In legislation passed in January to strengthen the state’s Race to the Top application, the Legislature included landmark reforms that potentially could give parents a lot more control over their children’s education.

This week, three parent advocate groups sent letters to the powers that be in Sacramento asking the right question, So what now?

If the “parent trigger” and open enrollment – the two measures contained in SBX5-4 – are to avoid protracted litigation, the process for implementing them must be well-defined. So far, there is no process, only broad concepts. The bill lacked details.

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By John Fensterwald on March 9th, 2010

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Word in the education blogosphere is that the Department of Education will announce the finalists for Race to the Top competition on Thursday, and none of the handicappers – surprise! – has listed California among them.

The finalists –likely a dozen or fewer states – will be invited to make their pitch in person in Washington on March 15, with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announcing the winners of the first round in April.

The losers – the large majority of the 40 states and District of Columbia that applied for a piece of the $4.35 billion prize – will each get an eight-to-10 page critique of their applications and an invitation to apply for the second round for whatever money is left over.

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By John Fensterwald on March 2nd, 2010

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State and federal education officials are continuing to haggle over which low-performing schools should be restructured, leading to yet another delay in releasing a much-anticipated list of schools that makes superintendents shudder.

The state Department of Education had planned to release the list of 187 schools when the state submitted its Race to the Top application in January. Then Superintendent of Public Instruction  Jack O’Connell announced it would be today and sent out a letter this week to superintendents whose schools made the list explaining the process. But the feds still disagree on which schools made it, so everything is on hold.

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By John Fensterwald on February 25th, 2010

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In directing $80 billion in stimulus dollars over two years to the nation’s elementary and secondary schools, the Obama administration made a big deal about tying the money to school reform. States were required to make four assurances in accepting the money, including, most importantly, a commitment to make progress in producing more effective teachers and seeing that they are equitably distributed in low-income schools.

But those assurances, it turns out, were vague and unenforceable. California got 90 percent of the money without having to tell the feds what steps it planned to take, and the Obama administration had no way to hold it accountable anyway.

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By John Fensterwald on February 16th, 2010

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President Obama admitted mistakes, and issued a few mea culpas in his State of the Union address this week. But he also rightfully took credit for a  fundamental change in approach to  federal education policy, and promised more of the same.

Obama’s approach to education hasn’t been bipartisan as much as it’s been entrepreneurial. With Race to the Top, Obama used a relative pittance when it comes to federal spending — $4.3 billion out of $70 billion in last year’s stimulus package for education – as bait to drive some big changes in the states.

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By John Fensterwald on January 28th, 2010

Comments on Education is where Obama can claim success

Superintendent of Public Instructions Jack O’Connell can legitimately claim some accomplishments during his seven years in office: enacting  and successfully defending the high school exit exam; broadly expanding career academies in high school with  courses approved for UC admission; drawing attention to disparities of achievement among ethnic and racial groups and creating strategies, through his P-16 Council, for narrowing them; and cheerleading a modest growth in test scores.

But even with debilitating  cuts in school funding beyond O’Connell’s control, his last year could be his best –  if the state  wins hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Race to The Top money.

Listening to his final State of Education address, you’d think that it already has. He’s clearly jazzed at the possibility, devoting  the bulk of his speech to Race to the Top – even though there’s no saying California will get a penny. It’s one of 40 states that applied to the competition this week.

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By John Fensterwald on January 22nd, 2010

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Take heart, innovators in Long Beach Unified and union reformers and charter operators in Los Angeles. If California’s Race to the Top application flames out, there will still be opportunities for you.

On the day that California, 39 other states and the District of Columbia submitted their plans for the $4.3 billion grant competition, President Obama proposed adding another round – just for school districts. Assuming that Congress goes along, districts will compete for an additional $1.3 billion Race to the top grants later this year or early in 2011. That way, innovative districts won’t be cheated by governors, like Rick Perry of Texas, who refused to compete for the money – dismissing Race to the Top as a federal intrusion – or states that submitted pedestrian applications that were denied money.

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By John Fensterwald on January 19th, 2010

Comments on If state fails, districts can chase Race to the Top

When the man overseeing the common-core standards initiative in math admits that the deadlines for completing the work are “insane,” you know we may be headed for trouble.

And if a panel discussion at a national mathematicians conference in San Francisco over the weekend is an indication, William McCallum and a group of 45 mainly mathematicians drawing up K-12 national math standards are in for withering criticism.  (Update: There are actually 51 members of the panel drawing up math standards. Go here for a list of who they are. ) (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on January 17th, 2010

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The woman overseeing Race to the Top for the Obama administration said Monday that federal Department  of Education officials have been “stunned” by the impact of the program.

Before even a dollar has been handed out, states competing to win a share of the $4.3 billion program have enacted reforms on a level not seen before, Joanne Weiss, director of Race to the Top, told a conference at Stanford on turning failing schools around.

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By John Fensterwald on January 12th, 2010

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The State Department of Education updated its list of districts participating in the state’s Race to the Top application on Monday. And it turns out, the response was much greater than officials had reported two days before.

A total of 745 school districts, county offices of education and charter schools — more than 90 percent of the 798 districts and schools that had said they’d participate — did follow through. And at least 115 union leaders ignored the advice of the leadership of the California Teachers Association and signed on with their superintendents and school board presidents. That’s impressive, considering the CTA’s opposition.

The 745 districts comprise 3.5 million students – 56 percent of the state total. They include 1.9 million low-income students – 59 percent of the state’s total.

Led by LA Unified, eight of the 10 largest districts sent in an MOU. Only San Diego and Corono-Norco unified districts didn’t. San Franciso and San Jose unifieds, which I reported as not participating, were included in the state’s update.

School board presidents signed only 552 of the MOUs, which could indicate their superintendents went ahead and signed, with the expectation that school trustees would soon follow with a formal vote.

All told, the response may have surprised – and must have pleased – state officials.

By John Fensterwald on January 11th, 2010

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