California Schools Getting the Job Done--So Far

The summer has ended for students and teachers. The 1999-2000 school year is underway.

During the summer, Stanford 9 results were released. The papers and the Internet were full of statistics, percentages and rankings. SAT and AP test results were also in the news.

Here are some equally important statistics and information for you to mull over:

California is the most-populous state in America. It now has more than 30 million people living within its borders. If California were a nation, it would rank seventh in the world in economic output. California’s economy generates more than $1 trillion a year.

People from all over the world “rushed” to California in 1849 to search for gold. In 1999, California is still a place where people from all over the world come to strike it rich. California is appropriately named the Golden State.

It should come as no surprise that California is first in the nation in the number of students attending its public schools, with approximately 5.8 million students in 1998-99 and more than 6 million expected this year. This is almost 2 million more than the next-largest state’s school population (Texas). California employed 261,000 teachers to serve its 5.8 million students in 1998-99. Texas employed 260,000 teachers for its 3.9 million students. In spite of the recent class-size reduction efforts, California’s average class size remains larger than in any state except Utah. California classrooms have, on the average, nine more students than the nation’s leader, Vermont.

California schools serve a diverse group of students. These students speak 145 different languages. Some 22% of the 5.8 million are below the poverty level and 20% are nonnative English speakers.

California is now 35th in the nation in per-pupil spending at $5,414 per student. A few years ago California was around 48th. New Jersey is No. 1 at $9,703. The national average is $6,232. California is No. 1 in total school spending. California spent just over $31 billion on its public schools in 1998-99. It is hard to imagine that $31 billion puts California considerably below the national average, but it does.

The United States is 14th out of 16 in school spending among the top industrialized nations. It has the highest high school graduation rate in the world. In the U.S., 65% of high school grads go on to college. This is also the highest rate in the world.

California’s education system is asked to do a complex array of tasks and meet an extraordinary amount of diverse needs. California’s education system has done a remarkable job in spite of the many obstacles and challenges.

Let us begin the 1999-2000 school year with the confidence that California’s schools will again do the job. Let us all work together to make sure this year is even better. I sincerely hope that more individuals, groups and organizations will take the lead of The Times, which instead of criticizing on the sidelines has become a major asset with its “Reading by Nine” programs. This is what we need to do to improve our schools. California is and has always been an amazing place. We can do amazing things if we work together.

Do not judge California’s schools by the worst school or the worst incident. I would never judge all police officers because one individual or group of officers did something wrong. I am very grateful that these fine men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe. They do this for substandard wages and they receive very little thanks for the great job they do. It is amazing people want to go into this line of work.

I feel much the same toward teachers. They are underpaid and under-appreciated. It is no small wonder there is a teacher shortage growing to crisis proportions. California will need to hire an estimated 300,000 teachers in the next 10 years; the U.S. will need to hire approximately 2.2 million teachers during this time.

Californians should be concerned about test scores and keeping school quality high.

However, the growing teacher shortage is the statistic that worries me most. Quality schools depend on quality teachers. This should not be a mystery to anyone. California needs to really examine how it plans to attract and retain teachers.