Education Related Articles

California Budget Project: A Decade of Disinvestment

A new CBP School Finance Facts compares spending on public education in California with the rest of the US and shows that California's education spending ranks near the bottom according to several measures.

• California ranks 46th in the US in school spending per student. In 2010-11, California spent $8,908 per student on K-12 education, well below the $11,764 per student spent in the rest of the US. This school spending gap between California and the rest of the US is at its widest point in 40 years.
  
  
• California ranks in the bottom five states on other key measures, such as the number of K-12 students per teacher (ranked 50th) and K-12 spending as a share of the state's economy (ranked 47th).
  
  
• The number of students per teacher in California's K-12 schools is almost one-half larger (48.7 percent) than in the rest of the nation. In 2010-11, California averaged 20.5 students per teacher, compared with 13.8 students per teacher in the rest of the US.

Click here to read more about the School Finance Facts.

The New York Times: The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries

When we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say, “It’s these lazy soldiers and their bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!” No, if the results aren’t there, we blame the planners. We blame the generals, the secretary of defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No one contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay and scant recognition.

And yet in education we do just that. When we don’t like the way our students score on international standardized tests, we blame the teachers. When we don’t like the way particular schools perform, we blame the teachers and restrict their resources . . . . (read more)

Press Telegram: Video goes into teacher's world

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a teacher in the state's third-largest school district? Those curious about the world of education can check out a new video project from the Teachers Association of Long Beach called "A Day in the Life of a Teacher, Nurse or Librarian." The series of five-minute video diaries will feature educators talking about their experiences and classroom techniques. The first video is on the TALB website, YouTube and the TALB Facebook page . . . . (read more)

CNN: What teachers really want to tell parents

This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession. I screamed, "You can't leave us," and she quite bluntly replied, "Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can't deal with parents anymore; they are killing us." Unfortunately, this sentiment seems to be becoming more and more prevalent . . . .(read more)

Press Telegram: First-Day Firsts

The first day of kindergarten was met with tears and protests from 4-year-old Burnett Elementary student Marcos Rios. "He was so excited but the second we walked through the door he wouldn't let go of me," said mom Elizabeth Murillo, with a chuckle. "He's a mama's boy." Minutes later, Marcos was laughing and having fun with his classmates . . . . (read more)

Los Angeles Times: High turnover reported among charter school teachers

With so many charter school teachers moving on each year, concerns arise about retaining quality educators and how stability affects student performance . . . . (read more)