Hello there,
This is the time of year when we officially celebrate and thank so many of our school employees who, even under the challenging conditions like we have experienced in the last year, continue to dedicate themselves to the education, well-being and safety of our students.
I want to begin, however, by sharing with you the gratitude that I feel about the increased investment in our schools, our families, and our communities that we are now seeing from our state and federal government.
I am especially grateful for President Biden's Families Plan which will make significant and transformational investments from early childhood to postsecondary education by:
- providing universal, high quality preschool to all 3 and 4 year-olds;
- providing two years of free community college;
- investing in making college more affordable for low- and middle-income students; and
- investing in our teachers as well as our students, improving teacher training and support
In addition to these public education focused investments, the direct financial support and critical tax credits for families are going to make a world of difference for so many families, especially after the hardships so many have endured during the pandemic.
I am also feeling very grateful for the investments Governor Newsom is proposing as a result of the increased revenues in our state. His "California Comeback Plan" will invest in:
- converting school sites in community schools;
- transforming the youth behavioral system;
- accelerating learning through 'high-dose' research tested interventions;
- funding summer and after school programs;
- providing incentives for teachers to teach in high-need and high-poverty schools;
- improving staff to student ratios at all schools serving the highest concentrations of vulnerable students, including up to five additional counselors, nurses, teachers or paraeducators at each school;
- achieving universal transitional kindergarten for four-year olds;
- reducing class sizes, cutting adult-to-child ratios in half and expanding subsidized child care slots; and
- create savings accounts for students enrolled in K-12 public schools and additional funding for incoming first graders.
I know some of you may want to know the details, so in the Board of Education section below, you'll find a detailed summary of all the proposed investments.
But I wanted to highlight a couple of key investments.
- The Governor's proposal to invest 7 billion dollars to expand broadband infrastructure. This report by the Public Policy Institute spells out the many challenges we face in this regard, among them that only 40% of low income students and one third of black and Latino students have internet access in California and,
- A statewide and comprehensive transformation of the behavioral health system for all Californians age 25 and younger. This investment promises to "change the life trajectory of children so that they can grow up to be healthier, both physically and mentally”. You can learn more about it here.
To learn more about what this last investment meant for our students, I took the time to meet with Pia Escudero, the Executive Director of our Student Health and Human Services Division. You can see the series of short videos from this interview here.
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Appreciating all our School Employees
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This year most especially, we have taken some time to appreciate so many of our school employees, take a look!
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Let's not forget why some of our school employees have such an impact on our students' lives!
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And this week, it's time to appreciate our Classified Employees. We'll report back on what all we did in our next newsletter.
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As graduation season approaches, our office created “Celebrating Seniors,” a platform where we invite high school seniors to share their reflections, and next steps. To make an addition or offering encouraging comments to one of our graduating seniors, you may click on the image or visit: http://bd3.info/seniors.
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Coping with Change Webinar
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In recognition of Student Mental Health Week, I recently hosted a wellness webinar for elementary students in partnership with Cedars-Sinai’s Share & Care program.
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I’m so happy to share that Cleveland High School’s own Parishi Kanuga was recently elected by her peers to serve as the 2021-22 Student Board Member. Ms. Kanuga will be the first Student Board Member from the San Fernando Valley! My office had the pleasure to recently meet her.
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Governor Newsom May Revision for the 2021-22 State Budget
Following a week-long announcements, Governor Gavin Newsom presented his May Revision proposal to the Legislature that includes a $100 billion package known as the “California Comeback Plan” to support one-time, multi-year initiatives and new ongoing investments. As part of the “California for All Kids Plan,” Governor Newsom proposes a combination of one-time and ongoing funds totaling $20 billion over the next five years. You can find the detailed summary here.
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Here are the projects in Board District 3 that were approved this month at the Board of Education meeting.
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I also want to share this short video recapping my recent visit to the West Valley Occupational Center. It gives you a picture of all that’s going on at our adult schools. To learn more about adult education programs near you, click here or call 1-888-730-EARN.
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To see our entire playlist of videos on reopening, click here.
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