March 4, 2019
EDCAL 1
Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 19 | March 4, 2019
Legislators listen to education leaders
on the impact of natural disasters
Last month, teachers, school and district
leaders and county office of education
trustees gathered in the state Capitol to
share their stories of survival and resilience
in the face of natural disasters with the
Assembly Committee on Education.
Structured as a series of panels, the
committee heard from education leaders,
including ACSA members, on the experi-
ences of surviving natural disasters, as well
as recommendations, requests for assistance
and best practices developed under pressure
and tested from district to district.
ACSA member and Paradise USD
Superintendent Michelle John was the
first to speak, recounting the terror and the
incredible courage of her community, which
was ravaged by the 2018 Camp Fire. More
than 90 percent of the town of Paradise
was destroyed, and the school district has
to date seen a 52 percent drop in its former
student population.
“Driving through flames and ash clouds,
educators and school employees were the
first responders, risking their own lives as
their own homes were being destroyed,”
John said. “Gathering throughout the day
at the Chico Fairgrounds, and later, well-
past midnight at a large church in Chico,
we can proudly say that all 3,409 students
and 440 staff members were safe and ac-
counted for.”
See HEARING, page 5
2019 CA Distinguished
Schools announced
ACSA Senior Director of Policy and Governmental Relations Edgar Zazueta leads a discussion and
introduction of the ACSA Legislative Platform during Leadership Assembly.
ACSA adopts legislative
platform for 2019-20
During the recent Leadership
Assembly, ACSA members voted
to adopt the association’s legislative
platform for 2019-20. This platform
will shape the positions and priorities
for ACSA in the political arena. The
platform is printed below.
Legislative Platform 2019-2020
[Ratified by the ACSA Leadership
Assembly, February 21, 2019 and
Adopted by the Board, February 22,
2019]
Introduction
The mission of the Association of
California School Administrators calls
on the organization to be a driving
force for an equitable, world-class
education system, and work towards
the development and support of
inspired educational leaders who meet
the diverse needs of all California
Periodicals
Dated Material
pre-kindergarten to adult students. The
latest three-year strategic plan, adopt-
ed by the Board of Directors, directs
ACSA to shape policy by aligning the
collective influence at the local, state,
and federal levels and also calls on the
organization to be a recognized expert,
authoritative voice, and a partner in
addressing the diverse need of students
and the issues that impact learning.
The organization’s Legislative Platform
plays a significant role in guiding the
ACSA Governmental Relations staff
in steering the course for improve-
ments and progress in public education
and school administration.
ACSA’s Legislative Platform,
adopted every two years, establishes
the advocacy priorities for the organi-
zation with the underlying premise of
supporting what is best for students.
The Platform, developed by the Leg-
See PLATFORM, page 3
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tony Thurmond announced that 162
middle and high schools are being honored
under the 2019 Distinguished Schools Pro-
gram. Sponsored by the California Depart-
ment of Education and California Casu-
alty, the program recognizes outstanding
education programs and practices. Schools
are awarded for achieving exceptional
student performance for two consecutive
school years or closing the achievement gap
between two school years.
“I would like to commend these schools
for fighting for a better future for our
students, closing achievement gaps, and im-
proving academic performance,” Thurmond
said. “Thanks to teachers, administrators,
classified employees and parents working
together, these schools meet the needs of
all of their students, provide high-quality
educational experiences and put kids on a
pathway to great careers.”
The program recognizes elementary
schools, then middle and high schools in
alternate years and allows eligible schools to
apply every two years.
Schools that applied were eligible based
on their performance and progress on the
state indicators as described on the Califor-
nia School Dashboard. Indicators include
test scores, suspension rates and graduation
rates. Schools were also eligible to apply for
a California Exemplary Program Award
in Arts Education, Physical Activity and
Nutrition Education, or Career Technical
Education, which will be announced at a
later time.
Distinguished School award winners
represent examples of not just excellent
teaching, learning and collaboration, but
also highly successful school climate efforts
ranging from real-time conflict resolution
to positive behavior intervention. Some
examples of this year’s honorees are:
Updated standards. The California
Visual and Performing Arts Standards
have been updated and given a new
name – the California Arts Standards
for Public Schools, Pre-Kindergarten
Through Grade Twelve. To access the
updated standards, go to https://www.
cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/vapacontentstds.
asp. In addition, the state World Lan-
guage Standards have also been updat-
ed, and can be found at https://www.
cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/worldlanguage.asp.
Save the date. The Commission on
Teacher Credentialing has announced
two upcoming meetings to discuss
implementation findings and explore
best practices to support faculty and
candidates with the redeveloped
California Administrator Performance
Assessment. The meetings will be held
on June 3 and June 5 at the Sacra-
mento County Office of Education.
Information about registration will be
provided soon.
ELL pilot program. The Labor and
Workforce Development Agency, Cal-
ifornia Workforce Development Board
and the Employment Development
Department have announced the avail-
ability of up to $1.2 million in Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act for ELL
Co-Enrollment Pilots. These funds will
support projects that increase access
for target populations, align WIOA pro-
grams, implement co-enrollment strat-
egies, leverage other program funding
and provide supportive services for
California’s English Language Learner
population. Applications are due April 1.
More information is available at cwdb.
ca.gov.
PACE brief. Policy Analysis for
California Education has released
The Governor’s Budget Proposal and
Getting Down to Facts 2: Evidence to
Inform Policy – a brief on the alignment
between the issues covered in Gov.
Newsom’s proposed budget and the
Getting Down to Facts 2 research. The
brief can be accessed on the PACE
website at http://bit.ly/2SsVqOO.
See AWARDS, page 2
Districts encouraged to apply for
Community Engagement Initiative
School districts in California that have
demonstrated success in community en-
gagement are being encouraged to submit
applications to be part of the Community
Engagement Initiative’s inaugural Peer
Leading and Learning Network.
The Community Engagement Initia-
tive is an integral part of California’s new
statewide System of Support. CEI is de-
signed to strengthen the capacity of school
districts and communities to authentically
engage each other to have difficult conver-
sations, to build trusting relationships and
to identify effective models for community
engagement and metrics to evaluate those
models. The California Collaborative for
Educational Excellence, the San Bernardi-
no County Superintendent of Schools,
the California Association of Bilingual
Education and Families in Schools jointly
lead the CEI.
If selected, districts will have the unique
opportunity to help lead the initiative’s
efforts to build statewide capacity for
meaningful community engagement in
California’s public schools. Districts also
will be asked to make a three-year commit-
ment to participate.
To apply, districts should submit a letter
of interest by email to Josh Daniels at jdan-
[email protected]. The preferred submission
deadline is March 8. If necessary, however,
letters of interest will be accepted up to 9
a.m. on March 11.
For more information, please visit the
CCEE website at: https://ccee-ca.org/com-
munityengagement/.