Views on education in San Diego

By Julie P. Dubick

In order to provide a quality education for all children, we must support reforms that promote literacy.

The good news is that here in San Diego interest in education is generating support for our schools and support for changes that will promote a quality education for all students.

Why changes? Because there is no more important service our government can provide than a quality public education that reaches all students, the neediest and the brightest. There is much debate over how to provide such a quality education, but little debate over the failure of our California schools to do so. Our significant problems with high school drop out rates, with social promotion, and with closing the achievement gap all demonstrate our need for educational improvement.

Recent Reforms In our community, San Diego Unified, California's second largest school district, has recently implemented several new, comprehensive programs. While some individuals and groups continue to defend the status quo, I believe these changes will significantly increase student achievement across the board. The recently implemented literacy program concentrates on building reading and comprehension skills for those performing below grade level, and on building advanced verbal and analytical skills for those performing at grade level and above.

The new Blueprint for Student Success will attack social promotion by helping students who are performing below grade level. This program also focuses on literacy, increasing school hours and adding a 5th year of high school for those who need it, and providing new teaching methods to help students who are not learning in traditional settings.

Schools are making efforts to help students achieve the literacy requirements and still retain elective classes. This program does not affect Gate or seminar programs and is not a criticism of teachers. In fact, the program cannot succeed without teacher support. A critical element of the program is increased teacher training and reinforcement, additional classroom supplies, and teacher mentoring and coaching.

Visiting schools is the best way to see these new programs in action. It is wonderful to see the excitement on many campuses among teachers, principals and staff; many are energized by the challenge. There is much being asked of our teachers, principals and staff and many are energized by the challenge. A few examples of schools using new resources or programs include the CoTA art program at Walker elementary, the new full-day kindergarten program at Penn elementary, the expanded book selections at King elementary through partnership with San Diego Reads, the amazing instructional work at Lindberg/Schweitzer elementary, the wonderful student support staff at Mason elementary, the academic drive for excellence at University City high school, and the leadership and joy of teaching displayed at so many schools.

Teacher Training Teacher training has been taking place throughout the school year and is continuing during the summer. Many teachers have praised the quality of the training, the chance to interact with other teachers and the new, free supplies. Best practices are communicated as well as problems and successes.

Accountability Teacher training and the new educational programs are especially important as the District begins to address the issue of accountability. California is using test scores to rate and rank schools and to provide financial incentives and disincentives. Students, teachers, principals, superintendents and even communities are being held accountable for academic progress. Unfortunately, California has been criticized for its measure of accountability, the Stanford 9 Test. As a result, new tests are being studied and developed; however, until there are new tests, we must deal with the Stanford 9 and remember that fair accountability is the product of multiple factors and includes a comparison of "apples to apples". Credit goes to many who are studying fair accountability tests, including, in our own community, Tyler Cramer of the Business Roundtable for Education. Credit also goes to the parents who are involved with their schools and who hold themselves accountable for their children's educational success.

Most recently, the May 2000 Stanford 9 test results show significant improvement in reading and math scores for all students, at all schools within the district. This is a major achievement for proponents of the reforms and, most importantly, for many more of our public school students who now read and compute above the national average.

Proposition MM Accountability applies to the District as well. We are finally seeing our Proposition MM dollars at work. Fifty-two million will be spent on school repair and improvement this summer. One of my goals is to hold the District, its employees, and school board members accountable for student achievement and for increased civility and professionalism. To view your Proposition MM dollars at work, visit Kearny high school and talk to its outstanding principal, Dennis Brown, and view the major renovation work being done throughout the approximately 46-acre school campus.

Advisory Committee One of my primary goals is to increase communication between the district and the community. I suggest we better utilize community advisory panels. These panels should include parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders and will keep the lines of communication open when implementing new programs and/or evaluating the progress of existing programs. We need more public debate and community involvement and fewer instances where people feel excluded from our educational reforms.

I encourage each of you to visit a school, make an appointment with your student's teacher, donate books to San Diego Reads, or otherwise support our schools. Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.