This interview took place in several meetings over a period of two weeks in late spring, 2008. Carl Ehmann had spent the past five months working with multiple California community college districts to resolve numerous, and multilevel, shortages in senior leadership positions. Robert A. Frost and Ehmann had come into contact through Frost's…

California's budget crisis jeopardizes the progress made in strengthening the teaching workforce. The threat of impending teacher layoffs will weaken the teacher preparation pipeline and affect the state's ability to attract and retain thousands of teachers it can't afford to lose. If California is to remain committed to strengthening student…

Recommendations presented to the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas represent both an assessment of the demographic and educational challenges faced by these states, in which minority populations will become the majority in the foreseeable future, and a call for action to deal with these challenges. The report is the…

Hugh Burkett, director of The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, recently was asked to give the keynote speech at On the Right Track 4, an annual school improvement symposium for California school practitioners. In this month's newsletter, Dr. Burkett shares highlights from his remarks. He sets forth six things that should…

This perspective on California's Senate Bill 148 describes significant provisions of the bill and attempts to identify some of the major challenges to its successful implementation. The bill addresses the teacher credentialing process, including teacher preparation. (IAH)

After noting recent discoveries of falsified transcripts and other collegiate athletics scandals, this paper discusses the need to maintain academic integrity in athletic programs and defends rules established by the California Commission on Athletics (COA) against charges that they are unfair to community college students. The paper first warns…

This article provides an overview of federal initiatives to stimulate teacher training from the 1960s through the Reagan administration years. A brief discussion of California teacher education initiatives is also included. Federal initiatives are characterized as reactive and disjointed. (IAH)

A comprehensive program is proposed to increase the supply and quality of minority group teachers. The first step of the program is the early identification of minority and low-income students who have a commitment to teaching. As early as high school, students expressing an interest in teaching as a career would be selected to participate in a…

Examines how school financial policies affect economic incentives and working conditions for teachers and how these policies might serve to make the teaching profession more attractive to new and experienced teachers. Particular consideration is given to the California public school system. (DR)

Parents of students with disabilities want the same access to educational opportunities as parents of students without disabilities. This "right" to particular services and learning environments is securely supported by federal regulations and policies in all schools, including charter schools. However, in the work of Fierros and…

This paper addresses the demographic and socioeconomic effects on schools of the "new baby boom," consisting of school-age children of the original "baby boomers." The effects of this second-generation demographic trend include a higher proportion of minority students (since the decline in marriage and birth rates among baby…

This report charts a vision for preparing California teachers for the 21st century. The report is an adaptation of the national framework found in the Association of Teacher Educators' report, "Restructuring the Education of Teachers." Recognizing that learning to be an effective teacher is a developmental process, the report is…

As an adjunct to the California State Board of Education's 1983 report, "Raising Expectations: Model Graduation Requirements," this paper presents legislative and administrative recommendations on teacher quality and on the principal's role. The State Board's Master Plan Committee, which also produced "Raising Expectations,"…

This paper examines the implications of the California Statewide Longitudinal Study (SLS) of community college students with respect to college admissions and records, and concerns such as recruitment, registration, attrition, grading, probation and dismissal, and reporting. After an introduction to the institutional role of admissions and records…

The issue of recruitment of community college minority students who are underrepresented in higher education (Hispanics and Blacks) is complex and needs various programs which are unique and fit within the framework of the institution. Historical elements in Texas make it difficult to implement recruitment efforts. Recent statistics illustrate the…