Education Reform in California

“School-Centered Campaign” (editorial, Jan. 11) suggests, “The number of teachers who hold emergency credentials should be reduced by providing the help they need to get fully certified.” Apparently, The Times is unaware of the wide range of agreements that school districts and universities have throughout the state in order to accommodate emergency credentialed teachers in obtaining full certification.

Locally, USC, Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills all have agreements with the L.A. Unified School District and other districts to provide internship programs to teachers training on the job. In addition, LAUSD has its own two-year program to provide credentialing to many employees working on emergency permits.

In the same editorial increased teacher training is called for, “especially in the core subjects of reading and math.” Of course, increased teacher training may be at odds with reducing the number of teachers who hold emergency credentials. If certification requirements are extended in the midst of class reductions and teacher shortages, certainly we have the formula for more, not fewer, teachers on emergency permits.

BEN MILES EdD

School of Education

National University, Costa Mesa

* Your editorial failed to address the bloated public education bureaucracy as a stumbling block to real reform. Not only are California’s schools sorely underfunded, but the state and local school districts squander much of the meager funding on personnel who don’t provide real services to the student population.

Performance-based pay is a fine idea--let’s try it out on school administrators first! And finally, let’s get to the root of the problem and end social promotion in our public schools!

MARK KOTCH, President

Delano Union Teachers Assn.

Delano, Calif.