Blueprint for Great Schools

Action Parents can use the recommendations of a new report to talk with legislators and school officials about ways to improve schools and child care and development programs. The PTA invites parents to meet with legislators during their advocacy days, February 6-7.

Background A Blueprint for Great Schools outlines recommendations for improving California’s public schools and child care and development programs. It was recently released by Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Tom Torlakson.

“People need to be really interested [in the Blueprint],” says Debbie Look, Vice-President of Education for the California State PTA. “The SPI does a lot to set the direction for [the state’s] educational policy, which has a significant impact on schools.” The PTA plans to work with the SPI and legislators on efforts to implement the recommendations, she adds.

The following are some of the recommendations from the blueprint.

• Improve teacher quality. Studies show investments in teachers and teaching are key to helping children do better in school. But schools in low-income communities are less likely to have access to well-qualified, effective teachers. The blueprint recommends better teacher recruitment, support, and evaluation. It also supports helping high-need schools recruit well-qualified teachers.
• Revise curriculum standards and assessments. For example, states are developing a shared set of education standards known as Common Core Standards. California adopted these standards last year. Implementing the standards will allow students to study key instructional concepts more in depth, says Look. The blueprint also recommends supporting diverse learners, as well as high levels of literacy and bilingual literacy.
• Improve the state’s school accountability system. Currently, California schools are ranked based on how well students score on standardized tests. The blueprint recommends that the state broaden this system by developing ways to measure children’s access to quality education. Assessing the capacity of teachers and schools to provide a quality education will provide important information about the resources needed to help children do better in school.
• Support early childhood education. Quality care and education helps children develop early learning, social, and physical skills that help them do better in school and later in life. A key portion of the blueprint’s recommendations would increase children’s access to quality care and provide comprehensive support for children. In particular, the blueprint recommends implementing a system for improving child care quality and also funding professional development programs for teachers and providers. It also recommends increased support for families through parent education, home visiting, developmental screenings, and preserving First 5 funding.
• Encourage education supports. Secure housing, regular health care, and supportive out-of-school environments contribute to children’s ability to learn. The blueprint upports children’s access to health care, social services, and before and afterschool programs. It also supports efforts to engage parents in schools and partner with communities.
• Improve health and fitness. Research finds that children’s health and fitness affect their success in school. The blueprint recommends facilitating children’s access to health insurance, school-based health care, and better nutrition and physical activity.
• Change school finance. California ranks near the bottom among states for school funding per student. California schools in low-income communities also receive less funding than schools in wealthier communities. The blueprint supports creating a formula that ties school funding to student needs—and seeking new revenue sources. Children feel the impact of inadequate school funding. For example, Oakland parents have been protesting plans to close schools and consolidate classrooms because of budget cuts.

The PTA plans to advocate for many of the blueprint’s recommendations this next year. Advocacy goals include calling for adequate school funding and supporting health and support services, efforts to engage families, and additional resources for vulnerable children.

More information on the Blueprint, see www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/bp/bpcontents.asp
More information on advocacy, contact the PTA, 916-440-1985, www.capta.org

Legislators Focus on Boys of Color

Action Weigh in on issues affecting the well-being of California’s boys and young men of color. The Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color will be holding upcoming hearings in Fresno, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

Background The Select Committee will focus on ways to improve health, school success, safety, and employment for boys and young men of color—including local programs working to address disparities. The Committee will present a report to the Legislature next spring.

“We are losing an entire generation of our children by focusing on the wrong things. It is absolutely unacceptable that our state spends more feeding our men in prison than…to improve their success in public school,” said Assemblymember Sandre Swanson, who chairs the Committee, in a Globe Newspaper article.

The Committee is partnering with the Boys and Men of Color Network, a statewide coalition of advocates. The Network worked with local advocates in Fresno, Oakland, and Los Angeles over the past three years to coordinate and advance a policy agenda and promote promising
practices.

A framing paper for the Select Committee offers preliminary policy recommendations for ways California could better support boys of color.

• Improve health by helping boys of color receive better and more consistent health care. The framing paper supports improving access to health care for boys of color, including a “health home” that provides preventive care. It also recommends services that prevent trauma and support children who experience trauma.
• Support education by providing resources and supports to help more boys of color do better in school. The framing paper recommends focusing on reading, parent leadership, and access to qualified teachers and school health centers. It also recommends funding schools in ways that promote equity as well as reducing harsh school discipline policies.
• Promote safety by helping to keep boys of color safe from violence in homes and communities. The framing paper supports improving parenting support, reducing community violence, and increasing afterschool programs.

More information Select Committee, Amy Alley, Office of Assemblymember, Sandre Swanson, 916-319-2016.
More information Boys and Men of Color Network, Marc Philpart, PolicyLink, 510-663-2333, www.policylink.org

National Parent Helpline

Parents Anonymous has launched a national free helpline in English and Spanish to provide assistance and emotional support to worried and stressed parents. Parents Anonymous is an organization working to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Trained helpline advocates provide support and help parents resolve concerns related to their children and other issues. Helpline advocates also offer referrals to community services. Parents can call about a range of issues, including

• Parenting and positive discipline
• Effective communication
• Stress reduction
• Referrals to community services.

Parent leaders with Parents Anonymous played a key role in setting up the Helpline, including community outreach and training for the helpline advocates.

More information Call 1-855-4A PARENT, Monday-Friday 10am-7pm.
For California resources, visit www.nationalparenthelpline.org

Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin

Reports on the Status of Boys and Young Men of Color

Recent reports from PolicyLink and other organizations have drawn attention to the challenges boys of color and their families face—and how schools and communities can better provide support. For example, many black and Latino boys grow up with profound health disparities. In school, black male students do not receive the same opportunities and resources as white male students. Black and Latino students receive harsher punishments than white students for similar infractions—and are suspended at increasingly higher rates. Recent budget cuts have also led some school districts to balance their budgets with funds that had been earmarked for students with the greatest needs.

The reports recommend raising school funding to a level at least equal to that of successful suburban schools. They also call for more supportive and culturally competent school environments, universal high-quality preschool, afterschool programs, and stronger social and health services.

Recent reports include

• Discipline Policies, from UCLA Civil Rights Project
• Yes We Can, from Schott Foundation
• Breaking Barriers, from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
• Healthy Communities Matter, from PolicyLink
• Deregulating School Aid in California, from Rand Corporation

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