Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 18 | February 25, 2019
Leading California educator named to
position on State Board of Education
Well known education expert Linda
Darling-Hammond has been named
by Gov. Newsom to the State Board of
Education, replacing Michael Kirst who
opted to step down when Gov. Jerry Brown’s
term came to an end. It is expected that she
will be selected as president of the SBE, the
position Kirst held, although that position
is technically named by her fellow board
members.
“The measure of a school system’s excel-
lence is more than the sum of its budgets,”
Newsom said. “We need clear and achiev-
able standards of transparency, more infor-
mation sharing, and accountability for all
public schools – traditional and charter. We
need a new president for the State Board of
Education, to lead the way and work along-
side State Superintendent Tony Thurmond,
and to lift up all of our students. And my
pick for that position is nationally rec-
ognized education expert Linda Darling-
Hammond.”
Darling-Hammond is well known to
many ACSA members, having presented
or keynoted at a number
of ACSA conferences. A
longtime leading voice
in education, Darling-
Hammond is also the chair
of the state Commission
on Teacher Credentialing.
She has been the Charles
E. Ducommun professor
emeritus at the Stanford
Darling-
University,
Graduate
Hammond
School of Education since
2017, where she was a professor from 1998
to 2017. She has also been president of the
Learning Policy Institute since 2015.
Darling-Hammond was founder and
co-director of the Stanford Center for
Photos from the 2019 ECC are on pages 4-5.
Excited attendees at ECC Symposium prepare for three days of excellent professional learning.
ECC Symposium offers top
notch professional learning
More than 1,600 school leaders gath-
ered in Anaheim Feb. 13-15 for the
Every Child Counts Symposium.
The symposium is one of ACSA’s
biggest professional learning events, and
there was plenty of learning to be found.
Keynoters Brad Cohen and Marlee
Matlin were excellent examples of people
who did not allow their disabilities to
keep them from achieving their dreams.
Cohen, who has Tourette Syndrome,
found success as an administrator and
author, and Matlin overcame deafness
to become an Academy Award-winning
actress.
Featured ECC speakers included
Frank De Angelis, the former Columbine
High School principal. He spoke about
his story of the Columbine tragedy and
how it redefined the nation and the
actions taken in the aftermath.
Lisa Gonzales, ACSA’s Past President
and current ACSA President Holly Edds
spoke on the Fatal School Violence Task
Force. Its mission is to provide school
administrators with resources ranging
from best practices, communication
techniques and templates, staff trainings
and crisis management. The Task Force
created a School Crisis Toolkit available
to all symposium attendees.
There was much more information
to be found at the conference. The 2020
Every Child Counts Symposium will be
held Feb. 5-7 in Palm Desert.
Opportunity Policy in Education from
2008 to 2017, and faculty sponsor for the
Stanford Teacher Education Program from
1998 to 2005.
She served as executive director of the
National Commission on Teaching and
America’s Future from 1994 to 2001.
Darling-Hammond held an endowed pro-
fessorship at Teachers College, Columbia
University from 1989 to 1998 and was
director of the RAND Corporation’s edu-
cation program from 1979 to 1989. She
is a member of the American Association
of Arts and Sciences and of the National
Academy of Education. The American
Enterprise Institute named her the No. 1
scholar in the nation in 2018.
More about the State Board of Education
can be found at www.cde.ca.gov/be.
2019 CA Model
Continuation High
Schools named
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tony Thurmond announced that 31
schools were newly designated as Model
Continuation High Schools for 2019. These
schools are recognized for their innova-
tive approach to instruction and helping
students who have faced many challenges –
including behavior issues, chronic absentee-
ism, and truancy – get back on the pathway
to learning.
“These schools have created exemplary
programs and strategies that provide stu-
dents with a second chance at academic suc-
cess,” Thurmond said. “The commitment
demonstrated by the teachers and admin-
istrative staff, combined with a culture of
caring that focuses on the emotional and
education needs of the unique populations
they serve, are what make these continua-
tion high schools the best examples of how
to help kids strive and reach their full
potential.”
All the schools honored offer strategic
and specialized programs. For example:
• Columbus High School in Downey has
created a successful collaboration between
staff and students where students receive
targeted support and individualized instruc-
tion to overcome academic challenges. The
school has increased its attendance rate
from 75 percent to between 85–90 percent
over the past three years.
• John J. Cairns Continuation High
Preliminary credential. ACSA,
in partnership with the Sacramento
County Office of Education’s
Leadership Institute, offers aspir-
ing teacher leaders the opportunity
to earn a Preliminary Administrative
Services Credential. This six course,
12-month program offers both face-
to-face instruction as well as online
learning, guided fieldwork and an end-
of-program project. By completing four
additional classes the following year,
candidates may apply the work from
the Leadership Institute credential
courses to obtain a master’s degree.
The program begins in San Bernardino
County in August 2019. For information
go to www.acsa.org/credentialing.
Social leadership.
The Center
for Leadership, Equity and Research
(CLEAR) is seeking leaders inter-
ested in broadening their skills in
equity to attend their 7th Annual
Mentoring Summit. Titled “Celebrate
Leadership!” the event offers an
opportunity to learn from social jus-
tice leaders in the state, with a focus
on children and communities in the
Central Valley area. The event takes
place March 1 in Clovis. Details and
registration are available on the CLEAR
website at http://clearvoz.com.
Suicide counseling. An important
and effective deterrent to those con-
sidering suicide are counselors specifi-
cally trained in the varied therapeutic
approaches that treat their underlying
illnesses. In an effort to help inspire
more to pursue careers in counsel-
ing those with suicidal tendencies,
Counselor-License has released a
guide detailing the process of becom-
ing a suicide counselor from degree
programs to licensure. The Guide to
Suicide Counseling can be accessed at
https://counselor-license.com/careers/
suicide-counselors/, and the Guide
to Mental Health Counseling can be
accessed at https://counselor-license.
com/careers/mental-health-counselor/.
See MODEL, page 3
Workshop offers help in area of
differentiated assistance
ACSA is offering a timely new work-
shop, System of Support: Differentiated
Assistance for Identified Districts. This
collaborative workshop provides updates
to California’s structure for the statewide
System of Support and how districts can
access resources, support and assistance to
address their status as districts participating
in the differentiated assistance process due
to dashboard results, especially in special
education.
Participation in this workshop will
include an ACSA-sponsored network of
support and coordinated discussions with
respected practitioners and partners.
“ACSA has a commitment to its mem-
bers and districts to provide supportive,
helpful information to address the needs for
differentiated assistance,” said Facilitator
Maureen Burness. “This workshop intends
to give you the latest information on all
the possible supports and resources district
administrators will need to plan for a suc-
cessful response to that identification, from
the experts at all levels.”
Participants will be invited to network by
sharing challenges, resources and successes
in providing a coordinated, coherent, edu-
cational system for all students at all levels.
Burness is a former assistant superinten-
dent of a SELPA and one of California’s
top names in special education. She will be
joined by presenters Karla Estrada, director,
California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence, and Kristin Wright, California
Department of Education, director of
Special Education.
Outcomes:
• Receive Statewide System of Support
See WORKSHOP, page 6
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