OUT with O'Connell, IN with Diane Lenning!

We must provide a fair and equitable education for all students in California. As a candidate for CA Superintendent of Public Instruction, and in my sixteen point plan, I speak of the over-riding theme of "raising expectations" on my website: http://www.DianeLenning.com. Under Issues, click on "safe schools," to view my sixteen point plan for improving education and public schools in California. As a high school teacher and one who has administered the CAHSEE numerous times, I have observed that my students are more motivated to work harder in school to achieve the goal of passing the exam. We need minimum standard requirements for a high school diploma to have validity. When our students earn a diploma that represents a threshold of learning, it will represent a solid stepping stone to their future successes as well.

Mrs. Lenning,

I looked at the sixteen points, but I could not find a plan. You listed sixteen things that you want to improve, but you in no way told us how you are going to improve them. Currently you have an ideology, not a plan. The very first point is to "Improve Student Attendance by guaranteeing safe & relevant schools." What does a "safe and relevant school" look like? How are you going to make the schools in Compton, "safe and relevant?" Your second point is to "Improve Academic achievement level of students at all grade levels." Again, how are you planning to do this? How can you assist me, a public school teacher, in improving academic achievement?

I also have many EL1s in my classes. You have one point regarding training office staff (I am not sure how making the attendance clerk more competent with MS Word and Excel will help my students succeed...but I'm sure it makes sense to you) and your great plan for helping our ELLs is to immerse them in English even more? That would be like throwing a 15 year-old in Germany and telling them to magically learn the language and then getting upset because after one year they aren't fluent and at the same level as the rest of the students. Some of my native English speakers cannot write a standard persuasive essay. Some of them cannot even write in complete sentences, and yet you think that more English will help the ELLs? That plan is not even working for our native English speakers.

To continue with the points, you say that you want to "Empowerment of students by educational skills development," "Improve Status of teacher profession and professional climate," and "Improve Accountability of education." These terms are vague and ambiguous, even for us veteran teachers.

So Mrs. Lenning, you have given many items you wish to improve, but have made no mention of how each point will help the students be "successful," whatever that word means, how you wish to implement each point. Until you can clarify these issues for me, I will be hard pressed to give you my vote.

-Alan Reed

Sorry, poor proofreading this early. The second to last paragraph should read: To continue with the points, you say that you want "Empowerment of students by educational skills development," to "Improve Status of teacher profession and professional climate," and to "Improve Accountability of education." These terms are vague and ambiguous, even for us veteran teachers.

The last paragraph should read: So Mrs. Lenning, you have given many items you wish to improve, but have made no mention of how each point will help the students be "successful," whatever that word means, and how you wish to implement each point. Until you can clarify these issues for me, I will be hard pressed to give you my vote.

Mrs. Lenning:

I tend to agree with Alan - while all of the web site information is nice, it doesn't say HOW you will accomplish this. I don't see where you address funding, cooperation with the union or any of the issues we know you are going to face.

Please give us some details about what you don't think Jack O'Connel is doing, and why he should be replaced? How will you raise the money you need to defeat him?

From your web site:

Safe Schools

Safe Schools are the foundation for the positive school-wide learning environment and classroom climate that is essential for our students to achieve success. Many schools in California today are faced with inherent problems arising from societal stresses including family dynamics, socioeconomic status, increased incidence of learning deficits, growing cultural strains, gang activity, campus crime, budget-deficits, multi-media influences, political forces, parent-community-business collaboration, and many more.

If Californians are going to be successful in diminishing these difficulties and raising the levels of learning and achievement among our students, we will need cooperation from all segments of society. This is a difficult task, but it is of utmost importance that we make every effort to address these issues with reasoned thinking, arriving at conclusions based upon scientific studies and methodologies. It is important first to identify the most important priorities to address and remedy. I believe the following to be some of the priorities to address for improved schools in California.

Over-riding theme is one of RAISING EXPECTATIONS.

1. Improve Student Attendance by guaranteeing safe & relevant schools
2. Improve Academic achievement level of students at all grade levels
3. Improve Focus on reading, writing, and math skills of all students
4. Improve Empowerment of students by educational skills development

5. Improve School and community collaboration

6. Improve Curriculum Alignment/Standards with No Child Left Behind
7. Improve Home to school collaboration of goals and expectations
8. Improve Official collaboration with community through school boards
9. Improve Office staff training for school sites
10. Improve Language and academic acquisition through English Immersion
11. Improve Status of teacher profession and professional climate

12. Improve Graduation and school drop-out rate
13. Improve Overall academic achievement level of all students
14. Improve Accountability of education
15. Improve Leadership skills of students and staff
16. Improve Salary and benefits by performance based pay

Solving the many issues in education today will necessitate a strong commitment from all Californians. The years of difficulties in education must be solved and restructured for the future of our children and grandchildren. It is important to commit to the common goal of what is best for our “kids” and what is best for society.
When students participate in the path to achieve success, they do not need to participate in activities that detract from the overall positive educational climate and academic achievement expected for each one to reach success of the American Dream.

This may be reproduced if credit is given to Diane A. Lenning, Ed.M. Candidate for CA SPI, 2006.

Tim and Alan,

Please remember that Diane put those 16 points on a website, not an encyclopedia!! Also, she has to appeal to the masses, and PR people will tell you that the average newspaper reader only reads at the level of 5th grade (some papers aim higher at 8th grade level).

Alan, I think you should call her up and have a talk at 714--960-4455 which is her phone/fax.

I'm voting against Jack O'Connell mainly because of the waivers he gave 6 counties in Southern California for a ridiculous Spanish instruction program called "The Promise Initiative". It is crazy to teach 90% in Spanish in Kindergarten and continue this way for 6 years and then say that the goal is 50% English by 5th grade. That's nuts! Also, O'Connell gave waivers to 3 or 4 counties that don't have to have their Title I programs audited. Ventura is one of them. That is outrageous since Title I funds have been mismanaged in Western Ventura County (I was at the school site meeting about this and tape recorded the admission from officials from that district). There is a pending lawsuit taken on by the Pacific Justice League. I believe THAT is why Weis was grateful to get the waiver. He and Jack can run, but they can't hide.

Mrs. Carlson,

While I understand your concerns about English language acquisition, I teach high school, not Kindergarten. Trying to learn a new language at age 14 or 15 is vastly different than learning it at age 5 or 6. I have taken a few classes from different institutions regarding English language development in children. It takes the average person to 1.5 to 2 years to develop conversational English. It takes an additional four or five years to develop the "academic" English, meaning the tough vocabulary words, the English irregularities, proper spelling and punctuation. As I noted earlier, many students who have English speaking parents and grew-up in California have difficulty with reading and writing. I proofread a student's essay and could not believe the consistent mistakes regarding sentence structure and word choice. I say this because it is difficult to become a proficient reader and write; it is even more difficult to accomplish that task in a short time span that the state dictates.

Also, it would appear that from Tim's comment, I am not alone in wondering about her plan (not goal) for California's public educational system. Maybe she could post her thoughts as to her actual plan.

Also, the fact that you say that she must appeal to the majority of people, who you claim read at an average of a fifth grade level, only allows people to be complacent reading at a fifth grade level. By speaking in a highly educated fashion, it says that you expect others to be of the same caliber. I want to believe that Mrs. Lenning is not trying to dumb down concepts for the citizens of California. After all, if she does that to the adults, how can we be sure she will not dumb the curriculum for our children?

Cathy C here: Give me a break! Mr. Reed, you don't really believe Diane Lenning will dumb down education, do you?! Again, her points are posted on a campaign website, not a doctoral thesis. It is clear that you have not run for any important political office, or you would cut her some slack. Politicians cannot overload their readers. The public is already inundated with political material. Get real! Think about it! The websites need to be manageable and understandable. Short and sweet and to the point. Voters have to make judgements based on the person's work experience, credentials, and endorsements, as well as their short platform statements. There isn't time to reach out to every single voter with extensive explanations of programs. I'm sure if you put your mind to it you could see yourself in the candidate's shoes and imagine how difficult it must be to communicate clearly to the public. Tell us what YOUR campaign platform would look like. That would be interesting, as you are in the thick of things as a high school teacher.

I'd like to comment on your thoughts about teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language). If your school is having to teach English to kids at 14 and 15, then they must be newly arrived illegals. I believe we are generally wasting money and distracting teachers with such illegal students. Those situations are outside the scope of the experimental program "The Promise Initiative" that I am criticizing. Jack O'Connell gave the waiver for this, and Weis is supporting it with $90,000 for an administrator. That is my complaint. Focus, Mr. Reed!

I too, have studied language acquisition, especially the theory of re-inforcing chemical paths in the brain that are established from early second language acquisition and/or music instruction. Supporters of this theory maintain that multi-linguists are most successful if they had their second language acquisition before age 6 or 7. I have studied 5 languages, have a degree in French, am a certified military linguist in 2 languages (levels 5 and 3) and have lived/worked in both Europe and Asia.

My husband was a non-English speaking immigrant who came at age 7 with his family to rural Pennsylvania, where they were sponsored. He was naturalized at age 12 when the parents (both college educated) were finally granted citizenship. When they first arrived, the younger boys were determined to learn baseball and make friends, so they studied English very hard. They were isolated from any ethnic community support, being so far from any cities. In other words, they didn't have any bi-lingual instruction, or TV in their mother tongue. No one in their town spoke their language. They had English immersion the hard way! My husband became a NASA senior engineer--yes, a rocket scientist, and one of his brothers is a PhD in Physics at NASA Ames. The rest of the 7 siblings were also very successful with graduate degrees in music, chemistry, and other sciences.

Being a rather new American myself, I have had the opportunity to witness the language acquisition struggles of my own immigrant relatives. These experiences have confirmed my belief that programs such as the shaky "Promise Initiative" have no business in our public schools, as they are counter-productive to English acquisition. They are also a magnet for illegals. O'Connell was wrong to give the waivers for this damaging experiment. I say, vote O'Connell out.

Mrs. Carlson,

You and your husband should be very proud of yourselves. Now let's focus on the issues at hand: our current ELLs where they do live in a society where they are not "isolated from any ethnic community support." Oh, and I find it rather odd that you immediately classify my students as illegals. If you already believe that these are illegal students are just "distracting teachers" then what point is it to discuss the issues with you. I am actually still waiting for Mrs. Lenning to explain her plan. If she is unable to put the language on her website, she can still post the information here.

My point is that I want to know how Mrs. Lenning plans to help my students. To use your words, "Focus Mrs. Carlson!"

I daresay that Mr. Keaney and I can understand the educational jargon as well as you, your husband, and the brother with the PhD (I am not sure how this is relevant to the topic, but it seemed to make you feel good saying it, so I'll say it again for your benefit). I also want to know how improving "Office staff training for school sites" will help my students to be successful.

Mrs. Lenning, I do hope that you will come back and shed some light on these issues.

Cathy,

With all due respect, the questions weren't directed to you, they were directed to Diane Lenning, who I understand is a candidate for high office in California.

She might actually have a friendly audience in me, if she dared to answer a question. To date, she hasn't.

I have run for office Cathy, and I know that brochures and web sites are about marketing. But when you get a specific question, the candidate should be prepared with a solid answer.

If all she is, is a talking point candidate, wouldn't you agree we have quite enough of those?

Tim Keaney

Tim,

I know that you ran for office, I was directing that question to Mr Reed, in case he had ever run for an important state office.

This blog started out on the editorial about Jack O'Connell dumbing down the standards for african-americans. That is why I was surprised that Mr. Reed suggested that Diane Lenning might end up dumbing down academics! It was O'Connell that admitted he was wrong in doing so for the past 7 years! How come only the Daily News carried this story? People in Ventura County need to know this.

Mr. Reed, I didn't mention the academic success of my family or in-laws for pride's sake. It was meant to help you understand where I'm coming from when I talk about the immigrant experiences I know about. I'm surprised at your mocking tone about my husband and brothers-in-law who managed to overcome poverty and the loss of a mother in their pre-teen years, and yet persevered through discrimination and academic setbacks to attain graduate degrees and become useful members of society. I thought you would respect the story of immigrants who valued an American education and chose to benefit from it, rather than abuse it. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry I shared my personal stories. I won't do so again.

And Mr. Reed, I think you knew that my point was that if students in your school were just learning English at 14 and 15, then one must wonder where were they schooled for the past 10 years? They must have come from a non-English speaking country, and one would guess that they are not here on green cards. However, they might be here under their parents visas. Is that how it is? That's how it was for my husband until he was 12. That's why I shared that. I purposely qualified what I said by "generally" and "such illegal students", refering to such students as I had described--those who are here illegally--and not necessarily those in your school. But then again, if the shoe fits... Yes, I DO understand that it is certainly possible that your teenage students are just learning English, have just arrived, and somehow are here legally. However, I still say that ILLEGAL students are draining our resources and their needs can distract a teacher from staying on task. Your students may be the nicest kids in California, for all I know. But I bet I can find plenty of teachers who will tell me that they are burdened beyond their limits with trying to deal with children of illegal families in California.

And speaking about burdens, I feel very sorry for the many teachers in Diane Lenning's district that contracted TB this year. I wonder how soon it will be before all California teachers are given 6 month TB tests as part of their union benefits. They should demand it NOW.

Tim, if you want Mrs. Lenning to know about your questions, you will have to contact her. She is zooming all around the state at a frantic pace these last 2 weeks. I hardly think she is taking the time to randomly check websites--even the ones she has posted in recently.

And Tim, you are correct that we have enough "talking point" candidates. I believe that many of your questions have already been addressed in Mrs. Lenning's book that she has a link to on her website. You should find specific plans outlined there.

Sorry if I came across a little edgy, but I got annoyed that the original story about O'Connell dumbing down the standards got "cut and pasted" and implications were made by Mr. Reed that it was somehow now part of Diane Lenning's political plan! This "blaming" an innocent person with someone else's fault is known as transference. And we all know, some people will think it's true if they see it in black and white.

Mrs. Carlson,

You said, "she has to appeal to the masses, and PR people will tell you that the average newspaper reader only reads at the level of 5th grade." My response was that if she is willing to dumb the language for the adults, how can I be sure that she will still hold high standards for the students. I did not intend to imply that it was her plan for the state...but then again, I still do not know her plan for the state.

If she needs to cater to people of low reading abilities, she can still have a bullet outline for that plan, very similar to her 16 points. For example:

1. I plan to make schools safe by increasing funding for campus security
2. I plan to collaborate with teachers to make curriculum more accessible to students of all levels
3. I plan to integrate parent and community involvement through guest speaking and outreach programs
4. I plan to improve the accountability of education by enforcing the CAHSEE and giving diplomas based on merit

These are the kinds of plans of action I wanted to see. I am still hoping that Mrs. Lenning will come back to speak with us.

Mrs. Carlson, I meant no disrespect to you, but I do not want to know about your family. I was speaking about my education to say that I have had classes from different institutions regarding ELD. This was in an effort to curb possible comments from people regarding my lack of knowledge on ELD issues. What is in the past happened in the past. I want to know about the current issues facing my current students. So while your family was able to acquire the language, my students are in a different area with a different set of circumstances.

My intent was not to belittle you or your family, nor was it to claim that Mrs. Lenning's plan was to dumb down education. You have acted as her spokeswoman, and claimed that she is being forced to dumb her rhetoric to meet the "common man." I was challenging that comment of yours to say that if she is willing to do it for the adults, how am I supposed to believe that she will not do the same for our children.

Do I actually believe that she is going to lower the standards? No. But at the same time I do not know of the many wonderful things that could happen for our children unless I know how she plans to achieve these wonderful things.

Tim, Alan, and Cathy,
Please allow me to shed some light on your discussion. I will try to focus on a few of the main points of your discussion; however, you must understand there is not time to discuss the entire plan here. First, you may be interested to know that I teach in the Eli Broad national award winning district that won this award because the student scores were the most improved in all urban school districts of the nation. Therefore, our model has a proven record of successful growth of ELL students raising their academic achievement levels in alignment with California State Standards.

Secondly, an English immersion program is not necessarily devoid of the students' first language. I happen to be bi-lingual as are many on our staff. The necessity of office staff to speak the language of most of our parents is an essential ingredient in school to home collaboration. I often speak Spanish to parents during school meetings. We also have classes for "non-English speaking" students (this percentage is shrinking rapidly) taught by a Bi-lingual teacher. All other students speak English at various levels as measured according to CELDT testing that designates a level of English proficiency in English communication skills. When a student is designated English fluent (FEP) a student is designated at the level of other English speakers of a similar age. Most classes are taught in English. My knowledge of Spanish gives me the ability to know when students are speaking off task, socializing, and using inappropriate language that can often disturb class. Our student population at the high school where I teach happens to be 90% minority students. The focus of the teacher is to teach the curriculum in English, facilitating the ability of students to read, listen, write, and speak in English using the vocabulary of the specific class and curriculum. Of course there is more to it than time permits here, however, this has proven to be a successful plan when compared to all other school districts in the nation.

There have been many articles in newspapers where I have provided some specifics of my education plan. The sixteen step plan is similar to an outline. It would take a book to fill in the ideas. I will give you a short synopsis of two points. First, "safe schools." Safe schools are the foundation of building a successful school. Many students stay home, drop out, and do not graduate when they feel it is unsafe to attend school. Of course, there are other contributing reasons, too. Historically, the highest crime area of society from year to year is most often the high school campuses. Our campus has successfully integrated two campus police from the city police, using their own private office on campus. Their visibility blended in with three administrators and four counselors provides an added feeling of security for students, giving them courage to attend during difficult times on school campuses.

Secondly, a diagnostic tutoring and intervention program would provide academic support for students as they work toward taking the CAHSEE (exit exam). For example, mandatory tutoring for all tenth grade students earning a D or F, and those who have failed the CAHSEE could be required to take tutoring after school as scheduled. Students in third and eighth grades who have not met grade level standards, (those who have met standards would proceed), could be held for summer school tutoring to meet grade level standards.

I am a proud product of California public schools and attended schools when California ranked in the top three states in the nation in academic performance. My goals of raising overall expectations have nothing to do with the "dumbing down" as one of you put it, that has already occurred in our schools in the last thirty years. My goals are to raise expectations and increase the levels of academic performance among all students in California to equip them with the ability to pursue higher education and a job in the work force, thereby achieving their American Dream.

I was on the radio on the Forum with Dave Iverson Friday, May 26 in San Francisco, on http://www.KQED.org You can locate this radio broadcast on the internet. I was written up in the California Chronicle, a Beverly Hills newspaper. And yesterday I was featured in my hometown paper in the Los Angeles Times Independent-Huntington Beach.

Thirty years of struggling schools in California is not going to be resolved in a year. However, another of my plans is to equally distribute and reduce K-8 class size. Currently K-3 has a 20:1 student-teacher ratio and grades 4-8 have about a 30:1 student-teacher ratio. I recommend a 25:1 student-teacher ratio in all grades K-8, thereby equalizing the distribution of students more equally and fairly among teachers. The high school student-teacher ratio goal would be around 30:1. This would allow for much more teacher student contact, facilitating positive academic growth. Many K-8 districts could provide movement to this model within the parameters of their school budgets. Declining enrollment districts are "ripe" for this kind of improvement.

Time does not permit to write everything here; nor does a reasonable person expect that to occur here. However, I hope I have given you some idea of my goals for improving education in California schools. If you are genuinely open to my plan, you can research further, and perhaps provide some of your own suggestions for improvement in California schools. Part of my plan is to include collaboration of all stake-holders.

You may reproduce my plan if credit it given to Diane A. Lenning, Ed.M. and not used by any other candidate.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards,

Diane A Lenning, Ed.M.
http://www.DianeLenning.com