Dear Vice-President Biden,
I know you care deeply about the success of our nation’s educational systems and the student clients they serve. You and your boss advocate for an education system that is second to none. Early childhood education can be the great equalizer between poor and wealthy families. The $21,495,317 that Santa Clara County receives in federal funding for Early Head Start and Head Start saves the taxpayer at least four times that much, if Head Start did not exist.
Mr. Vice-President today you are mired in budget negotiations as President of the Senate to broker a deal between the House passed HR 1 which the Senate voted not pass due to cuts to so many safety net programs, especially for children. HR 1 cuts approximately $1.1 billion dollars from Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This is where you must hold the line and forge a compromise or shut down the government on March 18! Enough already!
You would totally agree with all 6 of the SCCOE Head Start long range and strategic goals. I will list my top 3 for you here:
1. School Readiness: To continually strengthen the Head Start Program and develop community-wide partnerships dedicated to aligning efforts to ensure that all children are prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond.
2. Family Engagement: To expand family engagement opportunities that will strengthen parents’ roles as their children’s advocates, decision-makers, and primary educators.
3. Workforce: To recruit and develop staff with the skills and cultural competency necessary to provide the highest quality services for all HS children and families.
What comes out from these critical negotiations between the House and the Senate must not place deep cuts on the backs of the most vulnerable children in Santa Clara County and San Benito Counties. Even though some studies have shown Head Start can be improved programmatically to benefit children our county has received the highest award a Head Start Program can achieve, the coveted “Gold Certificate” in 2008. Our teachers are dedicated and our families are very well served by all services.
As Santa Clara County Office of Education board president and authorized representative I recently signed the Head Start and Early Head Start 2011-2012 continuation application after unanimous approval by my board colleagues. The program as you know serves mostly minority and very low-income families for Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. Currently in both counties we serve 2,238 students in part or full day programs. We project that there are over 9,000 infants, toddlers, and young children eligible for Early Head Start and Head Start in both counties, yet the funding we currently receive only serves 25 percent of eligible children.
On Dec. 21, 2010 the county’s Head Start Policy Council agreed to a point system for priority enrollment considering we only receive government funding for 2,238 of the more than 9,000 children eligible. A full 100 points go to foster children, a child with special needs (IEP), and homeless children. Fifty points are awarded a child living with a relative or friend due to incarceration, abandonment. See we are really talking about the most vulnerable of our children.
It is an abhorrent to me to think our elective representatives can be so short-sighted to drastically cut programs for the most fragile children in SCC and America while at the same time giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to the oil companies. Let me remind you of your own words while on the campaign trail in July 2007, “We are giving people tax breaks who don’t need it. The top 1 percent got an $85 billion a year tax break. It is not needed. My dad used to have an expression—don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget”.
FDR said: “The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize.” I am certain Pres. Roosevelt would not be silent at this time of crisis, especially for the neediest children. We should be ashamed, America. Where are the values we used to hold dear and made us the moral leader of the free world?
So when does spending more money on schools = better test scores. We keep putting more and more money into the schools with less results. School staff is just a breeding ground for more politicians.
Back to the basics will work. Allow teachers to teach. Make teachers accountable for test scores. Failure to make the grade results in loss of job. Once the people who teach our children have to be responsible we will start to see a surge in grades. Money is not the answer.
Joe, I know we have good teachers currently working with our students. We need to identify them and place these people into positions of authority. Using this idea might also show some positive results.
“…from 1998 to 2008, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil spending by $4,245 in real terms yet did not add a single point to the reading scores of their eighth graders and still could lift only one-third of their eighth graders to at least a “proficient” level in reading.”
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/two-thirds-wisconsin-public-school-8th-g
2 Joes,
There’s a very strong argument that would support your case that money is not the answer. Unfortunately, Mr. DiSalvo is a hopeless ideologue and has closed his mind off to the possibility, as have most members of the education industry who make a comfortable living by selling Americans on the whole notion that we must perpetually “invest” more money in education.
I agree that we need to “allow teachers to teach.” HOWEVER, I am not sure I agree with your statement about making teachers accountable for test scores. I think you need to be careful in saying this. In my opinion, we need to move away from teaching students with the sole purpose of having them take and pass the state test. This is part of our problem in schools today. If teachers are told that, “failure to make the grade results in loss of job” they will be pushed even further to just teach with the goal of having students pass a state test. Learning in school needs to be so much more than that. Also, there are so many other factors that affect student success on these state exams, including family life, prior classes, student attitude, etc. Blaming and firing ONE teacher for the failure of his or her students on the state tests is ridiculous! Granted, each teacher does need to take responsibility for teaching his or her classroom of students regardless of their prior history and current issues; however, to say that a teacher will be fired for not making the grade results is unfair and unrealistic. Too many other factors are involved.
Sam,
Very well said. I completely agree. Teachers have to deal with a multitude of issues and factors that for their job security to be based on test scores is unfair. There are cases where teachers work very hard and see a great amount of growth amongst their students, yet the test scores may not completely show that growth. Teaching effectiveness should not solely be based on test scores, but instead, should be evaluated by a variety of standards and goal achievements. Also, what about schools that made substantial progress in test scores, yet did not meet the targeted goal? Their progress should not be undermined by a pass/no pass system. Lastly, it’s unrealistic for 100% of students to test proficient by 2014 according to NCLB. I believe that teachers should be held accountable for their work, however, meeting the expected test scores should not be a “make it or break it” situation.
I agree with what a lot of you guys are saying. I do agree that we need to let teachers teach and I also agree with the the fact that teachers should be evaluated by the work that they do and not by a bunch of standardized tests. If the teacher does a bad job, then the teacher needs to be evaluated.
In addition, yes, more money would be nice, but money doesn’t always solved the problem. it’s the quality of the teacher that is the clue. if we invest more in training and empowering teachers, then, i believe, teachers will do a better job, and students will improve as well.
I totally agree with holding teachers accountable but there are some things to consider. What kind of classroom environment will we create if we base teacher’s success by test scores; especially putting their jobs at risk. I believe this will effect struggling kids in a negative way, not to mention mainstreamed students. Teachers should be heald accountable but we must be very careful about how we track that success or lack there of.
I couldn’t agree more. Even if you don’t agree that low-income or special needs children should receive extra benefits, research has shown time and time again that by giving children a good education, we lower crime, and imprisonment rates and that we increase the odds of being a productive citizen and worker. To cut money that is known to help seems ridiculous. Why not cut prison spending, experimental research programs, or many of the inane studies we know exist? We all acknowledge that government waste exists, when the military is spending $100 on a toilet seat we know there is a problem. Cutting money that helps our future as a society seems short-sighted at best. I know that cutting military spending is not a popular idea and I have nothing but respect for the men and women whom serve in our armed forces, but at a time when our economy and out-of-control spending has brought us to a crisis, we need to look at where we can cut and I think there is money in the military coffers that is not vital to our national security. I urge people to think about the future when making these difficult choices. Do we want a country of literate, competent adults? If so we must choose to create an environment that can accomplish that goal.
Jennifer, you make some really great points. Even though America is proud of our Armed Forces and have the upmost respect for individuals fighting for our freedom, the amount of money going to support the military is astronomical. As a future educator, it makes no sense to keep cutting money in education when our children are the future. We need to take pride in education and make QUALITY education a priority. Unfortunately, politics take over and people unrelated to education are making very important decisions related to it.
Jennifer, I agre with you. Cutting funds where is not needed should not be occurring. Education is one of the most important things in the world in order to succeed in life. Cutting funds from education only means that there will be less educated individuals. I stress everyone to considered keeping track of where funds are being cut from to realize the enormous problem we face today!
> The $21,495,317 that Santa Clara County receives in federal funding for Early Head Start and Head Start saves the taxpayer at least four times that much, if Head Start did not exist.
Wait! Doesn’t that $21,495,317 COME from taxpayers or future taxpayers?
How does taking $21,495,317 from taxpayers “[save] the taxpayer at least four times that much”?
As my math teacher was fond of saying: “Show your work.”
If you can do a four times multiplier, why not eight times, or thirty-two times, or a hundred times?
I think you may have discovered the “miracle of the loaves and fishes”.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Association of Santa Clara Valley and the Honorable Council Member Chu will be holding a series of monthly community meetings based on vital topics facing our community.
Due to the failing economy, and dwindling resources, our community is in crisis. To support the public in getting assistance for ourselves or our loved ones during these difficult times, and to help educate us in helping a family member or friend in crisis, the first meeting will be on the issue of Mental Health, and available resources. The discussion will include an understanding of how the San Jose Police Department responds to requests for help with a mentally ill family member/friend, and how we can better assist them when placing a call for help.
Please join us:
When: Wednesday, March 23rd
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: San Jose City Hall
200 East Santa Clara Street, San Jose, Ca. 95113
Room: West Wing 118-119
(Translators for Vietnamese and Spanish speaking people will be provided.)
Parking at City Hall will be validated at the meeting, so please bring your ticket.
Comments by Police Chief Moore
Presenters will be:
Pat Dwyer
Law Enforcement Liaison For The County of Santa Clara
Teresa Jeglum
San Jose Police Department Crisis Management Unit
Crisis Intervention Team
Geoff Sumner
San Jose Police Department Crisis Management Unit
Dr. Jorge Wong
Behavioral Health Services Director of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)
Sarita Kohli
Director of Mental Health Programs at Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)
There will be one hour of presenters, and a one hour written question and answer period.
Please pass this on to your contacts, family members, and friends.
For more information please email Kathleen Flynn, Vice President of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Association at
vi*****************@ya***.com
, or call 408-861-5323. Thank you, and we hope to see you there.
HR 1 cuts approximately $1.1 billion dollars from Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This is where you must hold the line and forge a compromise or shut down the government on March 18! Enough already!
I agree with Joe Di Salvo.
Pre-School and Head Start Programs do effect the learning process . One Time as a ‘teacher’ at one of Santa Clara’s lowest performing schools , the necessity of these programs for early development has shown that children do better when they go to kindergarten , and are better prepared for school.
I say let’s cut 1.1 billion from the Iraq & Afghanistan occupation & send it back to these programs.
That would make sense considering how many recruits fail the entrance exam for the army. The Department of Defense should invest in it’s future.
What makes the education systems in countries like Japan, Singapore, Finland, and Korea successful and perform at a per student cost that is less than what we spend on a 25th rate school system? The answer is that those systems recruit teachers from the upper GPA range of graduating college seniors. They then put them in an extensive mentoring program and provide them with the necessary skills to teach. These teachers also get paid more and have larger classroom sizes. The Economist detailed out the reasons for these successes and the least important factor was cost per student. If you read the Pepperdine Education Study, you will discover that nearly 25% of the education money is spent on Special Ed. The cost is nearly 4 times per student as the average student. Salaries are a smaller percent and the cost per student for books is measured in the hundreds of dollars. Instead of throwing money at the problem ( DC has the highest per student cost in the nations and the lowest test scores), we should fully examine what is successful elsewhere and adopt and adapt those aspects here. You want success, then hire good teachers, train them to teach and remove the ones who cannot. Lengthen the school year and school day and utilize a mentoring program where successful teachers guide and develop new teachers.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……….. This stuff is boring.
Cuts to our early education and community collage systems are a threat to our national security. We are guaranteeing our country a position in the third world with these short sighted attempts to balance our budget. I often hear that we our destroying our children s and grand children s futures with our deficit spending. I have to agree that it poses a great threat but not so great a threat as denying our children and grand children an affordable education.
Head Start has demonstrated that it greatly increases the high school graduation rates, lowers incarceration rates and breaks the welfare chain. These are some of the ways that it repays $4 for every $1 invested.
I would rather pay higher taxes than see draconian cuts cripple the the future of our country.
Mr. Sarver,
Why do you think fellow citizens like Teachable Moment do not see the benefits and ultimate cost savings HS provides this country?
Thank you for your words of experience.
Joseph Di Salvo
WHY doesn’t Teachable Moment buy into the Head Start propaganda?
Probably because he hasn’t been drinking the koolaid.
“Head Start has demonstrated that it greatly increases the high school graduation rates, lowers incarceration rates and breaks the welfare chain. These are some of the ways that it repays $4 for every $1 invested.”
Contrast the above whopper with the findings from the “Head Start Impact Study Final Report” HHS report from Jan 2010.
“Yet, by the end of 1st grade, there were few significant differences between the Head Start group as a whole and the control group as a whole for either cohort.”
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/reports/impact_study/executive_summary_final.pdf
Head Start.
– No lasting benefit. None. Zero. Nada.
– Cost? 100 billion.
Another week. Another Di Salvo prevarication spiked.
Keep ‘em coming Joe.
> > The $21,495,317 that Santa Clara County receives in federal funding for Early Head Start and Head Start saves the taxpayer at least four times that much, if Head Start did not exist.
Joe:
This is REALLY, REALLY a sensational claim.
If this four times multiplier you claim really existed, why not just get $80 million from the feds,
turn it into $320 million, give $80 million back to the feds, and keep the leftover $240 million to cover the SCCOE budget?
This claim is so outrageous, that if any private business ever claimed such a thing, they would be hauled in front of the FTC for fraudulent advertising, the SEC for misleading financial representations, and then thrown in the slammer with Bernie Madoff and all the EXXON executives.
This is a perfect illustration of how public education exploits and misleads the public. There is no accountability for this kind of preposterous claim. Does anyone ever check to see if the $21,495,317 that the county receives actually saved taxpayers $85,981,268?
I didn’t notice any decrease in MY taxes.
This is the same old eye wash that Obama peddled when he claimed his policies “saved or created job”?
How many jobs did they save? How could they tell?
They just made up the numbers.
In a more innocent, more honest time, this was called lying.
Wow your comments are so ridiculous. I can’t stand it. It is obvious you are not a teacher and I would love to see you try and teach for just one week. I would make a bet that you wouldn’t last a day. You have no idea what the job entails. You just want to go on your computer and put others down. You are obviously a miserable person who tries to bring others down. You just want to point the finger and blame teachers for everything. It is so sad. I know being a teacher is one of the most rewarding and important jobs out there. Teachers are helping to shape the future. What do you do besides sit on your computer and follow every single one of Joseph DiSalvo’s blogs. It is funny how you supposedly dislike teachers but yet you are a major fan of DiSalvo who is in the education field. I believe you follow everyone of his blogs and make many comments on each of them. Interesting
As someone who has worked for a literacy intervention program, I know how important an early childhood education is. If we do not provide equal access to early education, we are only helping the achievement gap grow. If they decide to cut programs like this, I hope other educational opportunities become available because it would seem pointless to create a disadvantage for young students when there is a want/need for early education programs.
I totally agree with Stephanie. We cannot improve education by cutting education services and opportunities. These kids are the future and they need access to programs that will help them become successful individuals.
I agree that children do need access to educational programs in order to succeed and cutting these organizational services will be a burden, but it’s due to funding that these programs do not have. Our focus should not only be on the children in America but other countries as well because they have a way worse educational system than we do
Hmm, if a program benefits at-risk children, particularly those who are without proper caregivers than yes, the program needs to continue so that our most vulnerable are supported.
However, I truly believe that early head starts in education for children with caregivers who can be the main educator are what’s needed. I know this is radical, but let’s let our 1-4 year olds be at home with mom and dad directly teaching them. I am not so familiar with Headstart programs so again, if the goal is to directly serve children who do not have this opportunity then we need to make sure funding continues. If it’s for early head start for every child, regardless of home situation, I say let’s shift gears and put the focus and responsibility back on direct caregivers.
I agree. The early childhood years are one of the most important times in a child’s life. Education services and opportunities should definitely be encouraged,and available for all families with young children. How can these individuals be successful for the future if we are taking away all these resources?
Stephanie- I agree with you. Cutting these programs would be pointless when there is such a high demand for these types of programs. What can we expect from our youth if we slash funds from these programs early on? Like you said Stephanie, we aren’t helping close the achievement gap if we don’t provide equal access for early education.
Stephanie – I completely agree with you in the fact that early childhood education is incredibly important. The sooner we start educating our youth, the better. Without giving them some sort of foundation, we are cutting them short. Many of the children in these programs do not have both, or even one, parent at home- the parents are off working. Instead of having an older sibling, elderly grandparent, or a babysitter who watches 10 others, watching these young children, how about giving them some useful skills to build off of for the rest of their lives? Programs like Head Start need to become more accessible to families, not taken away from them.
I also wholeheartedly agree that early childhood education is extremely important. The earlier we start helping disadvantaged youth, the better off we will all be. I have a niece and nephew who are in Headstart programs in another state, and I have been so thankful that they have had access to the program. Their parents, one of which is a drug addict, are in no way able to teach them effectively at home. If not for Head Start, my nephew and niece would be much worse off than they already are. Instead, they are learning and growing in a healthy, supportive, stable environment that gives them some sense of having a real chance in life! DON’T CUT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS!
I’m not sure I know enough about Head Start to fully comment on this, but I know that a program like this can be a good resource for families from low income backgrounds. Their children are able to receive an education that will prepare them for the future that they might not otherwise receive due to language, education, and time obstacles that parents may face. By giving these children this opportunity, they will be more ready for elementary school and are more likely to succeed in the further education. As some have mentioned, cutting the budget on this kind of program will continue to further the achievement gap that exists. The more advantaged will continue to have an advantage and those who are disadvantaged will continue to have a disadvantage.
I agree. I don’t have a lot of knowledge about Head Start, but what other opportunity will at-risk students have at early education if the funding for this program is cut? It will put these students at an even greater disadvantage.
“The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize.”
I couldn’t agree more. In the worst case, expenditures on higher education may be cut but not at the lower, fundamental level.
Ha,
I completely agree with you. In the first place, education funds should be the last thing to be cut from the budget. Rather, it seems to be an easy choice. I believe education at any level should not receive any budget cuts. But, I agree with you that in the “worst scenario,” funds from higher or college education may still be cut, considering the financial assistance available. By reducing the funds from early education program, we are compromising the foundations of these children’s education.
I also agree that education should be the last place from which funds are cut. I still question why the education system is often the “go to” place when funds are in need elsewhere. I agree with Kajal when she says that “education at any level should not receive any budget cuts”. I can imagine that there are other options and/or other budgets that can afford to cut a few things rather than the education system. Early education is the most important when it comes to children’s academic development and if funds are taken, it could negatively affect their education and development.
Ha I agree. I would gladly take more budget cut hits at the university level if it meant programs like head start, which clearly benefit the economy, would be able to provide educational resources to those who really need it. The earlier a child is exposed to education, the more likely he or she is to flourish in higher education.
Head Start is important for children, especially those families that don’t have as much time to devote to their children to help them learn their ABC’s and numbers and colors to be ready for Kindergarten. The more prepare the children are, the more they can learn in kinder. Education is vital for the future of the US. Looks like everytime the government looks to make budget cuts, they look first at education and it should be the last thing the government should cut funding from, not the first. If education is so important, why does the government keep taking funds away from school districts to colleges?
I agree that Headstart programs are important for many children and having years of first hand experience with kindergarteners I can say that you can tell who has not had any teaching from their parents and who has not attended pre school. They are usually from low socio-economic backgrounds and are immediately at a disadvantage at the beginning of their school careers. Head start helps bridge this gap even if it’s just a percentage of those who need it.
I agree with Mr. Di Salvo that Head Start helps at risk families. Studies have shown that this program helps even out the achievement gap. Think about it. Families who have the means are able to put their children through preschool at an early age, where the children learns social, cognitive and emotional skills necessary to become successful in kindergarten. Without head start low income families may not have the means to expose their children to certain opportunities that the program can offer. I think what Mr. Di Salvo meant that having head start can save tax payer money by getting low income children ready for school. When a child gets behind by kindergarten, it is sometimes difficult for that child to completely catch up as they get older. Why is it such a sin to invest in education? Those who are skeptical do not know the extent of our educational problem. I agree that money does not solve the problem, but we keep cutting the dollars that should be going to education. We are more eager to invest in war than our children’s education.
“It is an abhorrent to me to think our elective representatives can be so short-sighted to drastically cut programs for the most fragile children in SCC and America while at the same time giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to the oil companies. ” I agree with this statement. What frustrates me the most is that these decisions seem to be made without clear supporting evidence as to why they are the “right” choices.
Research has shown that children who receive early education do better throughout their elementary school years. Children’s brains develop more synapses, their IQs increase and they begin their lives more capable of handling elementary school. Why should decreasing funding even be an issue? Again, it seems that it is easy to talk about the importance of education, but not follow through with any action. Providing education for children should be automatic. Our children are our furture adults. By educating them, we are providing the US with literate, skilled, professional adults.
Well said Sabina. It seems just ridiculous to me that decreased funding to our schools can even be a possibility.
“…from 1998 to 2008, Wisconsin public schools increased their per pupil spending by $4,245 in real terms yet did not add a single point to the reading scores of their eighth graders and still could lift only one-third of their eighth graders to at least a “proficient” level in reading.”
So we taxpayers should continue spending ever increasing amounts of money on an education system that consistently under delivers?
“It’s time to admit that public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybody’s role is spelled out in advance and
there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. It’s no surprise that our school system doesn’t improve: It more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy.”
—Albert Shanker, former American Federation of Teachers president,
Just like the Soviet Union collapsed so must our educational system.
– Give parents school vouchers
– Education providers will compete for those vouchers
– Education providers will compete for the best teachers.
I am saddened that the cry of “children are our future” has been muted over the years. People are so short-sighted and narrow minded. Frustrated by poor standardized testing, people are trying to hold someone accountable, and they fail to see the correlation between drastic cuts to programs that aid children and schools and test scores plummeting. We are living in a time and place of change and diversity, and we need to put more money into keeping up with the changes in our society, starting with our youngest members.
It makes no sense to me the way the government decides to cut funds. It seems as if every time cuts need to be made that education is always the first item on the chopping block, which is wrong. When education is cut we are doing a disservice to the future of our country. When looking at Early Childhood Education research has found that children do better in school when they have attended preschool. This is because students learn valuable social skills that will use for the rest of their lives. They also learn academic skills that prepare them for kindergarten. If we want to truly prepare the future generation we need to provide them with the high quality education that they deserve. Unfortunately at this time our children are not receiving the quality education that they deserve.
I agree with you Jennifer. It seems like they are always taking more and more money from the schools. I don’t understand it. I also agree with you about the importance of preschool. In preschool children learn many academic and social skills that will help them get a head start in their future. Why would we deny children from this? It doesn’t make sense.
The head start program is a valuable, worthwhile program that more people should be.
aware of. If only the vice president could see the value in education and the importance of educational spending. Sadly, like many other cabinets and presidencies education does not seem to be a priority.
As an individual who has worked in early childhood education for 5 years, I know firsthand the importance of it. It is even that more important for many of the children and families that are part of the head start program. To remove funding from head start would be another step in the WRONG direction for California. Call me crazy but at times I feel like the government is working to against the American people and blaming it on budget cuts. What’s next, tie teacher’s hands behind their backs and make us teach?
I think tony makes a good point! The government says that teachers are trying to improve education but every year more and more money gets taken out of the education budget and put somewhere else. If education is really important then we should spent more money so that they gap is not widening but closing with each month! I would hate for us teachers to teach with our hands behind our back!
So sad that they just keep cutting funds on things that are of such importance!!
With a daughter about to enter into the preschool year before kindergarten, I am looking to make sure she will be as prepared as possible. My family and I are in a better position to facilitate this but for parents that are not, Headstart is essential for them and for their children. I couldn’t imagine, with how important preparation for school is, to rip this away from needing families.