Sacramento Bee

A state plan that will help struggling schools

By David Long - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secretary of education
March 13, 2008

Californians have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our education system. According to U.S. News & World report, we are home to 23 of the top 100 high schools in the country, and we continue to see signs of overall improvement in California public schools in terms of test scores and the number of students taking more challenging courses that prepare them for college or the workplace.

Unfortunately, many of our school districts with high poverty and high English-language-learner populations struggle to provide the quality education necessary for future achievement. It is the needs of these districts that led Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and I to announce a policy of immediate intervention and assistance for those struggling districts.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act says that 97 of California's approximately 1,050 school districts need state intervention because they have not met NCLB requirements related to student proficiency in English and math, graduation rates and test participation over the past five years. While addressing the state's legal obligation to meet federal law is part of the reason for our efforts, we also have a moral obligation as leaders in this state to take action now on behalf of the children in these schools.

Each of these districts, and the severity of the problems, is different. A one-size-fits-all approach would be ineffective and counterproductive, as would a plan that prescribes Sacramento-based solutions for every district. Our plan, being considered today by the State Board of Education, essentially provides three levels of assistance and intervention that all share the common belief that the remedies for each district should be designed by those familiar with the specific issues of the district and tailored to fit their needs.

First, 52 of the 97 districts are having problems in clearly identifiable, specific areas that need targeted intervention. These districts have a history of overall achievement but are having trouble with specific student populations such as students with disabilities or English language learners, or fall short of the federal requirement that 95 percent of their students take standardized test. Our plan requires these districts to work with a third party that can help them look at their current plans and make recommendations for improvement.

Second, there are 38 districts that have long-term, chronic difficulty in meeting language arts or math proficiency targets, and high schools that are not meeting graduation rate requirements. Our plan requires these districts to enlist the help of state-approved education experts who will work with the district to identify the sources of their problems. These districts also will be required to implement the solutions recommended by the experts they hire.

Finally, there are seven districts that are chronically failing to provide a quality education to a significant number of students. We cannot allow thousands more students to pass through those schools under these conditions any longer. We must act now to make real changes that lead to improved student achievement. Still that does not mean Sacramento should impose off-the-shelf remedies. Our plan calls for the State Board of Education to assign a state-approved education assistance provider for those districts who will work with the local community, education experts and others to assess the needs of the district and submit a district recovery plan to the board. For these districts, the appointed experts may recommend, as part of the recovery plan, replacing school district personnel, appointing a receiver or trustee, permitting students to transfer to different schools, putting new curricula in place and – in the most serious cases – abolishing and restructuring the district.

We understand that some of these districts requiring more intervention will need resources to accomplish their work. California has $45 million in federal education funds available this year to invest in program-improvement districts. I look forward to working with the state Legislature to ensure that these funds are used to help these districts accomplish this important work.

There are successful schools that look a lot like many of the schools in districts struggling to provide a quality education to all their students. We are proposing a system of shared responsibility and accountability that works to break down barriers between state, county and district education establishments and brings some of those best practices where they are needed most. It is our goal to see these struggling districts become even more positive examples for others to follow.

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