'STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS'
CTA Praises City of San Jose Education Initiatives --- Homework Centers, Teacher Loans, School Funding
CTA Director Nichols to Introduce Mayor at City Event Tonight
California Teachers Association
1705 Murchison Drive
P. O. Box 921
Burlingame, CA 94011-0921
(650) 697-1400
www.cta.org
Contact: Bob Nichols at 408-985-4638 or Mike Myslinski, 650-552-5324
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2002
SAN JOSE - In recognition of the city of San Jose's unique commitment to public education through several city-funded programs, California Teachers Association Board member Bob Nichols will introduce Mayor Ron Gonzales at his State of the City address tonight.
Education will be a major part of the mayor's speech, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., in downtown San Jose.
Nichols, a teacher at Prospect High School in San Jose, is praising the mayor and city council for working to make the city more friendly to teachers and students through its funding of homework centers, teacher home loans and programs designed to help the city's schools of greatest need.
"What San Jose is doing to help public schools can be an example for other cities to follow," Nichols said. "City involvement in public education can be a vital force."
CTA represents 335,000 educators in the state. As a member of the CTA Board of Directors, Nichols represents teachers in Santa Clara, Merced and Mariposa counties. In December, the CTA Board of Directors endorsed San Jose's new "Blueprint for Bridging the Digital Divide." Nichols cited some highlights of the city's commitment to education:
THE BLUEPRINT: The new blueprint will include allocating $100,000 a year for three years to three elementary schools "that face significant challenges to student achievement."
TEACHER LOANS: To retain and recruit teachers, the city has invested $6.6 million so far in its Teacher Housing Program, which has assisted 175 teachers in buying homes with no-interest loans of up to $40,000.
TEACHER RECRUITMENT: Using special student loans from the city, 49 future teachers are now enrolled at San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. For each year a student agrees to teach in San Jose public schools, one year of the loans can eventually be forgiven. The program will double in size next year.
HOMEWORK CENTERS: San Jose has opened 215 homework centers on school campuses to ensure that students have a place to study that is both safe and supervised.
The CTA is affiliated with the 2.6 million-member National Education Association