No graduation day for you

Both the SF Chronicle and Alameda Journal ran stories about the drop out rate in California exceeding what had previously been reported by school agencies thanks largely to a new system of tracking students.    I found the numbers listed in the Chronicle’s database a little comfusing, without appropriate footnotes, so the link to the actual Department of Education’s database provided by Mike McMahon was infinitely more helpful.

Highlights from Sf Chronicle’s article:

…The state Education Department says it can now calculate dropouts far more accurately using its new “Statewide Student Identifier System” in which every student is given a unique, anonymous ID number. With that, schools can track the whereabouts of missing students for the first time, and learn whether students are truly AWOL, or whether they are somewhere legitimate.

Lots of hats

For those that read the Alameda Daily News, you will have noticed the daily updates as to who has pulled papers for the various open offices for the upcoming Novemeber election.  Of course, just because someone pulls papers does not mean that they will necessarily end of filing to run for office.  For example, for the last election six people pulled papers for Mayor, but only three: Doug deHaan, Beverly Johnson, and Kenneth Kahn ended up actually running.   Three people pulled papers to run for Council but then ultimately decided not to file.

So far, there has been a bigger flurry of activity for the School Board race than for City Council.  This could be a two-fold reason.  One because incumbent Bill Schaff has decided not to run for re-election and two because current sitting School Board member Tracy Jensen, who is not up for re-election this year, has decided to pull papers to possibly run for City Council, although considering that she has updated her website already with City Council emblazoned all over it, she seems pretty serious about it, she even has a list of endorsements already. 

Kismet

How interesting that on the same day that Jeffrey Smith’s My Word runs in the Alameda Journal, Sports Illustrated would run an article about public school sports programs.  I hadn’t intended to comment on the column, but the Sports Illustrated connection was too strong to resist.   So let’s put to the side the fact that my initial column ran in the Alameda Sun, I would imagine that folks who had not read that particular column are quite confused by the references, but instead let’s talk about this line:

…Philistines, who don’t give a hoot about quality education, but enjoy the Island Bowl, will vote for a tax hike of socialist proportions…

Super search

School scooper, Rob Siltanen, posted yesterday that the rumor mill was buzzing about School Superintendent Ardella Dailey stepping down as of January 2009.   But in addition to breaking that tidbit of news he has some insightful questions for us all to ponder in light of the timing and the situation the school district is currently in.   The Chief Financial Officer position is being vacated and the majority of the school board is up for election in November.

Of course, as reported by A Little Birdie, it has surpassed just being grist for said rumor mill and moved into a stark reality for our school district.

So what does this all mean?

Second hat

While it’s so nice that people from as far away as San Diego, Michigan, and Florida care so much about lil’ ole Alameda that they have made their way over here virtually to tell us how we should be living our lives and what Constitutional amendements we should all be railing against and how financially superior they are to us, I would suggest that folks not further engage them for the benefit of our collective blood pressure.

Anyway as this is a blog about Alameda, I’m sure our newest visitors, who don’t even read the other threads on this blog, won’t mind if we redirect our attention back to Alameda issues.   A few posts ago, I highlighted the first person to throw his name out as a potential candidate for one of the two City Council seats up for grab in Novemeber.    While a lot of folks decided to visit his website, no one wanted to comment on the viability of young Justin Harrison’s campaign.   A quick return trip to his website turns up another meet and greet event with Justin H. during the Fourth of July parade, did anyone get a chance to chat him up during the parade?

Bustling Brooke

In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought it best that my last post before the start of the weekend festivities was one that was on a positive note.   I loved the article about Brooke Briggance of the Alameda Education Foundation that ran in the most recent Alameda Magazine.  (Next week, we’ll talk about the Measure A article, but not before a three day weekend!)

Highlights:

…Briggance organized several AEF summits, assembling school district officials and board members, teachers, staff, PTA members, city council members and parents. “I told them, ‘I want to know everything you can think of to raise revenue,’ ” she says.

They came up with a 20-item list of ideas, including funding reform for schools, possible legal action and requiring the state to fully fund state-mandated programs such as special education. But community education and awareness of the school district’s budget crisis emerged as the top priority, so she began making the rounds of community organizations and groups.

Sweet Loretta Martin

Since apparently very few people were in the mood to actually read about what type of presentation is offered at the Elementary School level about gender identity, I have highlighted portions of a paper written by Susan Lee who is (was?) a teacher at Park Day School in Oakland.   Park Day School is a private school that prides itself on being inclusive and progressive and extremely tolerant.  

While I can understand the concerns of some parents that their children as young as 5 - 7 may not necessarily be ready to be exposed to issues of gender identity or what a transgendered individual is.  I don’t think these courses are meant to be a primer on the mechanics of how that would work.   I don’t think there would be any dicussion of boy bits and girls bits and hormone treatments and the like, but rather helping kids to understand, at their level, what being gendered as a boy or a girl means.  That it’s okay for boys to like pink and Barbie or it’s okay for a girl to like dump trucks and be dirty.  

Altogether now

Michele Ellson has posted two updates about the School District’s new plan to provide:

…lessons addressing sexual orientation and gender identity that could be taught in all of the district’s elementary school classrooms this coming school year. The district’s plan would also provide teachers and staff with a uniform set of policies addressing name-calling, harassment and other anti-gay behavior…

While this new program has yet to be approved, there will still be community meetings in the fall to dicsuss this issue, two Elementary schools have already hosted presentations on some of these issues, which apparently upset some parents who complained about not enough notice to parents and questioned if this sort of presentation was age appropriate.  

For your consideration

Although I have not heard any rumblings about the City Council race in November, I have heard some names being tossed around about possible School Board candidates.   In light of the tight race for Measure H, it is more important than ever to consider the upcoming School Board race.   Keep in mind not one, not two, but three seats will be up constituting a majority on the School Board.  Countless letters to the editor in both the Alameda Sun and Journal have asked the question, what is next for the school district now that Measure H has passed, pending certification from the Registrar of Voters.

The next step I see is the election of responsible and informed members of the Alameda community to sit on the School Board.   Sometimes, we get lucky and have great candidates for what is often considered a thankless job.   But what I want to know is, if we were able to have our choice of any candidate what sort of person or who would it be?   What type of experience would we want our School Board member to have?  Would we want him/her to be a financial wizard?   Or would we want someone with policy experience?   Would we want someone to have contacts at the State level to help us with efforts to equalize funding for Alameda?

The bus short

The Alameda Journal reports about a proposed bus regulation that will help the iconic “yellow bus” companies compete in ferrying kids from home to school.   Apparently the Federal Transit Administration seems to think that privatizing transportation like this is the most efficient way to get kids to school, even in areas where, one would think, if it had been profitable, a yellow bus company would have already stepped up to the plate to schlepp these kids to and fro.   Highlights:

“The FTA seems unaware of the fact that most of the private companies are not interested in providing service in difficult urban areas,” wrote Chris Peeples, president of its governing board, in an e-mail encouraging East Bay officials and residents to oppose the regulation change.

 

“It also seems to be unaware,” he added, “that urban school districts around the country, but particularly in California, do not have the millions of dollars it would take for them to operate their own bus service.”