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Demonstrating growth

Photos: QEIA Schools

Professional Development Provider Directory

Our Provider Directory details information about professional development programs and services offered throughout the state.

Site Contact Support

CTA Site Contacts have a dedicated website with additional QEIA resources. If you are a CTA QEIA Site Contact or a CTA member at a QEIA school and need support, please contact Liz Tokar.

Strategies for Success with Priority Schools

Issues & Action

Quality Education Investment Act

The Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) is helping schools that are serving a higher percentage of low income, minority and English learners to close the achievement gap. In fact, new data show QEIA schools continuing to excel: about 85% have exceeded the 3-year API growth targets.

Nearly $3 billion will go to K-12 schools with API scores in the bottom two deciles over the next seven years. Community colleges will also receive a portion of the funding to expand career and vocational education. The targeted QEIA schools and their students face many challenges. These schools have 98% more students participating in the free or reduced lunch program; 134% more English language learners than other schools in the state; and, 67% more students whose parents did not graduate from high school.

Some of the goals of the program include:

Reducing K-12 class sizes (max 20 in grades K-3, and avg 25 in grades 4-12 in these schools)
Having qualified teachers in all core subjects
Increasing the number of credentialed counselors in high schools
Establishing district-wide teacher quality index to ensure equitable distribution of teacher experience
Quality training programs and time for collaboration

The Quality Education Investment Act passed into law in 2006 thanks to CTA-sponsored legislation and the settlement of a lawsuit between CTA and then-Gov. Schwarzenegger after he refused to repay the billions he borrowed from schools in 2004-05 and repays public schools all the money owed under Proposition 98 from that time. QEIA is more than a repayment of the dollars owed to our public schools, however. It provides an opportunity to close the achievement gap, improve teaching and learning in those schools that are struggling, and invest in the future of our students and state.

Latest News

QEIA middle school honored

You can hear the pride and accomplishment in sixth-grade teacher Nelda McCone’s voice when she talks about her 922-student Zamboni Middle School in Los Angeles County earning a prestigious state “School to Watch” award.

“We are excited by our success,” McCone says. “We have made a lot of growth over the years. And we really are fortunate to have had QEIA funding, especially to keep our class sizes small.”

In January, Zamboni was one of only 12 new California middle schools named by the California Department of Education as model schools in the state’s “Schools to Watch — Taking Center Stage” program. The state partners with the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform and the California Middle Grades Alliance on the program.

New book praises CTA’s bold QEIA program

Critics agree that The Global Fourth Way: The Quest for Educational Excellence is a must-read for anyone interested in education, “especially so for those currently involved in any form of teaching and learning, as well as those responsible for developing and implementing education policy.”

Authors and education researchers Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley praise the QEIA program, noting that CTA showed itself to be a “morally centered union” by sponsoring the landmark Quality Education Investment Act.

Fairbanks Elementary

John Muir Elementary

Madison Middle School

Martin Elementary

Miraloma Elementary

Woodrow Wilson High School

Resources

QEIA Fact Sheet

Program targets nearly a million students

The Quality Education Investment Act will help schools serving low-income and minority students and English learners close the achievement gap.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your questions answered

Which schools are eligible? What accountability criteria will be used?

Characteristics of Successful Schools

What the research indicates

A focus on student learning, personalization, relationship-centered, standards-based curriculum, and a safe school environment are among the characteristics of successful schools.

More Info

At-risk Students Excel with QEIA Reforms

Read the report

Research shows the nearly 500 lower-performing schools receiving QEIA funding for proven interventions like smaller class sizes are making sustained progress, experiencing nearly 50% higher growth on the California API than similar, non-QEIA schools.

The Role of CTA in QEIA

CTA engaged in a variety of QEIA activities

Involvement in a reform such as QEIA breaks new ground for the association, involving new activities and roles.

How Does QEIA Work?

An Ed Source Policy Brief

QEIA sets benchmarks for performance and a variety of resource measures that schools must meet in ways that work best for them.