In my 38 years in public education, I never witnessed as consequential a vote as was taken on Dec. 14 and the early morning hours of Dec. 15. The Santa Clara County Office of Education Board, on a very controversial 5-2 and 4-3 vote, approved 20 new Rocketship Education charter schools in Silicon Valley.
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Rocketship Vote A Game-Changer?
I wonder if the growing presence of high quality charter schools in Santa Clara County will serve as the revolution for eliminating the achievement gap. Will innovative means of learning be the norm? Is the timing right for a revolution in our public school system in Santa Clara County? Will the status quo prevail? Or, can change be the only constant now? We will know answers to some of these questions after the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) board meeting this week.
Charter School Debate Difficult, Important
At last week’s Santa Clara County Board of Education meeting, there was nothing more important to me than the decision of whether or not to extend the Bullis K-8 Charter by five years. I wished to do so with wisdom and care. Depending on who you listen to, the four-hour debate was far too contentious and protracted. I wish to set the record straight from my perspective, knowing full well there are a variety of vantage pointes and views.
Shifting Into Reverse
After two terms in the state assembly and two in the state senate, Joe Simitian will say goodbye to Sacramento next year, courtesy of California’s term limits. The smart money is betting on a Simitian run for Congress, though Rep. Anna Eshoo will have to stand down first. Rather than take a vacation from public service, Simitian may return to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Grading My Work on Board of Education
It has been an honor for me to serve on the Board of Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. Sometimes it’s been rewarding, other times frustrating, but never boring. Here is a self-assessment, knowing full well any issue I might want to work on needs at least three other board members to agree.
School Bullying Must Stop
An analysis of the Santa Clara County Office of Education Bullying task force found a lack of awareness, lack of commitment, and lack of skills to respond, among a long list of local weaknesses. I fervently believe we can and must do better. A country that treasures its guiding documents called the Charters of Freedom must work to ensure every child is free to learn without harassment and intimidation.
Twenty Rocketships on the Horizon
The epicenter of public education is right here in Silicon Valley from this week to Aug. 10. The local and national spotlight will shine on this moment with unprecedented lumens, casting a potentially dark shadow or bright glow on the decision the County Board of Education and the Santa Clara County Office of Education will wrestle with for the next eight weeks.
Supervisors Look for Budget Answers
Kicking off the first of three budget workshops this week, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors launched on Tuesday the first review of a proposed budget that will have to cut $219.6 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed budget calls for an estimated 110 layoffs, 122 county employees would be bumped to lower-paying positions, and 300 would be transferred to different departments.
The Rocketship Charter Model
Santa Clara County is on the verge of the beginning of the end of public education as we have known it for the last 100 or so years. I am not intending to be hyperbolic; I’m simply stating the truth as I know it. Will each child’s educational opportunities be enhanced by the shake-up? Or will there be winners and losers?
Open Letter to City Attorney Richard Doyle
Dear Mr. Doyle:
Several weeks ago, it was reported that the old city hall property site will be turned over to the Santa Clara County Government as part of a negotiated debt settlement between the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and the Santa Clara County Government.
Is City Hall Land Swap Legal?
Press reports indicate that San Jose’s old city hall property site, with an assigned value of $10 million, will be transferred to the Santa Clara County Government as part of a debt settlement between the county and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. But the old city hall property belonged to the city, not the RDA. Is the plan to transfer the old city hall complex to the county government a lawful action?
A Model of Progressive Education
Is anyone in public education championing progressive reform today? Are local school boards and superintendents working to only improve Academic Performance Index scores and Adequate Yearly Progress goals at the expense of gutting classrooms from meaningful intellectual inquiry? I learned last week that there is still tremendous passion for progressive reform in Santa Clara County for our public schools. For that I am grateful and reinvigorated.
Open Letter to Joe Biden
I know you care deeply about the success of our nation’s educational systems and the student clients they serve. You and your boss advocate for an education system that is second to none. Early childhood education can be the great equalizer between poor and wealthy families. The $21,495,317 that Santa Clara County receives in federal funding for Early Head Start and Head Start saves the taxpayer at least four times that much, if Head Start did not exist.
At-Risk Youth Deserve More
The education of our most vulnerable youth in Santa Clara County should be at the top of our agenda as a civil society. A high-quality educational program implemented for delinquent, foster and truant youth built around their academic, social, emotional and developmental needs and addictions would increase the quality of life for the student and the entire community. It would even reduce our state deficit if we have fewer adults in prison at a cost of $45,000 each per year.
Will Changes in DA’s Office Mean an End to Medical Pot Club Raids?
An investigator from the district attorney’s office who has been spearheading recent raids on local medical marijuana dispensaries says every pot club in Santa Clara County is operating outside the law. Dean Ackemann, who has been responsible for obtaining search warrants for the task force that has been conducting armed raids in recent months, said that in his opinion every dispensary in the county should be shut down. “The search warrants and the investigations are not going to stop,” Ackemann vowed.
But he may be wrong
Taking on a New Challenge as SCCOE Board President
Thirty-six years ago I began my teaching career at Osborne School at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. I was hired by Superintendent Glenn Hoffmann (who served from 1967-84), a charismatic and visionary man, as a first-year teacher for the then-Office of the County Superintendent of Schools. As of last Wednesday evening, I am the newly elected board president of the same office, which is now the Santa Clara County Office of Education
