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Congratulations, Superintendent-Elect Torlakson!
 The California Association of Private School Organizations extends its congratulations and best wishes for success to Assembly Member Tom Torlakson, who will assume the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, succeeding Jack O'Connell. Mr. Torlakson, a former teacher and cross-country coach hailing from Contra Costa County, prevailed in a closely contested race with Larry Aceves, a former Bay Area public school superintendent. The day following the election, Mr. Torlakson issued an online thank you note, in which he expressed the following sentiment: "Now the real work begins. It is going to take a large and diverse coalition -- teachers, parents and students; business and labor leaders; school board members and administrators; Mayors and County Supervisors; top Republicans and Democrats -- working together to stop the cuts to our schools and to forge creative partnerships. It's going to take great effort to make sure every school can provide a top-quality education to every student in a safe and healthy environment." In a nod to the teachers unions, which provided strong backing for Mr. Torlakson's candidacy, the State-Superintendent-Elect added: "We must provide our valiantly hard-working teachers and school employees with the resources they need to help our students succeed." Doing so will present a formidable challenge, with the state still mired in the throes of an economic downturn, and facing another looming deficit with diminished prospects of receiving additional federal "stimulus" funding from the newly-seated Congress. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is a non-partisan office whose occupant is responsible for executing education policies established by the State Board of Education. The SSPI functions as the chief executive officer of the California Department of Education, and also serves as an ex officio officer on the governing boards of the state's higher education system. CAPSO works cooperatively with the California Department of Education, as the CDE bears responsibility for facilitating, monitoring, and enforcing the implementation of federal programs that provide equitable services and programs for eligible private school students, teachers, other education personnel, and parents. The CDE also supports a California Private School Advisory Committee, whose members consult with state officials in fulfillment of legal requirements established by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The PSAC oversees a variety of professional development activities for nonprofit, private school educators, one of which is advertised in the column below. As we look forward to working collaboratively with incoming Superintendent Torlakson, CAPSO and California's private school community also owe a debt of thanks to current Superintendent Jack O'Connell. During the course of Mr. O'Connell's eight years of leadership, a number of important innovations were introduced that reflected the Superinendent's commitment to serving all students. Three of the most important developments were:
- The creation of a Private School Guidance Document designed to provide site-level private school officials with a hands-on reference document describing those sections of the ESEA that relate to private schools.
- The establishment of an ESEA Private School Work Group, consisting of private and public school officials who work together to anticipate, address, and resolve implementation issues so as to facilitate compliance with the law.
- The development of an online private school affidavit filing procedure that streamlines the fulfillment of the annual legal requirement.
It has been a pleasure to work with the dedicated men and women who have served the California Department of Education and the people of the state well under Mr. O'Connell. We look forward to continuing to work as partners in the education of the public, with incoming Superintendent Torlakson, and wish him great success and fulfillment in his new position. |
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PSAC Announces Leadership Training Programs
 The California Private School Advisory Committee, K-12, is pleased to announce a new, three-day leadership training program for nonprofit private school administrators of grades K-12. The program will be offered at six locations throughout the state. These high-quality, low-cost programs are funded in part by Title II, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Eduction Act, in cooperation with the California Department of Education.
Using Purposeful Classroom Walkthroughs
For Powerful Conversations about Instruction
Presented by George Manthey, Ed.D.
Dates and Locations
Sacramento (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1/24/2011) March 15-16, and May 6, 2011 St. Robert School 2251 Irvin Way Sacramento, CA 95822 Visalia (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1/24/2011) March 28-29, and May 5, 2011 George McCann School St. Mary's Parish Center 506 N. Garden St. Visalia, CA 93291 Orange (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 12/15/2011) January 18-19, and March 1, 2011 St. Joseph Center 480 South Batavia St. Orange, CA 92868 Westlake Village (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 12/15/2011) January 20-21, and March 2, 2011 Seventh-day Adventist - Pacific Union Conference 2686 Townsgatge Rd. Westlake Village, CA 91361 Fremont (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1/3/2011) February 7-8, and March 30, 2011 Holy Spirit School 3930 Parish Ave. Fremont, CA 94536 Rancho Cucamonga (Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1/3/2011) February 17-18, and April 1, 2011 Sacred Heart Parish School 12676 Foothill Blvd. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
For All Programs Per-Person Registration: Early Bird - $175.00 ($200.00, thereafter) Registration includes materials, software, and refreshments. Program Hours: Day 1: 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Days 2 and 3: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Space is limited. Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis! Additional information and registration forms may be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the bold-faced program locations, listed above. Workshop Description The most important work of school leaders is to promote student learning. Although the effect of leadership on student learning is indirect, it is also powerful. Two of the most important ways leaders can positively influence student learning are the focus of this workshop: classroom walkthroughs and the conversations leaders have with teachers about instruction.
Frequent classroom walkthroughs using Walk'bout software can produce valuable information about learning and teaching. Data gathered from these walkthroughs can be a central part of the conversations between school leaders and teachers. In this workshop, participants will review more than two dozen effective instructional practices that are known to improve learning. They will then learn how to use these practices as a focus to conduct short (5-10 minute) classroom walkthroughs, as well as strategies for having powerful conversations with their teachers about instruction.
Participants will:
- Develop a clear understanding of research-based instructional strategies;
- Practice identifying the use of these strategies in videos of real classrooms;
- Learn to use the Walk'bout software to conduct 5-10 minute classroom walkthroughs;
- Improve their skills at talking with teachers about instruction;
- Participate in optional Webinars to hone their software skills;
- Receive a training binder and a perpetual license with unlimited use for Walk'bout software.
Each session will include one and one-half days of training, followed by a half-day training approximately six weeks later to refine participants' use of the software and their skills in conducting purposeful walkthroughs. Live webinars will be scheduled in between trainings to respond to questions about software use.
About the Presenter
The lead presenter will be George Manthey, Ed. D., a former regular and special education classroom teacher, resource specialist, school principal, and district administrator. He is currently the Assistant Executive Director, Educational Services, for the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Dr. Manthey will be assisted by current administrator practitioners.
About Walk'bout Software
Walk'bout was developed by workshop leader George Manthey, Ed.D., and is used by more than 2,000 school leaders for gathering (and reporting) information about the degree of use of effective instructional practices. The Walk'bout also provides information about classroom settings and provides a match of classroom activities to the California Content Standards. The Walk'bout software is included as part of the registration materials. The software will work on any computer or handheld device able to connect to the internet. However, since a computer is required to produce reports, you will need to bring your laptop to the training. Walk'bout reports can be produced in PDF, Excel, or a rich text format (which allows easy editing using your word processor.)
The Walk'bout software is both a protocol for conducting short classroom visitations (5 to 10 minutes) and a database for aggregating the information gathered. The purpose of the protocol is to gain objective information regarding the implementation of school-wide goals related to effective instructional practices. Please note: The Walk'bout software is a strategy for teacher support, not for evaluation.
Since the Walk'bout software will be customized for each participant, each registration must be accompanied with an Excel spreadsheet that lists the name of each teacher at the school. (You may use a number or first name only as an identifier if you prefer.) This spreadsheet needs to be sent as an e-mail attachment at the time of registration to allow time for customization.
For Additional Information
Please contact Joyce Maksin:
Phone: 916.228.2218
E-Mail: jmaksin@scoe.net |
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Quick Takes
 Here's a Switch...
In an interesting development, the Obama Administration has staked out a position that favors the State of Arizona's defense of its education tax credit arrangement. In oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court last week, U.S. Solicitor General Neal K. Katyal argued that the defendants in Winn v. Garriott lacked legal standing to challenge the tax credit scheme. According to Mr. Katyal: "If you placed an electronic tag to track and monitor each cent that the respondent plaintiffs pay in tax, not a cent, not a fraction of a cent, would go in any religious school's coffers." When questioned by Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as to whether Mr. Katyal's reasoning would open the door to any challenges, the Solicitor General responded: ""The way this scheme is set up, our answer is no."
Chairman Kline?
With the Republicans having won a majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the ranking GOP member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, John Kline, has announced his intention to seek the committee chairmanship. The Minnesotan identified the following as priority issues for action by the incoming 112th Congress: - giving employers the certainty, flexibility, and freedom to create jobs;
- conducting robust oversight of education and workforce programs across the federal government to protect students, families, workers, and retirees;
- modernizing and streamlining training programs to help job-seekers get back to work; and
- pursuing education reform that restores local control, empowers parents, lets teachers teach, and protects taxpayers.
While Mr. Kline made no mention of ESEA reauthorization, he shared some of his views concerning the massive federal education law in a September interview with Education Week's Alyson Klein. Addressing the reauthorization, the Congressman remarked, "...One of the things that we've been insisting on is that we have to make it simpler, easier to comply with and more flexible, therefore putting some meaning back into local control." Read the CAPE Outlook! The CAPE Outlook is an outstanding newsletter published monthly during the course of the school year by the Council of American Private Education (CAPSO's national "parent" organization). A PDF copy of the newsletter is available to CAPSO-affiliates at no cost, here. The November 2010 edition's lead article provides an analysis of last week's national congressional elections, with an eye toward the ramifications for school choice. A related side-bar lists a number of newly-elected governors favorably disposed to school choice. Other articles report and comment on the Josephson Institute's recent survey of student attitudes and behaviors relating to school bullying and violence, and last week's oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Arizona education tax credit case. (A transcript of the proceedings can be found, here.) Finally, and sadly, the newsletter contains an obituary for former CAPE Executive Director Joyce McCray, who passed away November 1, at the age of 78. CAPSO extends its condolences to Ms. McCray's family. |
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Now that the Dust has Settled
 Who amongst us isn't relieved that the mid-term elections are, at long last, over? How many of us reached the point at which we couldn't bear to watch one more campaign ad, or answer our phones for fear of yet another robot call? Is there a single one of us who didn't wonder whether some portion of the $140 million spent by Republican Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman - in a losing effort - might have been spent more constructively? Or lamented over the expenditure of additional tens of millions supporting or opposing certain ballot propositions that reasonably well educated human beings can't possibly understand? Bucking a national trend that saw Republicans gain more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than in any election in the past sixty years, California Democrats strengthened their hold on state government. Not only did they succeed in sending Jerry Brown back to Sacramento to serve a third term as governor, they also retained comfortable majorities in both houses of the state legislature. And they succeeded in passing Proposition 25, a measure that will permit legislators to pass a state budget with a simple majority, instead of the two-thirds vote that has produced political gridlock with increasing consistency. It may appear as if California Democrats are in for smooth sailing ahead. But in politics, things are seldom as they appear, and rarely remain static for long. Prior to the last week's passage of Proposition 25, the partisan stand-offs over the adoption of a budget typically consisted of Republicans refusing to countenance additional taxes, and Democrats unyielding about significantly reducing government spending. Each side blamed the other for its refusal to do what was "necessary."
But what will happen next year, when a Democratic legislature and governor are faced with yet another budget shortfall on the order of $15 to $20 billion, as is widely predicted? With Proposition 25's provisions in place, it'll be their baby. Which will present the Golden State's Democratic leadership with some very hard choices. Given the continuation of a stagnant state economy, and a painfully high rate of unemployment, a decision to increase taxes and/or fees would be difficult. And the difficulty will only be exacerbated by the fact that the temporary 1 percent hike in state sales and use taxes is set to expire on July 1, 2011. One option available to lawmakers is to seek an extension of the "temporary" tax increases. But to do so would only "succeed" in "breaking even," at the cost of inviting cynicism over the meaning of "temporary." The matter might be placed in the hands of the people via a special election. But such a course of action is fraught with risk, for what happens if the electorate rejects the option of increasing their tax burden? Neither is there any guarantee that tax hikes restricted to the "wealthy" will succeed, if put to a popular vote, as was demonstrated by the failed Proposition 82 ("Preschool for All) initiative, in 2006. If the new Democratic governor and legislature are unable to secure significant additional revenue streams via taxes and fees, what then? To hear candidate Jerry Brown tell it, every aspect of government will be scrutinized for the purpose of identifying inefficiencies, bloat and waste. Which is well and good, if somewhat misleading given that a substantial amount of state spending is mandated by law - Proposition 98 being the most obvious and significant example. (Proposition 98, which was passed in 1988, establishes a minimum funding level for spending on K-12 and community college education. EdSource provides a one-page explanation of the complex funding mechanism, here.) The optimists among us might conclude that, when faced with another massive deficit and constrained against raising taxes, California's new Democratic leaders will be forced to address the underlying structural issues that continue to challenge lawmakers' ability to produce a balanced budget that doesn't rely on gimmicks, or kick the can down the road. You may recall that Governor Schwarzenegger tried early in his term of office, and quite unsuccessfully, to address the issue in a series of failed ballot initiatives. Will Democrats now pick up the ball? Stay tuned!
Ron Reynolds
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