May 22, 2009
By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came to visit Paul Revere Elementary School in San Francisco recently, he was impressed with the high-quality programs he saw at the pre-K–8 campus.
The school has a Spanish immersion program and offers foreign language enrichment and the opportunity for students to learn a second or third language. The staff includes a librarian and a teacher of physical education, music and art. The school has an after-school enrichment program including art, music, dance, PE and homework help. The school also offers an extended school day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for students in grades K-8.
“He was impressed with the things that he saw going on at Paul Revere School, but we had to remind him that it had a price tag, and that because of QEIA funding the school received money above and beyond regular funding,” said CTA Vice President Dean Vogel, who was joined by United Educators of San Francisco President Dennis Kelly for a meeting that also included school employees, administrators and parents.
CTA’s Quality Education Investment Act, passed into law in 2006, offers extra funding to schools with Academic Performance Index scores in the bottom two deciles, and is designed to help close the achievement gap at schools serving a higher percentage of low-income, minority and English learner students. QEIA was created through legislation in settlement of the lawsuit that CTA won against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he refused to repay the billions he borrowed from schools in 2004-05.
“I think Secretary Duncan understood that what was going on at Paul Revere Elementary School was really in the best interest of kids and families, and he saluted staff and the management team for a job well done. Basically, he spent most of the time in that closed-door meeting listening to school staff and other stakeholders talk about how QEIA funds are making it possible for them to do innovative and exciting things for kids,” said Vogel.
It was the secretary of education’s first visit to California since joining the Obama cabinet and was part of a 15-state “listening tour” that will influence federal policy on education. The May 22 visit was on the heels of the state’s special election, where voters defeated propositions to preserve school funding. The federal government is distributing $100 billion in education funding to states as part of the economic stimulus package approved by Congress – and has promised that $4.35 billion in additional “Race to the Top” funding will be distributed to states using earlier stimulus grants to achieve reforms. However, Duncan made clear at a luncheon speech at the Palace Hotel that California appears unlikely to receive a second round of stimulus funding.
“Arne Duncan talked about the need for schools to do something different and embrace reform in order to qualify for the billions of dollars he controlled,” said Kelly, who traveled with the education secretary on several stops. “He was impressed with the way that the union, the district and the city all worked together and said it was not something that was seen in other locales. I tried to give examples of things we did that worked (elements of our parcel tax with its alternative compensation and teacher accountability aspects) and commented to him that reform was something he could do with us, but should not be done to us.”
“Duncan seemed to want to avoid talking about the financial situation in California and made a separation between the money in the stimulus package and what the state might need to stay afloat,” continued Kelly. “He was on a particular mission regarding how he wanted to see change and improvement and not dwelling on keeping what exists in place.”
At one stop, a representative of San Francisco State University asked Duncan what could be done for higher education and if there would be a Stimulus 2 to help. “Duncan did not commit to anything along that line,” said Kelly.