Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 29 | May 27, 2019
Report
finds some
CA districts
beat odds
Students of color in certain California
school districts are exceeding the perfor-
mance of their peers in other districts,
and teachers may be the biggest reason
why, according to a new report from the
Learning Policy Institute.
The report “California’s Positive
Outliers: Districts Beating the Odds”
examines school district performance
data for African American, Hispanic and
white students compared to how these
subgroups would be predicted to perform
based on the district’s
socioeconomic status.
Those districts whose
Read the full
student subgroups
report at
outperformed the odds
bit.ly/
were labeled as “positive
Districts
outliers.”
Beating
The report also
theOdds
looks into the practices
in these districts to see
what might be making
the difference and finds
that teacher qualifications are the most
significant school-related predictors of stu-
dent achievement.
A high proportion of teachers hold-
ing substandard credentials — such as
emergency permits, waivers and intern
credentials — has a negative impact on
student achievement for all students. In
2017-18, the California Commission on
Teacher Credentialing authorized more
than 12,000 substandard permits and cre-
dentials, representing half of the entering
workforce that year. These underprepared
teachers are disproportionately assigned to
FYI
See ODDS, page 5
IgnitED conference. The Na-
Peninsula Union School District Superintendent-Principal Lark Doolan came out as transgender to his
board, staff and students in his small Northern California district in 2017, making him the first openly
trans public school superintendent in the country.
Trans superintendent thankful to
serve students as authentic self
Tucked away in Humboldt County
on a 12-mile-long sand dune is the
small town of Samoa, where you’ll find
Peninsula Union School District. The
district is home to one school: Peninsula
School. Lark Doolan is the man tasked
with running both the school and the
district.
“This is among one of the smaller
schools in the state,” Doolan said. “I
didn’t know schools like this existed
until I had been working in education
for quite awhile.”
Doolan serves as both superinten-
dent and principal at a school with just
41 students. But his responsibilities
extend far beyond those roles.
“If we don’t get a substitute teacher,
I’m in a classroom,” Doolan said. “Some
days I show up and it turns out I’m
teaching kindergarten that day, or our
cook is out and I’m serving up breakfast.
There’s a way at a small school — we all
have our individual roles. But we’re all
really beholden to the bigger picture of
serving the students.”
The unique-
ness of the job
allows Doolan to
spend more time
LGBTQ school
with his students.
leaders discuss
challenges.
It’s not uncom-
Page 3
mon to find him
sitting down for
tea with students
in his office to help address their indi-
vidual needs.
“I really appreciate getting to know
people and meeting them where they’re
at,” Doolan said. “Have them really
know me well. And to get to know
Inside
See DOOLAN, page 6
Women leaders build sisterhood at symposium
Renee Hill poses with keynote Cynthia H. Breunig,
CEO of Girls Scouts of San Gorgonio Council.
Periodicals
Dated Material
ACSA’s first-ever Sisterhood
Leadership Symposium kicked off
Saturday, May 18, in Alhambra with a
keynote address from Cynthia H. Breunig,
CEO and president of the Girls Scouts
of San Gorgonio Council. Breunig was a
Mariner Scout for 10 years and credits the
program with fostering her passion for art,
community service and business. She is a
committed advocate for girls and women,
and a proponent of single-gender girl spac-
es for experiencing and learning life skills.
Prior to joining GSSGC, she served for 13
years as the president and CEO of Inner-
City Arts in Los Angeles.
Speaking to the event theme of “Our
Voices Are Vital,” Breunig spoke about the
power of networking and building strong
connections in the leadership journey, say-
ing, “Today, set aside your titles and many
degrees and just listen to each other.”
In highlighting aspects of her own jour-
ney, Breunig talked about the value of set-
ting an example and providing mentoring
for young girls with dreams who, she says,
will grow up into women with vision. She
talked about the challenges she took on,
tional Association of School Super-
intendents invites education leaders
from across the nation to join policy
experts as they ignite change during
three days of advocacy centered on
educational equity in the nation’s cap-
ital. Attendees will meet with equity
experts, staff from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, members of
Congress and student advocates. The
keynote speaker is Rod Paige, former
U.S. Secretary of Education and the
first African-American to serve in
the role. The IgnitED conference is
Sept. 15-19, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
Registration is $325 for NASS/ACSA
members and $650 for non-mem-
bers. Discounts available for register-
ing by May 31. For more information
visit www.acsa.org/ignited.
Induction Conference. The
2019 California Induction Conference
is seeking presenters for breakout
sessions on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 in
Indian Wells. The attending audience
will be district leaders, leaders of
administrator and teacher induction
programs, college/university staff, as
well as program mentors. The confer-
ence registration fee will be waived
for presenters. Visit www.california
inductionconference.com/presenters
for more information.
Pathways to Equity. Join
ACSA and LACOE for Educational
Excellence: Pathways to Equity
Summit, which will be on Sept. 24
in Alhambra. This day of workshops,
discussions and learning moments
is designed specifically for teams of
principals and teachers, parent lead-
ers, and central office administrators
to deepen their explorations of how
these pathways can lead us closer to
our goals in pursuit of educational eq-
uity. Participants will engage directly
with experts to build on existing work
already happening throughout the
county and hear from the leaders of
Bright Spots in the field who are suc-
cessfully making change. Registration
is $165 with a discount for registering
before June 7. For more information
and to register, visit www.acsa.org/
pathwaystoequity.
See SISTERHOOD, page 7
Still in the game: These bills
made it out of appropriations
In the California Legislature, the
Assembly Appropriations Committee
reviews all bills with any fiscal impact
after passage by a policy committee. The
Suspense File, which is managed by the
Appropriations Committee, holds all
bills with an annual cost of more than
$150,000. These bills are then considered
at a single hearing after the state budget
has been prepared. Bills not moved forward
at that hearing die.
On Monday, May 16, the committee
moved a number of bills out of the sus-
pense file which will now be scheduled for
a floor vote.
ACSA has taken a role in supporting or
opposing. The following is a short list of
some of those bills.
SB 12 (Beall) — Mental health ser-
vices: youth
The Mental Health Services Act, an
initiative statute enacted by the voters as
Proposition 63 at the Nov. 2, 2004, state-
wide general election, also funds a system
See BILLS, page 4