John Fensterwald
John Fensterwald, staff writer, joined EdSource in 2012. Before that, he was editor and co-writer for The Educated Guess website, a leading source of California education policy reporting and opinion, which he founded in 2009. For 11 years before then, John wrote editorials for the Mercury News in San Jose, with a focus on education. He worked as a reporter, news editor and opinion editor for three newspapers in New Hampshire before receiving a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 1997. His wife is a retired elementary school teacher, and his daughter is a neurology resident at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine.
All articles by John Fensterwald
Tuck, Torlakson debate union power, lawsuit
Marshall Tuck and Tom Torlakson, the two candidates for state superintendent of public instruction, disagreed on the condition of education in California, the influence of teachers unions and who is best qualified for the job during a recent debate.
John Fensterwald
September 30, 2014
Volunteers can help frame Common Core tests
Teachers and others from California have until Friday to sign up for a crowd-sourcing exercise that will help determine how questions will be scored on the new Common Core tests students will take next spring. The deadline was extended to encourage greater participation.
John Fensterwald
September 24, 2014
Lawsuit challenges teachers’ compulsory dues
A lawsuit working its way through the courts is striking at the core of the California Teachers Association’s power: its authority to automatically deduct hundreds of millions of dollars a year in dues from the paychecks of both members and non-members.
John Fensterwald
September 16, 2014
State awards Common Core test contract
Updated with correction: With the State Board of Education’s approval, California became the eighth state Wednesday to award a contract to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium for the standardized tests in the Common Core State Standards that students will take next spring.
John Fensterwald
September 5, 2014
One (maybe final) step closer to new LCAP rules
The staff of the State Board of Education will decide in the next several weeks whether to tinker further with regulations governing the Local Control and Accountability Plans – the accountability and budget plans that school districts completed for the first time in June.
John Fensterwald
September 5, 2014
Single word at heart of regulatory debate
The State Board of Education next week will consider and possibly settle a debate over one word in the proposed final regulations for the Local Control Funding Formula. The decision would end a year-long disagreement over spending flexibility.
John Fensterwald
August 28, 2014
Chronic absenteeism bill faces veto threat
Legislation that would make it easier for the state and school districts to track chronic absenteeism, an early indicator of students at risk of dropping out, will soon reach Gov. Jerry Brown, where it faces an uncertain fate.
John Fensterwald
August 28, 2014
Counties approve high number of LCAPs
An EdSource survey of a sampling of county offices of education found that they approved nearly all school districts’ inaugural Local Control and Accountability Plans, laying out spending and academic priorities under the state’s new funding formula, by the Aug. 15 initial deadline for the review.
John Fensterwald
August 26, 2014
NEA's new president denounces testing
In the midst of her first swing through California, the president-elect of the National Education Association praised the Common Core State Standards and California’s measured approach in implementing them but warned about the use of standardized tests.
John Fensterwald
August 20, 2014
School bond moves on to uncertain fate
Update: After a week in legislative limbo, a bill that would have placed a $4.3 billion school construction bond on the November ballot is now officially dead. With a veto by Gov. Jerry Brown likely, Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, pulled AB 2235.
John Fensterwald
August 14, 2014
Districts split on high school math choices
In moving to the Common Core State Standards this year, California school districts had to choose between offering a blended or "integrated" approach to math or a traditional sequence of courses, setting off strong, sometimes passionate disagreements among parents and teachers.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
New twist to old debate on accelerated math
With the implementation of Common Core, some districts are changing how and when they place students in accelerated math classes prior to high school. An accelerated path ensures students are able to take Calculus by their senior year, although studies indicate that some students were being placed in classes too soon.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
Judge: State must help all English learners
A judge has ruled that the state is ultimately responsible for seeing that school districts provide services to all English language learners not receiving the help they need to become proficient in English. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ruled Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
Task force urges remake of civics education
In a report released this week, a state task force called for a revival of civics education, transforming it from “an afterthought” – an undervalued social studies class – to a core element of community engagement and learning in all grades. The California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning issued its final report this week.
John Fensterwald
August 7, 2014
Backers push to put school bond on ballot
Despite widespread bipartisan support from state legislators and school districts, Gov. Jerry Brown is remaining mum on whether he supports a bill that would put a multi-billion-dollar school construction bond on the ballot in November. Backers of the bill hope to strike a deal with Brown within the next two weeks.