EdSource 2010 Forum
California at a Crossroads: Crisis and Opportunity
March 19, 2010
Santa Clara, California
Crisis or Opportunity—which is it? In California, it is often both! With almost 6.3 million K-12 students and 2.9 million community college students, California's K-14 budget, policy, and reform issues are always important—and certainly this year is no different.
This year's EdSource Forum had a state K-14 budget update and projection, the release of a groundbreaking study of middle grades in California, two candidates running for the important office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and two high-level community college leaders in their first joint moderated discussion.
Forum Videos and Resources
Introduction: Setting the Stage
Davis Campbell, President, EdSource Board of Directors and President, CSBA Governance Institute
Session I: California's Fiscal Crisis and its Impact on K-12 Education and Community Colleges
Hear an update on the state education budget and the federal education funding, plus projections for 2010-11, including a timely analysis of the governor's January budget proposal.
Mac Taylor, California's Legislative Analyst
Session II: Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better
The new findings from this landmark study identify school and district practices and policies that distinguish higher from lower performing schools on the California Standards Tests.
Michael W. Kirst, Principal Investigator, Middle Grades Study, and Emeritus Professor of Education and Business Administration, Stanford University
Trish Williams, Middle Grades Study Project Director and EdSource Executive Director
Session III: Who Will Be California's Next Superintendent of Public Instruction?
What are their plans for K-12? Who has the best ideas? How do these candidates view the new federal initiatives? Three candidates discuss their views.
Larry Aceves, Retired School District Superintendent and Past President of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)
Tom Torlakson, California Assembly Member, Chair of the Assembly's Select Committee on Schools and Community, Member of the Education and Appropriations Committees, and former State Senator
Session Moderator: Greg Lucas, California political writer and satirist, freelance writer, speaker, and consultant on writing and communications
Session IV: The Community College System: Higher Expectations, Greater Challenges, New Approaches
When students graduate from K-12, the greatest numbers of them head for the community college system. What efforts do these two leaders think are needed now to increase academic success for more of these students?
Jack Scott, Chancellor, California Community Colleges; Former State Senator; Former President, Pasadena City College
Hal Plotkin, Senior Policy Advisor to Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter
Session Moderator: Kenneth Hall, Fiscal Officer, EdSource Board of Directors and Executive in Residence, University of Southern California