Liv Ames for EdSource

Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature have agreed to allocate a half billion dollars for a range of programs to enhance “teacher effectiveness” in California, the largest amount to be dedicated for that purpose in years.

The funds, which will be set aside as a block grant, will flow to each of California’s nearly 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 time over the next three years.

Ratified by the Legislature on Friday, the funds represent a massive increase over the $10 million that Brown had included in his proposed 2015-16 budget in January to address the quality of teacher preparation programs. The fact that lawmakers were able to agree less than six months later to send 50 times that amount directly to school districts underscored the high priority the state is placing on teacher 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 State Standards, the new set of academic standards in math and English language arts, as well as the Next Generation Science Standards.

“It is a very big deal,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor of education who also is chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “It is really a first step towards rebuilding the professional development infrastructure in the state that evaporated during the years of budget cuts.”

The notion of a block grant “dedicated to professional learning…to meet local needs” was first floated in the influential “Greatness by Design” report issued in September 2012 by the Task Force on Educator Excellence established by State Superintendent of Instruction Tom Torlakson. The task force was co-chaired by Darling-Hammond and Long Beach Unified Superintendent Chris Steinhauser.

The new funds also reinforce the emphasis Brown and the Legislature have 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 Behind law over the last 15 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 Board of Education and a close ally of Brown since his first term as governor in the 1970s. Kirst said new funds were especially needed because of the “monumental shifts in classroom instruction” demanded by the new standards.

“The big challenge in California’s implementation of the Common Core is to provide teachers with professional development and support they need to implement the new standards,” said David Plank, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education, 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 support new teachers – most notably the Beginning Teachers Assessment and Support program (BTSA) – as well as to help teachers in need of improvement (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 state 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 outcome was that professional development and support programs for teachers were among the first to be cut back by districts exercising their newly acquired flexibility.

The funds earmarked for teacher effectiveness in the coming year are intended to help districts upgrade the professional development they offer to teachers not only in math, English language arts and science, but also in other subject areas in which the state adopts academic standards. They are also intended to help new teachers get the most out of the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program, as well as the Peer Assistance and Review program. The funds must also be spent on training teachers to be mentors or coaches to other teachers.

Some $10 million also will go to California’s K-12 High Speed Network to more effectively provide professional development 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 state is very committed to being sure that people who are qualified have access to the profession, that if you choose the profession, we will help you with various teacher induction programs, that we will create a career ladder, and for those teachers who are struggling we will either help you or suggest you move on” said Senator Carol Liu, D-Glendale, chairperson of the Senate Education Committee.

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

Pia Wong, chair of the Teaching Credentials Department at Sacramento State University, expressed concerns that all the funds will go to districts, excluding teacher education programs charged with preparing a new generation of teachers. She also hoped that districts would use the state’s K-12 High Speed Network effectively “so that promising local practices can be shared statewide so no one is reinventing the wheel.”

The agreement to allocate $500 million was the result of successful negotiations between the governor’s office and the Legislative leadership – Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Senate President Pro-Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles – along with the respective chairs of the education 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 annual funding of $190 million for teacher support and improvement programs, while those in the state Senate were promoting a one-time $800 million block grant along the lines of the $500 million block grant that was eventually agreed on.

The funds were carved out of the $3.5 billion in discretionary dollars generated by the state’s surging economy. These funds were supposed to pay back districts for a range of unfunded mandates it had imposed on districts in recent years.

As for how negotiations went with the governor’s office, “it was not a big fight,” said Rick Simpson, Atkins’ deputy chief of staff. “We all thought it was an important investment.”

 

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  1. Judy Barcelon 8 years ago8 years ago

    Help me find these funds in my district ! Please 🙂

  2. Heather Malley 8 years ago8 years ago

    I’m encouraged to see this kind of training budget. Teacher Effectiveness Training (Gordon Training) is also a specific non-punitive and relational model that doesn’t rely on rewards and punishments but instead is a wonderful method (very well researched and effective) that allows children to feel respected and honored and fosters cooperation. I hope this method enters the discussion as it is long overdue in our schools.

  3. Don 9 years ago9 years ago

    A half billion dollars is just enough money to pay to hire a "vice-principal for instruction" for every one of the 6,000 schools in the state at an average cost of $85K for one year- with larger schools getting two or more and small schools sharing one. That person, a master teacher, could then focus her efforts exclusively on professional development of the staff under her charge with ongoing daily or weekly classroom visits and … Read More

    A half billion dollars is just enough money to pay to hire a “vice-principal for instruction” for every one of the 6,000 schools in the state at an average cost of $85K for one year- with larger schools getting two or more and small schools sharing one. That person, a master teacher, could then focus her efforts exclusively on professional development of the staff under her charge with ongoing daily or weekly classroom visits and support and assistance, especially for teachers most in need.

  4. Paul Muench 9 years ago9 years ago

    I like the general idea of Khan Academy, but the instruction that takes place in the videos tends to the mechanical and factual vs. the conceptual. Here's a fun video that gets to that point: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hC0MV843_Ng. Some web searching results in finding out that Forbes reports the Khan Academy funding at $16.5 Million as of 2012 and an operating budget of $7 Million. Let's grow that to $30 Million and $15 … Read More

    I like the general idea of Khan Academy, but the instruction that takes place in the videos tends to the mechanical and factual vs. the conceptual. Here’s a fun video that gets to that point: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hC0MV843_Ng. Some web searching results in finding out that Forbes reports the Khan Academy funding at $16.5 Million as of 2012 and an operating budget of $7 Million. Let’s grow that to $30 Million and $15 Million respectively for 2015. So doing some very simplifying assumptions the state could run its own Khan Academy for 20+ years with this $500 Million. We’d have to pay more to get better instruction, but seems the state could really make something better with this $500 Million. If the impact of spending this money on teacher training is small why not try something different that can increase teaching effectiveness for students?

  5. Jamie Rosenberg 9 years ago9 years ago

    How is this all being tracked? How are teachers being afforded the means to select and pay for the PD

  6. Deborah Shanks 9 years ago9 years ago

    If the Governor 'really cares' about teacher effectiveness then he would not have CUT (yet again) the money to pay part-time community college faculty to do office hours to help students outside of class, and to pay them living wages (thereby keeping some of their better faculty). It is outrageous that this Governor who touts himself as an Education Governor continues to allow the state and local districts to exploit over 50% of … Read More

    If the Governor ‘really cares’ about teacher effectiveness then he would not have CUT (yet again) the money to pay part-time community college faculty to do office hours to help students outside of class, and to pay them living wages (thereby keeping some of their better faculty). It is outrageous that this Governor who touts himself as an Education Governor continues to allow the state and local districts to exploit over 50% of the faculty in the CCC system and hurt 50% of all students who attend CA community colleges by requiring them to pay the same fees for less service and help to succeed. Effectiveness starts with faculty who are paid (and required) to be available to help students learn and succeed. His block grant is disingenuous and a fraud on community college students and the public.

  7. Bill Younglove 9 years ago9 years ago

    For those of us who built our own "career ladder," via our pocketbooks, advanced degrees, and professional development, this is good news. I would hope that the local districts who are awarded those block grants really strengthen BTSA and PAR. In addition, every district possible should work hand-in-hand with area teacher preparation institutions to strengthen "the pipeline." Finally, let's collectively put the nail in the coffin of the message, which all too many charter/other school … Read More

    For those of us who built our own “career ladder,” via our pocketbooks, advanced degrees, and professional development, this is good news. I would hope that the local districts who are awarded those block grants really strengthen BTSA and PAR. In addition, every district possible should work hand-in-hand with area teacher preparation institutions to strengthen “the pipeline.” Finally, let’s collectively put the nail in the coffin of the message, which all too many charter/other school personnel have fostered, that teaching experience itself is not a growth ladder toward instructional excellence.

    Replies

    • TheMorrigan 9 years ago9 years ago

      Bill,

      Have you seen PAR work well in any district in CA? About 5 or 6 years ago, I read that Poway and San Juan have good models, but I haven’t heard how one is different than the other or why they are better than Antioch or Fullerton, for instance. If someone could develop a strong PAR with consulting + evaluating teachers, this money might have some usefulness after all.

      • Gary Ravani 9 years ago9 years ago

        Morrigan: You can add the SF district to those who continue to have a high functioning PAR program. In my experience, 25 years working with union officers from up and down the state as well as being present for the "big bang" of PAR in CA, PAR worked well in all districts where there was buy-in and commitment to the process from both sides of the bargaining table. In my personal experience the issues needing to be … Read More

        Morrigan:

        You can add the SF district to those who continue to have a high functioning PAR program. In my experience, 25 years working with union officers from up and down the state as well as being present for the “big bang” of PAR in CA, PAR worked well in all districts where there was buy-in and commitment to the process from both sides of the bargaining table.

        In my personal experience the issues needing to be addressed by the subject teacher and the PAR coach(es) were highly successful in the vast majority of cases.

        PAR provided assistance for teachers needing to upgrade their skills and also allowed for the humane “counseling out” of the profession of those who needed to move on from the classroom. As was testified to during the Vergara trial by an attorney testifying for the plaintiffs that was/is the most efficient and humane way to handle removing teachers from the classroom. This requires a non-dictatorial management style found in many, but not all, districts.

        • FloydThursby1941 9 years ago9 years ago

          Gary, what if teachers refuse to resign? In 1st Grade, my son had a teacher who was in her late '50s to early '60s. We knew people at her previous school and she had been driven out. She showed up under 60 days, was claiming sickness for multiple reasons and was not effective. All 22 sets of parents came to some meetings trying to replace her. She got the job … Read More

          Gary, what if teachers refuse to resign? In 1st Grade, my son had a teacher who was in her late ’50s to early ’60s. We knew people at her previous school and she had been driven out. She showed up under 60 days, was claiming sickness for multiple reasons and was not effective. All 22 sets of parents came to some meetings trying to replace her. She got the job on seniority, not the Principal’s choice, and a good teacher who was young was pushed to another school to make room for her, and he returned 2 years later. We were told there was a rule against us talking about it, and there was nothing they could do. We were also told that we couldn’t ask about her previous role as that was confidential. She held on to the end, only finally replaced in the final 6 weeks by a permanent sub. Her hanging on hurt, some took their kids out of the school, I believe in public schools and wouldn’t do that, being white, I don’t want to add to segregation, but I had to pay a tutor to make sure he didn’t fall behind. SF is intense, you can’t afford to lose any edge. We spent several thousand to make up for this. It was awful.

          In this case being humane to her was being inhumane to 22 children.

          I think in practice, very few teachers agree to be forced out. If they all did, it might be different, but what do you mean by humane?

  8. Greg Schiller 9 years ago9 years ago

    Wow. Yet another epic fail on the part of our elected body. I understand they want to do the best by the students from preschool to high school and beyond. However giving the money to the local districts is the same as throwing good money after bad. Speaking about my district, LAUSD, this is the district that cannot explain what happened to the millions of dollars it had for Common Core Training. This is the … Read More

    Wow. Yet another epic fail on the part of our elected body. I understand they want to do the best by the students from preschool to high school and beyond. However giving the money to the local districts is the same as throwing good money after bad. Speaking about my district, LAUSD, this is the district that cannot explain what happened to the millions of dollars it had for Common Core Training. This is the district that told teachers they could not go to trainings for Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards on their own. This is the district that provided sub-standard trainings on CC and NGSS on their own. And this is the district where teachers have to spend their own money repeatedly to get CC and NGSS training in areas they are expected to teach by 2016 (and the instructor will have to call in sick if the privately paid for professional development is on a weekday). So, no, I do not think this is a good idea. Take all the money and build a professional development community within all of California for all of CA educators.
    Signed,
    a 20 year veteran instructor

  9. zane de arakal 9 years ago9 years ago

    Tremendous!

  10. Dawn Urbanek 9 years ago9 years ago

    One time funds for teachers when you deprive students of a basic education long term is criminal- really at what point will the State of California really care about how well educated our mass population is rather than just shovel funds to the teachers union.

    Replies

    • TheMorrigan 9 years ago9 years ago

      Dawn: You understand that the money probably won't even go to the teachers in the first place, right? It will go to something totally lame like TPEs outside of teacher prep schools, or something like BSTA mentoring for older teachers, or new evaluation formats or training for administrators, or if the powers that be are gambling, it will go to whatever the district or county or state believes is the next best thing for teacher … Read More

      Dawn:

      You understand that the money probably won’t even go to the teachers in the first place, right? It will go to something totally lame like TPEs outside of teacher prep schools, or something like BSTA mentoring for older teachers, or new evaluation formats or training for administrators, or if the powers that be are gambling, it will go to whatever the district or county or state believes is the next best thing for teacher professional development and we will see mass professional development in the latest fad. This money is not a win for teachers, Dawn. Teachers and unions do not get a choice or a voice in what the money is even spent on. Read the article and the links.

      I am not a fanboy of teachers unions, but this has nothing to do with them.

  11. navigio 9 years ago9 years ago

    “I hope it sends a message to teacher organizations that the state is very committed to being sure that people who are qualified have access to the profession, that if you choose the profession, we will help you with various teacher induction programs, that we will create a career ladder, and for those teachers who are struggling we will either help you or suggest you move on” said Senator Carol Liu, D-Glendale, chairperson of the … Read More

    “I hope it sends a message to teacher organizations that the state is very committed to being sure that people who are qualified have access to the profession, that if you choose the profession, we will help you with various teacher induction programs, that we will create a career ladder, and for those teachers who are struggling we will either help you or suggest you move on” said Senator Carol Liu, D-Glendale, chairperson of the Senate Education Committee.

    That reads more like a threat than a statement of support.

    Replies

    • Don 9 years ago9 years ago

      “….we will either help you or suggest you move on”. What’s wrong with that, Navigio?

  12. Paul 9 years ago9 years ago

    A little Fermi problem math reveals an investment of $555 per teacher per year. $500,000,000 in one-time funds / 300,000 active certificated employees statewide / 3 years = $555.55... per certificated employee per year. As Andrew and others pointed out in comments to the article about the 75% ten-year decline in credential program enrollment, recruiting, preparing and retaining a new generation of teachers would require improving the work experience, rather than making empty marketing claims. Even if the … Read More

    A little Fermi problem math reveals an investment of $555 per teacher per year.

    $500,000,000 in one-time funds / 300,000 active certificated employees statewide / 3 years = $555.55… per certificated employee per year.

    As Andrew and others pointed out in comments to the article about the 75% ten-year decline in credential program enrollment, recruiting, preparing and retaining a new generation of teachers would require improving the work experience, rather than making empty marketing claims.

    Even if the full $555 made it into the hands of each teacher, it wouldn’t cover tuition for a 4-unit UC Extension course (as a benchmark of quality). Such a course cost $628 + materials, three years ago.

    In practice, after skimming 15% overhead, districts will allocate most of the money to weeklong administrator retreats with hotels and food. A few compliant teachers at each school site will be rewarded with invitations to one-day motivational seminars held in district or county offices, with continental breakfasts and two-inch binders provided. (Substitutes already eat up $125 per teacher per day.)

    That’s all you can expect for half a billion dollars, folks!

    Replies

    • Paul Muench 9 years ago9 years ago

      I think the money is allocated at once so it could all be used in a single year. Does that allow for something more meaningful?

      • Paul 9 years ago9 years ago

        All evidence points to the failure of one-time, "drive-by" professional development, so using the money in a single year might be even worse. Someone has posted about past statewide funding and calendaring (non-student days) for annual professional development, but that ended long before my time and I haven't found references for the amount of funding or the number of days. I think substantive, ongoing, individualized professional development is useful. Substantive means provided by a university, for academic … Read More

        All evidence points to the failure of one-time, “drive-by” professional development, so using the money in a single year might be even worse.

        Someone has posted about past statewide funding and calendaring (non-student days) for annual professional development, but that ended long before my time and I haven’t found references for the amount of funding or the number of days.

        I think substantive, ongoing, individualized professional development is useful. Substantive means provided by a university, for academic credit. Individualized means that teachers should be allowed to choose courses that matter to them. Ongoing means one-time funds won’t cut it. A key concern is that teachers — and especially those with few years of experience and few credits — do not earn enough to be able to pay for professional development.

    • Tom 9 years ago9 years ago

      Correct Paul, and I would bet (because of union rules) that all teachers will have to get the same “opportunity for professional development training” regardless of their teaching abilities. Forgive me for being cynical, but that’s the way the system works and leads to a waste of taxpayer money.

    • Andrew 9 years ago9 years ago

      Unless we ramp up promotion and spending re new teacher effectiveness like this, the newer teachers that we lay off in the next cyclical California recession won't be effective former teachers. And if we don't get enough teachers into the teacher training pipeline, there won't be enough newer teachers to lay off next time, which I assume will be some sort of crisis. Seeing the establishment perspectives and responses in all this, including … Read More

      Unless we ramp up promotion and spending re new teacher effectiveness like this, the newer teachers that we lay off in the next cyclical California recession won’t be effective former teachers. And if we don’t get enough teachers into the teacher training pipeline, there won’t be enough newer teachers to lay off next time, which I assume will be some sort of crisis.

      Seeing the establishment perspectives and responses in all this, including that of the CTC, it is hard not to think of the NYT best seller on the early days of HIV by Randy Shilts, “And the Band Played On.”

      The root problem, to put it bluntly, is that California abuses its teachers, and especially its newer teachers, and especially high school teachers. Laying masses of new teachers off from time to time and for extended periods of time is part of the abuse. Giving teachers the worst student loads in the nation is more of the abuse. Shorting the teachers on support and administrative staff is abuse. Failing to pay newer teachers enough to live on in high cost areas is abuse. Making their credentialing ever more complex, expensive and fragile is abuse. Foisting periodic educational fads on teachers is abuse. Even foisting too much “development” and “support” on them in a one-size-fits-all mode is abuse. As Don aptly pointed out some time ago, it may well be that those who decline go enter the profession in California are simply exhibiting good critical thinking skills.

      Snowflakes individually are beautiful and exquisite. Avalanches kill. Teaching careers are effectively being killed by avalanches consisting of crushing conglomerations of what might individually be well intentioned and even admirable interventions and requirements.

  13. Ruth 9 years ago9 years ago

    If you want teachers to be more effective, reduce class size, give us better facilities, and increase salaries to attract the best applicants. I stopped teaching kindergarten because a 30 to one is not even safe, let alone effective. I teach older students now, but I still can't give my students the individual attention they really need. Who will benefit the most from the increase in spending on "teacher effectiveness"? "Pearson, the world’s … Read More

    If you want teachers to be more effective, reduce class size, give us better facilities, and increase salaries to attract the best applicants. I stopped teaching kindergarten because a 30 to one is not even safe, let alone effective. I teach older students now, but I still can’t give my students the individual attention they really need.
    Who will benefit the most from the increase in spending on “teacher effectiveness”? “Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, is distinctly qualified to help you build your learning culture by offering comprehensive, customized professional development and training.”, ( Pearson website).

  14. Don 9 years ago9 years ago

    Chalk up another half billion California taxpayer dollars to implement the Common Core. While clueless California Democrats walk blithely down the yellow brick road paved by Gates, other states are revolting against this national takeover of education dressed up as state standards. The amazing thing is how people like Ravani support the standards when it takes teaching to the test and high stakes testing to whole other level of federal intrusion into the … Read More

    Chalk up another half billion California taxpayer dollars to implement the Common Core. While clueless California Democrats walk blithely down the yellow brick road paved by Gates, other states are revolting against this national takeover of education dressed up as state standards. The amazing thing is how people like Ravani support the standards when it takes teaching to the test and high stakes testing to whole other level of federal intrusion into the classroom and deprives teachers of their autonomy.

    Here’s what the Washington state Democrat Party central committee voted on regarding CCSS -(and remember that means if you don’t support this resolution you won’t get their endorsement or money):

    Resolution Opposing Common Core State Standards
    WHEREAS the copyrighted (and therefore unchangeable) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a set of controversial top-down K-12 academic standards that were promulgated by wealthy private interests without research-based evidence of validity and are developmentally inappropriate in the lowest grades; and

    WHEREAS, as a means of avoiding the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment prohibition against federal meddling in state education policy, two unaccountable private trade associations–the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)–have received millions of dollars in funding from the Gates Foundation and others to create the CCSS; and

    WHEREAS the U.S. Department of Education improperly pressured state legislatures into adopting the Common Core State Standards and high-stakes standardized testing based on them as a condition of competing for federal Race to the Top (RTTT) stimulus funds that should have been based on need; and

    WHEREAS as a result of Washington State Senate Bill 6669, which passed the State legislature on March 11, 2010, the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI) adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS) on July 20, 2011; and

    WHEREAS this adoption effectively transfers control over public school standardized testing from locally elected school boards to the unaccountable corporate interests that control the CCSS and who stand to profit substantially; and

    WHEREAS the Washington State Constitution also calls for public education to be controlled by the State of Washington through our elected State legislature, our elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction and our elected local school boards; and

    WHEREAS implementation of CCSS will cost local school districts hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for standardized computer-based tests, new technology, new curricula and teacher training at a time when Washington is already insufficiently funding K-12 Basic Education without proven benefit to students; and WHEREAS some states have already withdrawn from CCSS;

    THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we call upon the Washington State legislature and the Superintendent of Public Instruction to withdraw from the CCSS and keep K-12 education student-centered and accountable to the people of Washington State.

  15. TheMorrigan 9 years ago9 years ago

    I get the feeling that all this will do is increase the hurdles that teachers need to jump through.

  16. SDSUStudent 9 years ago9 years ago

    This is fantastic news! Improving teaching quality is an education policy that can reach the most students in deep and meaningful ways. With that said, however legislators and CDE Officials must make a commitment to grading these programs in order to make them accountable for students.

    Replies

    • FloydThursby1941 9 years ago9 years ago

      Here's a way to improve teacher effectiveness and SAVE money. If you are not doing a good job and the principal can find someone better for less money because you're high on the seniority pay scale, you get a warning, if it continues, you're fired and replaced. If you earn more, you have to be very good and worth more. If you're a lemon, do something else. Believe me, despite sob stories by … Read More

      Here’s a way to improve teacher effectiveness and SAVE money. If you are not doing a good job and the principal can find someone better for less money because you’re high on the seniority pay scale, you get a warning, if it continues, you’re fired and replaced. If you earn more, you have to be very good and worth more. If you’re a lemon, do something else.

      Believe me, despite sob stories by Gary, very few teachers will actually be fired with this policy, but all will think twice before calling in sick or disrespecting boss’s request for improvement, and all will work harder and be worried about being fired potentially.