June 3: Background

Background for the Discussion

In 1999, a Resolution of the California State Senate called for the creation of a Master Plan for Education. The draft Master Plan addressed by this Online Dialogue is one step towards a new Plan. (See the Introduction for more.)

Problem: "Education ... provides Californians with the knowledge and skills to maintain our system of government, to foster a thriving economy, and to provide the foundation for a harmonious society." However, in California today:

• schools serving large concentrations of low-income, Black, Latino, and Native American students too often have many inexperienced teachers with emergency teaching permits, poorly maintained sites, and a lack of proper instructional materials.
• student achievement is a concern, as indicated by national test scores, graduation rates (particularly low for Latino and Black students), need for remedial instruction when high school graduates enter postsecondary education, and low rates of entry into the well-paid science and technology sectors for women of all races and for African American and Latino men.

The draft Plan Introduction and overview "Why a New Plan" list additional reasons for change, including enrollment increases in which the greater proportion of students are from low-income families and students of color - those the public education system has often done the worst job of serving. Postsecondary students (including English language learners, adult re-entry students, part-time students, etc.) also have increasingly diverse needs.

Past disjointed efforts - including major reforms - have improved only parts of the system. California's K-12 education is now governed by a fragmented set of entities, which are sometimes in conflict. There is a need for a long-term vision from birth through graduate school to guide education policy and budget decisions.

Vision: The Plan is intended as "a framework to guide state and local policymakers, educational institutions, agencies, and leaders, in making decisions ... to provide clear statements of expectations and goals; and to facilitate flexibility for local needs and opportunities."

"California will develop and maintain a cohesive system of first-rate schools, colleges, and universities that prepares all students for transition to and success in the next level of education, the workforce, and general society, and that is responsive to the changing needs of our state and our people."

"The fundamental principle that serves as the foundation for this Master Plan is that an effective and accountable education system must focus first and foremost on the learner."

"Equal opportunity for all has been a broad goal of American public education for generations." Now it is time that "schools will be capable of providing the various kinds of instructional and other support necessary for all children to succeed, including children whose readiness to learn has received little or no attention prior to their entering school."