Riding on the waves of school voucher defeat, the California Teachers Association is stepping in to direct the reform of low-performing schools in the state. CTA is conducting its own research on low-performing schools and is offering assistance to teachers and staff on how to implement improvement plans. Many of these schools, like Capuchino High School in San Bruno, need to meet strict state performance improvements by the end of the 2001-2002 school year at risk of losing state funding and possibly their own staff. The California State Accountability Act stipulates that principals and teachers at schools not meeting required academic performance index standards could lose their jobs at the end of the three-year reform period.
CTA worries that the state's Accountability Act funding for schools is going to outside evaluators and not directly to the schools.
"It's a pretty horrific thing that could happen to schools and we're trying to make sure that monies are well spent and that teachers and students are getting a fair shake," said Dayton Crummy CTA representative for San Mateo County.
State funding for the first year of the three-year program goes to outside evaluators who help schools put together a plan for improvement over the next two years. But CTA has concerns that evaluators may be making recommendations that are not site-specific, said Crummy. Evaluators across the state have recommended a reading program called Success For All, which CTA said is not worth the expense.
"We're not looking for a cookie cutter approach to school reform, but one that fits with the school site. Some of these approaches were not written to fit the school culture. They were just kind of recommending reading programs that might work," Crummy said.
At Capuchino High School, which is taking part in the accountability program, $35,000 went to evaluators, and the school has $300,000 to spend on tutoring, after school programs, and reading classes to get the Star-9 test scores up, according to Superintendent Tom Mohr. In its second year, Capuchino is still in the process of coming up with an improvement plan - Mohr said he is not worried that the school will not meet the state deadline next year.
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"I anticipate they can do it in three years. On the other hand, changing a school at the level of Capuchino takes about five years," he said.
The district welcomes CTA's involvement in helping teachers and staff at Capuchino meet the state deadline.
"I'm very much in favor of the California Teachers Association being aware of and participating in that program," Mohr said.
CTA is also bolstering its post-election public image with an advertising blitz about improving low-performing schools. Yesterday they began a radio advertisement campaign on over a hundred radio stations across the state and in six different languages. The radio ad calls for a multifaceted approach to school reform.
"We need to implement high standards for our students, then make sure public schools get the resources they need to help kids perform. That means more parental involvement, well-trained teachers, uncrowded classrooms, and clean, safe schools," Wayne Johnson, president of CTA says on the advertisement.
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