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? Two 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

Note: The views expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect those of EdSource or its funders.

Video:

 

Forum Resources:

The state superintendent serves as the official spokesperson and advocate for California public schools and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the California Department of Education (CDE), including determining the department's priorities.

The election for Superintendent of Public Instruction will be on June 8. If one candidate does not receive more than 50% of the votes, then the top two vote getters will face off in November. The new superintendent will serve a four-year term beginning in January 2011.  

From EdSource: 

• Governance of Public Schools
  This page describes the role and responsibilities of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and how that position fits into the overall governance of California's public schools. 

About the candidates: 

• Larry Aceves, a former teacher, principal, and school district superintendent, is past president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Read more>
  
• Tom Torlakson, a former teacher and state senator, is a California assembly member, chair of the Assembly’s Select Committee on Schools and Community, and a member of the Education and Appropriations committees. Read more>  

Other Forum Links:

In addition to this discussion, the Forum included the following sessions:

• Introduction: Setting the Stage (Forum moderator Davis Campbell)
• Session #1: California's Fiscal Crisis and its Impact on K-12 Education and Community Colleges (California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor)
• Session #2: Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better (Principal Investigator Michael Kirst; Project Director Trish Williams)
• Session #3: Who Will Be California's Next Superintendent of Public Instruction? (Candidates Larry Aceves, Tom Torlakson; moderator Greg Lucas)
• Session #4: The Community College System: Higher Expectations, Greater Challenges, New Approaches (Jack Scott, Chancellor of California Community Colleges; Hal Plotkin, Senior Policy Advisor to Under Secretary of Education; moderator, Kenneth Hall)

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