CTA launched a new statewide radio advertising campaign in December to start a discussion about addressing the needs of students and teachers in low-performing schools around the state.
"The overwhelming rejection of school vouchers for the second time in seven years clearly shows that Californians support improving our public schools, and they know that vouchers are not the answer," says CTA President Wayne Johnson.
Despite millions of dollars spent by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, voters rejected the school voucher initiative 71 percent to 29 percent - an even larger margin than in 1993. Proposition 38 was defeated in every county across the state and in every demographic group. African Americans, Latinos, Democrats and Republicans alike rejected vouchers as a solution for the problems of public schools.
The radio spot calls for more parental involvement, well-trained teachers, uncrowded classrooms, and clean, safe schools in order to implement high standards and make sure public schools get the resources they need.
"CTA will lead the fight to address the needs of low-performing schools and students," says Johnson. "It's time to close the achievement gap among inner-city, suburban and rural schools. Working together with teachers, parents and community members, we can get the job done."
CTA is currently surveying its members and conducting extensive research on low-performing schools. Teacher representatives to CTA's State Council of Education will discuss various options at its meeting in February.
The radio commercials ran on 112 stations, covering every media market in the state. They aired in six different languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin and Vietnamese.
A second advertising campaign will begin in the spring.
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Following is the script for the 'Straight Talk' radio spot:
I'm Wayne Johnson, president of the California Teachers Association.
California voters have again overwhelmingly rejected school vouchers. Research shows Californians want to improve public schools and vouchers won't help.
Instead, we need to implement high standards for our students, then make sure public schools get the resources they need to help kids perform. That means more parental involvement, well-trained teachers, uncrowded classrooms, and clean, safe schools.
Ensuring the best opportunity for every student means that some schools that have fallen behind will need extra help to raise their level of achievement.
The California Teachers Association will take the lead to make sure schools have the support they need to ensure a quality education for every child in every neighborhood. But it will take everyone to get the job done.
This message is brought to you by the California Teachers Association. Because every child deserves a chance to learn. And no child succeeds alone. |
