08/27/2009 GAAS:471:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Highlights Need to Ensure California is Eligible to Compete for Billions in Recovery Act Education Dollars
As
Legislature Convenes Special Session, Governor's Bipartisan Legislative Measure
Introduced
Speaking at the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter
School, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today reiterated the need for
legislative action to ensure California is eligible to apply and compete for
$4.35 billion in Race to the Top dollars available through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) - the single largest pool of
discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history. On July 24, 2009,
President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Duncan outlined federal
eligibility and competitiveness requirements for states to compete for this
funding. Under current law, California is ineligible to apply.
Governor Schwarzenegger called a special legislative
session and announced a
legislative package that will ensure California meets Race to the Top
eligibility and competitiveness requirements. Immediately after the legislature
convened the special session today, the Governor's bipartisan legislative
measure was introduced by Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), Senator Bob
Huff (R-Diamond Bar), Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) and Senator Mark
Wyland (R-Carlsbad).
"The reforms outlined by President Obama and included in
my bipartisan legislative measure will not only help provide a better education
for our children, but also ensure California is eligible and highly competitive
for billions in Recovery funding for education," said Governor Schwarzenegger.
"Our schools and our children are depending on us to lead California in the
Race to the Top - and the time for action is now."
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office noted
yesterday that "if California wants to compete in Phase 1 of RTTT [Race to the
Top] funding, it would need to begin developing its plan now." The Obama
Administration's reforms are policies the Governor has stood behind since taking
office and will help provide a better education for California's school
children. Reforms to ensure California is eligible to apply and be highly
competitive for Race to the Top funding include:
Linking Student Achievement
and Teacher Performance Data. Having linked data will increase
transparency around how California's students, teachers and schools are
performing. With this information, the specific needs of students, teachers and
schools can be better addressed.
Measures to Turn-Around
Struggling Schools. Turning around struggling schools increases the
overall quality of our state's education system.
o Repeal
California's charter school cap - an unnecessary barrier to innovation.
o Give
parents more freedom to choose the school that best serves their children by
both authorizing open enrollment for students in the lowest-performing schools
so they can attend any school in the state - and removing the cap on "districts
of choice" so any student in the state can attend school in a participating district.
o Focus
efforts on the five percent of schools that consistently underperform, helping
ensure all California students can reach the state's academic standards.
Measures to Help California
Recruit and Retain High-Quality Teachers and Principals.
o Reward
teachers who are consistently doing the toughest jobs. Alternative pay
schedules highlight effective teaching practices and creates incentives to
improve our education system.
o Measure
student progress to help identify what works in the classroom. Every child is
different and looking at both growth measures and overall achievement scores
provides a better picture of a student progress over time.
Improving Accountability for Schools. Modifying how
the state uses data to measure performance will help more accurately track the
progress of students, teachers and schools on an annual basis - so that
California can make continuous improvement in our education system from year to
year.
The Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School was
established in 1998 as a district charter school serving students in
Kindergarten through seventh grade. Using a robust data system, the school
tracks student progress using multiple assessments over the course of the year.
This information is used by teachers and administrators to guide teaching
practices, providing greater accountability and feedback on student learning
and growth. Despite having a high English learner population, the
majority of students are proficient in Language Arts, including 46.2 percent of
English learners. With support from the district, the Chula Vista Learning
Community Charter School is working with other schools to discuss and replicate
effective strategies that will help improve student performance across the
district.
Under Governor Schwarzenegger's leadership, California
was the first state in the
nation to be federally approved for State
Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollars - education funding also available through
the Recovery Act. Over $2.5 billion of this funding has been distributed
to California schools to date with hundreds of millions of dollars expected in
the fall.
