Cal State Fullerton halts sending student teachers to O.C. district that banned critical race theory
Good morning. It’s Friday, Oct. 21. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Until this year, Cal State Fullerton routinely placed about 70 or 80 of its student teachers into K-12 classrooms in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District to gain some practical teaching experience. This academic year, just six such student educators have been placed in that district, and the practice is being placed on hold.
The reason for the change: The Orange County school district in April banned, on a slim 3-2 vote of its school board, the teaching of critical race theory, according to this news feature researched and written by Los Angeles Times reporters Debbie Troung and Gabriel San Román.
Critical race theory is a university-level academic framework that seeks to examine how racial inequality and racism are embedded in legal systems, policies and institutions in America. As the writers note, it’s not clear that the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has ever taught lessons on the theory.
“Leaders in the university’s College of Education — among the biggest providers of teachers into the county’s public schools — told officials in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District that they did not believe the district would be able to support its student teachers whose training is rooted in diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice and tenets of critical race theory, according to a statement from Lisa Kirtman, dean of the College of Education, and the college’s leadership,” Troung and San Román write.
“Clinical practicums, fieldwork and student teaching are major components of effective teacher preparation,” the statement said. “It is critical that we place teacher candidates in districts that support their growth and development.”
In this message to district families, Supt. Michael Matthews said leaders in CSUF’s College of Education asked the district over the summer about its commitment to “providing a just, equitable and inclusive education” in the wake of the ban.
The wording of the school board’s April resolution that Cal State Fullerton objects to encourages culturally relevant instruction and states the district “values all students and promotes equity and equality,” according to the news story. “But it also says the district will ‘not allow the use of critical race theory as a framework to guide such efforts,’ and that ‘other similar frameworks”’ cannot be used to guide teachings on race,” the story states.
“Some teachers and parents in the district worry that the lack of extra help from student teachers will harm classrooms at a time when many students are focusing on academic recovery and need extra attention,” the reporters write. “One teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of political backlash, said teachers are already stretched thin and the removal of student teachers increases their workload.”
Proponents of the ban, including school board member Leandra Blades, a key supporter of it, seem unswayed by the college’s action. In fact, she believes its decision to pause sending student teachers to the district validates her April vote.
“I look forward to seeing what colleges and universities we can partner with in the coming months,” Blades said in a statement. “The only students being harmed by this political stance [are] the student teachers at CSUF.”
Linda Manion, president of the Assn. of Placentia-Linda Educators, an alliance that represents 1,100 educators, told The Times that many new hires in the district graduate from Cal State Fullerton. She worries the district will lose out on prospective teachers in the midst of a national teacher shortage.
“Cal State Fullerton is our lifeblood. They really are a lifeline for our district,” she said. “When we don’t have that pipeline of new teachers coming in, those teachers are going to go to other districts around us.”
The situation between Cal State Fullerton and the local school district is “evolving,” according to the report.
MORE NEWS
— Christian Secor, a Costa Mesa resident and former UCLA student who stormed the U.S. Capitol while waving a flag promoting a far-right extremist movement was sentenced Wednesday to three years and six months in prison for his role in a mob’s attack on the building. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden also sentenced Secor to three years of supervised release after his prison term, according to Justice Department spokesman William Miller. Secor was a follower of “America First” movement leader Nicholas Fuentes.
— Dr. Katerina Kurteeva, an ophthalmologist with California Eye Associates in Newport Beach, said a patient came into her office complaining of eye pain and blurred vision. She ran through the typical list of diagnoses: a scratched cornea, some type of infection or even lodged debris. What she found were 23 contact lenses lodged inside the woman’s right eye. While she’s unsure how exactly her patient forgot to remove nearly a month’s worth of contact lenses from her eye, one possible culprit is that the patient may have become desensitized to the feeling of contacts, she said.
— Testimony got underway Wednesday in the case of an Aliso Viejo man accused of selling fentanyl to a person who died and three others who collapsed six years ago in the Newport Beach bar where he worked. Attorneys for the U.S. allege Sean Robert McLaughlin, 42, sold fentanyl that killed then-25-year-old Ahmed Said of Santa Ana and caused three of his friends to lose consciousness near the dance floor at American Junkie. McLaughlin’s attorney told the jury any number of people at the bar that night might have sold the drugs to the victims.
LIFE & LEISURE
— A steaming stack of pancakes for just 40 cents? Sounds like a deal. The owners of Cappy’s Cafe in Newport Beach have announced they will mark the eatery’s 40th anniversary this Saturday morning by selling a special menu of breakfast items for that low, low price. Owner Tim Campbell said the anniversary celebration will kick off at 8 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting and a display of classic cars. In addition to pancakes, the morning’s 40-cent menu will include cinnamon swirl French toast, traditional eggs Benedict and a breakfast burrito to choose from.
— After nearly four months of renovations, Goodwill of Orange County reopened its flagship store at 2702 W. Fifth St. in Santa Ana on Wednesday. The 24,000-square-foot store is part of the organization’s main campus, which also includes a donation site, and is the most trafficked and highest volume thrift store location in the county.
— A new book on Orange County’s history has been written by Pike Oliver and Michael Stockstill, both of whom worked for many years for the Irvine Co. Finding themselves with time on their hands during the pandemic, the former co-workers researched and wrote “Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson and the Big Plan.” Readers can find it on Amazon.
SPORTS
— Hitting coach Jeremy Reed and assistant hitting coach John Mallee will not be returning to the Angels in 2023, the team said Wednesday. Mike Gallego will also not be returning as the third base coach. The Angels finished their season at 73-89 and third in the American League West.
— Host Santa Ana Country Club on Wednesday won the 23rd annual Jones Cup for the first time after Geoff Cochrane and teammate Drew Buddle got a pair of birdies, winning the two-best-ball format tournament with a score of 16-under-par. Ladies’ champion Diane Booth, men’s champion Leo Rooney and senior men’s champion Brandon Goethals also contributed for Santa Ana. “We’ve been close [to winning the tourney] a number of times and it hasn’t happened,” Cochrane said. “I don’t have to answer the ‘When are you going to win one?’ question anymore.”
CALENDAR THIS
— Costa Mesa presents its fourth annual Barktoberfest, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at TeWinkle Park’s Bark Park. Presented by the city’s Parks and Community Services Department, the free event features a day of Halloween-themed activities for animal lovers and their canine companions as well as an opportunity to learn more about animal care services in and around Costa Mesa.
KEEP IN TOUCH
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, I would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
I’d appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C., or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
