June 21, 2010
Campaign 2010 Off to a Good Start
Voters Reject Romero Reform Agenda
CTA‐supported candidates and
school measures scored big wins in the June Primary Election. California voters
soundly rejected the top-down education reform agenda of State Senator
Gloria Romero as they voted for CTA-supported Tom Torlakson and former
superintendent Larry Aceves to advance to the November election for
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
It was a vote against the state
budget cuts, the one-size-fits-all mandates of Sacramento and Washington
and the blame game against teachers. Despite strong backing from
wealthy charter school advocates, Romero ran third all night long. It
shows once again, that voters want education reform that focuses on
proven solutions and on parents, teachers and administrators working
together to best meet the needs of students in local neighborhood
schools. They want smaller class sizes and a well-rounded education for
their kids that goes beyond test scores.
CTA led an independent expenditure
campaign for Torlakson, a former classroom teacher and coach, which
included statewide radio ads and direct mail to voters. In addition, 96
percent of CTA's recommended candidates for Congress and the State
Legislature won.
In addition, the commitment cards
will be part of CTA's Chapter Presidents Lobby Day set for May 25. It's
important that we have local presidents from across the state attend.
Please register at www.regonline.com/2010/CTAPRESLOBBYDAY.
Brown Addresses
Council
CTA gubernatorial
candidate Jerry Brown
received an enthusiastic welcome from State Council delegates earlier this month.
Brown told the cheering crowd that he would "mobilize the people of this
state" behind public education to achieve a better future for all of
us. Brown said, "When we invest in our people and in our schools, when
we pull together, then we know that we don't just defend the land of our
fathers - we defend and protect the land of our children. That's the
future, that's our future, and together we're going to take back
California." Hear more on CTA's Fan Page on Facebook.
CTA Initiative Awaits
Ballot
Meeting the required deadline, CTA
turned in more than 800,000 signatures to qualify the Repeal Corporate Tax Loopholes Act for the
November ballot. The initiative would rescind more than $2 billion in
tax breaks handed out to big corporations last year without any
requirements to create new jobs. In these tough economic times with
public schools and colleges being cut more than $17 billion, everyone
should be paying their fair share. County election offices are counting
petition signatures right now.
Assembly Jobs Budget Truly Protects Education
For the last two years, politicians have done a lot of talking about how they are "protecting" public education. All that protection has meant billions in budget cuts and higher student fees. Finally, Assembly Speaker John Pérez has proposed the California Jobs Budget that really does prevent further cuts from education and actually funds our schools at nearly $6 billion more than the governor's May revised budget plan. CTA, the California Faculty Association and the entire Education Coalition are supporting the Assembly's Jobs Budget as it restores critical funding for children and creates or restores more than 465,000 jobs in California. Be sure and e-mail your lawmaker today to support the California Jobs Budget.
Common Core Standards Commission Starts Work
After months of waiting for all
the appointments to be made, the Academic Content Standards Commission
has begun its work of trying to revamp California's K-12 standards in
math and English language arts to come in line with the national common
core standards developed by the National Governor's Association and the
Council of Chief State School Officers. Senate Bill x5-1 requires
California to adopt 85 percent of the common core standards. The
Commission has 21 representatives appointed by the Governor, Assembly
and Senate. Twelve of the Commission representatives are CTA members;
four of them were nominated by CTA.
Aligning California's rigorous
academic standards to the Common Core may not be easy - especially in
math. California's math standards are organized by grade and course. The
Common Core math standards are organized by conceptual category and
don't push students to take Algebra in 8th grade.
The Commission has a very short
timeline - until August 2 - to complete its work. In contrast, when
California designed its current standards, the panel had more than two
years to debate and come to agreement. It took another ten years and
more than $2 billion to then align all tests, textbooks, curriculum and
professional development to the standards. This shift to the Common Core
means all that work will have to start over.
Getting Ready for the NEA RA
The 148th annual NEA Representative Assembly will convene in
New Orleans over the July 4th weekend. About 10,000 delegates from
across the country, including 1,200 from California will debate policy
changes and hundreds of new business items over the four-day convention.
The re-authorization of ESEA, Race to the Top and federal jobs bill are
expected to be the main issues discussed.
The re-authorization of ESEA appears
to be somewhat up in the air right now. The White House is pushing for
re-authorization before the fall break, but some members of Congress are
now expressing concerns about the four limited reform ideas to help
lower-performing schools outlined in the Administration's Blueprint.
The federal jobs bill is also
stalled right now in the House. This measure would bring more than $2.8
billion to California and restore up to 300,000 education jobs
nationwide. Call your member of Congress today at 1-866-608-8355 or e-mail.
CTA Summer Conferences
Take a well-deserved break over
the next few weeks and then sign up for CTA's Summer Conferences. The
55th annual Presidents Conference runs July 19-23 at
Asilomar in Pacific Grove. If you are a new or returning president, this
conference is a must. And then in August, it's the CTA Summer Institute which includes various
trainings for CTA leaders and activists. The week-long sessions include
bargaining, school finance, communications, professional development,
member benefits, healthcare and legal support. Ethnic minority, small
chapter and other incentive grants are available. Register online at www.CTA.org.
In addition, in this election year,
CTA is offering a Northern and Southern Campaign Universities. The
Northern University is set for July 27-31 in Sacramento. The Southern
University is scheduled for August 3-7 in Manhattan Beach. Both schools
will offer hands-on experience to assist you and your chapter win local
school board races and CTA-supported initiatives and candidates.