CCEA). Specifically, the K-12 education budget provides continuation schools with over $800,000 for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and approximately $12.5 million in one-time school site grant funds (500 continuation schools x $25,000). Under any other circumstances, we would consider this a great year. However, CCEA came within inches of securing also $2 million for equalization funding. Although CCEA was successful in having the equalization funding approved by both houses of the Legislature, it was vetoed from the final budget package by Governor Wilson.
Yet, even in the Governor's veto message, CCEA has been given a strong signal that the Governor will consider a more comprehensive reform next year. CCEA is investigating new, more equitable options for funding continuation high schools.
1996-97 Cost-of-Living Adjustment For 1996-97, the continuation education add-on received the same 3.21% COLA as did the regular revenue limit.
However, the COLA calculation was changed this year; largely in response to the initiatives of CCEA. In prior years, when a COLA was provided, it was allocated as a percentage increase against each school district's continuation high school revenue limit add-on. This meant that disparities among school districts increased because those with the most funding got the largest COLA, while those with no add-on received no COLA.
The language in the budget instead allocates the COLA as an equal dollar amount per 1995-96 second principal apportionment continuation high school ADA, except that no district shall receive less than a 1.6% increase. For virtually all districts with a revenue limit add-on, this means their actual COLA will be 1.6% times that add-on. For districts operating continuation high schools, but with no add-on, the COLA will be approximately $8 per continuation high school ADA. (The notable exception is Los Angeles Unified, which would receive only about fifty cents per continuation high school ADA with the percentage COLA, but receives $8 per ADA through the equal dollar COLA.)
Equalization
What makes this year particularly bitter-sweet is the Governor's veto of $2 million to
equalize funding for continuation high schools. This funding was approved by the
legislature as a direct result of the advocacy by CCEA.
The silver lining to this veto is that the Governor stated in his veto message that he supports continuation high schools and will consider a comprehensive proposal that addresses the larger issues regarding equalization of continuation school funding. Following is Governor Wilson's veto message:
"Continuation schools provide important services to our pupils, such as functioning as the first safety net for at-risk pupils. While I cannot support the proposal in this bill, I would be receptive to reviewing a comprehensive proposal that addresses issues regarding continuation school funding formulas."
The CCEA Board is currently working with the Departments of Education and Finance to determine what might obtain the Governor's approval as "a comprehensive proposal." The options that are available to CCEA include possibly sponsoring legislation on continuation high school finance reform in 1997.
School Site Grants
CCEA members should be pleased by the allocation of $387 million for one-time school site
grants, which will be allocated on a per ADA basis, but with no site receiving less
than $25,000. For continuation schools, this provision of the budget will guarantee at
least $25,000 per continuation school. The use of the funds (estimated at approximately
$66 per ADA) shall be proposed by each school site council, or if there is no school site
council, a school wide advisory group that conforms to the membership requirements for
school site councils. Each site's proposal must be approved by the district governing
board.
Legislation defines a regular public school as: "...any public school at a distinct and wholly self-contained public school site, with a separate County-District-School (CDS) code, as maintained by the Superintendent of Public Instruction as of June 30, 1996, and which is in operation during the 1996-97 school year. Two or more schools that share a physical site or staff shall be considered a single "regular public school" for purposes of qualifying for the minimum twenty-five thousand dollar ($25,000) grant, [emphasis added] which shall be allocated to the separate schools sharing the site based on each school's share of qualifying average daily attendance." (Sec. 44, Ch.204/96)
For continuation schools, this means that if two or more schools share a site, they will be counted as one site with the money split by each school's ADA. The Department of Education anticipates allocating these funds by January 1, 1997. t
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