Next Week's Election - Proposition 30

While my thoughts today are with my family on the East Coast, I don't want to lose sight of the importance of next week's election to the future of the Berryessa School District.  I think all readers of this blog know how important Proposition 30 is to the future of education in California.  

The State legislature passed a budget in June that holds school funding at status quo from 2011-2012 to 2012-2013.  However, that budget relied on an additional $6 billion in revenue that would have to come by a vote of the public on a ballot initiative.  That ballot initiative became Proposition 30.   

Prop. 30 would increase income tax on those who make more than $250,000 as individuals or $500,000 filing jointly.  In addition, the sales tax would increase by 1/4 percent.  The new sales tax level would still be below what it was last year, when the previous 1/2 percent temporary sales tax expired.  

If Proposition 30 were to fail, the budget has built in trigger cuts that would predominantly affect K-12 schools and colleges and universities.  During the past 5 years, state funding for education has fallen dramatically after the economy turned south.  Berryessa School District has lost $9 million per year.  The trigger cuts in the state budget would reduce our revenue by an additional $3 million.  

I was optimistic that Proposition 30 would pass, but recent polls show that voters are more and more skeptical.  If voters turn it down, our School Board will meet the night after the election, Nov. 7, to discuss what actions we will have to take to balance our budget in the face of more massive cuts.  

Yesterday's Mercury News ran a story about how school districts will face credit downgrades if Proposition 30 fails.  I suspect some school districts may actually be in danger of bankruptcy.  

Please spread the word about the importance of voting yes on Proposition 30.

District Continues Achevement Growth

Last week, the California Department of Education released the 2012 Academic Accountability Progress Reports.  The reports usually are released in August, but were delayed this year due to some testing security issues.

When it comes to the much watched API scores, the tests showed great progress for the Berryessa School District.  The district as a whole increase another 12 points this year to 854.  The compares favorably to Santa Clara County's median score of 845, and is 66 points above the state median score of 788.

A very exciting result occurred at Northwood Elementary School, where the API score increased by 21 points, and reached 906.  They are the second school in the district to break the 900 level.  One reason why this is so exciting is that Northwood is a Title I school, and has the district's highest percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch.  This result shows that great teachers, dedicated students, active parents, and strong administrative support can make any school successful.

While the district is showing great growth based on California's criteria, the federal standards are getting harder to meet every year.  This year, in order for a school to have met the criteria for Adequate Yearly Progress, 78.4% of the students must score proficient in English Language Arts and 79% in Math.  Next year, those targets will increase to over 85%.  As a result, out of Berryessa's 13 schools, only Cherrywood and Summerdale met the AYP criteria this year. 

The biggest irony of these measures is that while Northwood made such pheonomenal gains, it fell into Year I of Program Improvement status.  We now have to offer students a choice to transfer to another school.  Of course, they would have to select a school that has a lower API score than Northwood.  A year ago, I wrote about the problems with the punitive nature of the AYP system and why California is trying to get a waiver from its requirements.  No progress has been made on that front.

An important area of focus for schools is how to reduce the achievement gap, which is the difference between various subgroups on their academic results.   In Berryessa, our achievement gap is measured as the difference between a subgroup's test scores and the scores of Asian students.  Over the past two years, the African American achievement gap has decreased by 32 points. For Latino students, the gap has narrowed by 20 points.  For students with disabilities, the achievement gap has been reduced by 34 points.  All this while Asian scores have increased by 22 points.  These are great achievements, but there is still much work to do, as the Latino achievement gap is still 180 points.

Overall, there was a lot of good news for Berryessa in the annual progress reports.  Congratulations to all the teachers, staff, parents, students, and administrators for working hard to improve the academic achievement of our students.

November Election Initiatives

The November 6 election has several issues that are very important to schools on the ballot in California.  Besides placing Measure K on the ballot to extend Berryessa's existing parcel tax by another 8 years, our Board has taken a position on 2 statewide initiatives.  

Our Board voted to endorse Governor Brown's tax initiative, Proposition 30.  Without additional revenue, the state of California will be forced to cut billions more out of the state budget.   Current estimates are that if Proposition 30 fails, Berryessa would lose about $450 per student, which means we will need to cut over $3 million from our budget next year.

Many people in education are supporting Proposition 38, Molly Munger's initiative.  While there are many good things about that initiative and it would help schools if it passed, I want to explain why I believe Proposition 30 is more important.  Proposition 30 would stop the bleeding in the state budget. If Proposition 38 were to pass and Proposition 30 fail, any gains to schools would, at least in the short term, be offset by cuts from the state.  Secondly, Proposition 38 focuses on K-12 schools, but we need to make sure the Community College, CSU, and UC systems are maintained in order to keep California on the leading edge.  Proposition 30 would provide resources that can be used for higher education as well as elementary schools.

Another important initiative on the ballot is Proposition 32.  If Prop 32 passes, it would do damage to California for years to come.  Last week, the Berryessa School Board unanimously voted to oppose Proposition 32.  This initiative claims to be about campaign finance reform.  In fact, it is a measure meant to silence working class families while doing nothing to stop corporate spending on elections. 
Proposition 32 would no longer allow employee labor unions to utilize employee payroll deductions to be spent on campaigns.  Our employees are represented in the state through these payroll deductions.  This year, CTA, CSEA, Teamsters, and other labor groups are helping get the word out about the importance of Proposition 30.  They also work very hard to keep education at the forefront of the legislature's consciousness.  Without the ability to spend money supporting Proposition 30, for example, the voice of our students would be drowned out by the taxpayer associations and business interests that want to cut public school spending even further.

For the reasons outlined above, the Berryessa School Board encourages everyone to learn about both Proposition 30 and Proposition 32.  Most of all, please remember to exercise your constitutional right to vote. 

Start of a New School Year

Students are back in classrooms today, at the start of the 2012-13 school year.  The district was buzzing with excitement this morning as I visited several schools. 

District employees were busy during the summer getting things ready.  Personnel services made sure staff is in place to meet the student demands.  Education services was managing enrollment and making sure curriculum is meeting the needs of our students.  Enrollment was particularly challenging as a couple of our schools have reach overflow capacity.  The nutrition department made sure food services staff are ready to serve the kids. 

The district IT department greeted the new year with a newly revamped district website.  If you haven't seen it yet, check it out at www.berryessa.k12.ca.us.  It looks great.

As usual, summer is a busy time in the maintenance department.  The most visible upgrade this summer is the new roof on Piedmont Middle School.  It is the 13th and final school in the district to get a new roof paid for by our 2000 bond measure.  Noble School has a new fire alarm system and a great looking, educational garden.  Several schools got fresh coats of paint and resurfaced black top. 

My favorite scene at the start of a new year is watching parents dropping off new kindergarten students.  Most are taking photos as they watch their little ones head into class for the first time.  Their excitement is matched all over the district by students who have new teachers and new classmates.  I wish everyone nothing but success in the upcoming school year.

Measure K: Parcel Tax to Support our Schools

Berryessa voters have been very supportive of the school district.  Despite the fact that only 25% of the voters come from households with children in our schools, 72% of them voted in 2008 to support Measure W, which was a small parcel tax of $79 per year to support programs in our 13 schools.

The annual revenue we receive from the state of California has dropped by $9 million over the past five years.  While the revenues from our parcel tax ($1.7 million per year) doesn't make up for that amount, it has provided a much needed band-aid against having to make even more devastating cuts.  As a result, we have been able to maintain K-3 class size at just 24 students (most of our neighboring districts have increased to 30) and keep our libraries open.  We also pay for science and math teachers out of the Measure W funds.

In order to ensure that this source of revenue continues into the future, the Board of Trustees has placed an 8 year extension on the November ballot.  UPDATE: The extension is Measure K.  Measure K will not increase anybody's property taxes.  It will simply keep them where they are until the year 2023.  Given the uncertain fiscal climate in the state, it is important to have a steady, local source of funds that cannot be taken away by the state or any other entity. 

Berryessa voters will be hearing more about Measure K between now and election day, November 6.  Thanks again for all your support of Berryessa schools.

Budget Approved: Now the Hard Work Begins

On Tuesday, my Board colleagues and I unanimously approved the budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts on July 1.  The budget allocates about $58 million to operate our 13 schools and serve the projected 7,900 students.  Due to careful fiscal management over the past few years, we were able to mostly roll over our budget from this year and proceed without making any cuts to services or personnel.  This budget reflects the values of the Board of Trustees and the district under the constraints of our current funding level.

Our annual revenue from the State of California has dropped by $9.6 million over the past 5 years.  As a result, we have been forced into survival mode, which has led to reduction in services, staff, and educational opportunities for our students.  Some examples of the cuts include increased class size at all grade levels, shorter library hours, fewer hours for front office staff, fewer counselors, reduction in custodial services, and loss of many summer programs.  At the same time, our Special Education encroachment costs continue to rise (our obligation to educate students with special needs is growing and becoming more expensive).  

The State Legislature has passed a budget for next year that makes no cuts to education funding.  However, their budget depends on the passage of Governor Brown's tax initiative in the November election.  At this time, the projections are that schools will face cuts of about $440 per student mid-year if the initiative fails.  For Berryessa, that would mean a loss of $3.5 million.  

Such cuts, especially coming mid-year, would be devastating to the future solvency of our school district.  Major cuts would be required.  Amongst the drastic measures that may be required would be increasing average K-3 class size to 30 students and reducing the school year by 10 days.  

Given the uncertainty and the difficult choices the district would face if the initiative fails, the Board will be holding monthly study sessions in the fall to set priorities for possible cuts should they become necessary.  Our first study session will be held on the evening of Tuesday, August 7. 

To see the approved 2012-13 budget, click here.

Is Berryessa Facing Bankruptcy?

Yesterday, CBS 5 posted a story on their website about South Bay School Districts that "face bankruptcy."  The story says that "a new state report shows that many school districts in low income areas could be facing bankruptcy, including four in Santa Clara County. The school districts that could be in financial trouble include Berryessa Union, Evergreen Elementary and Ravenswood City." 

The story is based on the second interim report that our district submitted to the County Office of Education in March.  At that time, we admitted that based on current budget projections, and without drastic cuts, our district would go into negative balance in the 2013-2014 budget year.  For that reason, our budget was given what is called a "qualified certification."  The media identifies districts with that designation as having a potential for bankruptcy.

While the story is overly alarmist, it is definitely true that Berryessa School District is faced with a major challenge, should the state tax measures supporting schools fail in the November 2012 election.  We have built into our budget an assumption that the tax measures fail and the Governor's trigger cuts are implemented.  The result would be a cut of nearly $450 per student.  The Governor has proposed giving districts the ability to cut an additional 15 days out of the school year over a two year period if the tax measure fails. 

At our May board meeting last week, we approved our third interim budget report.  We now have a "positive certification" because we demonstrated a theoretical way to balance our budget in the 2013-14 school year.  The submitted interim report included increasing class sizes for kindergarten through third grade to 30 students, and shortening the school year by an additional 10 days (we already have shaved 2 days off of the school year).  Such changes would have to be negotiated with our employee groups, but such drastic action would be necessary if the worst case scenario came to pass.

This year's budget situation is even more unpredictable than in past years.  I attended, along with three district administrators, an informative workshop earlier this week on the California budget and its impact on schools.  The Governor's May revision to his budget provides flat funding for schools, but only if his tax initiative is approved by voters.  That is why we cannot count on the revenue and must plan for the possibility of the large cuts I mentioned above.

We have set aside enough money to make it through the coming school year (2012-13) without any cuts.  We will make it through next year even if the large mid-year cuts occur.  That is why we made the risky but right move to keep the status quo and avoid laying off any district employees.  The following year is where we are facing huge risks.  We hope that the Governor's tax measure will pass and the economy will exhibit growth, so that we can avoid further erosion of the educational services we provide our students.

Strong Support for our Parcel Tax

One lifeline for the Berryessa School District during these years of unprecedented cuts to our state funding has been funds from the Measure W parcel tax that the voters approved in 2008.  About 73% of the voters in our district approved a parcel tax of $79 per parcel that results in funding of $1.7 million each year.  

This money is local and cannot be taken away by the state or any other entity.  It has been used to pay for retaining science and math teachers, keeping our libraries open, and supporting other important district functions.  Since the parcel tax passed, the state has reduced our annual budget by about $9 million.  While the $1.7 million from the parcel tax doesn't come close to bridging that deficit, it does save some key programs from elimination.

Last night, the Board heard the results of a survey of the public's appetite for continuing the parcel tax for an additional 8 years.  No matter how quickly the economy improves, it is clear that there will be a shortfall in education funding for the foreseeable future.  That is why renewal of the parcel tax will be crucial for us to continue to adequately serve the students of Berryessa.

The good news is that 77% of the voters surveyed support renewing the parcel tax at its current level.  Interestingly, only about a quarter of the voters are even aware that we currently have a parcel tax.  That is why it is important to educate the voters on the existence of the parcel tax, and how much we appreciate the support they have given us.  Our district continues to show academic growth at all of our schools.  

If the Board decides to move forward with a parcel tax extension this year, it will appear on the November 2012 Presidential election ballot.  Thank you so much for your support of our local schools.  Berryessa's children appreciate it very much.

Governor Brown's Tax Initiative

The State of California has been struggling with budget deficits for nearly a decade.  Every year, schools and other public services have been cut, hurting the most vulnerable Californians and leaving our children behind.  California now ranks at best 47th out of 50 states in per-pupil funding for education.

The only way out of this downward spiral is to provide more funding for the state's general fund.  An improving economy will help, although it will take many years to get all the revenue back.  In the meantime, it is imperative that California voters pass Governor Brown's temporary revenue initiative that will appear on the November ballot.  The measure would increase state revenue by as much as $9 billion per year through a small increase in the state sales tax (1/4 percent) and increases in income tax rates for incomes over $250,000.  The sales tax increase rates would expire in 4 years and the income tax provision would last 7 years.

At our April meeting, the Berryessa School Board unanimously approved a resolution in support of the initiative, officially called the "Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act."  This initiative is also endorsed by the California Teachers Association and all our local legislators.

A competing initiative promoted by Molly Munger and supported by PTA would raise more money for education, but would raise income taxes on all California taxpayers.  Polls show that this initiative faces very low support.  While the initiative might sound like a good deal for schools, the first priority should be stabilization of the state budget, which would only occur by approval of the Governor's initiative.  

The big problem with Munger's initiative is that voters are likely to be confused by multiple tax measures, leading to the failure of both.  If that happened, children would suffer and many school districts may even go bankrupt.  It isn't clear how the Berryessa School District will balance our budget going forward if faced with another $400 per student in cuts.

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times summed it up nicely: "It's conceivable that having two tax initiatives on the ballot will help persuade voters that Sacramento really does need more revenue after years of budget cuts, and a majority of them will rally behind one or the other. But it's far more likely that the dueling campaigns will split support for a tax increase, sending both to defeat and causing more deep cuts to the very schools Munger aims to protect. Brown's proposal is a better fit for the state's needs today."

It is very important that everyone who cares about public education in California get behind the Governor's initiative so we can present a unified message to the voters.  Let's stop the bleeding.  Then in future years we can and should find ways to increase schools' revenue streams.

Greener School Lunches

This week we celebrate Earth Day.  One way to improve the environment in our community is to find ways to reduce our waste stream and recycle as much as we can.

Every day, the district's Child Nutrition Services department serves about 3,500 meals to students at our 13 school campuses.  Every meal is currently served on a styrofoam tray.  These trays are discarded at the end of the meal, meaning that over 600,000 trays are discarded at our schools over the course of the school year.  Unfortunately, these polystyrene trays are made from non-renewable materials.  Even worse, there is no cost-effective way to recycle styrofoam, so all these trays end up in the landfill.  Since they don't biodegrade, they can linger for centuries.

I am very excited that starting in the fall, the district will be transitioning to trays made from compostable material.  Special thanks go to the district's Child Nutrition Services Department, led by Mari Fujikawa, for finding a way to make this happen.  While the trays cost about 3 cents more than the current styrofoam trays, this is a worthwhile investment.  I am proud that our district continues to find ways to be a responsible steward to the environment.  The use of compostable material will also teach our students to make wise choices when it comes to the kinds of products they buy.

Education "Statement of Conscience"

During the economic downturn of the past decade (and really since the late 1970s), California has devalued our children, as evidenced by the tremendous cuts in per-pupil funding. California is now about 48th out of 50 states in how much money is spent on educating each K-12 student. The Santa Barbara County Board of Education adopted a "Statement of Conscience" calling attention to this travesty.

I feel that their statement is so strong that I decided to simply reproduce it here. I have not seen a better expression of the frustration felt by school districts up and down the state. We are trying to do our best to educate every child, but it gets harder and harder to do it with less and less.

Santa Barbara COE's Statement of Conscience

"We, the members of the Santa Barbara County Board of Education, feel it is our duty to speak out on behalf of the students and school districts within our jurisdiction. Our county superintendent recently wrote an article alluding to the Homeland Security motto, “If you see something, say something.” We see severe danger. We feel it is our responsibility to make the statements that follow.

"When Californians passed Proposition 98 in the year 1988 they did so in a climate where funding for public education was being severely decreased. In recognition of the intrinsic, essential value of public schooling, the proposition required that funding for public education be preserved as a set percentage of the state’s expenditures. The intent was that school funding would never fall below the floor of funding that Proposition 98 guaranteed. Instead, Proposition 98 calculations became a funding ceiling above which support would never rise.

"There is every indication Proposition 98 would pass again were it placed on the ballot today, given the continued overwhelming support for public schooling. Californians are clear-sighted in their understanding of the urgency to educate children, for both the short-term needs and the long-range health and sustenance of our communities.

"Even before our nation was formed, the colonies and settlements acted on the premise that it was the responsibility of every adult in a community to contribute to resources to educate every child. Even small villages with few services or amenities nonetheless had schoolhouses. The concept of free and universal public education is the core of what makes our country exceptional, and continues to be the envy of the world.

"In public schools, children of every background, ethnicity, religious tradition, physical or mental ability, or socioeconomic status sit side by side and succeed based on individual effort. It is a true meritocracy. In classrooms throughout our state and nation, children learn the skills essential to their contributions to the democratic society they will enter as adults. Young people today will fly the planes, repair the cars, staff the emergency rooms, and make the policies that affect the generation that follows. Their preparation and education are what will make the difference between our success or failure as a society. This is simple fact.

"In most states, public education is a local responsibility, covered by local property taxes. California’s Proposition 13 severely curtailed the ability of local governments to continue to support local schools, and; the responsibility for funding public schooling was therefore absorbed by the state, adding to all its other vital responsibilities.

"We are well aware that our state faces a true fiscal crisis that was years in the making and is staggering in its magnitude. There are no easy solutions. Programs will need to be cut. Revenues will need to be added. As elected officials in our own sphere, we are mindful that representatives at every level need to make extremely difficult choices at every turn, and that the choices available in terms of the state budget will be wrenching. Every program currently receiving state funds has fervent supporters who can argue persuasively that those programs are vital and deserve continued support. We respectfully submit that not all institutions are equal. Public education is of a different magnitude and impact.

"We submit that it is unacceptable and self-defeating for the state to abdicate its responsibility to fund public schools at an adequate level. All that is important to our state’s health and vitality depends upon the satisfactory educational preparation of every child who lives or works here. Studies are unambiguous on how strongly a lack of education correlates with crime, poverty, the need for social services, incarcerations, law enforcement and a whole host of costly interventions. That is the practical need. There is also the moral need for societies to take care of their children.

"For decades California had a truly exceptional historical record of providing outstanding educational services from kindergarten through graduate and professional education. We believe it is a moral imperative that those individuals who reaped the rewards from the state’s earlier investment in education do all they can to ensure that comparable educational opportunities are available to young people today. The investment gap and consequent denial of educational opportunities are unconscionable.

"We do not presume to tell our legislators how they will work the state’s budget to secure the funding necessary to ensure our children receive the education they need and deserve; the logistics of how to go about that task is theirs to decide.

"We are stating emphatically, however, that there is urgent need to do so. The current situation is unsustainable. Education is not a frill; pared down levels of educational services are not an option. The very fabric of our society is at stake. We cannot lose a generation of young people simply because the adults refused to act."

The Berryessa Ed Foundation: Making a Difference

The Berryessa Education Foundation is an important part of the Berryessa community. Every year, they raise tens of thousands of dollars for the 13 schools in our district. Teachers can apply for grants to fund projects or buy supplies for their classrooms.

The biggest fundraiser of the year for the Berryessa Education Foundation is the "Raffle to Make a Difference." Last year, the foundation raised over $20,000 from the raffle. Tickets cost $4 each and can be purchased at any district school. For each ticket bought, half the money goes directly to the school where the ticket was sold, and the other half goes to the foundation.

There are all kinds of great prizes, from electronics like TVs, tablets, and an Xbox, to services and entertainment tickets. A complete prize list can be found here.

The drawing will take place on Saturday, March 24, at 11:00, at the district office. You don't have to be present to win. Stop by your local school today to buy tickets.

District Budget Update - No Pink Slips in 2012

March is here and with it is the statutory deadline to decide on whether or not to issue layoff notices to school teachers and certificated staff. Every year since I have been on the Board of Trustees, our district has issued "pink slips" in order to retain flexibility as we undertake the budget development process. Last year, Berryessa School District gave out 99 pink slips. As the budget came into better focus, we were able to reinstate almost everyone on the list and avoid more severe cuts. In addition, we set aside about $250 per student in reserve in case mid-year cuts materialized during the 2011-2012 school year.

The good news is that mid-year cuts were avoided, meaning that we can roll over the reserve to next year's budget. The bad news is that the coming year's budget is even more uncertain than in the past. Despite the high degree of uncertainty and since we have the ability to cover next year's budget in the case of cuts, I am very pleased that we will, for the first time in a number of years, proceed without any layoffs this year.

This is a very risky course of action, but one that is the right thing to do, both for our employees and in order to maintain a reasonable level of service for our students. We are operating under the assumption that all of our operations, including class size, school year length, and service hours, will remain unchanged from this year to next. There will be savings due to a large number of retiring teachers at the end of this school year.

A lot of our funding stability depends on two things happening. One is that some kind of tax measure passes in the state so that education funding can remain at its current level. Secondly, we must renew our local parcel tax so that our annual income stream of $1.7 million doesn't go away. Even with those two things, the budget we are preparing is in trouble for the second year out (2013-2014). As a result, the district will be forced to submit a "qualified budget" in our second interim report.

So while I am happy that the coming school year looks like it will be status quo as far as services for our students, we must continue to remain on top of our budget and save money in every way possible. And we will continue to hope that an improving economy means that the state will once again begin investing adequately in California students.

2012-2013 State Budget Update

I have been too busy to write a detailed analysis of the Governor's proposed budget, released in January. The upshot is that there are lots of unknowns as we head into the 2012-2013 budget year. Governor Brown is tying the budget for schools to an initiative with tax increases that will appear on the November 2012 ballot.

If the tax measures pass, school budgets will increase, although the increase will be primarily used to end some of the deferrals that delay when school districts receive money from the state. So the results would be mainly status quo for school districts. If the tax measures fail, the Governor is proposing major cuts next year, more than 5%. As we plan for next year, we don't know what the outcome will be. So it leaves lots of unknowns in place.

After next week's Board Meeting, I will write more about where the Berryessa School District stands and how we are hoping to craft our budget for the coming year. For now, there is a good article written by another David Cohen, a school teacher from Palo Alto. Every year, State Senator Joe Simitian holds an education update. This year, the focus was on the Governor's budget proposal. Read the summary of the hearing here:

http://accomplishedcaliforniateachers.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/california-education-update/

How Do We Improve Public Education in America?

These days, much of my focus has been on the gross under-funding of public schools, particularly in California. I believe that our funding decisions reflect our values as a society, and the steep reduction in funding of schools means that we don't understand how important quality education is to the future of our state and country.

Besides funding, there are also real questions about the way to structure our schools in order to offer equal opportunity to all students, regardless of background.

There is a large amount of evidence that student performance correlates with poverty rates no matter the educational model used. Here is a provocative interview with Professor Michael Marder at the University of Texas in which he presents data showing the strong correlation. While many people are pushing charter schools as a panacea, Professor Marder's data also shows that charter schools clearly lag public schools in performance. We must be very careful in how we expand the charter school movement in order to make sure it really does benefit all students, both at the charters and the traditional public schools.

Ten years ago, Congress created "No Child Left Behind," which puts a great emphasis on testing in order to gauge student progress and created an expectation that all students will be proficient by 2013. While the goal is admirable, additional tools or strategies were not offered along with the evaluation components.

We can learn a lot from schools in Finland, which are widely recognized as the best performing schools in the world. In Finland, there are no standardized tests. Students are evaluated by their teachers and the National Ministry of Education tracks progress by periodically testing a random sample of students. The key is that Finland's model for education relies on "the idea that every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location. Education has been seen first and foremost not as a way to produce star performers, but as an instrument to even out social inequality... This starts with the basics. Finland offers all pupils free school meals, easy access to health care, psychological counseling, and individualized student guidance." In other words, school is about more than curriculum. It is about making sure that all students are provided with everything they need to be successful. By the way, there are no private schools in Finland. The public schools are given all the resources they need to educate everyone. [Read more about Finish schools.]

Until we make education a priority and are willing to learn from the data and from education models that are working, we are shortchanging many of our next generation. Let's resolve in 2012 to work together to find ways to address the underlying needs of our students. It can be done through public schools, without relying on private institutions or charter schools.