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In the last couple of months, since the horror of World Trade Center, I have
often reflected upon a quote from Thomas Paine that I used long ago in a high
school speech. Paine wrote, "These are the
times that try men's souls." The true meaning
of those words is only now becoming all too clear to me. Like most Americans, I felt
a sense of numbness and disbelief that violence of the magnitude that we
witnessed on September 11th could happen
in our country. My anger was beyond words with those individuals and
possible governments who were so hardened by America's position in the world that
the only means of expressing their discontent were acts of mass murder.
"These Times" however, have been
faced by almost every generation of Americans since Valley Forge, Gettysburg, San
Juan Hill, the trenches in France, the beaches of Normandy, Korea, Vietnam, and
Desert Storm. During these crises, America emerged stronger and better prepared
for the challenges of life in their day and for future generations.
At the cornerstone of the American Value System lies the idea that in a free
society there needs to be quality educational opportunities for everyone. It is clear to
me that American educators and free public schools have had the greatest influence
in shaping and sustaining American values and sculpturing the world's tired, poor
and downtrodden masses who have continually come to the shores of North
America seeking a better life. This new creation
we call American. So long as we value a quality education for each individual,
The United States will continue to stand tall as the leader among the nations of the
world. Our challenge as Continuation Educators, is to continue to rally school
boards, district office administrators, and Sacramento politicians to provide the
funding and support to insure that our
students, with all of their baggage, have the same opportunities to truly become
American.
As those events of September 11th continue to unfold on the TV screen,
I can't help but reflect on some common strands linking the characteristics
of some of our students with the actions of terrorists around the world; like
the student who doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he has his way; the kids
who always blame others for why they are the way they are in life; the ones who
say that what they want they will get one way or another.
I had a young gang leader in my office a couple of days ago. He was trying to
pick a fight with several students who lived in another community. Bullying
and frightening a different student each day was his style. When I pointed out
the similarity between what he was doing and the actions of terrorism and
that street terror had led to the death of a local football player at the hands of one of
his gang buddies, he lowered his head in shame. He hated the terrorist acts
of September 11th, but never saw
anything wrong with his own behavior. Much too often, it's only you and me that
stand between success and bad times for our students. It is rewarding to know that
all of you are doing your part every day as you keep at-risk students in school,
care for teen parents and their babies, encourage slow learners to keep
on trying, and motivate the gifted but turned off students to take another look at
what life has to offer. We have miles to go, but the steps we take today and every
day will surely make a difference in the lives of the vast majority of our students.
Now the good news! Your State Executive Board has been working on
those Sacramento politicians and we are being heard. Our CCEA bill AB927 was
well received by both houses of the legislature until the utility crisis hit
California, and most of the surplus dollars went to buy electricity. The
economic downturn has also meant that our $50,000,000 bill is on hold, but still
alive. As your Board agonized over how to proceed, we began looking for other
sources of funding to improve the quality of our continuation programs. What we
discovered were a hat full of education bills that had the ear of Governor
Davis. However, as usual, Continuation schools were not included. Most of the
bills like AB466, AB961 sought aid for low performing schools. Well! By the very
nature of our clientele, Continuation schools are low performing. So why
shouldn't our schools also be included?
Our CCEA lobbyist, Peter Birdsall, began to ask the same question of those
lawmakers who were sponsoring the above mentioned bills. He and his assistant,
Theresa Inslee, were successful in amending the major bills to include
Continuation Education. This means millions of dollars for our kids. AB 961 is
the plum! Look in Peter's article for the details of the legislation and how it
may help your school.
The Fall Council of District Representatives meeting in San Francisco was
well attended and representatives received much information to share with
each district. Keep in close contact with them so they can bring your concerns to our
next CDR meeting in the spring.
It's never too early to start planning for our annual state conference. This
year it will be April 26th, 27th, and 28th, at
the Costa Mesa Hilton. We will be looking forward to seeing you there!
Continuation High Schools included in
Low-performing legislation
The 2001 legislative session could easily be called the year of
low-performing schools. Early in the session, the
California Teachers Association (CTA) and the
Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Education Committees all identified
increased funding and support to improve California's lowest performing schools
as their top priority. Various bills to address the needs of low-performing schools
ended up in a Legislative Conference Committee, which met extensively in late August
and early September to craft a new $200 million program to support schools
that rank in Decile 1 on the Academic Performance Index (API). That legislation,
AB 961 (Steinberg & Vasconcellos), both establishes the new High Priority
Schools Grant Program and makes several modifications to the existing Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP). Of particular interest to
CCEA, the bill specifically authorizes the State Board of Education to allow
low-performing continuation high schools to
participate in the program.
What is the High-Priority Schools Grant Program?
The new program is modeled significantly after II/USP, in that is requires
development and implementation of a school action plan. The new program does
require the plan to address the following four components:
1. student literacy and achievement,
2. quality of staff,
3. parental involvement, and
4. facilities, curriculum, instructional materials and support services.
The High-Priority Schools Grant program (HPSGP) is voluntary and
requires approval by the school district governing board prior to participation. The
HPSGP provides up to $400 per student. Schools in the HPSGP will have three years
to implement their program before the most severe sanctions are available to the
state to intervene in any school that is
not improving student performance. This is in comparison to the two years of
implementation allowed under II/USP. AB 961 also includes intermediate benchmarks
and interventions.
Following two years in the HPSGP, the California Department of
Education (CDE) will have authority to require "corrective assistance" for any
participating school that fails to show
improvement in student performance. A fourth year
of funding is then provided to schools, but with required interventions or
assistance for those that failed to show adequate growth in student performance.
High School Exit Exam (HSEE)
AB 1609 (Calderon) was signed into law by Governor Davis on October 11. The
bill changes the High School Exit Examination in the following ways:
1) Requires an independent study to be completed on the exam for
the purposes of determining the state's readiness to require passage of
the exam as a condition of graduation,
2) Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to delay the date
by which students must pass the exam in order to graduate from high
school; and
3) Excludes 9th graders from taking
the exam.
Under current law, beginning with the class of 2004, students are required to
pass the exam in order to graduate from high school. The SBE is authorized under
AB 1609 to delay the 2004 date on or before August 1, 2003. The bill does not
specify how far the date may be extended. The bill further requires the SBE to base
its decision on the independent study that AB 1609 requires to be conducted on
the exam. The evaluation report shall study "whether the test development process
and the implementation of standards-based instruction meet the required standards
for a test of this nature". The study is to
be completed by May 1, 2003. This creates a window between May 1 and August
1, 2003 for the SBE to delay the exam.
This means that local educators must be prepared this year and during the
2002-03 school year to administer the HSEE under the current requirement that passage of
the exam as a condition of receiving a
diploma will apply to the senior class of 2003-04. However, to protect their integrity,
local educators may also want to inform school boards, parents, and community
groups that the deadline may be revised in summer, 2003.
Other Legislation Of Interest
Just prior to the state's Constitutional deadline, the Governor signed AB
466 (Strom-Martin) and AB 75
(Steinberg). Following are brief summaries of
these new programs, in which continuation high school staff and administrators
may participate.
AB 466 Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program
$80 million was appropriated in the 2001-02 State Budget for the first year of a
four-year Mathematics and Reading Professional Development Program.
K-12 teachers and teaching aides will receive 40 hours of intensive,
out-of-classroom training in mathematics and/or
reading instruction. Additionally, teachers will
be provided with 80 hours of follow-up training. School districts will
receive $2,500 for each teacher trained and $1,000 for each teaching aide trained.
AB 75 Principal Training Program
$15 million was appropriated in the 2001-02 State Budget for the first year of
the three-year Principal Training Program. The program will provide 15,000
principals and vice principals with training in instructional standards and effective
school management techniques. School districts will receive $3,000 per
administrator trained, which the school district
must match by $1,000.
Model School Program
Model Continuation High School (Model School) program applications for FY
2001-2002 were mailed to all continuation high school principals September 10, 2001.
The Model School program recognizes outstanding schools and creates a
resource of quality programs for school site
visits. The Model School program is a valuable way to raise community awareness of
the outstanding work that continuation high schools do every day. CDE
encourages continuation high schools that meet the eligibility criteria to submit an
application. As in previous years, CDE will
present awards to successful Model Schools at the annual CCEA conference.
Frontier High School: A Model School
Frontier High School, in the Whittier Union High School District, was one
of fourteen Model Schools selected in FY 2000-2001. Under the guidance
of Principal Carlye Olsen, Frontier provides students with opportunities they did not
get at the traditional high school. The school offers small classes,
individualized teaching, flexible scheduling, and
enriched partnerships with community providers. An exciting sense of unlimited
student achievement contributes to a warm family atmosphere. Success is reinforced
by continuous student-level data feedback on individual progress. Student gains
are celebrated frequently with families, teachers, administrators, support staff,
and the community.
Student Quote: "Frontier offers a last chance to correct your mistakes and
feel good enough to graduate. Not many people get an extra chance, and Frontier
provides that chance. Students find out that the subjects they hate turn out to be
the subjects they enjoy. We believe that we are one big family. It's fun to see teachers
and students getting along so well."
Parent Quote: "What makes Frontier exceptional is the view that the
students have of their school. Teachers help students learn about life as they
are learning academic subjects. All staff take a personal interest in each student.
Frontier has saved many students. Frontier is concerned with the whole child.
The students can focus on academics because their emotional needs are met.
Frontier serves a vital role in our community."
Congratulations to Frontier High School on being selected a Model
Continuation High School!
Apportionment
Continuation Education apportionment as of P-2 2000-2001 was
$30,778,187, including a COLA increase of $1,036,000.
For additional information on the CDE Update contact Dennis Fisher,
Program Consultant, in the Educational Options Office at (916)
445-5613.
This is an invitation to all principals to let me know if you are looking for new
faces. Tell me what your staffing needs might be, and I will print them in subsequent
issues of the CCEA newsletter. Lots of dedicated continuation educators may be
interested in relocating throughout California. Go direct to the source, and let them know
you are looking for them! Tell what you are looking for, and a contact person at
your school. Send your information to me at nchristopher@eee.org
Good luck!
Nancy Christopher, CCEA Secretary
Community Service
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and the At-Risk Student
Susan Stone, State Teacher of the Year
Every day, community projects sit idle due to the lack of people power and capital
to complete the tasks. Every day, at-risk students drop out of school, some due
to boredom and lack of relevancy of education to real life. School based
community service can provide the avenue for
at-risk students to tune back in and to become actively involved in their community.
The energy and talents of at-risk students can be redirected toward meaningful
projects that benefit the student and the
community at-large.
Community service has been shown to provide incentives for at-risk students
to stay in school. Students develop a sense
of responsibility and commitment to their community service projects.
Through community service, at-risk students can experience positive interaction with
adults while working together to meet the needs of their local community. Through
such experiences, students learn about themselves and experience the reward
of helping others as they also experience feelings of increased self-worth.
At-risk students enrolled in alternative education schools are sometimes
overlooked for community service opportunities due to the stigma attached to being
in alternative education. In many cases the alternative student has only had
negative experiences in the community. These students need the opportunity to
actively participate in a positive real-life setting
and community service provides that opportunity. Through community service
projects at-risk students can experience
first-hand the benefits of being a contributing member of their community.
What the students bring away from their experience depends on the quality of
the program. A good program allows for the student to play a responsible and
important role while working with others to
perform services that are deemed worthwhile to the community and the participants. A
good program will also challenge the participants to think critically and reflect on
the service performed.
While some tout the effectiveness in enhancing the participant's life, in order
to be truly meaningful the service must benefit the larger community.
The community service volunteers provide the person-power to complete tasks that
may sit undone otherwise. In addition the school must benefit from the
community service. The act of community service itself promotes a more positive image
of the alternative school to the community, and more importantly causes it to be
seen as a valuable resource to the community.
Regardless of the project, a successful community service program needs
the commitment from the school and the community itself. The success of
the program also depends upon the students. They need to be willing and able
to participate in the community service projects wholeheartedly.
Currently, my students make 250
holiday and greeting cards each month to be included in the meals delivered to
the senior citizen shut-ins throughout our county. We visit with the senior citizens
at the local senior center on a monthly basis. The students have found
unconditional friendship with their senior friends
and both the students and the seniors look forward to the visit. In my
screen-printing class we print shirts to give away as
prizes for the word search and puzzle games we bring to play with the seniors.
This year I started a Big Buddy Little Friends program with a local
kindergarten class. Students go to the kindergarten
class on a weekly basis to help in the classroom. My students truly enjoy working with
their Little Friends and look forward to their visits, in fact the list of students wanting
to be a part of the program has grown each week.
Annually my students volunteer at Special Olympics and the Kiwanis Mothers
Day Breakfast. In the past my students have recorded the oral history of senior
citizens (80 94 years of age) who were born
in our community. The students developed the questions and videotaped the
interviews. The students were amazed at how life was as a teenager in the early 1920's.
As a firm believer in community service I am always looking for and asking
about possible projects for my students. I also make sure that I contact our local
newspaper to cover as many of the projects as possible. The media coverage is vital
to validating the volunteer work and it provides positive stories about
our students. It takes time to pursue and setup the community service projects but
the rewards in watching the students interact and listening to them tell about
their experiences is worth the time and effort.
This month we will focus on the CCEA Discussion Forum. The Discussion
Forum is a place where continuation educators can post questions and solicit input
from colleagues. It is a threaded discussion which means that once a person posts
an article or question, responses from others are linked to the original question.
This makes reading the question and responses easier. A keyword search engine is
also provided so users can search the forum to find previously posted articles.
The Discussion Forum has a great amount of potential to allow us to share
information and help each other. But unless it is visited regularly by all of us,
many questions will go unanswered and many articles will go unread. There are
thousands of us in continuation education who have a great amount of experience,
ideas, insights, and knowledge that should be shared. This is the place to do it. If we
all visit and contribute to the Discussion Forum regularly, we can really make
a difference especially to those of us who are in need.
The Discussion Forum Home Page is accessed from the CCEANet Home
Page and most other pages by clicking the
Discussion link located in the page header.
The Discussion Forum page consists of three windows: The Header Window,
The Table of Contents Window, and The Article Window. The Header Window
(top of the page) simply contains the page title and the main operational links. The
Table of Contents Window (left side of the page) contains links to all of the articles
and questions previously posted, and any replies. Clicking a link presents the
article, question or response in the Article
Window (right side of the page) to be read. The Article Window also contains links
that allow the user to respond and continue the thread. Users can resize these
three windows by dragging their borders to the desired position.
The Discussion Forum currently contains over 300 discussion files. These can
be accessed by scrolling through the Table of Contents or by using the Keyword
Search Engine. To use the search engine, click
the Search button located in the Header Window. When the search form
appears, enter your keyword or words and click the
Start Search button. All articles matching the search criteria will be listed in
the Search Results. Clicking the title of the article opens it in the Article Window.
To post an article or question, click the
Post link in the page header. This will open the Post Article form. In the
Subject field enter a short descriptive title for
your article or question. This will become the link in the Table of Contents for others
to read your posting. In the From field
enter your name or email address or both. In the
Comments field, enter your article or question. When done, click the
Post Article button. When the article has
been posted a conformation page will appear. To see your link, you must click
the Refresh the Main Page link on the conformation page. Occasionally,
because of high Internet traffic, the link to your article will not appear in your browser.
If this happens, go to your browser's View Menu and choose
Refresh.
To read an article, click the article title and the article will appear in the
Article Window. Responding to an article is similar to posting an original article.
While you are viewing the article click the
Reply link and the Post Article form
will open. Complete the form as described in the previous paragraph except that
the Subject field is already filled in. After
you Post the article and refresh the pages you will see your response indented below
the original article.
The Discussion Forum is a great tool for all of us to use. Please use it. We
welcome your questions or comments, please send them to the CCEA Webmaster,
Gerry Catanzarite at pgcatan@cceanet.org.
State Conference 2001 evaluation surveys indicated 98% said it was the best
conference ever. 100% also suggested shortening the awards ceremony. Plans have
been made to do exactly that. This year on the application for awards, Jim Caswell
gave an update on how the awards presentations will be made at the next State
Conference. On the state applications for
administrator, and classified persons of the year,
there will be a 100 to 150 word justification statement,
and that is what will be read at the luncheon. The bios will be on
the tables for everyone to read, and the process will take only fifteen minutes or so,
and winners can get their awards and get their pictures taken, etc. For Teacher of
the Year, # 7 on the application is a 250 word justification statement. When we
do Teacher of the Year at the luncheon, there will be a very nice folder on each
table with all the information about the teacher, but the 250 word justification
statement will be the thing read from the microphone. So, as you fill out your
applications, develop the justification statements with care and flair. These awards are well
deserved and we want everyone to enjoy the
ceremony.
Click Here for more information.
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