Going Beyond
the Book:
Redefining “Adequate”
Resources in Public Schools
Presented by…
C.R.E.A.M.TEAM
Presentation Overview
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Research Question
Thesis
Methods
Context
Williams v. State of California
Definition of resources
Claims
Implications
Recommendations
Research Question
What learning resources do all stake
holders in education believe every
student needs in order to receive a high
quality education?
Who is entitled to these resources?
Does every student have access to these defined
resources?
How are communities resisting the unequal
distribution of resources?
Thesis
Since the Williams case, all schools in California
have been receiving an inadequate education.
Students don’t have the learning resources in
order to become internationally competitive.
We argue that students from urban schools
are being more affected by this lack of
useful and effective human resources, upto-date technology and textbooks, and
service-learning opportunities in their
communities.
Methods
Quantitative
◦ Surveys
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Beverly Hills High
Manual Arts High
Crenshaw High
Los Angeles High
◦ Statistical Analysis
 College Opportunity Ratio
 Adequate Yearly Progress
 Academic Performance
Index
Qualitative
Interviews
◦ Video and audio
recordings & Pictures
◦ Field notes from school
visits
◦ Personal experiences
From FIRST to WORST…
1950s
• Locally
Funded and
controlled
• CA schools
regarded as
best in the
nation
1960-70s
• 1965 Watts
Rebellion
• Serrano v.
Priest
• Prop 13
2000
• Williams v.
State of
California
Williams v. State of CA
Complaints
◦ Unsafe & Unhealthy
Facility Conditions
 For schools to be clean
and safe
◦ Teacher Vacancies and
Misassignments
 Assuring we have
qualified teachers
◦ Instructional Materials
 Textbooks
 Technology
Settlement

AB 550
◦ Sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials
◦ “each pupil, including
English learners, has a
textbook or instructional
materials, or both, to use
in class and to take home
to complete required
homework assignments”
(AB 550, 18;ECS 60119)
STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS
TO TECHNOLOGY AND
TEXTBOOKS THAT ARE
OUT-DATED AND DON’T
PREPARE THEM FOR
SOCIETY AND ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE.
“The pattern of inequalities is similar
across all types of communication and
information technologies…problem
goes…to a more fundamental social
stratification problem (Norris 2001).”
My school has enough technology
available to students.
59%
41%
Agree
Disagree
“ Our classroom computers
are about 8 years old, they
don’t work.”
- Ben Gertner, Principal of the School
of Communication, New Media, and
Technology
“We have computers, [but] I can’t say
they are all good computers.”
-Brandi from Crenshaw Senior High
“…We have our textbooks, but … they are
old, I don’t want to read a book from like
1991 I feel books need to be updated...”
-Rodney from Westchester High
I have a class and home set of
textbooks.
Agree
47%
52%
Disagree
API
900
800
847
817
700
565
600
465
500
547
445
536
408
400
2000
2009
300
200
100
0
BHHS
LAHS
CHS
MAHS
(ED Data 2010)
AYP
2000
1800
1820
1718
1600
1400
1076
1200
1000
787
800
2004
2009
731
716
600
422
392
400
200
0
BHHS
LAHS
MAHS
CHS
(ED Data 2010)
Global Competitiveness
“Progress in equalizing resources to students will
require attention to inequalities at all levels
.… State funding should be allocated to
students…for specific student needs, such as
poverty, limited English proficiency, or
special education status ….. so that districts
can afford to hire competent teachers and
provide reasonable class sizes and pupil
loads (Darling-Hammond, 2007).”
THE
HUMAN RESOURCES AT
URBAN SCHOOL SITES ARE
NOT PROPERLY SUPPORTED
TO PROVIDE THE MOST
EFFECTIVE LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR
STUDENTS.
Professional Development
“ You get the work and
…you just do it”
- Josh, Student
“Many of the PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS that are offered to us are
INEFFECTIVE, a waste of time…the only reason we go to these things
is because we get paid to be there.”
– O’Donnel, Teacher
“GOOD professional developments to help teachers get ideas on how to
make a class more engaging and what types of technology and how to
use that technology”
- Caputo-Pearl, Teacher
“Our teachers haven't gotten enough training to use the technology. A lot
of our teachers are still kind of afraid of computers, they don’t even
know how to use e-mail”
- Gertner, Asst. Principal
Understaffed
“Yeah I need more teachers, that’s it…. if I
had more help the kids are going to
start to learn how to read faster, and
they wont drop out, they would stay in
school, that’s the problem right now”
- Barzin, Crenshaw ELL coordinator
“Well, I think it is going well, but I think
they should teach us in more advanced
classes”
- ELL Crenshaw student
(UCLA/IDEA 2009)
Understaffed
“Because there is only one of me, I am
basically overseeing the whole school, but
right now our primary focus are the 12
graders and we work our way down”
Gibson,
College counselor at Manual Arts
-
Increase in counselor ratios to 1,000 students
per counselor at the middle school level and
800 students per counselor at the
high school level
(LAUSD 2010)
College Opportunity Ratio (COR)
100
100
94
100
100
100
90
80
70
60
59
Starting 9th
50
35
40
Graduating
College Ready
31
30
22
13
14
20
4
10
0
BHHS
MAHS
LAHS
CHS
(UCLA/IDEA 2009)
STUDENTS OFTEN SEEK
RESOURCES AND
LEARNING
OPPORTUNITIES
OUTSIDE OF THEIR
SCHOOLS.
Community Cultural Wealth Theory
“Community cultural wealth is an array of
knowledge, skills, abilities,
and contacts possessed and
utilized by the communities of color to
survive and resist
macro and
micro-forms oppression (Yosso 2005).”
The Value of Youth Centers
Navigation
College
counseling
Jobs
placement
Familial
Strong
connections
with the
youth
Community
identity
Resistant
Develop
leadership
skills.
Community
Organizing
Pico Youth and Family Center
◦ Programs:
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Academic
Music
Digital Film Making
Job Development
Case Management
Counseling
“I think that a lot of the schools
neglect the culture of the
students.”
- Rueben, PYFC
“We have our own
computer lab through
out the center.”
-Alex, PYFC
Chuco’s: Youth Justice Coalition
Continuation High School
Resource Center
“On August 8th, we are going to Sacramento to protest for the
rights of student that are caught up in the [prison] system.”
- Semaj, YJC student
“if it wasn’t for Chuco’s, I would probably be a stay at home
mom on welfare watching soap operas.”
- Crystal, program coordinator.
“…It is part of the budget negotiation,
because we’ve got to give every child in
this state equal opportunities, equal
education, equal learning materials, equal
books, equal everything.”
-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2004
Why the long wait?
Where are the legislators?
Assembly
Senate
Implications:
Urban schools do not have the resources for
students to become internationally competitive
Decreased opportunities for academic
growth and civic agency
A dynamic education is a RIGHT, not a
PRIVILEGE
Our Recommendations:
For VOTERS:
Get registered @ DMV or Post-office
YES
NO
PROP 25
PROP 26
For LEGISLATORS & POLITICIANS:
•Do your Job!!
•End Recess, get to work, and get the budget
passed!
Our Recommendations:
For LAUSD:
•Go to the state superintendent, Jack O’Connell, tell him
about our research, and DEMAND updated books and
technology for all our schools
For Admin:
•Send out multi-lingual newsletters, showing how much
funding your school is getting and where it is going
For TEACHERS:
•Develop and lead your own professional developments
•Listen to your students!!
Our Recommendations:
For PARENTS:
•Go to your child’s parent centers @ their schools
•Ask your child how their day went and what they learned in
school
For YOUNG PEOPLE:
•Get involved!!
•Pico Youth & Family Center:
Contact Alex
picoyouth@gmail.com
•Chuco’s: Youth Justice Coalition: Contact Ernie
freelanow@yahoo.com