School Reforms Face Long Road to Classroom

Gov. Gray Davis’ education reforms may have rocketed through the Legislature, but parents and teachers will have to wait two years or longer before all of the measures trickle down to classrooms.

Even as Davis prepares to hopscotch the state for bill-signing ceremonies, his subordinates face the time-consuming job of translating the legislation into nuts and bolts.

Improving classroom instruction, they warn, is a formidable task in a state with nearly 6 million students, 1,000 school districts and 8,000 campuses--the largest public school system in the nation.

“To expect the state of California to wave a magic wand in Sacramento and have everything change overnight is certainly not going to happen,” said Gary K. Hart, Davis’ education secretary. “I think some patience is in order. But this governor and the people of California want to see change, and sooner rather than later.”

The first reform out of the gate also is the one that promises the most immediate impact: 250,000 students in kindergarten through fourth grade will begin attending intensive reading programs this summer. At about the same time, 6,000 teachers--most of them new--will undergo training in reading instruction so they can bring new practices to their schools.

But the nitty-gritty details of Davis’ other education reforms need to be hammered out before they reach classrooms.

School districts and teachers unions, for example, must negotiate the delicate details involved in aiding struggling teachers. Such peer review programs will not be fully operational in districts statewide until July 2001.

Separately, the state Department of Education must develop an index to rank schools by academic performance and other factors, a listing scheduled to take effect in June 2000. Struggling campuses previously identified by their low test scores will start to get help at about the same time.

Meanwhile, the Education Department must develop a new high school exit exam that ninth-graders can begin taking in 2001; 10th-graders must start taking the test a year later, and can take it in subsequent years until they pass. The exam will not become a graduation requirement until 2004.

If history is any judge, the Davis reform agenda could experience quick victories--and exasperating setbacks.

Some of the reforms initiated three years ago under former Gov. Pete Wilson immediately affected campuses--most notably the initiative to shrink the size of primary grade classes.

Others have inched along, or have yet to appear in classrooms. One 1996 law that required prospective teachers to study explicit phonics in their college training programs has produced mixed results, as university professors have continued to teach whole language reading methods that are at odds with new state policies, officials say.

Another 1996 law that called for new instructional materials to focus on phonics and other fundamental skills will not be fully realized until this summer, when the state adopts new textbooks.

Marian Bergeson, who served as education secretary under Wilson, said the imperfect record reflects the complexities of school reform.

“We really need to stay the course, to make sure that each child gets a foundation,” said Bergeson, who now sits on the State Board of Education. “We want to make sure everything we do works in the classroom and doesn’t just add another layer of bureaucracy.”

As Wilson’s reforms continue to come on line, Davis may get credit for changes initiated by his predecessor while his nascent measures incubate.

Even as state officials flesh out details of the new laws, local school districts are beginning to gear up at the grass-roots level.

Instructors at Coeur d’Alene Avenue Elementary in Venice already have applied for the state-sponsored teacher training sessions that will be offered this summer.

Principal Beth Ojena plans to attend along with nine teachers, including five beginning instructors.

“I think we can all become better educators,” Ojena said.

In the Long Beach Unified School District, officials plan to formulate a peer review program during contract negotiations with the teachers union in the coming months.

The school district already runs a teacher mentoring program that officials believe could be converted into a peer review model in which teachers who receive unsatisfactory evaluations get help from colleagues.

But officials are concerned about attracting enough experienced instructors who are willing to work with fellow teachers singled out for poor performance.

“We have plenty of exemplary teachers, but it’s a matter of whether they want to take on this new role,” said Lisa Isbell, the district’s coordinator for professional development. “It’s not going to be a real comfortable thing for teachers who have to go in and do this work. It’s going to be a very challenging job.”

Isbell and other area school officials said they are overwhelmed by the new state mandates, and are uncertain of many details. The measures were approved by the Legislature last week. Hart said they will be signed into law by Davis over the next two weeks at ceremonies across the state.

Many districts also are uncertain how much money they will receive to launch the reading academies for struggling students this summer. The state is devoting $75 million to the program.

Los Angeles school officials said they will use any new funds to expand existing intervention programs for the lowest-performing students in grades two through five. The district plans to serve 109,000 students this summer who are at risk of being retained because of low test scores.

“The funds are definitely welcome,” said Robert Barner, assistant superintendent for student intervention. “We need a large amount of money.”