MUSD ahead of many districts in state (March 11)
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
It turns out the State of California missed its chance to be eligible for Race to the Top funds that President Obama was ready to hand out and that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was ready to accept.
Not enough of the state’s school districts signed up to improve their schools. Madera Unified School District did sign on, however, well aware that it has some schools that need the kind of help a fat federal grant could provide.
The Obama Administration, in announcing the Race to the Top program last summer, said it would reward only those states that raise their academic standards, improve teacher quality and expand the reach of charter schools. Obama said politics would not be part of the mix, only “whether a state is ready to do what works. We will use the best data available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform.”
While not enough school districts in California would sign on, Kentucky and some other states already have shown their eligibility by signing on to improve the jobs they do in education.
We mention Kentucky because that state often lags behind California in some basic educational measurements.
Now, what? Will California change its mind and reapply?
A lot of teacher unions hate the idea of Race to the Top because it recognizes the contributions charter schools have made to improving education for some students. They also realize that federal money, once accepted, might bring with it an obligation to perform, and that the money could be withdrawn if performance was not evident.
Madera Unified was willing to rise to that challenge, even with the knowledge that most or all of its programs might be affected by budget cuts. MUSD can teach some districts in the rest of the state a thing or two on that matter.
144 MUSD teachers received layoff notices yesterday. Seems like an incredible number for a town our size. Some of them still have a chance to keep thier jobs, although all of them derserve to. I find it hard to believe that the needed cuts can’t be taken elsewhere, our teachers are the most important frontline we have for our kids. I know we need to save our butts financially now, but it should not be at the expense of our children’s future. Who is going to ru our community and state when the kids of today grow up uneducated and do not have the skills to engage in thier own generation’s well being. Thier kids, and so on, Madera’s future lies in the hands of our teachers. Keep them!