CATE 2007: Resolution 1 – Increase Library Funding to make Possible Compliance with the Williams Settlement
Background
The California Association for Teachers of English (CATE) support the intention of the Williams Settlement: all students must have equal access to the textbooks and curricular materials. In the past, library and media teachers have strategically refused to issue new texts to certain students in order to retrieve missing textbooks and to collect replacement money for those that are lost. With the Williams Settlement, libraries no longer have the power to use this method to replace a percent of precious library funds. As a result of the lawsuit, school libraries can no longer refuse to issue texts; thus they are unable to rigorously enforce the return of all textbooks. The state provided extra funds to offset the cost of implementing the Williams Settlement the first year. After the first year, however, no more state funds were allocated to sites to implement the Williams Settlement. Without a powerful incentive for students to return texts, and without additional funding from the state, public school libraries are falling into a significant deficit replacing missing and lost texts.
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge the legislature, with the support of the California State Department of Education, to increase funding to public school libraries and media centers for textbook and curricular materials and library personnel in order to ensure students equal access to textbooks and so that the schools can effectively enforce and comply with the Williams Settlement.
To
State Budget Committee
Chairs of Legislative Education Committees
State Superintendent of Public Education
State Secretary of Education
State Board of Education
CATE Resolution 2: Support for CSMP Funding
Background
Two California Subject Matter Projects (CSMP) are particularly important to CATE members. The California Writing Project (CWP), the original model for the National Writing Project (NWP), is the most successful and cost-effective staff development program for writing teachers in the state. Founded in 1979 by the late Jim Gray, CWP advocates the principle that the best teacher of teachers is another teacher. Teacher leaders working through CWP have extensive training in writing pedagogy and years of practical classroom expertise. If one wished to identify experts in the teaching of writing in California, the natural place to look first would be to one of the nineteen CWP sites.
Additionally, the California Reading and Literature Project (CRLP) supports professional development opportunities for teachers of reading and literature, including expository texts, in K-12 and university classrooms. Through its many institutes and school site programs, CRLP brings state-of-the-art classroom practice and sound theory to thousands of English teachers in California each year. If one wished to identify experts in the teaching of literature in California, the natural place to look first would be to one of the CRLP sites.
English teachers in California, who are recognized by their peers and by their administrators as superior practitioners, are frequently affiliated with one or both of these professional organizations. Together they represent an extraordinary pool of knowledge and insight about the teaching of all the language arts.
Resolution
Be it therefore resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge the legislature to continue funding the California Writing Project and the California Reading and Literature Project, commend and support those responsible for seeking additional funding, and express its continued support for the activities of these two excellent professional development projects.
To
State Budget Committee
Chairs of Legislative Education Committees
CATE 2007: Resolution 3 – Scheduled Reauthorization in 2007 of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act
Background
The 2002 NCLB Act has required significant changes in the way states fund programs, review grants, certify teachers, instruct students, assess progress, and report results. Intended to help schools close the achievement gap in English Language Arts between disadvantaged children and their peers, NCLB has, in fact, created under-funded programs; administered Reading First via an unreliable grant review process that has excluded many researchers; provided for questionable alternative teacher certification; superimposed an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) formula on top of many states’ own productivity formulas; and provided fewer, instead of more, choices for parents concerned about their children’s progress. Public and professional concern is growing over the increasing negative effect that the NCLB Act is having upon teaching and learning.
Whereas, under the current administration of the No Child Left Behind Act, children are still being left behind due, in part, to early, questionable, and frequent testing; the inclusion of English Learners with little or no English proficiency; negative school sanctions, and
Whereas, there is considerable doubt on the part of the public and of professional literacy educators about the efficacy of the NCLB Act as a transformative school reform measure
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge:
- Congress to consult carefully with teachers and local school officials to fashion revisions to the Act as it comes up for renewal, and
- the U.S. Department of Education to adopt a peer grant review system for Reading First made up of independent panels of scholars representing multiple perspectives to make recommendations on the basis of observable evidence, and
- the U.S. Department of Education to include “Growth Models” to track learning improvements for students over the course of the year and implement multiple measures to support these models, and
- the U.S. Department of Education to implement performance-based multiple measures to support the “Growth Models,” and, finally,
- Congress to eliminate the NCLB Act as it exists, or, if renewed, to fully fund it.
To
U.S. Senate Education Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Department of Education
CATE 2007: Resolution 4 – Recruitment that Supports Diversity
Background
As we look around our classrooms, we see students of different ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. Our curriculum has grown to include authors and subject matter that represents a variety of cultures to connect to students with various backgrounds. Additionally, students need to see a mirror of themselves in the teaching profession in order to consider it as a viable career opportunity. And yet, as we look at the teaching population, we are not seeing this broad spectrum represented, nor are we seeing both genders fairly represented. We see the rich differences in our students, in the novels, and in the textbooks, but sparingly in our teachers.
Loan forgiveness programs such as APLE have been successful in recruiting teachers; however, they fail to target groups that have been traditionally underrepresented.
We want students of today to become role models for future generations.
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge all recruitment centers, state programs, foundations, and those in the teaching profession to reach out and encourage men and women of different ethnic, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds and communities to become English/ Language Arts teachers. Additional programs need to be created and implemented beginning at the middle school level to encourage students to consider teaching as a career. Additionally, we need to retain teachers with these broad backgrounds.
To
State Board of Education
State Superintendent Public Instruction
State Secretary of Education
Chair of Legislation Education Committees
National Education Association
Future Teachers of America
Future Educators of America
Resolution 5– Exit Exam Requirements for English Language Learners
Background
Students who have been in the United States for one year must pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to obtain a high school diploma.
Research shows that acquiring academic levels in a second language requires 7-9 years of study. A minimum of at least 3 to 5 years is necessary for students to navigate the CAHSEE exam, since many students come to the United States with limited or no previous exposure to English.
Many students have a conversational level of English that allows them to access basic curriculum but is insufficient for multi-layered questions involving inference from text or deconstruction of writing prompts with sequenced instructions.
Often English Language Learners demonstrate proficiency on the math portion of the CAHSEE but fail to pass the English portion. In the past these same students were very successful in college.
Students sometimes spend an extra year in high school remedial English classes for the sole purpose of passing CAHSEE. Often these motivated students are unduly frustrated by their inability to pass CAHSEE and see it as a roadblock to reaching college.
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge the State Board of Education to allow English Learners who have had less than three years of study in the United States an exemption from being required to pass the English portion of the CAHSEE if they successfully complete all their units to graduate.
To
California State Board of Education
California State Department of Education
TESOL
CABE
CATESOL
Resolution #6—Balanced Curriculum
Background
Curriculum has narrowed to boost math and reading scores at the expense of technology education, physical education, science, social studies, literature, foreign languages, and the arts. Individual progress and success take a backseat to the school’s overall AYP score, where the focus is placed on basic reading, writing, and math.
Scripted curriculum and relentless pacing guides limit the interaction of students and teachers, fostering superficial skills at the expense of “teaching moments” and in-depth thinking.
Students need to be exposed to a number of different disciplines—including, technology education, physical education, science, social studies, literature, foreign languages, and the arts—because all disciplines support critical thinking and reinforce one another.
Historically, sports and the arts have been inducements for school attendance by students who may not have experienced academic success. If students are not in school, they do not come to our English classrooms to engage in reading and writing. Students should have as many access points as possible to school.
Supporting a rich variety of subject offerings is an equity issue that directly affects all facets of education, graduation rates, and life possibilities.
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) request the State Department of Education to encourage school districts to ensure a curriculum balanced with a variety of subject offerings for all students.
To
California Board of Education
California Department of Education
Resolution #7—Multiple Assessments to Determine Individual Progress
Background
In California, 44% of all schools failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2005.
If the percentage of “proficient” students is required to go up each year, with 100% proficiency expected by 2014, California is headed for a crisis. In large part, the single assessment to gauge student proficiency is contributing to the perception that students are not performing as well.
Typically, students meet proficiency levels set by the standards when they are graded on writing that stems from multiple drafts, writing that demonstrates effective progression in portfolios, and writing that shows their ability to think and perform across disciplines.
Therefore, because students come with diverse abilities and respond differently to tests, students should be assessed with multiple measures in order to evaluate their progress and proficiency.
Resolution
Be it resolved that the California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) urge the California Department of Education to support multiple measures (e.g., portfolios, essays, interdisciplinary projects, etc.) to count toward student progress and achievement, along with STAR test scores, when evaluating student proficiency for AYP and API.
To
California Board of Education
California Department of Education