We're in this together

This year's theme for the Day of the Teacher couldn't have been more fitting because, despite what Governor Schwarzenegger says, excellence in our public schools really does begin with all of you. You prove it in your classrooms every day. And I want to take this moment to congratulate and honor you for that hard work.

The best proof of your hard work can be seen in the faces of your students, but if you want some statistics to drive home the point, let me share just a few.

Reading scores are up: The number of California public school fourth-graders scoring in the two highest levels in reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) increased by 17 percent between 1994 and 2003. The number of eighth-graders scoring in the two highest levels increased by 10 percent between 2002 and 2003.

Writing scores are up: The number of eighth-graders scoring in the two highest levels in writing on the NAEP increased by 15 percent between 1998 and 2002.

Math scores are up: The number of fourth-graders scoring in the two highest levels in math on the NAEP more than doubled between 1996 and 2003, while the number of eighth-graders increased by 83 percent between 1990 and 2003.

Among the best in the nation in students going on to college: California is one of the top 14 states in the percentage of students ages 18 to 24 enrolling in college.

Among the nation's biggest gains in college entrance exam scores: California is one of the top 13 states in percentage increase over the past decade in high school graduates with scores in the top 20 percent nationally on either ACT or SAT college entrance examinations.

Of course, test scores are not the only or the best measure of success, but these are some pretty impressive statistics. Now, I'm not saying that we can't improve or that we shouldn't have high expectations for all our students and schools. We can and we do.

But that's why this fight with the governor is so frustrating. We are fighting to hold on to what we have, when what we really want to do is improve.

I agree with the governor: No one wants the status quo. The status quo ranks California 44th in per-pupil funding, 49th in student class sizes, 47th in the number of computers per student, and dead last in the number of librarians and counselors per student. No, I certainly don't want the status quo.

Teachers do a better-than-average job every day in the classroom, but we have a system for funding our schools that is below average.

As the San Jose Mercury News editorialized, "We're talking about rising to the national average, not matching those states that spend $2,000 or $3,000 more per pupil than California. It would be a challenge for any state to do a better-than-average job in education with less-than-average expenditures. It seems especially unlikely to happen in California. California has more students who arrived in this country only recently, or who come from homes where English is not the primary language. Schools need extra resources to help them. Even spending at the national average, California would be challenged to offer the same class size, variety in curriculum, textbooks, labs, libraries, athletic facilities, music and arts programs as states where a dollar goes further."

So, what's the governor's answer? An initiative that would gut Proposition 98, the minimum school-funding guarantee passed by California voters. Prop. 98 was never designed to be the funding ceiling. It's supposed to be the floor. In fact, Prop. 98, which is current state law, calls for California to rank in the top 10 in per-student funding. It's hard to even imagine that, but it's certainly what our kids deserve. Under the governor's proposal, our schools would never even reach average funding.

In February, I said, "Don't agonize. Organize!" As you'll read in this issue, everyone has taken that message to heart. The local organizing you're doing on behalf of your students, schools and profession is not only inspiring, but is also building strong local chapters and is sending a clear message to the governor about what educators and parents really think about his agenda for our schools.

Thanks to all of your local efforts, as well as CTA's statewide media campaign and all of our work with local and state coalitions, the governor's job approval ratings have taken a nosedive. However, this fight is far from over.

Throughout our rich history, CTA members had to fight for everything we've achieved. We had to fight for decent pay and working conditions. We had to fight for a decent pension and a fair process for teacher dismissal. We had to fight to get smaller classes in our lower grades. And we had to fight to get a minimum guarantee for public school funding after Proposition 13 devastated school budgets.

We cannot and will not stand by while the governor rolls back the progress we have made over the last two decades. As we have in the past, we must rise to this new challenge as well. Our students and our fellow educators are counting on it.