NEWS RELEASE
California Teachers Association
1705 Murchison Drive
Burlingame, CA 94010
http://www.cta.org
Contact: Claudia Briggs at 916-296-4087
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2020
California Educators Appreciate Gov. Newsom for Ongoing Leadership in Executive Order to Suspend State Testing
SACRAMENTO — The California Teachers Association applauds Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ongoing leadership and commitment, and hearing educators’ call to suspend statewide standardized testing this year for California’s students. CTA President E. Toby Boyd issued this statement on behalf of 310,000 teachers and the students they teach:
“We appreciate Gov. Newsom’s leadership and quick action in suspending all statewide mandated testing for this school year. On any given day, and under the best circumstances, test scores alone fail to tell us how a child is doing and where they need improvement. That would be even more certain for students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath. Test scores would mean nothing but a source of stress for our kids. Anxiety and emotions are rampant among us and we need to take this time to focus on the needs of our students, their health and safety, and ensuring they have nutritious meals.”
CTA is providing multiple resources for educators, students and families at http://www.cta.org/covid-19. CTA urges educators, students and their families to follow the guidance provided by the California Department of Public Health and believes state and local officials should coordinate with school districts and county offices of education to ensure uniform messages are provided to students, families, and staff.
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The 310,000-member California Teachers Association is affiliated with the 3 million-member National Education Association.
Claudia Briggs, Communications Assistant Manager, California Teachers Association (EST).
The California Teachers Association exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Superb. There are leaders, and then there are these other knuckleheads around the country!
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That’s very proactive!
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Does anyone know if the publicly-funded, private-sector charter school industry that is allowed to be secretive and doesn’t have to follow the same rules the real public schools follow, sent their students home?
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Great question, Lloyd!
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At least in Utah, ALL schools are closed, regardless of type. However, in many schools, including the school in which I teach, staff still has to report, at least some of the time.
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I would expect that Utah is probably better at dealing with this sort of situation than most states because it is more authoritarian and people are likely to just accept whatever their leaders tell them to do.
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I hope that the word ‘suspend’ means CANCEL.
The kids are stressed at home keeping up with the work. Seniors are waiting for college letters. Juniors have to study for SAT’s if they give them.
We don’t need the SBAC tests for sure!
Thanks!
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Regarding publicly funded online schools such as the CA Virtual Academy, Lloyd poses a very good question.
What are they doing?
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Many, if not all charter schools in Oakland have closed. Noted that Oakland kids, regardless of which type of school they attend, are eligible for free meals given out at district school sites.
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Good for him- if states are waiting for instructions from the Trump Administration they’re going to be waiting a long time.
The Trump employees are busy posting embarrassing, fawning Loyalty Oaths to Donald Trump and can’t possibly get any real work done:
“Secretary Betsy DeVos
From day one, realDonaldTrump has taken an aggressive, unprecedented approach to combating coronavirus. His decisive actions, including the additional steps announced tonight, will help prevent the spread of this virus and keep more students, parents and communities safe.”
One big political campaign masquerading as a federal government. They serve Donald Trump. Exclusively.
Take action without them. Help is not on the way.
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My son’s (public) high school in Ohio just issued the first round of at-home work for students. There was some kind of hold up related to special education, but they either resolved it or are just going on w/out it. In any event, my son seemed almost eager to start and did his work last night with no problem. It’s just English and math at this point but hopefully they’ll add language- his is Spanish. I suppose he’s been in a school routine for so many years that he missed it- not doing anything made him anxious.
He’s on track team and they’re running alone, just on their own initiative, too. They won’t have any meets but they’re still all running (alone) in the same period of time they would ordinarily do so- after school hours.
It’s amazing how flexible and resilient they are. They’re adjusting better than many of the adults I know, including me 🙂
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Chiara,
Why don’t you find a Spanish language TV channel for your son to watch? Immersion.
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I used to watch Telemundo when I lived in Arizona, even though I did not understand it.
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It’s kinda like watching the news talking heads with the sound off.
Much better that way.
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And actually, the same goes for English language TV as a whole, not just the news.
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An even better approach is to shoot your TV.
Listening to recorded language lessons is actually a good way to learn a language — much better than TV, at any rate.
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I once learned Spanish in six weeks by listening to lessons on tapes.
I know it worked because it allowed me to communicate when I took a trip to Ecuador and Peru.
The only problem I found was that the lessons were in Castilian Spanish, which is not the same as Latin American Spanish spoken where I went. But I made no real difference.
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I always notice the “pending waiver from the Department of Education.” Surely a major priority for DOE.
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Canceling of the tests in a state as populous as
California is very welcome news. California is a leader in taking action on climate change and immigration reform, now in standing up for our children against the testing regime. This is a real Reform. We are battling the status quo and putting Students First. Canceling the tests is Smarter. Balanced.
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I don’t think it is particularly courageous to cancel tests under the given circumstances, particularly not when it’s not even clear whether students will return to school this year.
What would be courageous — and honest — for a politician would be to cancel the tests altogether stating that they serve no legitimate purpose.
But we are talking about politicians, so I suppose we can’t expect much and should take what we can get, even if one would have to be stupid to behave differently.
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So, we CAN conclude from his cancelation that Newsom is not entirely stupid, which I suppose is something.
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Especially in California, which elects some of the dumbest pols on the planet.
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It’s not courageous, especially since Newsom is still waiting for waivers. Other states did it earlier and didn’t wait for DeVos’ nod, but it is good that California is moving in this direction.
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Correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding is that Governor Newsom announced that the tests were canceled before applying for a waiver from Betsy.
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Governor Newsom Issues Executive Order to Suspend Standardized Testing for Students in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak
Published: Mar 18, 2020
SACRAMENTO – To reduce the strain on students, families and educators during the COVID-19 outbreak, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order today to waive, pending federal approval, this year’s statewide testing for California’s more than 6 million students in K-12 schools.
“This time is stressful enough for students, families and educators without the additional burden of annual testing,” said Governor Newsom. “This is an unprecedented time, and our main focus is on supporting the mental and socioemotional health of students, while continuing to provide educational opportunities such as distance learning.”
“I appreciate the Governor’s leadership here and recognizing that under the current circumstances, the last thing our students need is to be confronted with a test,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “Our districts need some relief and this decision is in the best interest of our students and our state.”
“As schools are struggling to maintain instruction, feed students, and provide child care, they need to focus first and foremost on these pressing responsibilities,” said California State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond. “The safety and well-being of children and staff has to be our No. 1 concern. We do not want concerns about testing to distract them from their critical work at this time of national emergency.”
The Governor’s full executive order can be found here.
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/03/18/governor-newsom-issues-executive-order-to-suspend-standardized-testing-for-students-in-response-to-covid-19-outbreak/
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Aaaahnold and Ronny are all the proof one needs of that.
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Ronny made a movie with a monkey and Aaaahnold IS a monkey.
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Diane,
True. Newsom made the announcement without checking with Betsy.
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