California Education Reform
Online Resources
Community College Cooperative (CCC)
The CCC delivers technical assistance in on-going and systematic ways,
bringing faculty, administrators and counselors together to examine successful
teaching practices and new developments. The Cooperative taps what is
known about excellence in instruction from several sources: key evaluation
findings, case studies of promising practices, and most importantly the
classroom practices of effective instructors.
http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/CW10.2/CW102-INNOVAT.html
KIPP Heartwood Academy
KIPP Heartwood, a tuition-free, open enrollment public middle school, was
established in 2004. The school outperformed both the state and the district
on the CST by a dramatic degree.
http://www.kippheartwood.org/
Linguistic Minority Research Institute UC Davis
The University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UC
LMRI) was established in 1984 in response to the California Legislature's
request that the University of California's Office of the President pursue "...knowledge
applicable to educational policy and practice in the area of language
minority students' academic achievement and knowledge," including
their access to the University of California and other institutions of
higher education. The UC LMRI was first established as a research project
and became a Multi-campus Research Unit (MRU) in 1992. http://lmri.ucsb.edu/
Public Policy Institute of California
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is a private, nonprofit
organization dedicated to improving public policy in California through
independent, objective, nonpartisan research. The institute was established
in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett. Research focuses on
three program areas: population, economy, and governance and public finance. http://www.ppic.org/main/home.asp
PPIC Statewide Survey
A large-scale public opinion project designed
to develop an in-depth profile of social, economic, and political forces
at work in California elections and in shaping the state’s public
policies. http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=746
Inner City Struggle
Inner City Struggle promotes safe, healthy and non-violent communities
by organizing youth and families in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles
to work toward economic and social justice. http://innercitystruggle.org/
EdVoice
EdVoice was established by our state's leading educational philanthropists
who understand that the future of California will be shaped by the quality
of education our public schools deliver. http://www.edvoice.org/
Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools (BayCES)
BayCES supports community, school and central office leadership to create
and sustain networks of small, equitable schools in order to increase
achievement for historically underserved students. BayCES serves K-12
schools in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and San Francisco, working simultaneously
on reform strategies at the school, community and central office levels.
http://www.bayces.org/
Californians for Justice
Californians for Justice is a statewide grassroots organization working
to empower communities that have been pushed to the margins of the political
process. They bring people of color, young people, and poor people together
by leading large-scale community education efforts, training a new generation
of grassroots civil rights leaders, and mobilizing public support for
major public policy change in California.
http://www.caljustice.org
UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education & Access
(IDEA)
IDEA is a network of UCLA scholars and students, professionals in schools
and public agencies, advocates, community activists, and urban youth.
IDEA's mission is to make high quality public schooling and successful
college participation routine occurrence in low income neighborhoods
of color. http://repositories.cdlib.org/idea/
UC's All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity (UC ACCORD)
UC ACCORD is an interdisciplinary, multi-campus research center devoted
to a more equitable distribution of educational resources and opportunities
in California’s diverse public schools and universities. This distinctive
UC voice serves as an information and research clearinghouse and catalyst
for promoting the delivery of high-quality, equitable schooling to all
students. http://ucaccord.gseis.ucla.edu/
Teacher Qualification Index
The TQI is a standardized rating system that reflects the credential status
and experience level of teachers at every K-12 public school in California.
If there are high concentrations of beginning teachers at a given school,
their TQI rating will be lower. To learn more about the TQI or to read
their published results, visit http://www.edfordemocracy.org/tqi/
Oakland Small Schools Foundation
The Oakland Small Schools Foundation was created “to promote excellence
and sustainability in Oakland’s new small public schools.” OSSF
was funded as a 501c3 non-profit to address academic needs in their community. “In
a district where only 1/3 of high school freshmen reach graduation, the
need for academic, social, and arts intervention is dramatic. The majority
of our students are English-language learners and most of our children
have the potential to become the first children in their families to graduate
from college. Public funds and the regular classroom schedule are simply
not sufficient...”
http://www.smallschoolsfoundation.org
East Palo Alto Academy High School
East Palo Alto Academy is a small, neighborhood public high school that
is preparing its diverse student body for college and the 21st century
workplace. As a charter public school, we are open to all students, have
no admission requirements and do not charge tuition. http://hs.eastpaloaltoacademy.org/
How are teacher shortages hurting education in California?
The
Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning recently released HYPERLINK
http://www.cftl.org/featuredproduct.php this report.
What can be done
to keep great teachers in the profession? Ken Futernick has
done some research
on the subject. http://www.edfordemocracy.org/tpoint/TP%20Master.pdf
Read more about the efforts made by Chaz Garcia and other
teachers Stonehurst Elementary in Oakland to save
their school. http://azbilingualed.org/News%202005/charters_likely_for_8_schools__.htm
Fannie Brown advocates for better public schools through ACORN,
the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. It
is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income
families, working together for social justice and stronger communities.
Check out the work they are doing to improve
education in this country and find out how
to join. http://www.acorn.org/
PICO is another national
network of community organizations working to create innovative solutions
to problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities. Read about initiatives
parents have taken to reform
their kid’s schools. http://www.piconetwork.org/education/Parents-8-4-06c.pdf http://www.piconetwork.org/institute.html
http://www.piconetwork.org/
Education Trust-West
The organization works for the high academic achievement of all students
at all levels, with an emphasis on serving Latino, African American, Native
American and low-income students. Working side-by-side with superintendents,
principals, students, teachers, parents, business and community leaders — in
cities and towns throughout California — who are trying to transform
their schools and colleges into institutions that genuinely serve all students.
We especially work to ensure that all students have the opportunity to
enroll in and successfully complete California’s college readiness
curriculum. http://www2.edtrust.org/edtrust
Community Coalition
Communtity Coalition is a grassroots community-based organization working
to build a powerful voice in South Los Angeles to create, influence and
change public policy.
http://ccsapt.charityfinders.org/
College Opportunity Ratio (COR)
The College Opporitunity Ratio is an indicator that reports the effectiveness
of California high schools in producing college-eligible graduates. http://ucaccord.gseis.ucla.edu/indicators/cor2.html
At http://www.standup.org/know.html Stand
Up, you can learn more about how to improve schools in America and to ensure
that all students are prepared for a strong future. http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/