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What the Cuts Mean
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Governor Brown's proposed cuts to child care and early education funding would adversely impact thousands of lives in San Mateo County. Susan Alvaro of the SMC Board of Education noted, "Every dollar 'saved' by cutting early learning programs will cost many more dollars in increased crime, gang membership and destruction of communities. This is a wrong-headed set of proposals."
Laurie Wishard, President of Peninsula Family Service, which operates centers for infants and school-aged children across the county, said, "These cuts would hurt all of us: the hundreds of families and teachers who would lose jobs, the young children left unprepared for school, the businesses that would close, our local economy and future prospects for an educated workforce."
The cuts would exact a toll on single parents like Samantha Vargas, whose 5-year-old son is cared for at CSM's Child Development Center. She explained, "Without that child development center, I wouldn't be able to go to school, I wouldn't be able to be a prime example for him. He wouldn't be able to see me succeed. For every kid, that's important: to see the person that is raising you do well."
Another parent, Meaghan Nolan, said, "Without the support of the child care center at CSM, I wouldn't be able to be doing well in my classes and working toward my goal of becoming self-sufficient and attaining a career."
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Classified Employees of Year Nominated
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The San Mateo County Office of Education has nominated three outstanding employees for the 2012 Classified School Employee of the Year program: Diane Crowell of the Jefferson Elementary School District; Raul Fregozo, Jr., of the Millbrae Elementary School District; and Flor Espinal of the Menlo Park City School District. In April the California Department of Education will announce the winners in six categories, and they will be honored during Classified School Employee Week, May 14-18.
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Diane Crowell
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Diane Crowell was nominated in the Office and Technical category by colleagues who said she "anticipates and heads off problems," is "so approachable, people naturally gravitate toward her" and "does all these extras because of the kindness of her heart, not for any form of acknowledgment."
Raul Fregozo, Jr., was cited in the Maintenance, Operations and Facilities category by fellow employees who said he "always takes the initiative to ensure that all projects and repairs are carried out in a timely, efficient manner," "demonstrates an untiring work ethic that goes above and beyond the scope of his responsibilities" and is "constantly thinking outside the box to present suggestions on better ways to perform his duties."
Flor Espinal, who was nominated in the Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance category, was described by colleagues as someone who "goes over and beyond the expectations of a para-educator in the classroom," "is a mentor to new para-educators and gives constructive feedback resulting in student success" and "demonstrates flexibility and a high level of professional commitment."
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Child Care and Early Education Funding Under Siege
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Dr. James Heckman
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Community leaders fear Governor Brown's plan to cut child care and early education funding would undermine years of local investment in young children. Assemblymembers Jerry Hill and Rich Gordon, County Supervisor Don Horsley and Children Now leader Ted Lempert vehemently opposed the Governor's plan at a March 8 event at the College of San Mateo organized by First 5 San Mateo County and sponsored by the San Mateo County Office of Education and other local organizations.
The San Mateo County Board of Education and Superintendent Anne Campbell loudly echoed the same sentiment on March 21, when they unanimously approved a resolution opposing the governor's proposed budget reductions, noting that early care and education programs in the state have already sustained a staggering $1.2 billion in cuts since 2008, resulting in a loss of spaces for 100,000 children throughout California.
Governor Brown's proposed cuts and restructuring would have profound effects on San Mateo County children and families. They would reduce child care funding by 29 percent in 2012-13 and then in 2013-14 would remove all state subsidy funding for early learning programs from the Ravenswood City School District, Bayshore Child Care Services, Peninsula Family Service, the Redwood City Child Development Program, Coastside Children's Programs, and the cities of Pacifica and Menlo Park.
The proposal would also cut 60 to 75 percent of subsidized funding for child care from the San Mateo-Foster City School District, the South San Francisco Unified School District and the Redwood City School District. Part-day state preschool funding would be cut by 19 percent across the county. The losses would likely close 28 full-day, high-quality centers, for a permanent loss of 1,800 spaces.
Speaking via video at the March 8 event, which was attended by more than 120 education and child care advocates and local leaders, Nobel Laureate economist Dr. James Heckman cited statistics showing that gaps in achievement and life skills are documented as early as age 3 and persist throughout life. "We know that if we invest early, there is a greater return than if we invest later in life," he said.
Heckman, whose speech was beamed via live streaming video from Monterey to 28 First 5 groups throughout California, noted, "The basic skills of success are largely formed, if they are formed, before children enter school." In addition to cognitive skills that help determine success in the classroom, he said the skills that matter in life are character and personality traits such as motivation, socialization, self-esteem and the ability to delay gratification. "Unfortunately, the way American public policy works, we put the emphasis on later years," he added, giving job training and prison rehabilitation programs as examples of less bang for the buck. Heckman is a professor at the University of Chicago.
Read what local leaders had to say about the proposed cuts.
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County Takes Stand Against Bullying
"We're ALL in." That's the message from the San Mateo County Office of Education as it engages groups throughout the county in a campaign against bullying. The two-year RESPECT! 24/7 initiative, which has the support of the Board of Supervisors and Congresswoman Jackie Speier, aims to persuade students, families and communities to make respectful behavior a high priority.
RESPECT! 24/7 will kick off with a program on April 17 spotlighting Linda Fogg Phillips, who has achieved prominence as the co-author of Facebook for Parents and The Facebook Guide for Educators. She will speak from 9:15 to 11:45 a.m. on April 17 at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits in Redwood City. Admission is free. Related events with Phillips are scheduled for parents on the evening of April 17 at the Bayside Performing Arts Center in Foster City and for teachers and administrators on the afternoon of April 18 in the SMCOE office in Redwood City.
Other RESPECT! 24/7 activities will include symposiums for school and district personnel, a student arts competition, a speakers' bureau, promotional materials and presentations coordinated with community partners. A large community event is tentatively scheduled during October, which is National Anti-Bullying Month.
Nancy Magee, SMCOE's Administrator for Board Support and Community Relations, explained that the impetus for RESPECT! 24/7 started with a Grand Jury report issued last June encouraging local school boards to adopt anti-bullying policies. "We said we would lead an effort to strengthen and revise our anti-bullying and harassment student policies," Magee said. "We want to reduce incidents of bullying and empower children and youth to exhibit leadership on this issue. RESPECT! 24/7 will provide a starting place for deeper conversations about civil behavior and acceptable norms for a caring community."
At an event last fall, administrators from every school district compared anti-bullying policies and agreed to update them and post them on the SMCOE website. "There was a lot of energy around this issue. All districts are managing this online world and the complications that come with it, so they were grateful for the conversation and guidance and motivated to do more," Magee said.
In response to the interest, SMCOE created an advisory team of administrators, the 17th District PTA and Sheryl Young, Executive Director of Community Gatepath. Young, who worked with an advisory group on a recently released film for children called Bully, was invited to a national summit on bullying organized by the Obama administration.
Click here to read more about plans for RESPECT! 24/7.
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Diving Deep Into Common Core Standards
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Dr. Gary Waddell
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Educators from throughout California
converged at the San Mateo County Office of Education during March to focus on the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. On March 6, 17 teachers and administrators who had applied and were selected to serve on a focus group led by the California Department of Education shared their insights in the development of a new framework for mathematics in California.
While the California Common Core State Standards have been adopted by the State Board of Education, the associated framework will guide the professional development, instructional materials and other work to support the new standards. The San Mateo focus group was the largest of three such groups conducted across the state as the first step in the framework development process. On March 12, about 120 professional developers from county offices of education throughout the state visited SMCOE to learn how to use a new Common Core State Standards Toolkit designed to assist districts in transitioning to the new standards.
The Common Core State Standards were developed through a state-led initiative to establish consistent and clear education standards for English language arts and mathematics to better prepare students for success in college, careers and the competitive global economy.
SMCOE has played a major role in providing leadership at the state level in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. SMCOE Deputy Superintendent Dr. Gary Waddell chairs the Mathematics Subcommittee of the statewide Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association that wrote the implementation toolkit for elementary and secondary content in both English language arts and mathematics. Instructional Services Division staff members Lori Musso, Mefula Fairley and April Cherrington were integrally involved in the writing, revision and implementation of this toolkit. "We are fortunate to have such a high caliber of experts in the Instructional Services Division who have been recognized as curricular leaders at the state level," Waddell said.
Waddell explained that the new standards focus on broad concepts that span grade levels rather than merely introduce isolated skills at particular grade levels and that they are "backward mapped," with foundational skills preceding more advanced skills as a student progresses through the grade levels. He added that most prior presentations on the standards have been overviews targeted primarily at administrators. He said the March 12 training was an exciting step, as it set the stage for the first "deep dive" into the Common Core State Standards with classroom teachers -- those who most need to understand them and how they differ from previous standards.
Stay tuned for updates as SMCOE works with school districts in San Mateo County to transition to the Common Core State Standards, which will be followed by an entirely new statewide system of assessment.
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STEM Center Plans May Opening
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Dr. Christi Harter in the new STEM Center
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Builders are putting the finishing touches on the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Center at the San Mateo County Office of Education, which is expected to open in May. With the vision of being the premier center for STEM professional development in California, the center will feature state-of-the art technologies, including a Web-enabled video conference studio to allow professional development to be offered in a distance learning format; mobile carts with PCs, Macs and iPads; and interactive white boards. Dr. Gary Waddell, Deputy Superintendent for the Instructional Services Division, said, "We are taking seriously the opportunity to lead the way in terms of instructional technology and innovative, quality professional development in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Our STEM education program is focused on supporting the schools and districts in San Mateo County in preparing their students not only for the world that they live in today, but also for the world that they will be living and working in tomorrow." STEM Center Director Dr. Christi Harter said the facility will host professional development training all summer long on a wide variety of STEM topics, including blended learning and online courses. "We'll be able to adjust the room for various types of training we want to host," she noted. The average class will accommodate 25 to 30 people physically and have unlimited opportunities to participate virtually via video conference or webinar. Funding for the center came from deferred maintenance funds. The project fulfills the County Office of Education's goal to lead the way in STEM education in San Mateo County and California. |
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Check Us Out on Facebook
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) now has a page on Facebook. We'll be providing frequent upd ates on SMCOE events and education news of interest, adding groups of interest, and linking to other education organizations. Check us out and "like" us today on Facebook!
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About the San Mateo County Office of Education
The San Mateo County Office of Education provides a variety of instructional, business and consulting services to the County's 23 public school districts, charter schools, the Community College District and County Office of Education staff.
Believe in Tomorrow: Think Green Today
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