EdCal EdCal v49.17 2/11/19

Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators Volume 49 | Number 17 | February 11, 2019 March 15 Q&A provided by ACSA Each year the ACSA Member Assistance and Legal Support Team, under the direction of Margarita Cuizon-Armelino, senior director of Member Services and Support, receives more than 200 calls from members asking questions about March 15 Notices. Member Assistance Advocates John Almond, Sharon Dezutti, Joe Jones, Janet Morey, Gary Rutherford, Bill Tschida and Lloyd Wamhof provide answers the following key questions. Exactly what is a March 15 Notice? It’s a notice given by districts to adminis- trators notifying them they may be released, demoted or reassigned for the following school year beginning July 1. The courts have stated that “the legislative purpose of the statute was to afford the administrator proper notice of possible change in duties and assignment in sufficient time to seek other satisfactory employment as an admin- istrator.” What can districts do to help prepare people who are receiving a March 15 Notice? It is so important to remember we are dealing with human lives, and our col- leagues have earned respect. Understand how emotional it is to be told you are being demoted, re-assigned or terminated or that your job is being changed. How that mes- sage is delivered speaks volumes for the culture in the district. ACSA member assistance advocates are reminded regularly of the importance Why is it normally referred to as the March 15 Notice? Education Code 44951 states, “unless a certificated employee holding a supervisory or administrative position is sent written notice deposited in the U.S. registered mail with postage prepaid and addressed to his/her last known address by March 15 that he/she may be released from his/her position for the following school year, or See MARCH 15, page 3 Bill reintroduced to require ethnic studies for grads Meet the candidates Candidates for ACSA statewide office held an online town hall meeting to introduce themselves to members. L-R, Dennis Cole and Barbara Martinez are both candidates for the office of Vice President for Legislative Action. At right, Charlie Hoffman is running unopposed for the office of Vice President. State ACSA office candidates participate in online town hall Candidates for state ACSA officer elections participated in an online town hall, scheduled on Feb. 4, and mod- erated by ACSA Senior Director of Communications Naj Alikhan. Charlie Hoffman, superintendent of Shasta-Trinity ROP/Bella Vista Elementary and current ACSA board member, is running unopposed for the office of Vice President. Hoffman was joined by Barbara Martinez, principal of Pacific Grove Adult Education in Pacific Grove USD and current ACSA board member, as well as Dennis Cole, director of Humanities for the Orange County Department of Education, both candi- dates for the office of Vice President for Legislative Action. of treating others with civility and dignity. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to make the tough decisions. It just means that how you deliver the message will have an impact on how the individual receiving the message reacts. “This town hall provided each can- didate with a unique opportunity to talk about their platform and the future of our organization,” said ACSA President Holly Edds. If you missed the live meeting, you can listen to it on the ACSA Resource Hub at content.acsa.org. “We believe there are creative ways for our candidates to get their informa- tion out to all 19 regions and members statewide in a way everyone can benefit,” Edds said. “I encourage everyone to access this because so much of what they have to say will shape ACSA.” Elections of officers will take place at the ACSA Leadership Assembly on May 9. Assembly member Jose Medina, joined by co-authors Assembly members Richard Bloom, Rob Bonta, Lorena Gonzales, James Ramos and Shirley Weber, introduced Assembly Bill 331 to mandate Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement in all California high schools. This follows a veto of AB 2772 last year, which would have created a pilot program for select school districts to require Ethnic Studies. “Knowledge of our history plays a criti- cal role in shaping who we become. When I was growing up, the history of those who look like me was not represented in the classroom. As a former Ethnic Studies teacher, I saw firsthand how much more engaged my students were when they saw themselves reflected in the coursework,” Medina said. This bill would add the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic stud- ies, in either the subject of social stud- ies or English, based on the model cur- riculum in ethnic studies developed by the Instructional Quality Commission, to the high school graduation requirements com- mencing with the 2023-24 school year. The bill would authorize local educational agen- cies to require a full-year course in ethnic studies at their discretion. Medina noted that California is one of the most diverse states in the country. “Ethnic Studies provide students an opportunity to learn about histories outside of the Euro-centric teachings most promi- nent in our schools,” he said. “At a time when the national climate drives divisive- ness and fear of otherness, Ethnic Studies can play a critical role in increasing aware- ness and understanding.” Scholar dollars. ScholarShare 529 is California’s official 529 college sav- ings plan and is dedicated to providing support to families in saving for the costs of higher education. The main objective of the program is to generate engagement and meaningful conversa- tion about the importance of attend- ing and saving for higher education. Registration has started as of Feb. 11 on www.myscholardollars.com. Mid-state conference. The 4th Annual ACSA Mid-State Conference will take place March 8-10 in San Luis Obispo. The three-day conference will feature renowned general session speakers such as Pedro Noguera and Edwin Javius, along with expert break- out session presenters. Registration is available at http://bit.ly/2FeftJc. Addressing absenteeism. Addressing student absenteeism continues to permeate education discussions statewide. California and a majority of other states have incorporated “chronic absenteeism” as an accountability metric under the Every Student Succeeds Act. A new PACE Policy Brief outlines a multi- faceted examination of how schools measure and reduce absenteeism and what we need to know going forward as California and other states hold schools and districts accountable for students’ absences. The brief and other PACE publications can be found at www.edpolicyinca.org.   Virtual career fairs. Upcoming dates for the California Center on Teaching Careers virtual career fairs are March 13-14 at Los Angeles COE, April 10-11 at Riverside and San Diego COEs, and May 8-9 at Shasta and Sonoma COEs. You can join the live fairs via mobile device, laptop or desk- top. For more information, contact Marvin Lopez at [email protected]. Registration is available at http://bit. ly/2UKXQ8e. Voters rank other issues ahead of ECE in new poll A new poll out from Policy Analysis for California Education and USC showed that voters’ priorities for public schools do not necessarily align perfectly with those of Gov. Newsom. According to an execu- tive summary on the PACE website, the Californians and Public Education: Views from the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier Poll contained nine major findings: •  Across the full span of education issues facing California voters, the number one concern is gun violence in schools, and vot- ers are supportive of a wide array of policy solutions to this problem. They strongly oppose arming teachers, however. • Voters are also deeply worried about college affordability, which is the second most cited concern. This worry extends across demographic groups, and voters are also not overly confident that earning a college degree will lead to a middle-class life. That belief may be reinforced by their concerns about affordability. • Voters are supportive of increased investment in Early Childhood Education, but their support is far from overwhelming and is lower than support for initiatives to improve K-12 or higher education. Voters express a modest preference for universal (as opposed to targeted) early childhood investment. •  Voters are only slightly more aware of the Local Control Funding Formula than they were in previous polls, but participa- tion in LCFF activities has increased. While both awareness and participation remain See POLL, page 6 Periodicals Dated Material