Lessons Learned
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This policy brief examines the recent development and approval of Proposition A in the San Francisco Unified School District, which included a parcel tax for increasing teacher salaries, introducing flexibility to the salary schedule, and strengthening accountability for teacher performance. The author describes how the district and union worked together to increase compensation and align school district goals with teacher salaries.
A Primer
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The report is a primer on alternative teacher compensation, which provides information about different models for teacher pay, and analyzes the benefits and challenges of each model. It highlights the reasons for the interest in alternative compensation, such as improving teacher quality, increasing teacher retention, and addressing teacher shortages. The report also examines the potential impact of alternative compensation on student outcomes, and offers recommendations for policymakers and practitioners considering implementing such programs.
Moving Beyond the Stereotype
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This brief examines how Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between school districts and teachers’ unions vary across California's 464 districts, suggesting that local flexibility is being used to solve specific problems. However, CBAs in high-need student districts are less likely to include unconventional provisions. The author suggests three policy levers the state can use to ensure local flexibility is used to benefit students: sharing best practices, incentives for innovation, and sanctions for abusing flexibility.
School Finance and Governance in California
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Getting Down to Facts is an extensive investigation of CA's public education system commissioned by a bipartisan group of CA leaders. The project aimed to describe California's school finance and governance systems, identify obstacles hindering resource utilization, and estimate costs to achieve student outcome goals. The project resulted in 23 reports by scholars, which highlight that the current school finance and governance systems fail to help students achieve state performance goals, particularly those from low-income families. The reports provide a framework for assessing reform options.
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This policy brief proposes policy recommendations to improve teaching quality in California schools by experimenting with new policies in professional development, evaluation, compensation, and teacher career structure. It includes descriptions of innovative programs in each area being implemented across the US. The state can play a critical role in providing incentives, evaluating effectiveness, and developing partnerships to share knowledge about effective policies and practices.
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This report examines personnel policies in California schools and their impact on teacher quality and student outcomes. It finds that many districts have ineffective policies and recommends reforms, such as performance evaluations and professional development. The report also emphasizes the need to attract and retain high-quality teachers, provide support for them, and promote collaboration between districts and unions.
Collective Bargaining and Student Achievement
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This article discusses the evolution of union-management discussions in education over the past two decades, and the emergence of professional unionism. However, in recent years, professional unionism has declined due to management's reluctance to partner with unions, politicians' lack of recognition of union efforts, and unions' reluctance to take on additional responsibilities. The article recommends labor law changes that require unions and management to negotiate student achievement goals as a means of addressing these issues.
What Are Their Effects, and What Are Their Implications for School Finance?
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The report explores the impact of teacher sorting, or the tendency for high-achieving students to be assigned to more effective teachers, on student achievement. It finds that teacher sorting has a significant positive effect on student achievement in both math and English language arts. The effects are particularly strong for students who start out low-achieving. The report argues that policies aimed at reducing teacher sorting, such as random assignment of students to teachers, may be counterproductive for student achievement.
Full Report
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The Teaching and California's Future initiative provides policymakers with data on the teacher workforce and labor market. The initiative's annual report details teacher development policies and their impact on teacher quality and distribution. The goal is to help policymakers make informed decisions about strengthening the state's teacher workforce.
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The quality of teaching and the need to expand California's ranks of excellent teachers demand urgent public discussion. We must attract the best and brightest to teaching, prepare them effectively, and support and retain them. Solutions require bipartisan leadership, not spin. This report presents the latest research and projections, highlighting that while some numbers are improving, we're likely to face severe shortages again soon and the pipeline for recruiting, preparing, and training teachers has substantial problems.
A Survey of California Teachers’ Challenges, Experiences, and Professional Development Needs
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This report highlights the challenges faced by English learners in California schools and the need for better implementation of policies supporting them. The authors emphasize the importance of recognizing students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and providing them with meaningful opportunities to develop their skills. They also call for more research in language assessment and bilingual education. Overall, improving outcomes for English learners is crucial for promoting equity and social justice in California's schools.
Educators Respond to Accountability
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The Educator Responses to Accountability Project (ERAP) explores the impact of public school accountability on California teachers' and administrators' classroom practices and professionalism. State and federal policymakers support accountability, but there has been little research on local educators' experiences with such reforms. PACE conducted in-depth interviews with educators in eight elementary schools across California to understand their knowledge, understanding, and efforts to address student achievement inequities within the context of accountability.
Implementation of Training and Retention Initiatives in the Bay Area
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The early care and education (ECE) profession faces staffing problems due to understaffed centers, high turnover rates, and an educationally bifurcated workforce. To mitigate this issue, programs like the California Childcare Retention Incentive (CRI) provide monetary stipends to ECE professionals who meet tenure and education requirements. This policy brief summarizes findings from a two-year evaluation of CRI programs in Alameda and San Francisco counties, focusing on themes relevant to Year 2 implementation.
California’s Teaching Force, 2004—Key Issues and Trends
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California's aging teacher workforce will lead to a significant demand for teachers, with shortages particularly in special education and secondary education. The number of underprepared teachers in low-performing schools serving minority, poor, and ELL students is disproportionate. Budget cuts have reduced funding for recruitment and professional development programs, and California's induction system needs refinement. Curriculum-based professional development programs have mainly targeted elementary school teachers, neglecting the training needs of secondary teachers.
Bay Area Childcare Retention Incentive Programs Evaluation—Year One Progress Report, 2001–02
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The First 5 California Children and Families Commission has funded the Childcare Retention Incentive (CRI) to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) staff training and retention. An evaluation funded by First 5 California assesses the efficacy of CRI programs in San Francisco and Alameda counties. This report summarizes the preliminary findings from the first year of the Alameda Child Development Corps and San Francisco CARES programs, which examine whether CRI recipients are more likely to participate in training and be retained compared to non-participating ECE staff.
Summary Report
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This report argues that the state of California needs to prioritize better education for all children with a sustained long-term investment of resources and leadership. Despite political upheaval and fiscal problems, there is a consensus for better education. The authors suggest that the issue requires a response as intense and sustained as the state's response to natural disasters, and calls for a system of teacher development to ensure all teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to meet academic standards.
Which Families Use Subsidies and Home-Based or Center Care?
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Public spending on childcare has increased, but low-income families still face barriers to accessing subsidies. This working paper examines the choices made by 1,974 parents in California who moved from welfare to work and needed childcare. The study found that parents relied on a mix of formal and informal childcare options, and that the expansion of one form of care did not necessarily influence parents' choices.
Lessons for Early Education
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This policy brief discusses state initiatives in the US aimed at retaining and improving the quality of preschool and childcare staff, with a focus on California's $21 million annual investment. While K-12 reforms have been underway longer and are usually better-funded, early childhood education policymakers and educators will find valuable information about experimental efforts and lessons on systemwide reform.
The Early Impacts of Welfare Reform for California's Children, 1998–2000
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This report examines the effects of welfare-to-work and childcare capacity building on the childcare system in California, prompted by changes in the childcare system and welfare reform. The study was requested by the California Department of Social Services, and this paper provides an overview of the findings.
Findings from the Child Care Providers Focus Groups
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This report presents findings from PACE's study on how California's childcare subsidy system and CalWORKs program impact licensed and license-exempt childcare providers. Five focus groups were conducted in 1999 and 2000, with topics organized by providers' services, philosophies of care, operational issues, and opinions about the subsidy system. The report provides insight into the experiences of childcare providers across California, but does not claim to be representative of the industry.
Lessons from San Francisco and Alameda Counties
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The policy brief discusses the reasons behind California's increase in public investment in early care and education programs, including the rising demand for childcare, recognition of the potential benefits for child development and school readiness, and the implementation of welfare-to-work programs with results and insights from both San Francisco and Alameda Counties.
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This report discusses an initiative by the California Children and Families Commission to expand the availability and quality of early care and education programs. The project includes recruiting and training early care providers, improving professional preparation, and implementing strategies to retain trained providers. The report provides information on existing training programs available to early childhood professionals and students, including accredited/non-accredited opportunities at community colleges, state universities, private colleges, and child care resource and referral agencies.
New Lessons for Los Angeles
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California is experiencing a shortage of quality childcare options for families, despite increased funding from the government and parents. Local policymakers in Los Angeles County are conducting research to determine where childcare supply falls short of demand and how to allocate resources to address the issue. Two recent studies provide options for policymakers to consider.
New Education Policy Center's Goal Is to Be Information Resource for Policymakers and Michigan Educators
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Michigan State University's College of Education has established the nonpartisan Education Policy Center to provide lawmakers and educational leaders with accurate, research-based information to improve the state's educational system. With the support of the university's resources, the center aims to play an important role in deepening the policy debate and bringing about improvements in the system. The center was established due to a lack of systematic communication between researchers and policymakers in Michigan.
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Governments are expanding the availability of portable child-care vouchers to boost working parents' purchasing power, rather than simply building more child-care facilities. Despite this, parents in poor communities still have limited choices due to cost and supply. Many eligible parents are not using subsidies, resulting in high out-of-pocket expenses for child care. Low-income working mothers make tough choices, working more hours or relying on informal providers, resulting in several transitions for children throughout the week, which experts suggest is not good for young children.