"California was once the nation's leader in public education. It needs to be again. As the next Assemblywoman from the North Coast, I'll fight to restore school funding putting our children first" - Patty Berg
MAJOR ISSUES:
Inadequate Funding:
California's public school system is underfunded, overcrowded and running out of teachers. California ranks 36th nationally and 12% below the national average in funding per student.
Crowded Classrooms/Teacher Shortage:
California has the largest class size in the nation, averaging 29.7 children per class. In order to make California schools effective places for children to learn, California will need to recruit 300,000 new teachers in the next 10 years. We must do more to make teaching attractive to the 30 % of teacher college graduates who never teach and reverse trends, which result in nearly a third of new teachers quitting within their first 5 years.
Disadvantaged Youth:
Over 25 % of California's children 18 and under live in poverty, and we know that poverty directly impacts school performance. In order to ensure our children's success in school, we must ensure that more children arrive ready to learn. This means ensuring that all students receive childhood immunizations, eat nutritious meals, and have access to adequate health care.
Assessing Success:
Funding for California schools is tied to students' performance on certain standardized tests. The STAR program (SAT-9 test) costs the state $65.6 million annually to administer and is used as the sole measure of a student's success. It is given in English to all California public school students in grades 2-11 and compares California students to students nationally. However, children in some districts are unfairly shortchanged by a system that fails to adequately measure student success. The test is not aligned with the curriculum and schools and teachers are rated as to the results based on an Academic Performance Index (API). No alternatives to English language testing exist for one in five California children with limited or no English ability. The result of this system is that students in school districts with higher rates of poverty and English learners fail to receive the financial support they need to improve. In fact, results show that 86% of students in schools who rank in the bottom tenth of schools statewide live in poverty. By contrast, just seven percent of students in the top ten percent of California schools are poor. In addition to the STAR program, there is the high school exit exam, administered for the first time this year to 9th graders, again in English. It tested them on subjects they have not yet studied, i.e., Algebra.
Preparing Youth for Work:
Today, business and industry need individuals who are highly proficient in academic knowledge and in the ability to apply that knowledge in the workplace. For the nearly 50 percent of students who will not continue their formal education after high school, as well as for college-bound students, opportunity will hinge upon a balanced K-12 curriculum that blends core academics with career preparation. Yet, current state academic course requirements leave little room for workforce preparation skills in the high school curriculum. Furthermore, regional occupational programs and adult education programs have been subject to enrollment/funding "caps," and are therefore unable to fully respond to the needs of students and the demands of the market place. California should recognize the important place that career preparation has throughout the K-12 continuum by incorporating career awareness, guidance, and applied skills training into the course of study. California needs to do a better job of preparing our youth for good paying jobs. We need to increase the number of apprenticeship programs for students.
PATTY BERG'S EDUCATION AGENDA:
- Increase state funding for per-pupil expenditures.
- Reduce class size in grades 4-12, beginning in low performing schools, emphasizing reading.
- Raise teacher salaries and provide incentives to recruit and retain qualified teachers, especially in low performing schools and schools in remote/ rural areas.
- Ensure well-trained and fully credentialed teachers in every classroom.
- Fully involve teachers in curriculum development, textbook selection, lesson planning and setting grading standards.
- Improve the overall physical condition of all schools.
- Support the statewide education facilities bond (Proposition 47).
- Increase discretionary funding for schools to allow local districts to develop programs that meet their needs. Decision-making must be done in collaboration with school personnel and members of the community.
- Review the funding formula for public schools to ensure remote/rural schools have the necessary operational funding for resources and services.
- Launch a statewide early childhood education effort to better prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
- Increase funding for career-technical education in our high schools, regional occupational programs and adult education programs, including: expanding apprenticeship training partnerships; partnering with local trade schools and community colleges and working with the local business economy to prepare students for local jobs.
PATTY BERG'S EDUCATION ENDORSEMENTS
- California Teachers Association
- Association of California School Administrators
- California Federation of Teachers
- California Faculty Association
- California School Employees Association
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