Topic: Education Issues
School Choice: A Tale of Two Countries
Norway and Sweden take divergent paths
By Jeffery M. Freitas, CFT Secretary Treasurer
In October I accompanied AFT President Randi Weingarten and several fellow AFT union leaders on a fact-finding trip to Sweden and Norway. The purpose of the trip was to examine firsthand the approaches taken by the countries to inform our own approach to public education.
At first glance, Sweden and Norway seem nearly identical. Both countries have low levels of income inequality. They fund their schools well and it shows. They both have high rates of union membership and participation. And they both have a relatively high rate of electoral participation.
An open letter…CFT rejects fully online college proposal
Responding to Gov. Jerry Brown’s request for the development of options for a fully online college, the California Community Colleges on November 13 announced three options and belatedly asked for comment from stakeholder groups.
Quest for fair accreditation ends in union victory
CFT and ACCJC agree on key points in legal settlement
Since the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges made its appalling decision to terminate City College of San Francisco’s accreditation four years ago, AFT Local 2121, the faculty union there, and the CFT have fought back through legislation, lawsuits, political pressure and protests.
ACCJC settles out of court after four-year battle
On August 7, 2017, CFT and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), which oversees accreditation of community colleges in California, settled a four-year lawsuit out of court.
Following on the heels of the ACCJC reaccrediting City College of San Francisco (CCSF) for seven years last January, this brings to a close — with a happy ending — the sorry saga of the ACCJC’s illegal attempt to close CCSF, and the fight led by the CFT and AFT Local 2121 to prevent that from happening.
Contingent faculty and academic freedom in the age of Trump
Organizing the disenfranchised is the key to success
By Bob Samuels, President UC-AFT
Now that more than 75 percent of the instructors teaching in higher education in the United States do not have tenure, it is important to think about how the current political climate affects those vulnerable teachers. Although we should pay attention to how all faculty are being threatened, non-tenured faculty are in an especially exposed position because they often lack any type of academic freedom or shared governance rights.
Faculty grill replacement leader of the ACCJC
Interim commission president listens, pledges some new ways forward
At the end of a CFT Convention Friday night Community College Council meeting that went over the 10 o’clock ending time, Richard Winn said he wanted to continue being a “thinking partner” with the CFT and thanked everyone for their honesty.
He might have preferred a little less honesty. Winn is the interim president of the Accreditation Commission of Community and Junior Colleges, and the assembled members of CFT had plenty to say about the commission’s unfairness, lack of transparency, and meddling in collective bargaining. The CFT has a federal lawsuit against ACCJC and continues to fight for a new accreditor.
How can we find common ground with the charter school community?
By Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President
I recently attended a forum with Secretary Treasurer Jeff Freitas organized by the NAACP to examine charter schools. America’s oldest civil rights organization is hosting a series of events around the country to get feedback on a proposed national policy calling for a moratorium on new charter schools.
Fair accreditation: The long arc of our successful campaign
How a rogue agency damaged colleges in Compton and San Francisco
The Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges, a private 19-member panel that oversees community colleges in California and Hawaii, has been much in the news over its threat to pull City College of San Francisco’s accreditation — a battle the union and college recently won with the January 13 news that its accreditation is fully restored for the next seven years.
Rally to stop DeVos confirmation draws hundreds
As the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee of the U.S. Senate voted to advance the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education to the full Senate along party lines this morning, hundreds of Bay Area parents, teachers, and students came together at a noon rally and press conference in front of the Federal Building in Oakland to denounce her nomination.
Two members named California Teachers of Year
Poway special education teacher, Los Angeles ESL science teacher honored
Megan Gross, a teacher at Del Norte High School in the Poway Unified School District, one of two CFT members recognized as a California Teacher of the Year, credits her union with having her back.
“I feel like they’re very supportive,” she said about San Diego County’s Poway Federation of Teachers. “They’ve been a great support to both our department and our school.”
Congresswoman Speier leads forum on accreditation
Broad support for San Francisco City College in advance of January decision
Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier convened a panel discussion at City College of San Francisco on November 28, her third on the topic since the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges revoked the accreditation of City College in 2013.
Speier pointed out that the people of San Francisco love their college, having just voted in November for a second parcel tax to support it, and passing Proposition W to make tuition free. She is “hopeful and optimistic” about the college’s future and defeating the ACCJC.
Families drawn to 40,000-book giveaway
Daly City AFT local unions host FirstBook community outreach
The 40,000-book giveaway at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School on October 8, drew many families from Daly City’s Asian community, which accounts for almost 60 percent of the city’s 100,000 residents.
- Julius Li, who was looking for books with 16-month-old daughter Madison in his arms, said they have story time twice a day.
- Annabelle Mai, a first grader at Westlake Elementary, was happy because reading books is her favorite thing to do before going to sleep at night.
Speier praises CCSF, condemns ACCJC
Congresswoman calls for forum on accreditation issue
One thing for certain about Congresswoman Jackie Speier: she is consistent. On November 28 at a City College of San Francisco (CCSF) forum that she organized and hosted, the Bay Area congresswoman sang the praises of the largest community college in California. She also made clear that no matter what the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) decides in its January meeting about CCSF, she will do everything in her power to keep the school open and serving its tens of thousands of students.
Free community college: Support staff in higher education rise to the new challenge
Support staff in higher education rise to the new challenge
President Barack Obama started a movement when he announced America’s College Promise in his 2015 State of the Union address.
In the nearly two years since Obama called on Congress to make the first two years of higher education free, six states have enacted Promise programs and another 10 legislatures are moving in that direction.
Falling enrollment, cancelled classes, and part-time faculty
FIRST PERSON | Renee Fraser
Many of us have been teaching in community college for 20 years or more, and we remember the days when the mission was education, not production. Classes might have 25 or 30 students, so we could have seminar-style discussions and individual project presentations, and even memorize the names of our students. We might assign lengthy papers and essays, and we had time to read each one, make comments, and allow students to rewrite them.
CDE releases request for proposals for credentialing program
Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program
Updated October 11, 2016
The annual budget passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor includes an appropriation of $20 million over five years to fund a CFT co-sponsored piece of legislation known as the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program.
Every Student Succeeds Act: Coming soon to your classroom
State regulations being crafted for new federal law to replace NCLB
Jeni Nudell started this school year like most others, focusing on setting up her classroom, getting to know her students, and administering the California English Development Test to her students at the Rosa Parks Learning Center in the San Fernando Valley.
The Every Student Succeeds Act isn’t high on her radar. The new federal law to replace the one-size-fits-all testing fixation of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act doesn’t take effect until next school year.
Family engagement coordinators perform vital outreach
New classified positions flourish under Local Control Accountability Plans
The first time most parents or guardians of a Berkeley student meet Jocelyn Foreman is soon after bad news has knocked on their door. Be it a death in the family, an eviction notice, a pink slip, or any crisis that throws a household into chaos, Foreman is there to help.
A veteran teacher’s perspective on magic, old and new
Will “newer” always be seen as “better,” despite the evidence?
I recently received an email from a first-year sixth grade teacher asking about my classroom management system. I’ve taught for 37 years, making me a veteran teacher by any reckoning.
Flattered of course, I revealed the nitty-gritty of my ticket system. Long and short of it — when kids are good they get tickets. When negative behaviors transpire, tickets are taken away.
Right for the job: When classified and paras become teachers
CFT-sponsored AB 2122 helps staff transition to certificated status
Carlos Howe began working as a security officer for the Hawthorne School District in 2000, but he wanted more. After earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration, Howe joined the Santa Monica Police Department. It wasn’t a good fit.
“My hair was on fire everyday. I had recently married and was a brand new father, but it was dangerous and I was always gone, so I switched gears.”