Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 46 | Number 12 | December 7, 2015
ESEA bill
moving at
press time
s
Click here for video
Zackeria Lovick, left, delivers backpacks filled with supplies to peers in need in Fresno USD.
Boy with the backpack
Second grader starts bighearted supply drive
Zackeria Lovick is one of the most
selfless 8-year-olds you will ever meet
in your life. A second grader at Figarden
Elementary in Fresno USD, Zackeria
launched a backpack supply drive to
help students in need.
“I think it just opened his eyes
because when we were talking about
it, and we were shopping for his own
supplies, I said, ‘Zackeria, things get
expensive,’”said Malarie Silos, Zackeria’s
mother. “I said, ‘You know there are kids
that can’t afford these supplies.’”
That conversation sparked an idea:
provide school supplies to kids who
cannot afford them. In a school district
where 87 percent of students live at
or below the poverty line, something
needed to be done. So Zackeria and
his mom launched “Zackeria’s School
Supply Drive.”
“It is a tremendous need for our students to feel that they have the supplies
needed to be successful at school,” said
Michiko English, an ACSA member
See BACKPACK, page 6
ACSA has been analyzing the details of
the latest version of the federal Elementary
and Secondary Education Act reauthorization, which passed through the House of
Representatives on the way to the Senate
last week as EdCal went to press.
The 1,059 page bill is a reconciliation
between the House and Senate proposals
that passed their respective houses over
the summer. A Conference Committee
debated the provisions of the reauthorization proposals and finalized its work in
mid-November, resulting in the final bill.
ACSA Legislative Advocate Laura
Preston is continuing to analyze the bill, but
said so far, it appears favorable to California
students and schools.
“The bill has a strong emphasis on transparency, and eliminates oppressive federal
mandates and sanctions,” she said. “More
importantly, it allows states to make their
own decisions about how to best deliver
public education to the students they serve.
It complements, rather than competes with,
the progress being made in California with
the Local Control Funding Formula and
Local Control and Accountability Plans.”
The bill would change the name of
ESEA to the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA). It would move away from the current federal overreach and prescription, as
well as return more autonomy and flexibility to the state and local levels. Additionally,
the bill would consolidate some of the titles
in the act. It has a three-year reauthorizaSee ESEA, page 2
Equity alliance to focus on results for CA students
A California Equity Leadership Alliance
has launched its efforts, representing a
diverse group of California educators,
school board members, school business
officials, superintendents, parents and civil
rights groups. The alliance is dedicated to
ensuring all students – regardless of race,
income, language or zip code – graduate
college- and career-ready.
“Our charge is to provide bold leadership
and direction by working diligently to promote policies and practices that eliminate
opportunity, access and achievement gaps
throughout the state,” said ACSA Executive
Director Wesley Smith. “We believe that a
steadfast focus on equity and results offers
all of California’s 6.2 million students the
best chance to graduate prepared for college,
a career, leadership and life.”
ACSA Diversity and Equal Access
Executive Nicole Anderson said the new
group is action-oriented and committed to
the educational success of all California stu-
dents, especially those who have historically
been underserved.
“The Association of California School
Administrators has made it our mission
to provide bold and authoritative leadership in order to effectively close the
educational gaps that exist in our school
system,” Anderson said. “In light of the
LCFF/LCAP legislation, these efforts have
recently been supported in a monumental
way through the formation of the California
Equity Leadership Alliance.”
In addition to ACSA, the Alliance
includes the Education Trust-West,
California Association of School Business
Officials, California Association of African
American Superintendents and Adminis
trators, California Association of Latino
Superintendents and Administrators,
Califor
nia School Boards Association,
California County Superintendents Educa
tional Services Association, and California
State Parent Teacher Association.
Build cultural proficiency
ACSA, in conjunction with its equity
partners, is proud to have kicked off three
unique new capacity-building experiences
through our Equity Institutes. These institutes have begun in Lynwood, Oakland, and
Victorville, with a Fresno institute slated to
begin next month.
ACSA is partnering with Generation
Ready, Teaching Excellence Network and
Partners in School Innovation in facilitating
these new institutes in ACSA’s professional
development program.
These institutes have already featured
See INSTITUTE, page 8
Negotiators event. The 2016
Symposium for Negotiators and
Negotiations Teams, “Dollars & Sense
in an Era of Accountability,” will be
held Jan. 20-22 in San Diego. Having
a well-trained and informed negotiations team provides the framework
upon which school change and student
academic success is built. The ACSA
symposium helps those working in
the field of negotiations keep their
skills sharp while staying abreast of
the latest law and policy related to
their work. Register online now at
www.acsa.org. Click on Educational
Services, then Conferences, and boo