SPI favors legislation to provide safe school learning environments
For the second year in a row , the Santa Maria FFA has been named the Santa Barbara Section Outstanding Agriculture Program .
This honor is awarded each year at the South Coast Region FFA State Degree and Proficiency Awards Ceremony , which was held at the Clark Center in Arroyo Grande on April 8 .
The Outstanding Program Award is based on the three-circle model of Agriculture Education . It includes FFA Leadership , Supervised Agriculture Experiences and Classroom Instruction .
“ This is a tremendous honor for the eight agriculture teachers and 942 students of the Santa Maria FFA program ,’’ said Shannon Powell of the Santa Maria Ag Department .
DISCIPLINE
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on Civil Rights and litigates on behalf of children and youth in poverty at the National Center for Youth Law .
Among the most immediate concerns noted in the education community is the composition of the school safety task force . When it was announced in early March , DeVos said a “ wide array of practitioners ” would serve on the commission . However , later it was announced that only DeVos , Attorney General Jeff Sessions , Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Acosta , and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would serve .
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights ’ took its message against repeal of the discipline guidance to an April 4 School Safety and Climate Summit hosted by DeVos .
The Leadership Conference ’ s Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and AAUW in advocating for continued support for vital guidance on nondiscrimination in school discipline .
“ We met with Secretary DeVos to emphasize our grave concerns about the U . S .
In addition , a new record was set in the program when 51 students from Santa Maria FFA were awarded their State FFA Degree at the ceremony . The State FFA Degree is the highest degree a member can receive by the State FFA Association . In order to qualify , members must have earned and productively invested at least $ 1,000 and worked 500 hours in excess of scheduled class time on an agriculture related project , have a record of outstanding leadership abilities , and have completed 25 hours of community involvement .
Proficiency Awards were also presented to seven students with excellent work experience or ownership projects based on an application , the amount of time invested and money earned . These awards honor students who have developed specialized skills
Department of Education turning the clock back on important gains in promoting safe and welcoming schools for students of color ,” said Brenda Shum , director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers ’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law . “ The long-term , devastating impact of the school-to-prison pipeline is one of the most significant civil rights issues of our time . Yet instead of seeking to address systemic inequities in school discipline , this administration may roll back protections for African American , Latino and other minority students in the name of school safety .
“ This misguided effort must be rejected . Instead , the Department of Education must retain its school discipline guidance and focus on building the positive , nurturing school climates that will ultimately lead to safer schools for all students .”
Todd Cox , director of policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc ., said racial discrimination in educational systems persists , and both the Departments of Education and Justice are failing to protect students ’ civil rights and educational future .
“ This administration must stop endangering students of color and instead ensure equal educational opportunities and foster
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has come out is support of Assembly Bill 2820 , which intends to help school districts maintain and improve safe and inclusive learning environments for students and increase engagement with parents and their respective communities .
Torlakson said that he supported the intent to gather school climate information , calling it “ an important starting point in improving our children ’ s learning environments . In light of recent events at schools across our country , supporting districts in hearing their students ’ voices and improving engagement with parents and communities is more vital than ever .”
AB 2820 ’ s stated intent is to establish a “ Community Engagement and School Climate for Continuous Improvement Block Grant .” This fund would provide school districts the option of using state-approved school climate surveys , along with support and technical assistance on the administration of the surveys and utilization of results , to improve school conditions and climate . If districts choose to use the surveys , they would be conducted annually with students , parents , teachers and school staff .
The proposed legislation comes out of recommendations by the School Conditions and Climate Work Group , a task force convened by the California Department of Education which included educators , parents and advocates .
ACSA has some concerns regarding this bill and is closely tracking its progress . The association will keep members apprised as developments occur .
For information about ACSA Advocacy on legislation and policy issues , as well as the association ’ s position on the many education-related bills in the Capitol , visit www . acsa . org / advocacy .
School honored for outstanding FFA program
that they can apply toward their future careers , Powell said .
“ Winning a Proficiency Award was something I never thought I could do ,” said senior Rosie Diaz . “ As I received the award for the Agri-science Research – Animal Science Proficiency , I got a splendid feeling because it meant that my dedication and time on my Cattle Flight Zone Research Project paid off . I gained a great deal of knowledge from this project .”
One student also qualified as a State Finalist in their respective proficiency area . Senior Julia Martinez , who qualified in the area of Vegetable Production , will compete at the State Competition in Anaheim in late April .
Santa Maria FFA 2018 State Degree recipients proudly pose with their State FFA degrees . A record 51 Santa Maria students received these degrees in a ceremony .
educational excellence by upholding the federal school discipline guidance and promoting policies and programs that keep students safe ,” Cox said .
According to Deborah Vagins , senior vice president of public policy and research for the American Association of University Women : “ For over 135 years , AAUW has supported a strong system of public education that promotes gender fairness , equity , and diversity . Any attempts to rescind the 2014 school discipline guidance runs in direct opposition to our commitment to the advancement of all women and girls and to an education free of discrimination . We urge the Department of Education to stand by its commitment to protect students ’ civil rights by keeping the effective and helpful guidance in place .”
Gupta and Lhamon conclude in their commentary that , “ Every student deserves to attend a safe , high-quality school where students , teachers , and staff are treated with dignity and respect . Students also deserve to learn in an environment without fear of either overpolicing or mass shootings . And the law makes clear that students have the right to attend schools without fear that their race will dictate the severity of discipline school administrators mete out .”
FROM THE
Executive
Director
April 30 , 2018 EDCAL 3
I was extremely fortunate to join ACSA as our board prepared to launch our current strategic plan . Our board , members , and staff spent hundreds of hours developing our plan – surveying members , studying industry trends , analyzing strengths and conducting comprehensive needs analyses . We decided to implement the strategic plan in three phases over five years . This June we will complete the final year of this strategic plan and prepare to launch our new strategic plan .
We have shared our progress each year in EdCal articles , on our webpage , and in meetings statewide . We chronicled our record-smashing association growth , relevancy , and state and federal influence . We highlighted the use of technology to better serve and support our members and their students ( our ACSA app , our new website , a digitized EdCal , and online registration and planning tools ). In short , we focused on the outcomes that demonstrate our progress in becoming the driving force of education in California and beyond .
This year we have enjoyed similar progress . I was told by staff and members alike that a new association management system ( AMS ) was a “ pie in the sky ” goal that ACSA could never afford . The quote seven years ago was between $ 2-6 million to design and build an AMS to meet ACSA ’ s unique needs . We brought in fresh perspectives and a conviction that we could do anything we put our minds to , and we built dynamic alliances – per Strategy 3 – that made the tasks doable . We leveraged P4P ( Partner4Purpose ) and signed SchoolCity to an agreement to design and build a custom AMS for ACSA as well as a new Content Management System ( CMS ) and Event Management System for less than $ 1 million .
This new system takes the place of nine disconnected systems that handled membership , professional development , events , and advocacy . Our new AMS allows us to better support our association as we better serve our individual members ; the new tools also form the foundation upon which future projects like our Learning Management System ( LMS ) will be built . Currently , our comprehensive membership database system is in daily operation and supports accounting and financial transactions . The inclusion of member profiles on our website now allows members , upon login , to find information and services unique to their job-alike / membership . We are also very excited that members are now able to update and correct their information on our website . Using our Event Management System , members can use our integrated event management tool to register for events and professional development online , and financial data can be transmitted to our Financial Services Department for processing and accounting . All of these benefits are made possible by our new association management system .
This is just one example of our strategic successes . We will post a complete Year Five review on our website following May ’ s Leadership Assembly . I am proud of those accomplishments facilitated by our current strategic plan , and I am excited to see how our next strategic plan makes us even more bold and authoritative in support of California ’ s 6.2 million students .
– Wesley Smith