California Education Reform
For the Love of Learning: Great Teachers, Great Schools
Track 1: Patricia Gandara(Intro)
Track 2: Mark Sommer
Track 3: Chaz Garcia
Chaz Garcia is a third grade teacher at Esperanza Elementary School, part
of the Oakland Small Schools
Foundation which was created “to promote excellence and sustainability in Oakland’s
new small public schools.” In a district where only one third of
high school freshmen reach graduation, the need for academic, social and
arts intervention is dramatic. Most of the children at Esperanza have the
potential to become the first children in their families to graduate from
college.
mz_chaz@hotmail.com
Track 4: Ken Futernick
Ken Futernick has been a professor of education for more than 16 years
at CSU-Sacramento, teaching courses in learning theory and educational
foundations, policy and technology. He has testified before Senate and
Assembly education committees on teacher preparation, quality and retention.
In 2002, Dr. Futernick developed and published the TQI, the nation's first
index of teacher qualifications, and he authored a school reform plan titled "Leading
Troubled Schools to the Tipping Point."
ken_futernick@csus.edu
http://www.edfordemocracy.org/
Track 5: Fannie Brown
Janet Brown, program officer for The Center for Ecoliteracy, is a certified
organic farmer known regionally for her 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes
and 250 varieties of heirloom roses-- as well as her peppers, sunflowers,
squash and melons. She is vice president of Marin Organic, an association
of nearly 30 organic producers in Marin County, California, and is founder
and chair of the Marin Food Policy Council. The Center for Ecoliteracy,
a foundation dedicated to education for sustainable living, gives grants
to educational organizations and school communities, primarily in the janet@ecoliteracy.org
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/
Track 6: Casey D’Angelo
Casey D’Angelo is superintendent of the Wright Elementary School
District near Santa Rosa, California, which has an enrollment 1475 K-6
students. The district seeks to create an environment which: encourages
every child to work to his or her potential, builds basic skills, kindles
and nourishes curiosity, teaches problem-solving and encourages children
to love learning.
http://www.wrightesd.org/
Track 7: Seth Leslie
Seth Leslie is a Math Teacher East Palo Alto High School in Menlo Park,
California, and teaches a problem-based mathematics curriculum at grade
levels 9 through 12. He also mentors teachers from Stanford's Teacher Education
Program, and serves as a student advisor.
sleslie@eastpaloaltoacademy.org
Track 8: Mark Sommer
Track 9: Patricia Gandara(Outro)