The City of San Jose and the County of Santa Clara annually allocate hundreds of millions of dollars for public safety. We all benefit significantly from well-thought-out police, sheriff and firefighter planning. When a new plan is envisioned, experts and ordinary people are invited to contribute. When planning efforts are shortsighted, hurried, or do not include all stakeholder groups, a less- than-desirable outcome is reached. Safety is compromised.
Education is not necessarily thought of as a public safety investment. But it emphatically is.
One vitally important area, which is receiving much needed attention from the new Superintendent Chuck Weis and Deputy Superintendent Cary Dritz, is the Alternative Schools Department. This department oversees many large community schools along with schools at Juvenile Hall and the ranches for our County’s incarcerated youth. When these young people are engaged in appropriate educational programs, we are all enriched.
Calero and Ridgemont, two county Alternative Education Community School programs, must move from their current sites due to lease issues. By August both must have a new location for the 100-plus kids that are currently served. In November 2005, People Acting in Community Together (PACT) organized a summit to discuss the diminishment of quality Alternative Education Programs for dropout- prone youth in our county; 300 people showed up.
Unfortunately, since 2005, little has happened in the way of addressing the concerns raised. Finally in January through March 2009 the Santa Clara Office of Education (SCCOE) has engaged some stakeholders and SCCOE staff in discussing a new model for these alternative education programs. This is a very good start and will increase our ultimate safety as a community. Yet, it is only a start.
A quality plan is essential. Planning for an issue this important cannot be done quickly, hurriedly or half-assedly. With its history fraught with so much frustration the SCCOE must make certain all key stakeholders, experts, key District personnel, district attorneys, juvenile court judges, community-based organizations, teachers, parents and students, both past and present, are brought to the table to discuss all issues and concerns.
At our last Board meeting, Wednesday, April 1, the future vision for Alternative Schools was on the agenda. The meeting was contentious, yet it ended up in a very good place.
PACT was present again with members of the expert group from alternative education who spoke eloquently about a future plan and vision. The SCCOE administration said it would involve PACT in future planning, Board President Mann said he would ensure their participation or else.
There are 1,500 high school dropouts in our county per year, As Member Beauchman asked: What if we asked a focus group of dropouts what types of programs would bring them back to the classroom to complete their degree? What if the SCCOE offered those types of programs requested and all programs had Career Pathways as their emphasis? We would all be safer and our community would be stronger.
JOSEPH,
In your first paragraph, you refer to “ordinary people”. Did you really mean that? Yes or no….
What I meant is for all other people that have an opinion, but are not experts, and who would be willing to provide their insight.
Joseph Di Salvo
#2. Joseph, I thought you meant it that way.
Thanks for the clarification. In some circles “ordinary people” may have a different connotation that would be offensive to them. Sorry if I seemed picky.
Great idea but the disenfranchised youth may know that they don’t like school, but don’t know what they want to replace it with. What does the research show? what works? Focusing on practical education with Career Paths with high employability makes sense. Glaser’s motivational points: freedom, power, belonging, and fun; should be considered.
8^)>
Cruiser,
Good points. Educational programs designed with relevancy to the world beyond classrooms, appropriate rigor and linked with close professional relationships with the faculty will work for disconnected youth every time.
Joseph Di Salvo
The California Dropout Project just released a new study, with breakout data for major CA cities, linking the dropout rate and crime- check it out at http://www.lmri.ucsb.edu/dropouts/pubs_cityprofiles.htm.
Just for the city of San Jose, not including other districts in the county, we had over 2300 youth dropout in grades 7-12, in the ‘06-07 school year, and nearly as many violent crimes.
We need great, relevant educational programs, for sure, but we all need to pull together to change this situation, it isn’t just up to parents, or schools, we need the city and county governments and businesses to step into the mix as well.
“There are 1,500 high school dropouts in our county per year”, said Mr. DiSalvo.
So, we’ll spend a gazillion dollars on these 1500, to the detriment of all those thousands of students who step up, follow the rules, and complete their education.
And people wonder why this country is in such a mess.
I have heard from several sources, including at the Children’s Defense Fund summit in Sacramento that the third grade test scores are used to calculate future prison populations- and I have heard that it costs somewhere between $40,000-$200,000 a year to keep a person locked up. Even our most expensive alternstive ed students cost tax payers less than $15,000 year. I would much rather the state put my money towards small, relevant, engaging schools with lots of caring adults and tons of options for different learning styles and plenty of safety nets than cages for “throw away people”.
If you really want to prevent drop-outs, look at third grade. It’s an amazingly good predictor of which students will drop out.
A kid has trouble in second and third grade, and doesn’t learn his stuff. He can’t read well and can’t multiply. As yet, this is no big problem.
Then we put the kid in fourth grade. He can’t multiply or divide, but we ask him to do fractions. He can’t really read, but we ask him to write paragraphs. Even if he steps up and follows the rules, he’s going to have a heck of a time learning.
And so on through the rest of school. Put kids in classes they can’t really understand, and then have big meetings bemoaning the fact that they aren’t learning.
Dear Mr.DiSalvo,
Thank you for taking the courageous step to begin this forum and lead the way to re-investing in the Alternative School Model!
I am a 44 year old alumni of what I believe was the most ideal and effective Alternative School Program available to at-risk youth. The Foundry School in San Jose became a part of my life in 1979 at the age of 14, I desperately needed a resource that would help guide me back to school and a life that could lead me to graduate and plan for a successful future.
What many people may not understand is that when a child is in this situation it isn’t simply that “they won’t step up”, the reality is that “they can’t” and usually because of something that may be happening at home or in their environment. Millions of children are victims of their surroundings which they have no control of. Parents on dope, domestic violence, emotional abuse, a death of a parent- are all sources (to name a few) of what paralizes a childs desire to succeed.The standard school model provides little support or inspiration to connect with these kids and the vicious cycle begins.
I appreciate the blog that equates the cost of prison over the cost of Alternative Education because it clearly justifies the investment.
As far as the proof of success of Alternative Schools. I personally am living it! I am a happily married woman, who owns a home, owns a very successful business and is a *tax payer.Most importantly I give back to my community by being a mentor for a foster child, raising funds for charity, walking for “non-violence” and more- all because,I know how much a community that reaches out can change a life!
I thank The Foundry, it’s original creators, the hundreds of volunteers and the county for supporting Alternative Education, it literally saved my life!
Please contact me to particiapte in any volunteer efforts to re-invest in The Alternative School Concept!
*As a taxpayer, this is where I would like to see my contributions go…
“Save a childs life, it can help better the world”!
#10.
What a great story of your success! Thanks for sharing with all of us.
Mariah,
You have eloquently written and addressed the key issue I tried to raise in my column. The County Office of Education must (MUST) utilize the experiences of others like you in buliding a coherent plan for alternative education. You shared with us on SJI that programs like the Foundry and the very talented individuals that taught within its walls make an extraordinary contribution to the community. You have demonstrated for us that quality alternative education programs make a significant contribution to the health and safety of our valley. In our renewed effort at revisioning alternative education services and programs we need to enlist the former students and parents who like you went on to become a successful citizen who will enrich the lives of a new generation of youth.
Thank you, Mariah. I will pass your name on to those in charge of driving the effort at revisioning and planning for Alternative Education 2010-2020,.
Joseph Di Salvo
#6 opined:“We need great, relevant educational programs.” RELEVANT educational programs??? Relevant to what, to whom? We need kids to get the basics, not this complete B.S. content-free nonsense like “relevant educational programs.”
Do all that relevant stuff once kids can actually read and write a coherent sentence; once they can add, subtract, multiply, and divide; all of which should have been completed by third grade…at the very latest. It’s this empty-headed nonsense/excuse laden BS that has all these kids, and our country, in such a mess.
When I read Ms. Giunta’s letter I could feel it in my bones that we’d be hearing from Mr. DiSalvo again. After all, this is the sort of validation and praise that most politicians live for and it’s hard to imagine an archtype such as Mr. D. passing up an opportunity to do virtual cartwheels in celebration of this, the Holy Grail of endorsements.
But I am equally certain that, once his initial giddiness subsided, Mr. Disalvo, being the sober, objective public servant that he is, would calmly remind himself of the folly of basing public policy on scanty anecdotal evidence. He would reflect that Ms. Giunta might well have sorted her life out anyway had she not had benefit of the Foundry School. He would factor in the fact that he will never hear from the students who failed to succeed despite all the special resources that were directed their way, and above all he will remember that there are thousands of attendees of traditional public schools who failed to receive a proper education because a disproportional amount of money and effort were funneled toward special programs at the expense of a basic, solid education for the average kid.
I’m confident that Joseph DiSalvo, as a responsible steward of the public trust, knowing that the availability of funds is not infinite, will carefully make logical and considered recommendations about how best to make use of those funds.
Mr. Di Salvo #12 wrote:“In our renewed effort at revisioning alternative education services and programs we need to enlist the former students and parents who like you went on to become a successful citizen who will enrich the lives of a new generation of youth.”
“Revisioning alternative education”????
“enlist the former students and parents who like you went on to become a successful citizen.” Grammar, what grammar??? I don’t need no stinkin’ grammar!!
And you’re in education, Joe.
Perhaps you are the one that informed Ms. Guinta that she is “a 44 year old alumni”.
Take some of those classes yourself, Joe.
Cheez, if the guys at the top can’t write a couple of sentences correctly, what can we expect of the kids?
I’m almost afraid to post after the last one. I’ll try to recheck my spelling and triple check my grammar.
For many, if not most kids, a regular school works just fine. Some kids are so bright they will perform well in a tree house.
But for other kids, something else is needed. There are no family farms for them to be working. Child labor is now against the law. Moms don’t need the daughters to churn the butter or sew the clothes.
There are’nt deer, or buffalo to hunt. No berries to gather. Most have lost their ceremonies. There once was a place for our young people. They knew where they belonged and what was expected of them as they reached into manhood, or womanhood. Their contributions to the tribe, village, farm were vital for the survival of their people.
Now, we throw them all into a fenced in building, and tell them they must perform well enough to get into a 4-year university. If they don’t their lives will be worth nothing, because a college education is what is now needed to be competitive in our society. It is sink or swim.
Some make it and some don’t. Many of the ones that don’t… where do they go? What do they do? They are now told that they are failures because they didn’t get a “proper” education. They are failures even if they have great gifts and talents to offer, they just didn’t make it in school.
Grammar police!
Ooooops! I found my own typo’s and errors… please don’t take it upon yourself to point them out to me.
It’s time to quit blaming students, families, schools, teachers, or global warming. We need to sit down at the table and figure this out. If you’re not part of the solution…..Count me in… Joe
Tina,
Not to accuse any specific individual of any grammatical wrongdoing, I would only like to issue a gentle reminder to all the people of the world to guard against use of the gratuitous apostrophe. Is possession involved? Is it a contraction? No? Then perhaps the apostrophe shouldn’t be there.
But anyway, my main point is this; On this website, most often on the Pierluigi threads, you are a strong critic of wasteful government spending, particularly with regard to the City of San Jose. Your comments are always articulate, passionate, and respectful, and indicate an awareness that the City’s priorities are not what they should be in regard to where the money’s spent. So I’m a little baffled when, in this thread, I see you encouraging the exact sort of thinking that, when applied at the political level, leads to the sort of inefficiency and wastefulness that we both deplore.
There is nothing in your well-written post, #16, that many rational people would disagree with. Our public school system DOES assume a degree of conformity that is unrealistic for all children. There SHOULD be some flexibility and alternatives for kids who are truly unable to advance within it’s constraints. Almost nobody disagrees with that- not even conservatives like me.
The problem is, an idealistic politician like Mr. Di Salvo has no sense of proportion and what he’s always on the lookout for is any excuse, such as your encouraging comments, to abandon his primary mission- the job that we hired him to do, and divert resources and money in order that he may pursue his own ego-enhancing, innovative, imaginitive pet programs.
Our education model isn’t perfect but it probably delivers more bang for the buck than any conceivable alternative. Don’t fool yourself into believing that, as less emphasis is given to our regular schools, there won’t be students who drop out who otherwise would have succeeded there. It’s a tradeoff and Mr. Di Salvo may lack the judgement to know where the balance should be.
John,
“Your comments are always articulate, passionate, and respectful, and indicate an awareness that the City’s priorities are not what they should be in regard to where the money’s spent. So I’m a little baffled when, in this thread, I see you encouraging the exact sort of thinking that, when applied at the political level, leads to the sort of inefficiency and wastefulness that we both deplore.”
You may have me confused with someone else. Maybe there is another Tina. Again… there may be some TYPOS (no apostrophe… thanks for the gentle reminder)
In any district, where the people are faced with a school closure, meetings with stakeholders are held. Parents, teachers, staff, and community members are assembled to discuss the situation. It is extremely difficult to disolve a school into other schools. Every school has a unique culture.
Here, we have a situation where 2 different schools, with different school cultures, are going to be combined into one school. That is a huge undertaking in a regular school setting, even more difficult when dealing with alternative schools. It will not cost any money to have a conversation with everyone involved. As a matter of fact, when students and parents know they are vital to the process… there is more buy-in and support.
By the way Mr. Galt,
Santa Clara County Office of Education does not control any part of our “regular schools.” The only schools that are under their charge are the alternative schools, Jv. Hall and the ranches, and the children’s shelter. So, any emphasis, money, time, energy, or programs that are put into helping these kids does not take away from regular schools.
However when districts with “regular schools” are forced to create their own alternative schools because their are so few options at the county…. that does take money away from regular schools. This is what has happened. Very successful programs at the county were either shut down or altered. This left districts like East Side Union to buy their own site to create their own alternative school. I applaud them for wanting to do so…however it does take a lot of money.
The county has had very successful alternative schools in the past. It takes a very special place with very special people to create an atmosphere that helps the kids that no-one else wants. Some of them are angry, violent, suicidal, addicts, gang-members… the students that most parents don’t want in the same room as their children. Yet, I’ve witnessed miracles.
The county wants to combine two schools into one, with nearly 100 or so students attending. Safety is of utmost concern. I believe that creating a “prison like” atmosphere will not help them. So a conversation with all the experts, parents, students, community members, and teachers is necessary.
Thanks,
Tina…. Herrera
Tina,
“You may have me confused with someone else.”
Boy is that the truth. At least I’m no longer puzzled by “Tina’s” dual nature!
Thanks for replying.
I’m new to participating in blogs or “blogging” and not much for negative dialogue and I hope this is not perceived as such.
Here it goes; I gladly entered into this blog as a voice to support the Alternative School model. Visiting the blog today I see people entering into this conversation that know little or absolutely nothing about the purpose or concept of what the alternative school offers or what the success rate actually is.
I know you gentleman (Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Galt) feel strongly against alternative schools and funding for this type of education. I also know Mr. Galt that you are excellent at grammar and vocabulary but what I don’t know is “what do you two think is the best solution for at-risk teens that have lost their desire to continue their education and to instead engage in a lifestyle which does not end up contributing to society.
Please tell me your solutions, I’m so eager to hear from the two of you, Mr. O’Conner and Mr. Galt, not what you think is “wrong” about this approach or people who support it or how they spell or use grammar but REALLY, WHAT WOULD YOUR HONEST SOLUTION BE TO THIS ISSUE??????
I’m waiting!
Mrs. Mariah Avilez Giunta
25 – Welcome to SJI. You’ll find that knowing what you are talking about is not a prerequisite for posting here. There is a lot of negative vibe here and the most negative rarely, if ever, offer anything positive or close to a solution.
Keep posting thought. The few rational thinkers that are left here need all the support we can get as this blog sinks under the weight of know-it-all negative contributors.
shucks… their/ there
Coming back to the topic of safety –
Community safety is connected with school safety.
The school is a social agent for society – one of its missions is to socialize children, academic mastery alone doesn’t accomplish this. The COE is supposed to take the most disruptive aggressive public school students and give them a time out – in an alternative school where they can learn pro-social skills and so, reconnect with the communities they’ve been banished from.
One thing, many of these students have been victimized in some way; their acting out is a manifestation of the victimization. I see in this blog examples of blaming the victims without offering solutions or ways for them to get and do better.
Joe is in a position to help the school districts obtain relevant services from the COE that aren’t currently in place. His work in education, from Palo Alto to Gilroy has given him perfect preparation for his duties now as he knows the range of the student population across the county from the riches to the poorest districts. Calling him a “politician” negates his 33 years in education.
Personally, I would be very surprised if either naysayer, who opine so loudly, could reach or inspire the heart and mind of a child who longs to learn.
Thank you, Mr. DiSalvo for opening up the “dialogue” and for your continued service to our diverse youth. Thank you, Ms. Herrera, K4ustyce and Mrs. Giunta for staying in curiosity and facts; rather than getting lost in the criticality and antagonism of Galt and O’Conner. Sy, thank you for your voice of reason.
Here’s to a continued dialogue moving towards action, offering hope for the third graders as well as those students beyond.
Mrs. Giunta and Ms. Tagano,
I’m pretty sure that if you reread the text of my comments and try not to be overly distracted by my sinful negativity, you’ll see that I am NOT opposed to some form of alternative education. My concern is the trend that I believe I see, to OVERemphasize alternative education and to downplay the importance of a basic academic education. Di Salvo, in all the articles he’s posted here, has not once given me any confidence that he acknowledges that basic, no-nonsense K-12 education is the heart of the system, and that when we fail to uphold our responsibility of giving it top priority, we do more damage than we can ever hope to repair with any alternative programs. Giving an extremist like Di Salvo carte-blanche to pursue his “creative” ideas is dangerous. It’s akin to asking Sweeney Todd to, “Please take a little off the top”.
As for Mr. Anide, you’ll find that he has a very unusual hobby. Using a variety of dazzlingly clever pseudonyms, he has made a regular habit of tirelessly prating on about how I don’t know what I’m talking about. What his simple mind is unable to grasp, is that the trendy, mainstream, political movement that is currently all the rage, is not the only way that political matters can be thought about. Mr. Anide is angry that the bandwagon has not attained 100% occupancy. He wants everybody to agree with him and he’s too intellectually lazy to consider any idea that hasn’t been previously endorsed by his go-to source for gospel truth, the Colbert Report.
I don’t think that most people would argue with the idea that we need schools that support the mainstream kids- and that things could be way better in those schools right now, and that if those schools were better at reaching kids and teaching them the basic academics as well as basic life skills things would just generally be better. However, even when a child receives a pretty good education, and is pretty good academically, they can have things outside of school that cause them to have greater needs for support. Whether it is a drug addicted parent, or a student’s own drug addiction, or getting seduced into being in a gang for whatever reason, or being do darn smart and creative and under-challenged that one acts out, there will always be a need for schools that offer options for different learning styles. My philosophy follows that of many others- “there are no throw away children”, and of some European countries- “Children are a national treasure”. So, I want to see a vast improvement in ALL schools- and some of this is money, but a lot of this is attitude and allowing teachers to be creative and involving community in the schools. It isn’t just about readin’ ritin’ and rithmatic’ these days.
k4justyce,
Good comments and very much to the point.
I don’t believe it’s true though, that growing up in today’s world is so much more challenging than it was in the past. I think we have an unfortunate habit of dismissing the hardships of past generations and to act as though everything’s tougher for us. Thirty years ago kids were subjected to pressures and difficulties just as they are today. It wasn’t all about ‘readin, ‘ritin, and ‘rithmetic then either, but I think more teachers had more respect for the value of teaching the basics and I think the kids were better served by it. By expecting more from their students, they got more.
I think our education system has declined precisely because we’ve asked it to do too many things and it’s lost track of it’s priority.