State to spend a half billion dollars to promote ‘teacher effectiveness’

Liv Ames for EdSource

Liv Ames for EdSource

Gov. Jerry Brownish and the state Legislature have agreed to allocate a one-half billion dollars for a range of programs to enhance "instructor effectiveness" in California, the largest amount to exist dedicated for that purpose in years.

The funds, which will be set aside equally a block grant, will flow to each of California's near 1,000 districts based on the number of credentialed teachers and school administrators they have on their payrolls. Districts can spend the funds at any fourth dimension over the adjacent three years.

Ratified by the Legislature on Friday, the funds represent a massive increase over the $10 meg that Brown had included in his proposed 2015-xvi budget in January to accost the quality of instructor grooming programs. The fact that lawmakers were able to agree less than six months later to send l times that amount direct to school districts underscored the high priority the state is placing on instructor preparation and effectiveness.

The funds will come at a time when California's nearly 300,000 teachers, along with tens of thousands of principals and other administrators, are grappling with how to implement the Common Core Country Standards, the new set of academic standards in math and English arts, as well as the Next Generation Science Standards.

"It is a very big deal," said Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor of didactics who also is chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. "Information technology is really a first pace towards rebuilding the professional development infrastructure in the land that evaporated during the years of budget cuts."

The notion of a cake grant "dedicated to professional learning…to meet local needs" was starting time floated in the influential "Greatness past Design" report issued in September 2022 by the Task Force on Educator Excellence established past State Superintendent of Instruction Tom Torlakson. The task strength was co-chaired by Darling-Hammond and Long Embankment Unified Superintendent Chris Steinhauser.

The new funds also reinforce the accent Dark-brown and the Legislature accept placed on creating a culture of support for teachers in California. That represents a marked a departure from the regimen of sanctions imposed by the No Child Left Backside police over the last fifteen years on schools and districts that failed to improve student test scores to the levels specified by the law.

"This $500 million investment helps continue the efforts underway in schools and districts to support teachers and administrators," said Michael Kirst, president of the State Lath of Education and a close ally of Brown since his first term equally governor in the 1970s. Kirst said new funds were especially needed because of the "monumental shifts in classroom instruction" demanded past the new standards.

"The big challenge in California's implementation of the Common Core is to provide teachers with professional development and support they demand to implement the new standards," said David Plank, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Instruction, or Pace, a joint UC, USC and Stanford initiative. "This is a significant down payment on that obligation."

Before the recession, California spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the form of "categorical" funds on a range of programs to back up new teachers – almost notably the First Teachers Assessment and Support program (BTSA) – besides equally to assistance teachers in need of comeback (Peer Assistance and Review, or PAR). School districts had to spend these funds for the purposes prescribed by the state.

But beginning in 2008-09, the land reduced the total amount spent on those "categorical" programs, and then eliminated dedicated funding for them in order to give districts more flexibility over their budgets. One unexpected effect was that professional evolution and support programs for teachers were amongst the first to be cutting back by districts exercising their newly acquired flexibility.

The funds earmarked for instructor effectiveness in the coming twelvemonth are intended to assist districts upgrade the professional development they offer to teachers non only in math, English language arts and scientific discipline, just also in other bailiwick areas in which the state adopts academic standards. They are also intended to assist new teachers get the virtually out of the Starting time Teacher Support and Assessment program, every bit well as the Peer Aid and Review programme. The funds must also be spent on preparation teachers to exist mentors or coaches to other teachers.

Some $10 million also will get to California's K-12 High Speed Network to more effectively provide professional evolution programs to districts, and to provide technical assistance to districts in how to manage their connections to the network.

"I hope it sends a message to teacher organizations that the country is very committed to being sure that people who are qualified accept access to the profession, that if you choose the profession, nosotros will help you with various teacher consecration programs, that nosotros will create a career ladder, and for those teachers who are struggling we volition either aid you or suggest you motion on" said Senator Carol Liu, D-Glendale, chairperson of the Senate Didactics Committee.

Not surprisingly, the new funds were welcomed by the California Teachers Association, the union representing most teachers in the land. "This is obviously skillful news," said CTA spokesman Mike Myslinski. "It is pretty clear that teacher quality begins with fairly preparing and supporting beginning teachers."

Pia Wong, chair of the Teaching Credentials Department at Sacramento State University, expressed concerns that all the funds will get to districts, excluding teacher didactics programs charged with preparing a new generation of teachers. She likewise hoped that districts would use the state's K-12 High Speed Network finer "so that promising local practices can be shared statewide so no one is reinventing the bicycle."

The agreement to allocate $500 million was the result of successful negotiations between the governor's office and the Legislative leadership – Associates Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego,and Senate President Pro-Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles – along with the respective chairs of the educational activity committees in the Assembly and the Senate, Sen. Liu and Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell, D-Long Beach.

Lawmakers in the Assembly had argued for ongoing almanac funding of $190 million for teacher support and improvement programs, while those in the state Senate were promoting a 1-fourth dimension $800 million cake grant along the lines of the $500 million cake grant that was eventually agreed on.

The funds were carved out of the $3.five billion in discretionary dollars generated past the state'south surging economy. These funds were supposed to pay back districts for a range of unfunded mandates information technology had imposed on districts in recent years.

As for how negotiations went with the governor'southward office, "it was non a big fight," said Rick Simpson, Atkins' deputy chief of staff. "We all thought information technology was an important investment."

To get more reports like this one, click here to sign up for EdSource's no-cost daily email on latest developments in instruction.

franceschrick.blogspot.com

Source: https://edsource.org/2015/state-to-spend-a-half-billion-dollars-to-promote-teacher-effectiveness/81689