November 20, 2017
EDCAL 3
Expanded Learning awards draw attention
to national Lights On Afterschool initiative
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Torlakson has issued congratulations
to the California Department of Education
2017 California Expanded Learning Award
winners.
“Expanded Learning programs can play
a critical role in motivating and engaging
studen ts and helping them succeed inside
and outside the classroom,” Torlakson said.
“These awards are a way to thank the dedi-
cated staff members who work each day to
teach, challenge, and encourage students to
achieve their full potential.”
The awards ceremony is part of Lights
On Afterschool, a nationwide event cel-
ebrating the role of after school programs
in keeping kids safe, inspiring them to learn,
and helping working families.
Improving and expanding after school
and other learning programs outside regular
school hours has been a top priority for
Torlakson since he entered public service.
Torlakson has fought for adequate funding
of these programs and created the CDE’s
Expanded Learning Division.
Torlakson has vigorously opposed
President Trump’s proposal to eliminate
all federal funding for Expanded Learning,
calling it “counterproductive and short-
sighted.” The President proposed elimi-
nating all federal funding for Expanded
Learning programs, which would take away
$127 million or about 18 percent of the total
amount California spends on Expanded
Learning.
The awards are divided into two areas:
California Expanded Learning Visionary
Leadership and Emerging Leadership, with
four winners selected for each category.
The eight recipients were chosen based
on their outstanding commitment to
improving and enriching the lives of young
people through their Expanding Learning
programs.
Visionary leadership
The California Expanded Learning
Visionary Leadership recipients are out-
standing, dedicated leaders who have
amassed a record of achievement and inno-
vation in Expanded Learning:
• Becky Shultz, director of Expanded
Learning, Whittier City SD, started work-
ing in after school programming in 1999,
when she secured a grant to bring an after
school program to Whittier City SD. Since
that time she has expanded the programs so
that they now cover summer, before school
and after school. Under her hard work and
dedication, the summer program Reach for
the Stars received the Golden Bell Award
for Outstanding Student Services in 2009
and the Distinguished After School Health
Recognition Program Award in 2016.
• Karla Stroman, administrator II,
Tehama COE, is a well-respected leader in
the field of Expanded Learning. Her col-
laboration skills and connection to the rural
communities she serves have been instru-
mental in the success of the Safe Education
and Recreation for Rural Families’ Summer
Learning Program. Under her leadership,
the number of summer learning opportuni-
ties sky-rocketed to nearly 1,000 students.
• Julia Fong Ma, coordinator, After
School Programs, Oakland USD, has served
Oakland USD’s Expanded Learning pro-
grams as a district grant coordinator for
almost a decade. Under her leadership, the
district was among the first to introduce
programs in science, technology, engineer-
ing and mathematics (STEM). Fong Ma
has helped create high quality programs by
effectively working with her community to
secure resources.
• Mary Jo Ginty, regional lead, Los
Angeles COE, has applied her creativity
and expertise to directing and providing
oversight to after school programs at the
elementary, middle, and high school level.
Her unit provides the training, development
and technical assistance to more than 1,300
federally funded school sites providing after
school programs. She has experienced the
power of change that Expanded Learning
brings to students and their families. Ginty
believes that after school programs have the
potential to assist youth to gain the skillsets,
tools and knowledge, and have the experi-
ences necessary to make a life for them-
selves and their families.
Emerging leadership
The California Expanded Learning
Emerging Leadership recipients are the
leaders of tomorrow, who are bringing fresh
ideas, leadership, and enthusiasm to the
field today:
• Brisa Huerta-Price, expanded learning
programs coordinator, Calexico USD, is
a dedicated educator who has applied her
experience as a classroom day teacher to
Expanded Learning. She has implemented
a variety of changes that have improved the
Calexico USD Expanded Learning pro-
grams, including starting parent orienta-
tions and creating professional development
training opportunities for staff members.
Huerta-Price says that she loves creating
safe spaces after school where children can
continue to learn. She also loves working
with her line staff and seeing them turn into
amazing educators and role models.
• Chris Perez, after school program
director, California State University,
Fullerton ASES Titan Program, entered
the world of Expanded Learning in 2002
and has said it has been one of the greatest
experiences he personally and profession-
ally has embarked on. Perez is thankful to
work every day with colleagues who share
his passion for providing today’s youth with
See EXPANDED, page 5
Survey shows many do not think college necessary
The Public Policy Institute of California
has issued its annual survey regarding high-
er education in which there were a couple
findings that should be noted by K-12
leaders.
Is college necessary? Many don’t think
so. Californians expressed their concerns
about higher education at a time when they
are divided about the necessity of college.
Half of adults (50 percent) and 43 percent
of likely voters say that a college education
is necessary for a person to be successful
in today’s work world, while 48 percent of
adults and 55 percent of likely voters say there are many ways to succeed without a
college education.
Partisans hold very different opinions
on this question. Half of Democrats (51
percent) say a college education is neces-
sary, while most Republicans (67 percent)
and independents (59 percent) say there
are many other ways to succeed. There are
also strong differences across racial/ethnic
groups. Two-thirds of Latinos (67 per-
cent), 54 percent of Asian Americans, and
51 percent of African Americans say col-
lege is necessary. Just 35 percent of White
Americans express this view. The survey asks how well certain cer-
tificates or degrees prepare students for
well-paying j obs in today’s economy. Large
majorities say that a certificate in a profes-
sional, technical or vocational field (81
percent) or a four-year college degree (83
percent) prepares a student very well or
somewhat well. Fewer (58 percent) say that
a two-year degree from a college or uni-
versity prepares students very or somewhat
well.
The full statewide survey can be accessed
on the PPIC website at www.ppic.org,
under Californians and Higher Education.
CIVILITY students have interpreted politicians saying
“it’s not important to be politically correct”
to mean “I can say anything about anyone.”
Forty-one percent of teachers reported that
students were more likely than in previous
years to introduce unfounded claims from
unreliable sources.
A Missouri social studies teacher wrote:
“It has been a terrible year for helping kids
understand the structure of government.
They come in ready to fight, full of bad
information from Twitter and Facebook.”
• A growing number of schools, par-
ticularly predominantly White schools,
have become hostile environments for racial
and religious minorities and other vulner-
able groups. Nearly 28 percent of teachers
reported an increase in students making
derogatory remarks about other groups dur-
ing class discussions.
Teachers described how the political
environment “unleashed” virulently racist,
anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, or homophobic
rhetoric in their schools and classrooms.
An Indiana English teacher explained:
“Individuals who do harbor perspectives of
racism and bigotry now feel empowered to
offer their views more naturally in class dis-
cussions, which has led to tension, and even
conflict in the classroom.”
• While some school leaders avoided issues related to the political environment,
others moved proactively to create a tolerant
and respectful school culture.
When leaders did not act, student behav-
ior grew dramatically worse. School leader-
ship made public statements this year about
the value of civil exchange and understand-
ing across lines of difference, according to
40.9 percent of teachers. The schools most
likely to experience polarization and inci-
vility were the least likely to have leaders
responding to these issues proactively.
• Educators can mitigate some of these
challenges, but they need more support.
More than 72 percent of teachers surveyed
agreed that: “My school leadership should
provide more guidance, support, and profes-
sional development opportunities on how to
promote civil exchange and greater under-
standing across lines of difference.”
Nearly 92 percent agreed that: “national,
state, and local leaders should encourage
and model civil exchange and greater under-
standing across lines of difference.” Almost
as many (83.9 percent) agreed that national
and state leaders should “work to alleviate
the underlying factors that create stress and
anxiety for young people and their families.”
Access the report at https://goo.gl/
YuGvjo.
Continued from page 1
politics.”
Recorded findings from the study
include:
• Stress and concerns with welfare have
increased, particularly in schools enrolling
few White students. Fifty-one percent of
teachers reported more students experienc-
ing “high levels of stress and anxiety” than
in previous years. Only 6.6 percent of teach-
ers reported fewer students experiencing
high stress than previous years.
A Pennsylvania teacher reported: “Many
students were very stressed and worried
after the election. They vocalized their wor-
ries over family members’ immigration sta-
tus and healthcare, as well as LGBT rights.”
Fifty-eight percent of teachers reported
that some of their students had expressed
concerns in relationship to proposals for
deporting undocumented immigrants.
• Polarization, incivility and reliance on
unsubstantiated sources have risen, particu-
larly in predominantly White schools. More
than 20 percent of teachers reported height-
ened polarization on campus and incivil-
ity in their classrooms. A West Virginia
social studies teacher explained that her
Two and a half weeks
ago, nearly 1,000
school leaders traveled
to San Jose and joined
in a learning and boundary-expanding
time at the annual Leadership Summit.
I commend the leaders and school/
district teams statewide who shared
their best practices on topics including
trauma-informed instruction, mindful-
ness, MTSS, coaching, getting to “yes,”
and alternatives to suspension.
I am grateful to the team of lead-
ers whose efforts were put into the
planning of, what I heard over and
over, was the “best conference ever.”
Among our speakers, I was beyond
ecstatic to hear José Antonio Vargas.
His message was so clear and so pas-
sionate, as he asked us to “Define
American.” What is an American? As
a product of public education and a
spokesperson for the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals, he helped
reshape many of the myths the pub-
lic has about those protected by the
DACA program.
While I’m not using this column to
debate federal immigration policy, I am
sharing the stance that we’ve taken
on bringing attention to the impacts of
proposed federal decisions on our stu-
dents, families and communities.
On Nov. 1, I filed an amicus brief on
behalf of ACSA in the U.S. District
Court, noting the disruptive and unsafe
atmosphere created by the discussions
about ending DACA, and pledging our
support to allow those protected by
DACA to remain in the country.
Our schools should be considered safe
places, where students can learn and
families feel welcome. In California,
one of the ways we ensure students
feel safe is that we promise that the
simple act of coming to school will not
expose them or their families to federal
immigration enforcement action.
As ACSA president, I have the opportu-
nity to speak with educators statewide
and learn about the factors impacting
optimal learning environments for stu-
dents. I have many examples of out-
standing high school students who feel
they can’t go to college for fear of a
future that may no longer be available.
Some students want to join t he military
and serve the only country they have
ever known, but fear they now cannot.
There are those withdrawing because
they fear an uncertain future. Parents
are fearful of coming to school and no
longer participate in school activities.
The common denominator in these
stories is that many California students
are effectively being denied an educa-
tion because of threats to their secu-
rity, and the security of their peers and
families. Their hope for the future has
been stolen, leaving them unwilling
or unable to continue to engage and
thrive in school.
If we hope to ensure our kids’ social,
economic and political futures we must
restore healthy school environments.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, and my
12-year-old twins remind me, “be the
change you want to see in this world.”
Engage in healthy conversations, focus
on facts and data, and be the leaders
that our students need us to be.
They’re worth it.
– Lisa Gonzales
ACSA President