In front of more than 150 people Saturday at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose mayoral candidates gave their thoughts on why the next mayor has an integral role to play in leading public education efforts.
Read More 3Santa Clara County Office of Education
The New Age of Student Data
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County Office of Ed Dysfunction Leaves Foster Youth in the Lurch
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Cesar Chavez’ Story Inspires, Informs on Current Struggles
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County Office of Education Names Interim Superintendent
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Gov. Brown Has Call to Make on Early Education
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Computer Coding Must Become Part of the Public School Curriculum
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Mayor’s Race Gets an Education Forum
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On Wednesday, the county Board of Education agreed to participate in a mayoral candidate forum on education. Educate Our State invited the Board be a partner, and the data show a thoughtful discussion is needed. Nineteen of the thirty-one districts in the county are located in San Jose, and nearly 50 percent of San Jose’s public school students test below grade level in math and English.
Read More 4Xavier De La Torre Leaving Post as County Superintendent of Education
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After a rocky year-and-a-half on the job, it appears Santa Clara County Office of Education Superintendent Xavier De La Torre will be heading back to Texas for a job as superintendent of a smaller school district. San Jose Inside reported more than three months ago that De La Torre was on the brink of being fired or resigning after a series of dustups with staff, a dissatisfactory performance review and concerns about a cheating scandal.
Read More 7County’s Bold Steps on Education Follow FDR’s Lead Despite Lawsuits
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I participated in last week’s 2014 State of the Valley conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center. One speaker referred to FDR’s concept of “bold, persistent experimentation.” It made me consider how we’ve been addressing our county’s education system, and a recent lawsuit that filed against the county Board of Education.
Read More 0Gates Foundation Donates $100,000 to Franklin-McKinley Schools
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The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation granted $100,000 to Franklin McKinley School District to fund startup costs to promote collaboration between the traditional public school district and all its charter schools. The possibility that this seed money can lead to a much larger piece of the Gates Foundation Collaborative Compact financial pie is real, and predicated on the effort and results of the start-up phase. Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo says that in order to radically impact student achievement and graduation rates in San Jose, especially for students of color and those living in poverty, we must work with all publicly-funded partners to reach new heights of high achievement for all. Too many efforts and public dollars are going into litigation in the old toxic model of competition between districts and charters.
Read More 2Morgan Hill Schoolchildren Lose in Battle against Charter Schools
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The Santa Clara County Office of Education and its Board of Education have been working to address education inequality through a myriad of measures, including the authorization of high quality charter schools. For this reason, I am troubled and angry about what happened at a seven-hour meeting last week.
Read More 4Will Children Lose in Morgan Hill Charter School Battle?
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It’s sad to see some of the data on how poor and minority children perform in school in San Jose and the greater Silicon Valley, says Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo. The results of longitudinal student test data have long indicated a sizeable achievement gap—a gap that threatens our region’s long-term economic viability. We can and must do better, especially in a district like Morgan Hill Unified.
Read More 2A Look Ahead: Educational Initiatives Moving Forward in 2014
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County Superintendent’s Former Admins Cleared of Wrongdoing in Testing Scandal
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Early Education on the Way?
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Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, recently wrote a column for Huffington Post, arguing that America has “a moral obligation to provide a great education to each and every child, and we must create a new majority to make this happen.” I couldn’t agree more, and the time is now. We cannot afford to wait another three decades. Waiting patiently for change will cause the US to become a second-tier nation.
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