Lourdes Lopez

EDES 6359
Spring 2020

Response to: “Are California’s Public Schools Failing their students on literacy?

Are California’s public schools failing their students? My answer is yes, there are areas

of improvement in California’s education system. In order to try and evaluate the problem

clearly, we need to look at who is failing. The vast majority of students attending public schools

in California are BIPOC (Black, Indegenous and People of Color) students and within this group

we see Black and Latinx students struggling to succeed. Why do we see such a disproportionate

amount of BIPOC students not succeeding in California’s public schools and how do we help

this underserved community? In order to evaluate and answer that question, we need to look at

several factors and systems currently in place that aren’t working.

First, most of the students in California that drop out are Black and Latinx students that

live in areas with high poverty. If we look at the funding that is being received in these areas, we

see schools receive their funding from a blend of federal, state, and local dollars. Local funding

comes largely from property taxes and districts assess the percentage of property tax they can tax

in their community. Districts with less property-wealthy areas can’t tax as much as districts with

a high amount of property wealth. Wealthier districts therefore raise more and have more money

per student to spend. Poorer districts that don’t raise as much do receive state funding to meet the

minimum amount of funding to spend per student but wealthier districts can still end up having

more if they are able to tax their community higher.

 The expensive housing and higher cost of living in wealthier areas is not accessible to the

majority of Black and Latinx families so the chances that they end up in a poor funded school is

great. The wealthier areas are disproportionately white and so these students reap the benefits of

the funding they receive, with access to technology, state of the art equipment, extra curricular

programs, and so much more. Wealthier areas are able to attract teachers with the promise of a

higher salary, a comfortable work environment, and access to more tools. In poorer areas, where

the jobs aren’t as enticing because of a lower salary and limited access to resources we see a high

rate of teacher burnout. The low retention of teachers and administration leaves students with an

unstable academic program that does little to meet their needs.

Second, there is a lack of high quality training for teachers in areas with a high proportion

of students who are failing. It is essential for teachers to be trained in trauma informed practices

and culturally relevant teaching practices. Students’ early academic experiences are indicative of

future academic success and life opportunities. Childhood trauma can impede development and

is most often seen in already disadvantaged populations. Students who experience trauma at an

early age are more likely to struggle in schools, especially in schools that are ill-equipped to

support students who have endured trauma. Students who are not shown conflict management

skills respond to their trauma in ways that result in referrals or school suspension, which

negatively affects their attitude towards their education. Black and Latinx students

disproportionately face these complex challenges at an early age. In the past years, we have seen

data that shows Black students face suspension at a much higher rate than their white

counterparts. Teachers that work in schools with a student population that has high levels of

trauma face a difficult and demanding job. Preparing teachers to work with students that face
homelessness, neglect, abuse, and death is not an easy task. Additionally, many schools with

high levels of trauma lack school counselors who can help lessen the load. If a school does not

have the funds to hire a counselor, which many impoverished areas do not, then the teacher must

be equipped with the knowledge to support their students. Administrators must become

intentional in their efforts to support culturally relevant and trauma-informed teaching practices.

Ongoing professional development must be made available for educators to assist their most

vulnerable students.

Third, California schools have the highest number of bi/multilingual students, often

referred to as English Language or Dual Language Learners. According to the California

Department of Education, in the 2018-19 school year there were over 1 million Dual Language

Learners enrolled in school (“​Facts about English Learners in California - CalEdFacts, CA Dept

of Education”). ​In 2017, Sanchez found that 1 in 10 students in public schools were learning to

speak English (Sanchez, 2017). This is a large number of students who are expected to achieve

grade level proficiency in literacy in a foreign language. Students cannot achieve English

proficiency if they are not adequately supported in learning English and teachers need to be well

trained in how to differentiate their teaching to support all students in literacy. Districts can meet

this need by hiring specialists that work with teachers to help their Dual Language Learners

reach standards in English. In some schools this might take the role of an ESL, English as a

Second Language, specialist. Unfortunately many schools don’t have the funds available to hire

a specialist to support their bi/multilingual student population.

 The rapidly growing amount of students who speak another language other than English

calls for not only specialists but also teachers that are qualified to work with Dual Language

Learners. California is one of the states that requires teachers to receive certification to teach

English Language Learners through acquiring their CLAD, or, Cross-Cultural Language

Academic Development in conjunction with their teaching credential. However, the way most

universities meet this requirement is to embed their content on teaching English Language

Learners into their existing literacy courses. This results in teachers simply skimming the

knowledge that is necessary to teach bi/multilingual students. In order to be truly effective, this

content should be taught in its own separate course. In order for schools to be truly effective in

supporting their bi-multilingual population, teachers need to receive ongoing professional

development and higher education programs and curriculum in K-12 schools should be adjusted

to meet the needs of all students.

Only until we dismantle these notions that education is one-size-fits-all and adapt our

instruction to best serve the students in California, many students won’t achieve success in

literacy. Before students can achieve success in literacy, a major change needs to occur in

administration and in the way California handles educational spending. Administration needs to

prepare teachers for success by providing ongoing professional development in culturally

relevant teaching, trauma informed teaching, and teaching bi/multilingual students. California

needs to make funding more equal for districts in low-income areas.

 References

Facts about English learners in California - CalEdFacts (CA Dept of Education)​. (n.d.).

California Department of Education. ​https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/cefelfacts.asp

Sanchez, C. (2017, February 23). ​English language learners: How your state is doing​. NPR.org.

https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/02/23/512451228/5-million-english-language

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