اینترنت

برچسب: face

  • Parents of truant students won’t face jail, sanctions under new bill

    Parents of truant students won’t face jail, sanctions under new bill


    California showed progress in some areas, such as health insurance, school discipline and absenteeism.

    Allison Yin/EdSource

    Top takeaways
    • Bill seeks to repeal criminal misdemeanor offense of state’s truancy law
    • CalWORKs sanctions over student truancy would be replaced by screenings for resources and access to work program
    • Districts in recent years appear less likely to lean on punitive measure to address unexcused student absences

    In 2011, when criminal penalties were first tied to truancy, five parents in Orange County were arrested for their children’s truancy. Other counties similarly chose the punitive approach over the years, with Merced County initiating an anti-truancy push in 2017 that included the arrest of 10 parents. Those parents were charged with misdemeanors, contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

    If a proposed bill is passed this legislative session, jail time and fines of up to $2,000 for parents of truant students could soon be eliminated in California.

    Assembly Bill 461, introduced by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, D-Silicon Valley, would repeal the criminal misdemeanor offense of the existing truancy law, meaning that parents of truant students, 6 years of age or older, in grades 1-8, would no longer be punished by fines or up to a year in county jail.

    The bill proposes an additional change: families receiving cash assistance via the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program, known as CalWORKs, would no longer be penalized if a student aged 16 years or older is chronically truant. The current penalty requires that a truant child is removed from the calculation of the family’s monthly cash assistance.

    “Criminalizing parents for their children’s truancy ignores the root causes of absenteeism and only deepens family hardships,” said Ahrens in his author’s statement.

    Under the state’s truancy law, parents of habitually absent students were previously arrested, but it remains unclear how many cases resulted in criminal charges in the nearly 15 years since it went into effect.

    State law dictates that a district can declare a student truant and refer them to the district attorney after three unexcused absences of more than 30 minutes during one school year.

    Once a student’s case is referred to the district attorney, prosecutors have wide discretion over how to charge parents for their child’s truancy, from an infraction – akin to a traffic violation, to a misdemeanor – contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

    In California, the percentage of chronically absent students catapulted from the pre-pandemic rate of 12.1% in 2018-19 to 30% in 2021-22, as schools reopened for in-person instruction. The percentage has since dropped to about 20% in 2023-24, according to state data, though rates range widely across student groups.

    State education law lists over a dozen reasons for excusing students from school, but most excused absences are related to illness and mental health. Unexcused absences often mean that students lacked documentation such as a note from a doctor, or that they provided no reason for their absence, or that the reason they provided does not qualify as an excusable absence, school officials say.

    Districts often try to avoid punitive measures

    There is no central repository tracking truancy cases, but EdSource found last year that school districts have increasingly gone to great lengths to avoid referring chronically truant students to the local district attorney. Instead, they opt for alternatives such as sending more notifications to parents after a student’s absence than what’s required by law, or scheduling multiple meetings between parents and school staff to better understand and address the underlying reasons for frequent absences.

    The decision by districts to lean into alternatives rather than available punitive measures is partly why Ahrens and AB 461’s supporters are pushing to change the law.

    “If we’re not prosecuting these cases…then why should we have this in the books? We don’t need the stick if everything else is already working to the benefit of our families,” said Yesenia Jimenez, senior policy associate at End Child Poverty CA, an advocacy organization that co-sponsored the bill.

    Eleven organizations have expressed support for the bill, with three of them co-sponsoring, and there is no listed opposition as of Monday.

    Early conversations about Assembly Bill 461 focused solely on the link between public benefits and chronic truancy, Jimenez said.

    CalWORKS provides cash assistance to families with unmet basic needs, such as housing, food, or medical care. Monthly grants range in amounts dependent on region, income, and the number of eligible family members, with the average monthly grant being about $1,000 during the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

    Provisions of the proposed law

    AB 461 also proposes changes to the CalWORKS program, including:

    • Entirely eliminating the financial sanction on families if students are deemed truant
    • Making a family with a truant child eligible for family stabilization services and allowing a student 16 years or older to voluntarily participate in CalWORKS’ welfare-to-work program, so long as their participation supports and does not interfere with school attendance
    • Qualifying families for stabilization services if they’re undergoing homelessness, undertreated behavioral needs, and including individual or group therapy, temporary housing assistance and parenting education among the services they receive
    • Granting access to resources such as substance abuse services, vocational education, and mental health services to a truant student aged 16 years or older who opts into the welfare-to-work program

    Jimenez, whose team researched the sharp rise in chronic absenteeism at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, said they knew the rates were steadily decreasing each school year.

    While AB 461 began as a way to reform public benefits programs, the team behind the bill began to more heavily consider the criminal penalties families might face as a result of truancy once the Trump administration ramped up actions targeting immigrants, Jimenez shared.

    “Now we’re just facing a completely other beast in the sense that our families are afraid to go to school because we’re seeing (the Department of Homeland Security) show up at elementary schools attempting to deport families, and families have already been subject to deportation,” she said, referring to a case early this month when immigration officials seeking information about five students in first through sixth grades were denied entry at two Los Angeles Unified elementary schools.

    With the provisions of the proposed bill, supporters are looking to circumvent immigrant families from being penalized for school absences due to fear of immigration officials.

    In Southern California this month, an undocumented father was arrested while leaving home to drive his teenage daughter to school. Some advocates have compared the ordeal to the 2017 arrest of an undocumented father who similarly was detained by ICE during a morning school drop-off.

    “We don’t want (truancy) to be the reason why our families, who we’re trying to protect, could be essentially pipelined not only into the carceral system but certainly into the deportation system at this point in time,” said Jimenez.

    Some families opted to keep their children home from school early this year in Kern County after the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 78 people. At least 40 have been deported, according to a lawsuit filed in February.

    A bill signed into law last year requires changes to the truancy notifications sent to families by removing threatening language about punitive measures they might be subject to and instead opting for sharing resources about supportive services, including mental health resources.

    Advocates for AB 461 agree with the premise of the bill, said Jimenez, but they wish to go further in removing the potential for arrest.

    AB 461 most recently passed through the Committee on Human Services and on Tuesday will be heard by the Committee on Public Safety.





    Source link

  • UC, CSU face cuts under Newsom’s proposed budget

    UC, CSU face cuts under Newsom’s proposed budget


    Students walking on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills on Nov. 19., 2024.

    Amy DiPierro

    The University of California and California State University are facing nearly an 8% reduction to their state funding for 2025-26 under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal unveiled Friday, raising concerns about the impact on their campuses.

    Top officials at both of the state’s public university systems immediately warned that the cuts, which were telegraphed in last year’s budget agreement, would result in larger class sizes and fewer available courses. They hope the Legislature will restore some of those funds before the budget is finalized this summer.

    UC, which has 10 campuses, would see a decline of $396.6 million in funding while the 23-campus CSU would lose $375.2 million under the governor’s proposal for next year. 

    Newsom also plans to defer previously promised budget increases of 5% — part of his multiyear compact agreements with the systems — until 2027-28.

    CSU Chancellor Mildred García expressed disappointment that the governor’s budget maintains cuts even in light of a rosier state budget outlook than previously projected — and said she hopes that funding will be restored if state revenues improve. The CSU enrolls more than 460,000 students, the great majority of them undergraduates.

    “The impact of such deep funding cuts will have significant real-world consequences, both in and out of the classroom,” García said in a statement. “Larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and a reduced workforce will hinder students’ ability to graduate on time and weaken California’s ability to meet its increasing demands for a diverse and highly educated workforce.”

    UC President Michael Drake offered fewer specifics but said he is concerned over how the cuts might affect “our students and campus services.” UC enrolls just shy of 300,000 students.

    Newsom’s proposal is only the start of the budget process. He and lawmakers will negotiate over the next several months as updated revenue projections become periodically available before the budget is finalized in the summer.

    The state’s system of 116 community colleges fared better and would receive $230.4 million in new general funding as part of a small cost-of-living increase under Proposition 98, the voter-approved formula that determines how much money K-12 schools and community colleges receive from California’s general fund. The system enrolled more than 1.4 million students as of fall 2023.

    Community college leaders responded favorably to the proposed budget’s support for career education and workforce development. “The governor’s emphasis on career education and recognition of prior learning aligns with our colleges’ mission to assist 6.8 million adults in advancing their career paths through their local community colleges,” Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, a member of the California Community College trustees, said in a statement.

    State funding is only one source of revenue for the two university systems, which also get money from student tuition and fees as well as federal support. 

    In total, the governor’s budget proposes $45.1 billion for the state’s three higher education segments – UC, CSU and California Community Colleges — plus the California Student Aid Commission, which administers the enormous Cal Grant aid programs and others.

    Under Newsom’s multiyear compact agreements, first announced in 2022, UC and CSU were due to receive 5% annual budget increases in exchange for making progress toward goals like increasing graduation rates, eliminating equity gaps in college completion and enrolling more California residents. With Newsom planning to cut funding and defer those increases, achieving the goals could prove challenging. 

    “In the absence of that incentive, I think we in the equity community and students are going to have to really ensure that we are demanding that our CSU and UC leaders continue to hold the line and honor their commitment to students even in leaner fiscal times,” said Jessie Ryan, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that advocates for expanding college access in California. 

    Cal State’s 2025-26 budget request pleaded for the state not to cut its base funding and not to defer the money promised in the system’s previous agreement with the Newsom administration. CSU officials estimated that a 7.95% cut was tantamount to what’s needed to serve more than 36,000 full-time students. 

    The CSU system sought an operating budget of $9.2 billion, $593 million more than in 2024-25. That includes money for line items CSU officials say they can’t avoid, like increases to liability and property insurance and health care premiums. The budget request argues that a funding cut “would severely constrain” CSU’s ability to deliver on other top priorities, like programming for students’ basic needs and mental health.

    In contrast, Newsom’s budget proposal was met with a warmer response from the chancellor of the state’s community college system, Sonya Christian, who said it “supports the priorities” of the system. In addition to the cost-of-living increases, Newsom’s budget includes several new funding proposals for the community colleges. They include:

    • $168 million in one-time funding for a “statewide technology transformation” project that will streamline data collection across the system, including automating credit transfers between colleges
    • $100 million to expand “credit for prior learning,” under which colleges award credit for skills learned outside the classroom, such as in a job or by volunteering 
    • $30 million in ongoing funding to expand the Rising Scholars Network, programs that provide services for current and formerly incarcerated students

    Friday’s proposal also includes a nearly 8% cut for the California Student Aid Commission, but its programs would still receive a hefty $3.1 billion. Most of that money — $2.6 billion — would go toward the Cal Grant program, which provides aid awards for roughly 417,000 students. The remainder would fund the Middle Class Scholarship and the Golden State Teacher Grant Program, which aids students studying to become teachers who commit to working in high-need schools. 

    “The governor’s proposed budget recognizes the role of financial aid in students accessing the life-changing opportunities of California’s higher education institutions,” Daisy Gonzales, executive director of the commission, said in a statement.

    Christopher J. Nellum, the executive director of EdTrust-West, said the January budget maintains the state’s commitment to educational equity. But he said the state should “aggressively invest more in education and keep California focused on ensuring any new resources advance racial equity” in anticipation of the incoming Trump administration, which has signaled its opposition to diversity programs. 

    Emmanuel Rodriguez, the senior director of policy and advocacy for California at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), said in a statement that the state must also ensure the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is adequately equipped “to shield Californians from anticipated federal regulatory changes that will leave students more vulnerable than ever to predatory, low-quality colleges.” The bureau has the authority to discipline postsecondary institutions if they don’t provide the promised education or prove to be fraudulent. 





    Source link

  • How more Hispanic teachers could change the face of California education

    How more Hispanic teachers could change the face of California education


    Credit: Julie Leopo / EdSource

    California has had a racial imbalance between its teacher workforce and its student population for years, with a majority Hispanic student population being taught by teachers who are mostly white. That could be changing, as more people of Hispanic heritage enroll in college teacher preparation programs in the state.

    Overall enrollment in teacher preparation programs in California has decreased in recent years, but the biggest declines have been among white teacher candidates. The result has been a higher percentage of people of color entering teacher preparation programs, according to the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

    In the 2022-23 school year — the most recent year state data is available — more than half of the new teacher candidates identified themselves as a race other than white. Nearly 40% of the 17,337 newly enrolled teacher candidates that year were Hispanic, and just over 33% were white, according to CTC data.

    That was a stark contrast to the racial makeup of the state’s teacher workforce that same year, when 55% of the state’s 312,124 teachers were white, and Hispanic teachers made up 25% of the workforce from transitional kindergarten (TK) through high school.

    “Over half of our TK-12 student population identifies, and the majority of our English language learners also are Latino,” said José Magaña, executive director of Bay Area Latinos for Education. “The research is pretty clear that not just Latino students and English language learners, but all students, benefit from having a more diverse educator.”

    Latinos for Education offers fellowships to support Latinos in the education system. The Bay Area branch of the organization also has a Latinx Teacher Fellowship program to support beginning teachers and paraprofessionals.

    Research shows that when students are taught by educators who reflect their cultural backgrounds and understand their lived experiences, it results in stronger academic outcomes, greater social-emotional growth, and a profound sense of belonging, said Kai Mathews, executive director of the Urban Ed Academy in San Francisco, which recruits and supports Black male teachers.

    “Increasing the number of Latinx educators is about more than representation — it’s about creating classrooms where every student feels seen, valued and is liberated to be their authentic self,” Mathews said.

    Changing California demographics

    The change in the racial makeup of teacher candidates coincides with the evolving population of the state, where 56% of the K-12 student population was Hispanic last school year, according to the California Department of Education. The number increases to over 60% for children younger than age 5, said Shireen Pavri, assistant vice chancellor of California State University’s educator and leadership programs.

    In the years between 2018 and 2023, the percentage of Hispanic teacher candidates has slowly increased from 31.4% to 39.7%, while the number of white teacher candidates dropped by 10 percentage points, according to CTC data. The number of Hispanic teacher candidates also has been increasing, although it dropped from 7,154 in 2021-22 to 6,934 in 2022-23, when the overall number of teacher candidates declined for a second consecutive year.

    California State University, which prepares the majority of the state’s teachers, had the largest percentage of Hispanic students in its teacher preparation programs in 2022-23 — nearly 50%, according to the CTC’s  “Annual Report Card on California teacher preparation programs.” The number is currently 55%, Pavri said.

    During that same time, the percentage of white candidates in CSU teacher preparation programs decreased, and the percentage of teacher candidates of other races remained flat.

    CSU is leading the way

    “Anecdotally, a lot of our Latinx population, who come into our teacher preparation programs, come in because they want to make a difference,” Pavri said. “They didn’t necessarily see people who looked like them when they were going through school. Many of them came in as English learners. They want to make an impact now on their communities and give back.”

    Some of the recent success at diversifying the pool of teacher candidates at California State University can be attributed to the Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs, which has helped to recruit, prepare and retain teachers of color, according to the university.

    Its Transformation Lab, a four-year program that recently ended, increased the retention rate of teacher candidates at some campuses and improved teacher placement numbers at others, Pavri said. At CSU Bakersfield and CSU Northridge, for example, the completion rates for Black candidates increased by 17% and 31% respectively between 2020 and 2023, and Stanislaus State doubled its student teaching placements for historically underserved teacher candidates at Modesto City Schools over a two-year period. 

    The center’s leadership is seeking additional funding to support similar programs in the future.

    The university also operates CalStateTEACH, an online multiple-subject teaching credential program that focuses on recruiting male teachers of color from throughout California.

    In University of California teacher preparation programs, 35% of the teacher candidates are Hispanic, 29% are white, 20% are Asian and 2.8% are Black. There are still slightly more white teacher candidates than Hispanic, 38% and 32.6% respectively, in teacher preparation programs at private universities and colleges.

    State programs bearing fruit

    The increase in the number of Hispanic teacher candidates in teacher preparation programs could be attributed, in part, to efforts by state lawmakers to ease the teacher shortage and diversify the teacher workforce by making earning a credential easier and more affordable. The state has offered degree and coursework alternatives to several tests, established residency and apprenticeship programs and paid for school staff to become teachers.

    District grow-your-own programs and the state’s Classified School Employee Credentialing program and apprenticeship programs are meant to diversify the educator workforce because school staff recruited from the community more closely match the demographics of the student body than traditionally trained and recruited teachers, according to research.

    “All of those state investments, particularly around affordability, have helped incredibly with bringing more Black and brown students into our teaching field,” Pavri said.

    CSU teacher residency programs outpace even the traditional teacher preparation programs in terms of the number of teachers of color enrolled, she said.

    Numbers for other ethnic groups flat

    Despite the efforts, California State University continues to struggle to attract Black teacher candidates, hovering around 3% for years, despite several initiatives to improve their numbers, Pavri said. 

    “While we celebrate this progress, we must confront the persistent underrepresentation of Black, Asian and Pacific Islander educators,” Mathews said. “Our classrooms deserve to reflect the fullness of California’s diversity. Ensuring this kind of equity in the teaching workforce isn’t just good for students—it’s essential to building the inclusive, transformative and liberating system our communities deserve.” 

    Statewide, Black teacher candidates made up 4%, and Asian teacher candidates about 9.5% of total enrollment in California teacher preparation programs between 2018 and 2023, according to CTC data.

    There are fewer Black teachers because of obstacles they encounter on the way to completing their education, including an unwelcoming school environment, disproportionate discipline and overrepresentation in special education, Pavri said. 

    Pursuing a teaching credential, where traditionally student teaching is unpaid, is not affordable for some. Teacher salaries, which are generally lower than the pay for other jobs with the same qualifications, and working conditions also are a deterrent for students from families with limited generational wealth, Pavri said.

    More needs to be done to keep teachers

    The increase in the percentage of Hispanic teacher candidates is positive, but not significant enough, Magaña said. In order to reflect student demographics, the state will need to make significant investments to recruit and retain educators.

    “The numbers are staggering around the number of educators that are leaving the profession, especially our Latino educators,” he said.

    Magaña, who was a classroom teacher for 15 years, said Latino educators often have to take on extra work on campus, whether it is supporting translations or family engagement.

    “It can be a lonely role,” he said. “Sometimes there may be just one Latino educator on campus, and without mentorship and community, and network building, it makes it easier for folks to not feel supported.”





    Source link

  • When districts face the tough job of closing schools, Manny Barbara is the go-to guy

    When districts face the tough job of closing schools, Manny Barbara is the go-to guy


    Manny Barbara, right, and new Alum Rock Superintendent. German Cerda discuss plans to transition the district to fewer schools.

    Credit: John Fensterwald/EdSource

    Takeaways From Manny Barbara’s school-closure playbook:
    • Allow plenty of time; let the closure process play itself out.
    • Create a fully representative advisory committee without board members, and protect confidential discussions.
    • Celebrate the closure of a school with a community event.
    • Principals must take the lead to welcome parents, students and staffs to their new schools.

    Alum Rock Union Elementary District in East San Jose was out of time. By last fall, it had spent down most its savings; enrollment, more than 16,000 K-8 students in the early 2000s, had dropped to 7,300 and was headed to under 6,000.

    The state was threatening to take it over.

    With more than two-thirds of its 21 schools at less than 50% capacity, the school board faced what it had long delayed: downsizing. It turned to Manny Barbara, the closer. 

    Alum Rock would be the sixth school district in the San Jose area that Barbara had advised on closing schools in the two decades since, as superintendent, he had shuttered two schools in nearby Oak Grove. A former school psychologist, Barbara was well-respected, affable and a good listener. He also had a plan for closing schools.

    Having fired its last superintendent, the Alum Rock board hired Barbara in the summer of 2024 as interim superintendent to lay the groundwork in the community for likely closures. He switched roles to facilitator when the new superintendent, German Cerda, took over in September.

    Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, 222 elementary, middle, and high schools in California closed, according to the state. Along with the five that Alum Rock will close in the fall and additional consolidations of four schools, there will be many more statewide, with tighter budgets ahead and state enrollment projected to decline further.

    Barbara discusses his template for closing schools and how it worked in Alum Rock in an interview with EdSource. The interview was shortened and edited for clarity.

    It’s April; suppose you’re a school board planning to close some schools this fall. What would you say about the timing?

    It’s too late because you need time for the process.

    There are three phases in school closure. The first is the preparation, informing the board, making the case why it has to be done.

    Then the actual process itself: That involves engaging the community through a committee process and taking the recommendation to the board.

    And then, once the board makes a decision, the third phase, which is just as challenging, is the transition to fewer schools.

    At Oak Grove, we started a year in advance — meeting with community, explaining the rationale, presenting the information to the board. Once you begin, you need to be done around February so that you’ve got the last few months for the transition and closure.

    What are the factors to consider when deciding whether to close?

    It’s an economic decision. You don’t want to do this unless you absolutely have to. With Alum Rock, there was a potential receivership.

    It’s also a psychological experience — emotional for the people involved. Parents, staff, students do not want their school closed. I don’t blame them. They get angry. You have to be prepared for that. You can’t convince people with sheer logic.

    Finally, it’s a political process. Elected boards are vulnerable. Parents can make threats of recall.

    What are the factors to address even before you begin the process?

    Context is important. No two districts are alike. The size of the district matters, the number of schools you have to close, the political climate in the district, the stability of the board, superintendent experience. All should be taken into account.

    Employee unions have to be informed. I never expect the associations to support school closures. The associations in Alum Rock’s case weren’t thrilled about it. My expectation is that only if they say they understand the situation, then at least they don’t tell you one thing privately and then publicly say something different.

    Goal for savings: $1 million per school

    So how much would you expect to save from closing a school?

    Close to a million dollars from the savings in administration, support staff, energy costs and so forth. That does not count any revenue that might be received from leasing the school or selling a site, which could bring in tens of millions of dollars.

    When you consolidate two schools, for example, with 300 students per school, you only need one principal, not two.

    In Oak Grove, we were able to do it through retirements. That’s not always possible.

    What’s the role of the superintendent?

    It’s critical. The superintendent has to be front and center. It’s ultimately the board’s decision, but the superintendent needs to be the key communicator and take as much of the heat as possible.

    Is it wise for districts to consider a facilitator?

    I would not recommend that superintendents do it on their own. With a facilitator, a superintendent can observe.  A superintendent has to be out there communicating with behind-the-scenes meetings, listening to people, hearing their concerns, and explaining why it has to be done. You always should be focusing on what’s best for all the students in the district.

    You’re really selling hope that, at the end of the day, the district will come out better in terms of serving all the students. There’ll be more resources available for students and compensation for employee groups.

    I remember a meeting — it was close to 11 p.m. with 100 parents. I made a comment, “Look, if there’s anything I could do to avoid closing the school, I would do it.” Then I caught myself and said, “Well, no. There is something a lot worse: if I have to lay off a lot of staff that support other students in the district to keep open a small school.”

    Who should be on an advisory committee?

    Representatives from every school, all the employee groups, the administration, community groups like neighborhood associations. The one in Alum Rock was particularly challenging, with about 30 people.

    Who chooses them?

    Schools choose their own. The parents apply, and the principal selects. Unions choose their own representation.

    But no board members?

    No board members. The reason is that I don’t want the board members to get too involved because they’re going to be involved in making the final decision. It’s up to them — they can do what they want to do.  I did not encourage them to attend the committee meetings as observers, and they did not.

    As an advisory committee, their meetings were not subject to the Brown Act, the open-meetings law. Did you suggest that they not be open to the public?

    Yes, that is what I recommend. As the superintendent’s advisory committee, it is important to protect committee members. If you’re a parent and you realize “I have to vote to close my school,” it’s not fair to put them in a position where they’re taking the heat.

    Did their names appear in the vote on recommendations?

    The results, but not the names of how people voted. 

    Do you ask the committee not to discuss what is going on? With 30 people, I’m sure it was difficult to keep things in the room.

    I’m not naïve.  You tell people, please keep it in confidence, but we’re dealing with human nature, and sometimes things get out.

    However, after every meeting, a summary of everything that went on in the meeting is made public. The first part in the process is informational. They hear information on the budget, facilities, programs, enrollment, financial projections.

    What are the criteria for deciding which schools to close? Is it diversity, test scores?

    Test scores are not a factor, but it’s school enrollment, demographics; there are legal constraints you have to take into account, like the impact on a lower socioeconomic community. You take into account even political things, like how close they are to charter schools, whether they’re dual-immersion schools and special programs. You also look at the cost of improving facilities.

    Do you recommend speaking with parents?

    There’s constant communication. You need to go to the schools that are recommended for closing. As you might expect, there’s not a lot of, “Thank you for the great work.”

    What is the process before the board?

    You present in a hearing so the public can respond. Then you present again as action.

    How to handle the transition

    Then what after the decision?

    The bad news is that’s actually the easy part. Morale can be very down. And then you go through this period where people are losing their jobs.

    There needs to be a closure period. Schools are a large part of people’s lives, so you celebrate that ending. That is very hard for boards and superintendents, but they have to be there. For a district that closes many schools, it’s like a new district, and you’re now asking, “How are we going to reimagine ourselves going  forward?”

    So how do you bring two groups of parents and teachers together?

    It starts now, not in the summer, with a meeting with staff, explaining the process, meeting with PTA groups, school site councils, since they’re going to merge parent leaders. Principals have to take the lead in making this happen.

    The transition is easier for students and harder for adults. Once kids get there, and teachers welcome them, they adapt pretty quickly.

    Is there an effect on the receiving school, too?

    Depending on how many students they’re receiving, psychologically, they close, too. The teachers may still be there, but it’s a new school.

    For teachers, the transition can go smoothly if the cultures are similar. Sometimes, you need to bring in facilitators for staff to communicate.

    Do you have meetings where kids and parents meet one another before the end of school?

    I recommend that — whenever possible, not just once. Parents especially.

    In instances where things fall apart — boards rescind decisions or can’t reach agreements on closing schools — why does this happen?

    Usually, it falls apart if you rush the process. Anyone can close a school. You just make an announcement, and that’s done. Now, you have to deal with the repercussions.

    You hear about districts where parents said they didn’t believe the dire financial problems the district says existed.

    You have to have credibility with the financing, make budget numbers available to anyone who wants to see them, and explain it over and over. You have to make your case.  

    What happened in Alum Rock?

    You strive for consensus. I’ve been involved with closures in six districts. I’ve always had unanimous votes from the boards. In Alum Rock, with that many schools, we arrived at a consensus on six (four elementary and two middle schools), but the final three were very difficult, and we were under a timeline. The superintendent had to make the decision for the final three. The board responded and modified some. In the end, they got it done.

    How has the process affected you?

    Even as a facilitator, it’s emotional. People are grieving, they love their school. The superintendent and the board go through a lot of stress. Closing a school is the hardest initiative that you’re going to face as a superintendent. 

    I’ve been willing to help, although I kept saying I was never going to do it again. This time, I really mean it.

    How Alum Rock achieved its savings

    Alum Rock Superintendent German Cerda recalls sobering words from a fiscal adviser for the state last September on the plan to close or consolidate nine schools. “He said, ‘You aren’t going to be able to. This is impossible,’” Cerda recalled, with a laugh. “He told me in my face the day they’re approving my contract. And I’m like, ‘Thank you. I’m going out there to accept the contract.’” Cerda was previously assistant superintendent in nearby Campbell Union High School District.

    Cerda proved him wrong. The closure of five schools this fall, plus the expected closure of a school with 200 students in 2026-27, along with the consolidation of four schools into two, will save $8.4 million. The savings will come from reduced expenses like electricity and fewer staff positions (a single principal, secretary, custodian, counselor and community liaison instead of two of each), he said. Additionally, the district will save $7 million to $8 million through teacher layoffs and retirements, and fewer schools with undersized classes will lead to some larger class sizes within limits set by the teachers’ contract – 31 students per class in the case of middle schools, he said.

    The savings don’t include the potential income from selling or leasing closed schools; several companies and private high schools have expressed interest, Cerda said.

    District morale is low because of layoffs and school closures, Cerda acknowledged, but in meeting with principals who will remain, he sensed excitement for the future. There will be more enrichment courses, and once again, Alum Rock will offer algebra in eighth grade – essential for any middle school in San Jose.

    “They can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.





    Source link