– Martinrex Kedziora , Superintendent
May 21 , 2018 EDCAL 3
ACSA ESS video earns Emmy nomination
REVISION
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Gov . Brown has made it clear that after enactment of his LCFF reforms , his highest priority is his commitment to resisting new programmatic spending obligations until state debt ( both to schools and elsewhere ) is eliminated . It is unlikely that the governor will be open to much movement on the creation of any new programs . The Legislature will act in time to meet the June 15 constitutional deadline and send a budget to the governor for approval . As we saw last year , that final budget will reflect the governor ’ s priorities – with a few exceptions to obtain the needed support from Democratic leaders in the two houses .
On the K-12 side , two main issues that will result in a robust discussion between the Legislature and the governor are the funding mechanism for Career Technical Education and how to address fiscal transparency of LCFF funding . In January , the governor proposed an ongoing $ 200 million appropriation for a K-12 Strong Workforce Program that would be administered by the Community Colleges , yet there is bipartisan support for Assembly Bill 1743 ( O ’ Donnell ) to maintain the existing structure of the CTE Incentive Grant Program by infusing $ 500 million on an ongoing basis . In regard to LCFF fiscal transparency , while the Senate has its own alternative proposal to require both anticipated and actual expenditures , the governor ’ s proposed revisions to the budget summary may not be sufficient to appease the concerns of the civil right groups and key Assembly members .
ACSA will focus its budget advocacy to urge the Legislature and the governor to set
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has nominated ACSA for an Emmy award for the video profile of Jacqueline Rodriguez , the 2017 Region 8 Every Student Succeeding award winner .
“ This is the 23rd year ACSA has presented the ESS awards to deserving California students ,” said Naj Alikhan , ACSA senior director of Communications . “ This nomination speaks to the incredible students we have in this state and their perseverance , as well as the amazing job our region leadership does in picking the ESS award winners each year .”
Rodriguez , who attends Del Mar High School in San Jose , was born with lymphatic malformations , a rare condition that formed large masses in her cheeks , tongue , and chest . She underwent multiple surgeries to remove the diseased lymph nodes , but her condition persists .
Rodriguez also faced physical obstacles due to mobility issues . But she set her sights on athletics and when she enrolled as Del Mar as a freshmen , she made it her mission to join the tennis team .
“ She came up to me out of the blue one day and said ‘ I want to be on the tennis team ,’” Del Mar HS tennis coach Tom Heckley said in the ESS profile video . “ And my first reaction was ‘ Heck , yeah . We ’ ll find a way to make this work .”
a multi-year plan to establish new LCFF targets beyond what ’ s in the May Revision . The vehicle for these conversations is AB 2808 ( Muratsuchi ), which would set new LCFF targets beyond 2018-19 , without specifying when the new targets will be reached . ACSA will also work towards maintaining the $ 2 billion in proposed one-time discretionary dollars , since the Legislature may attempt to redirect Prop . 98 funding to support legislative proposals seeking an earmark with ongoing and onetime funding for specific purposes .
While there are close to two dozen bills making their way through the legislative process and being heard in policy committees , the bills are subject to a budget appropriation and would only become law if funding is provided . While there is strong bipartisan support for AB 3136 ( O ’ Donnell ) to increase funding for special education through the AB 602 formula and for preschool slots for students with exceptional needs , it is unlikely the Brown Administration will compromise on a new funding plan in his last year in office . This could be one of the issues that is left for the next governor to address when he or she enters office in January 2019 .
In regard to proposals for one-time funding between the Assembly and Senate , close to half a dozen proposals continue to seek funding to address the teacher shortage and improve the teacher pipeline from recruitment to induction and ongoing professional development . The most promising proposal could be the Assembly ’ s pursuit for an unspecified amount of one-time funding to reinstate a teacher residency pilot program ( AB 2547 , McCarty ).
On the non-education side , it will not be a surprise if the California Legislature and the governor continue to direct their
NATAS has recognized Rodriguez ’ s story out of hundreds of entries . The story itself was videotaped , written , and edited by Michael Kelly from the ACSA Communications team and is included in the Sports-Program Feature / Segment category . Other nominees in this category include video content from NBC Sports and the Oakland Raiders football club .
The winners of all 2018 Emmy Awards will be announced in June . Video features on the 2018 ESS winners will debut in June and will be available at www . acsa . org as well as the ACSA YouTube page . The ESS winners will be honored at the ACSA Leadership Summit in November .
Chula Vista USD joins arts-fueled reform effort
Turnaround Arts : California will add John J . Montgomery Elementary in Chula Vista Elementary School District to its network of campuses that use the arts strategically to support student learning and school improvement efforts .
Turnaround Arts : California was co-founded in 2014 by architect Frank Gehry and arts education advocate Malissa Shriver to administer the John F . Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Turnaround Arts program statewide . Ten high-need elementary and middle schools have been added to its network of now 27 schools across 20 school districts .
Francisco Escobedo , CVESD superintendent , noted that Montgomery Elementary students posted the district ’ s highest year-over-year increase in English language arts scores on standardized tests last year , with a growth of more than 15 percent .
Montgomery is one of 18 CVESD schools to receive a VH1 Save the Music Foundation instrument grant . Montgomery also serves as one of five San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory Community Opus Project sites in CVESD . Additionally , this year , the school launched a partnership with La Jolla Playhouse .
“ Montgomery Elementary is already demonstrating how arts education can transform learning for all students ,” Escobedo said . “ Montgomery ’ s selection as a
Turnaround Arts school validates its efforts to strengthen and enhance the arts as part of our broader goal to develop the ‘ whole ’ child . There is ample evidence to support the connection between academic success and the arts . We are honored to have a partner such as Turnaround Arts : California and help disseminate best practices throughout the state .”
The expansion of Turnaround Arts schools is made possible , in part , by a
Renowned architect Frank Gehry visits students in the Turnaround Arts : California program .
See ARTS ED , page 4
attention to the national political landscape , as there are several policies with significant fiscal implications that could negatively impact the state . The Legislature is also worried about California ’ s housing affordability and health care costs . Specifically , the Assembly is calling for a $ 1 billion increase from the state ’ s budget surplus to expand Medi-Cal to undocumented young adults , low income women and children , as well as to fund other related health care services . Just last week , the Legislative Women ’ s Caucus unveiled a proposal urging Gov . Brown to dedicate an additional $ 1 billion in funds to increase the number of child care slots via the Alternative Payment and General Child Care Program . According to the Caucus ’ estimate , there are approximately 1,479,000 children in California eligible for subsidized childcare .
In closing , public education is in the strongest position it has been in a decade and our students are the beneficiaries of the good work we ’ ve done in our schools , our communities , and inside the state Capitol .
But ACSA acknowledges that there is more work to be done . As a major stakeholder , ACSA will be actively engaged in the budget discussions with the Legislature and the administration to ensure our best interests are upheld . Throughout this legislative season , ACSA will keep you apprised of all budget negotiations until the budget is completed in June .
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ACSA welcomes our members ’ feedback and questions on these and other issues . Please contact Martha Alvarez , ACSA Legislative Advocate , at malvarez @ acsa . org for any clarifications related to the budget .
Treating students and staff with dignity and respect has always been at the core of our values at Moreno Valley Unified School District . In the past , our district has focused on English Language Learners , and more recently , African American student achievement . As part of our ongoing process , we realized that the idea behind equity was much more than language or race . We realized our focus was narrow and needed to include all cultures , sexual orientations , ethnic backgrounds , religions and more .
We always begin our year with a Leadership Summit that provides the foundation for our focus of the year . This year the theme was “ Champion Equity .” We made a decision to have those difficult conversations to ensure we were moving in the right direction to support all students .
During the summit , our keynote speakers included Judy Shepard , motivational speaker and author of “ The Meaning of Matthew .” The story highlights her son , Matthew , who was beaten , tortured , and left to die because he was gay . Her story was a poignant and emotional start to our year . It began the difficult conversation we needed to have for our students . We also heard from Anthony Muhammad , author of “ Overcoming the Achievement Gap Trap .” He focused on changing our culture to one of focused support .
This opened everyone in our district to the real definition of equity . We did not back away from our focus on equity , instead we raised the level of intensity and provided opportunities for staff to continue their growth on the subject . We offered a five-session Equity Institute that focused on building cultural proficiency capacity so employees can lead for equity . The program covered systems of understanding to empower our employees to be proactive and responsive to the diverse needs of those they serve . We also offered unconscious bias training , transgender training , and we will send a representative from each school to Footsteps to Freedom this summer . Footsteps to Freedom is designed to give participants the experiences of an enslaved person seeking freedom and the humanity of others who risked everything to help them achieve that freedom .
While training staff is a large part on the road to equity , we are also offering students more opportunities to be successful . A federal i3 grant is supporting the Families for College program , where families with potential first-generation college students are engaged with their students ’ schools so their children have support at home . We also offer individualized tutoring for students who need it .
We will have a new leadership theme in the 2018-19 school year , however I have made equity an ongoing focus for our district . I am proud of the work we are doing , and I am honored to have been selected as the Valuing Diversity award recipient for ACSA Region 19 . There is always more work to do and I believe we are on the right track to provide individualized support and increase achievement for every student in our district .
– Martinrex Kedziora , Superintendent