SBUnifiedBy the Santa Barbara Unified School District
Santa Barbara Unified leaders presented their Student Outcomes Report #2 at the Tuesday, April 11, Board of Education meeting.
Among the metrics to be presented Tuesday is the STAR Data for students in 3rd to 6th grade. From June 4, 2021, to March 9, 2023, the number of students meeting or exceeding the standard grew from 44% to 47%.
“We are glad to see some growth in the reading numbers,” said Dr. Hilda Maldonado, Superintendent. “However, we still have a lot of work to do. We are using the data found in tests like this to guide our future work of teaching literacy. We are in the process of evaluating a new literacy curriculum and will soon be selecting one that integrates a variety of approaches and is culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of our students. We need to expand our ways of teaching to ensure the wide range of learning styles of students are at the center of our teaching methods.”
In math, student achievement scores improved from 2020-2021, but the numbers decreased slightly from last school year. In June 2021, 23% of students met or exceeded the standards for math. That number grew to 32% in 2022 and is down to 30% in 2023. This status report is a good indication of where student learning stands and how improvements can be made before the school year ends.
“The STAR test results for this school year are an important indicator of where we are this school year. We still have time left in the school year. This shows us the work that needs to be done to help our students right now,” said Dr. Maldonado.
At the high school level, more students are graduating and meeting the UC/ CSU requirements. High school graduation rates rose from 90.9% in 2018-2019 to 95.2% in 2021-2022. The number of graduates meeting UC/ CSU requirements rose from 48.12% in 2018-2019 to 61.6% in 2021-2022. Those numbers are also higher than the averages in Santa Barbara County and statewide.
“We are proud of the focused work happening at the high school level to get students prepared for college and beyond. We are continuing our focus on eliminating the disparity in results for Latino, Black/African American and Two or More Races students continue to increase in meeting UC/CSU requirements,” said. Dr. Maldonado.
SB Unified is also seeing growth in the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC). The number of emergent multilingual learners testing proficiency has grown from 11.68% in 2020-2021 to 19% in 2021-2022. That’s also above the state average of 15.45%.
“We are pleased to see an increase in the number of students reaching academic level English proficiency. Emergent Multilingual students require specialized teaching and learning to meet both language and content area knowledge. We will continue the work in this space to ensure our bilingual students are prepared for a globally diverse workforce,” said Dr. Maldonado.
As Maya Angelou said, “When we know better, we do better.” Our district is working on improved assessments throughout the school year to inform teachers about what students need to learn in order to meet grade-level standards.
The Student Outcomes Report was presented at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. You can see the full breakdown of the statistics here.
I understand why the slight improvement is being heralded as a success. Unfortunately, it puts on display the absolute state of disgrace of our local schools. Just imagine if this same percentage increase related to:
– 47% of a restaurant’s customers are satisfied with the food/service.
– 47% of a surgeon’s patients are satisfied with their surgery.
– 47% of a mechanic’s customers are satisfied with the work done to their vehicle.
– 47% of the customer’s of ANY business or service are satisfied.
Only in education and politics are people rewarded for sub-standard work…..everyone else is out of business. People sometimes say that there is no such thing as a “bad” question: WHY are more than 50% of the children in our schools failing? Why do schools retain employees who are not doing their job? No wonder schools want to do away with the grading system (because it shows failure).
BABYCAKES – Comparing education to customer satisfaction with a for profit business?
The simplicity and lack of understanding for what they do is insulting to teachers who have dedicated their lives to teaching our kids and yours.
I know that it’s not popular amongst progressives to hold people accountable and let folks “slide.” This is especially obvious with this report and the lackluster local education efforts. I’m guessing that some folks here are too young to remember when teachers were expected to teach, but now they are expected to replace the role of parents in many respects. I come from a family of “old-school” teachers, who commanded the respect of their students. They were teachers first, and not a “friend” to students as so many teachers want to be these days. “Students First” is what I say, and if you want to disagree with that….well, then you disagree, but don’t be upset with “the messenger” as they say.
Less than half the kids can read & write at grade level.
Are you saying that’s a good track record?
Are you stating SBUSD is preparing our kids for the future, for college, for trade schools, for employment in a growing tech world?
That’s a laugh.
If a kid, heck all kids graduate nowadays, when a kid graduated & they can only read half the world on that job application or menu at the coffee shop what job will they get?
Babycakes–just making crap up as usual.
“it’s not popular amongst progressives to hold people accountable.”
Now prove it.
Okay, Babycakes…what percentage of year to year improvement do you deem “acceptable”?
When was the last time you were in a classroom?
What have you done TODAY (or even this month) to help our schools?
This is not about the hardworking teachers, this is about the failure of educational leadership among district administrators. There is nowhere but in the educational bureaucracy where this failure of more than half the children possibly be seen as “academic growth.” A couple of percentage points is not statistically significant, and the superintendent’s unwillingness to address the need to switch instructional practices from the discredited Lucy Calkins to a structured, science based approach to literacy is simply appalling. The children whose parents don’t have the funds for outside tutoring will pay for this failure of leadership the rest of their lives–and those who do actually skew these results. While we focus on literacy, math is even worse. This is unacceptable in this community, but no one seems ever to hold these administrators to account while they pull down very nice salaries that the teachers only wish they could have.
If they were baseball players they’d be awesome!
But still less than half from 3-6 grade can read/write at grade level. And what of the other grades? Did they cherry pick 3-6 bec they had the best scores? And math skills decreased.
Look this is a decades old issue. SBUSD is not reviewing test scores and making changes for the better. They are in a status quo & purposefully choose education models with a failing track record trying to show good optics they are doing something. It’s all BS. They do not listen to parents or use successful models and programs to increase the academics & well being of students.
SBUSD & teachers Union continually fail the students & put themselves and their paid off friends ahead of children health, safety & academics.
They listed grades 3-6 because in elementary school, those are the only grades tested using the STAR test (or CAASPP, for that matter). They also mention high school.
Nothing worth celebrating here, as many have pointed out. It’s pretty obvious that less than half the students even meeting BASIC standards (not talking high-achievement here) sucks. Straight up sucks. Do better SBUSD. Sac, you must be joking?
I’m always fascinated by people who simply complain about the status quo without actually doing anything about it. (Or checking all of the facts.) You don’t go from 23% or 44% proficiency to 90% in a year, or even two. It takes many years to bring any student up to grade level, and all the while you get new students who aren’t at grade level. We can celebrate the improvements, while recognizing that more work needs to be done.
BASIC – I’m not joking at all. I believe any progress made with our kids’ education should be congratulated. As LETMEGO points out, we won’t go from bad to perfect in a year. You guys need to ditch the constant all or nothing attitude with everything. We’re making progress. Don’t sit there and winge about unless you have a plan to bring thousands of students up to perfect scores within the next couple years.
If a private school posted these results, how many years do you think it would last before parents pulled their kids out and the school shutdown? Unfortuanly with the way our CA public education monopoly works, most parents don’t have the option to pull their kids out of the school and go somewhere else. School Choice would change that, but the benefactors of the current public education monopoly have to much power over our political leaders so it will never happen in CA, to the detriment of millions of low and middle income families throughout our state.
Private schools don’t need to teach to the test, so they’re free to actually teach the curriculum. Having that freedom to not be in constant fear that you’ll lose your job if your students don’t pass a standardized test gives you the opportunity to focus on truly learning the material. As such, it’s not an equivalent comparison to hypothesize about something that doesn’t exist – ie, standardized testing in private schools.
Private schools don’t have to teach to the test. They don’t have STAR testing, so there’s really no way to compare the two.
Wow, a lot of wrong in there. Nearly all do have standardized testing, just not the STAR tests because CA won’t allow private schools to access the tests (thank you CA teachers unions, the comparison would horrendous and even their water carriers like you couldn’t deflect around it with “can’t compare…” BS) Public school unions also don’t allow or severely limit the firing teachers based on performance. But you’re getting closer when you said the private schools are free to actually teach the curriculum vs. teach to pass a standardized test most aren’t passing while ALSO not learning the material.
This is great news! Way to go, teachers!
Let’s hope so, they sure do deserve it. It’s sad that the measure of their worth is based on standardized tests such that many teachers focus on teaching to the test as opposed to teaching the curriculum and making school fun and educational. For what teachers have to put up with, they should be paid much more.
Now, SBUSD is going to reward teachers with increased pay and support, RIGHT?? A hoo-ray and a pat on the back ain’t enough!
So, we’re supposed to celebrate because just a little over half the students fail to meet even the basic standards ?
For decades less than half the kids could read/write or do math at grade level.
Here we are taking kudos afte schools were closed for what, 2 years? Seriously. SBUSD has been failing for a long time.
“In June 2021, 23% of students met or exceeded the standards for math. That number grew to 32% in 2022 and is down to 30% in 2023. ” —– this absolutely nothing to celebrate or be happy about. When viewed through any objective lens, this is a major failure.
JAK – you don’t have to celebrate anything. I’m just happy to see proof that our teachers are effectively teaching our children better than before. That’s all.
The school’s “achievement” would be considered abject failure in many parts of the world. Parents need to get involved in their kid’s lives and educations. But we are now dealing with the consequences of multigenerational failure to instill basic skills so it is hard work for the parents to get down and dirty and make sure that their kids are nailing basic reading and math skills. Seems like most aren’t up to the challenge.
Schools will always fail if parents aren’t leading the way for their own kids. Yet the schools can and should be doing better at the basics.
No more than ever we need an experienced Superintendent who is a leader. From this article it seems like there is growth and still some work to be done… Our Superintendent talks about new curriculum that will be ” culturally and linguistically responsive”.. as if that is going to make or break our dismal student outcomes. The NY Times just last week wrote about the RIght to Read movement that is challenging the educational establishment to embrace not only the curriculum of the science of reading approach ( based on decoding, phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency). From this editoreal a reader would have no idea that many, far too many are significantly behind like students with learning difference where only 11% are proficient in reading or our emergent multilingual learners only 19% proficient.. We can turn it around like they did in 20 plus states but we have to embrace a pro active approach to reading including reducing class size, training teachers , remediating all students including secondary students who suffer from the systems poor choices. It is time to embrace the science of reading. In the Superintendent article she never even once mentions it, though her staff picked out a curriculum that aligns with it. Is she on the fence.? What is holding her back from being the leader we need her to be with the evidenced approach to reading and the strategies to make picking the curriculum successful. Why can’t she even say the district stopped using Lucy Calkins because anyone who picked up a paper or the NY times knows that balanced literacy is dead…it is settled science. Let;’s move on to training and screening and reducing class sizes… And yes lets admit we like the science of reading because balanced literacy hurts vulnerable students. That now is settled science…. Let’s have our leaders emulate best evidenced based practices and stop talking and wasting resources on things that are tangiential.
Thank you, LOVESBALOT! it was shocking to see Maldonado’s comment, “We are in the process of evaluating a new literacy curriculum and will soon be selecting one that integrates a variety of approaches and is culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of our students. ” — It’s the science of how to read and the research has been done. It works for all students who have trained teachers, supported by capable staff. If the highly paid administration does not understand this, Santa Barbara students and their families – and the city as a whole! – are being cheated and lied to. Teaching reading is not rocket science but it is scientifically-based. It looks as though Maldonado needs to go back to school.
To the School Board:
Your comments are not full disclosure
Below is your statement on EdHat today:
Santa Barbara Unified students in 3rd to 6th grade met or exceeded standards from 44% to 47%.
What are the achievement level percentages for those students who did not meet the standards?
And more importantly- What are the achievement levels of Mexican/Hispanic students who did not achieve the standards.
Take out the white kids and white schools and give the true facts.
They could get rid of half of the people downtown and use the money to hire a few full-time reading specialists for each elementary school to sit down one-on-one and teach illiterate kids how to read. Now THAT would produce some real results we could all be proud of!
Sure, a couple percentage points is technically an improvement. If you want celebrate that go ahead. You want to help Maldonado and the other Admin. high-ups pat themselves on the back? Go ahead. A lot of us ARE critical of the current status of our schools, and are quick to point out how dismal these scores still are. Settling for a D- grade is pathetic. We want the District to do better. How the hell is that even debatable?
“technically an improvement.” – Yep. Again, good job! Sorry this news makes you so frumpy. Go smell a rose or something.
Funding for public school libraries locally and in Caifornia has plummeted along with reading scores. Is there a correlation (do kids need to choose and free read books to gain reading skills?). According to USC Professor Emeritus of Education Stephen Krashen, although “Poverty is by far the most powerful predictor we have of school performance, Students from
low SES families have fewer books in the home and live in neighborhoods with inferior
public libraries and fewer bookstores, and SES schools have inferior classroom and
school libraries ” (SES – socio-economic status).” According to Krashen, “The one source of books that can be easily improved is the school library. In recent years
two studies have confirmed that investing in the school library can not only make a
difference, it can actually offset the impact of poverty on reading achievement.”. Locally, our school libraries have had staff and budget cuts, and the SB Public Library has been mostly closed to children for three years. Is there any surprise that public school children are struggling with reading?
The SBPL has focussed on being a showcase for the director and having a park rather than allowing access to books. (It will have the advantage of providing an outdoor gathering place for the homeless.) However, the Eastside library branch, adjacent to both Franklin and Adelante, has been open much of the time the main library has been closed.
Look, the test scores are in fact getting better, but please do not make excuses for the overall poor performance. It is almost as if “those in charge” want these kids to fail so mother government can control them later in life. Maybe that’s a stretch, but with test scores this low, there’s nearly no other valid explanation (can’t truthfully blame conservatives/(R) as there are nearly none in SB). One thing “private” schools do is focus on the basics: reading, writing, science, and math. Public schools should emulate this focus on those things rather than distractions such as equity, equality, drag shows, and so on. Not that equity, equality, and drag shows are not super important to the development of children….it’s like installing a nice carpet in your house when you have huge holes in your roof. According to this report, a HUGE majority of kids in the SBUSD cannot read or write at even the most basic levels. That does not provide equity later in education, work, and earning ability. Focus on the basics first, then our young students will be winners/winners chicken dinners, and not arriving at a high-learning institution unable to complete a basic application. Let’s simply focus on the basics and we can have the fun stuff once our students start doing better. Yes, it takes time, but we in SB have been at this for a few decades now and I expect MUCH better results.
Babycakes, why do you choose to always lead with some ridiculous right wing talking point.
No, there is not some elites conspiracy to keep kids ignorant and uneducated so that the government can more easily control them.
It’s. Not. Happening.
Just skip that part and try and address the issues rationally and people won’t think you’re a total clown.
If a private school posted these results, how many years do you think it would last before parents pulled their kids out and the school shutdown?
LETMEGO – great points. The comparison really is faulty.
Private schools are allowed to deny entry to children for any reason. They aren’t required to take children with disabilities, or English learners. In fact, many (most?) have entrance tests, applications, and other requirements, like school transcripts. (I’ve been looking into junior high private school options.)
In doing so that would allow the public schools to better focus on those students. But you’re also only looking at current private schools. School Choice would lead to the opening of many new schools, and many of the schools would be tailored to certain students, learning styles, schedules, etc. Especially if they provide additional dollars for students with disabilities, or English learners, schools will open to serve them. Most importantly, these schools would be held accountable, if they don’t perform parents take their kids elsewhere and the school closes, unlike the current public education system which is producing the dismal results in this article.
So hypothetical future schools are doing better on standardized tests than actual, current public schools. OK, cool.
There you go off on some tangent again… back to the original question which remains unanswered (because you don’t like the answer). So let’s say these hypothetical future schools aren’t doing better on standardized tests, what do you think the parents would do now that they have a choice? How long do you think that hypothetical school would remain open knowing that parents could pull there kids out if it was underperforming?
VOICE – probably not long but so what? It’s a hypothetical so how on earth is anyone to know. And what does it matter? I didn’t answer right off the bat because it’s irrelevant and I had no idea this was your big “a ha” here today. What a weird question to be making a stand about LOL…..
LMG–
Yep, it’s stacking the deck. You can’t compare public and private schools at all, they are different universes when it comes to family economics, education, and the time and know how they have access to in order to support their kids. My family has been through both systems.
Like seriously…. are you really asking we think parents would choose: a better performing school or a worse performing school? I got a zinger for you then – would parents choose to feed their kids or not feed their kids? Would you choose to be sick or healthy? Would you choose a high paying job or a low paying job?
Assuming all things are exactly equal (your basic premise with the future make believe schools), OF COURSE parents would choose the better one. Problem is….. it’s not exactly an equal choice, nor will it ever be.
Conservatives wringing their hands about education is one of my favorite rhetorical gymnastics acts they perform. Whenever con legislators have a chance, they vote to strip funding and autonomy from the public education system. If they had nothing stopping them, the extent of public education would be learning how to take low-wage jobs and join the military. Tennessee’s legislature just pulled an all-night session and voted at around 4am to allow 16 year olds to work 6 hour graveyard shifts. They don’t care at all about public schools, their kids go to private ones. Thanks for more entertaining nonsense as always, Voice of Child Labor.
You’re right, it won’t be a choice in CA due to the amount of political clout the teachers unions have. Why do you oppose giving low and middle income parents a choice (upper class families already have a choice), rather than forcing them to attended a specific school based on their address regardless of how well that school performs?
Alex, school choice levels this out and provides access regardless of family economics or education.
VOR, once more in English.
Voice: Who is going to pay for all your hypothetical schools that would magically open if your notion of “school choice” happened? I’d like to remind you that the GOP classified ketchup as a vegetable so they could save money on school lunches. Villainous trash, the lot of them.
Going back to the actual article, it highlights progress even after the ghoulish nightmare of Dump’s mismanagement of Covid. And you’re arguing what exactly? That public schools are bad and we should all pay private school tuition with our bootstraps? Get a hobby dude.
VOICE – what are the names of the schools you toured with a total tuition of under $7500?
VOICE – Hey Copernicus, I answered the question yesterday – SACJON 2 1 APR 19, 2023 04:58 PM
Why do you keep asking it? It’s literally the same as asking would parents rather see their children starve or give them food? DUDE. This is why you keep touting these $7500 schools. In YOUR mind, all things are equal so the answer to your questions about test scores is really irrelevant. OF COURSE parents want the best for their kids. NOW TELL US – where are these $7500 schools local parents can send their kids?
You’re so far backwards, it’s mind blowing.
“You’re not reading what I’m writing” – Yeah, we are. That’s why we’re asking about those local private schools that cost lest than $7500 in total tuition. You wrote it, we read it. What are the names of those schools?
“my first hand knowledge of a local elementary school with an annual tuition below $7,500 is a “lie”” – I NEVER SAID IT WAS A LIE.
YOU ARE NOW LYING by saying I said that. Again, stop putting shit in quotes that never happened.
I’ll say it now though – you’re lying out your ass about those $7500 local schools. We all know it. Well, except BASIC who’s mad because test scores improved and people are calling you names like “asshole”. Oh wait……
And you have still avoided answering the question at the very start of this thread:
VOICE OF REASON 1 2 APR 19, 2023 12:08
If a private school posted these results, how many years do you think it would last before parents pulled their kids out and the school shutdown?
So rather than address any of the many benefits I brought up about the school choice concept, you presented ZERO negative aspects to it, and preferred to focus on your inability to research local private school tuition rates and instance that my first hand knowledge of a local elementary school with an annual tuition below $7,500 is a “lie” (which it totally irrelevant to the school choice concept). Do I have that right?
Again, 1) When some people bring up politics, I don’t care because they’re not saying they don’t. YOU DO. 2) I can’t be expected to sit in front of my computer all night waiting, you gotta give me a few minutes before jumping on my case. 3) Politics are entirely relevant to the state of our education.
Not sure how politics got into this Chillin (though crickets from Sacjon of course), “Dump” certainly didn’t close down CA’s schools, and we’ve been performing towards the bottom of the pack since before covid. I’ve been a fan of school choice since well before it became yet other red vs. blue issue when it shouldn’t be. Who pays for it Chillin, the State pays for it just like our current public schools. SB schools receive $15K+ per student, the state would offer a voucher of say half that for parents to procure alternative educational opportunities for the children than the public school they’re assigned to based on zip code. Providing additional options for non-wealthy families to educate their children shouldn’t be a partisan issue, especially in areas where the public schools your assigned to by address aren’t performing well. Frankly, outside of the teachers unions, I’m surprised it’s something the left has pushed back on, it should be a very progressive idea. Unfortunately with the current hyper-partisan climate of “if the other side is for it we’re against”, as evident by the comments here, its being used for political games to the detriment of children and families throughout our state.
What private schools “in town” cost only $7500 in full tuition?
VOR, $7500 – how much is that REALLY going to help a family get “over the edge” into Crane, SBMS, or Laguna Blanca? The tuition for these schools range from $36,000 to $39,000, and tuition is not the only cost to attend. You are really going out on a limb suggesting that a non-existent, theoretical choice school will be better. You don’t know that.
Also, “The public schools can better focus on those other students” pushed us back into something like “separate but equal.” It’s almost like you don’t think EL or students with disabilities matter that much.
Alex: School choice is separate from charter schools. Two very different things. If that voucher is what gets some families over the edge to affording Laguna or Crane, that’s great. There are other private schools in town where a voucher of $7,500 (less than half the State provides public schools) would cover the full cost of tuition.
I’m personally fine with Charter Schools. Some are good, many are bad, just like the other public schools.
But if you think that the local charter schools in any way shape or form can hold a candle to a Laguna or Crane, or SBMS in terms of resources and quality of education and family involvement, i.e., your laughable claim that “school choice evens this out” BWAHAHAHAHAH!!
Not even close bud.
Sacjon, there are several, I’m not going to advertise them here. Let Me Go, that was just an example off Alex’s post, which disingenuously used the two highest tuition schools in the area. Even then the voucher would cover a large chunk of that, especially when combined with the scholarships those schools do offer. The point is $7,500 would go along way to providing many families with the assistance they need to actually have a choice where they don’t currently. Everyone is also ignoring that many new schools will open to cater to this new pool of students, not only typical schools, but schools focused on certain specials needs and areas of focus. In addition, it opens up creative and alternative educational opportunities – like a few families get 10 kids together and can now hire a full-time teacher for $75,000 a school year (in this example).
VOR–
Dude. Apparently you need to spoon fed.
The average private school cost in California is 15.8k
CALIFORNIA IS NOT SANTA BARBARA.
The average cost of a home in California is about 700k
The average cost of a home in Santa Barbara is at least TWICE THAT.
THIS AREA IS FAR MORE EXPENSIVE THAN 95% OF THE STATE
There is probably not a single private school in Santa Barbara with a 7.5k tuition.
Just hush man, you talked yourself into a corner with nonsense.
So, looking at this, there are actually ZERO schools “in town” with tuition under $7500:
https://www.privateschoolreview.com/tuition-stats/california/high
That’s weird. You assured us there was. Did you not verify that before saying it’s a fact?
VOR–
“I’m not going to advertise them here”. HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Because it’s super top secret to talk about those bargain private schools everyone can access?
LOL!!!!
From your link: “The average private school tuition in California is $15,890 per year (2023).” AVERAGE. Can you look up what average means or do I need to be spoon fed that too? Again, you’re intertidally ignoring the NEW educational opportunities that will open to serve these students, like the example I gave below of a group of families hiring their own teacher.
“I’m not going to advertise them here. ” – in other words “I just made that up and refuse to admit it.”
You’re not reading what I’m writing Alex and just arguing for the sake of arguing, like your buddy Sacjon. Question: Do you think any of the parents of the 70% of students who aren’t proficient in math, or the 81% of multilingual learners not testing proficiently, would like another option to educate their children than the schools their assigned to based on their address?
One of the most challenging aspects of the public school system is their one size fits all approach, which ends up only working for a small portion of the students. This would change that and provide parents options to find the best fit for their family and children.
“you’re intertidally ignoring the NEW educational opportunities” – Oh….. it’s one of your hypothetical future schools that out performs current schools already. OK, so how much does your pretend school cost? Let me guess….. $7499.99 for full tuition (not annual, not per term, but FULL). Fascinating.
ALEX – well now hold on, he did confirm he was talking about his pretend future schools. You know, the ones that are already doing better on standardize performance exams than our current, actual and real public schools.
Read before you argue.
“do I need to be spoon fed that too” – Yes, you DO need to be spoon fed. Now tell us (once the airplane lands in the hangar and you swallow your mush), what are the “SEVERAL” schools “IN TOWN” that cost less in TOTAL TUITION (not per term) $7500?
You’re flailing a bit pal.
VOICE – will you tell us the names of these schools “in town” that cost less than $7500 if we promise not to tell anyone about them? You’re in a safe space, come on…. tell us.
VOR–that’s not what I’m questioning. Nice try.
Now cough up a list of the 7500 per year private schools in Santa Barbara.
LOL, man, you liteOT A GOOD FITrally have no idea what you’re talking about.
Private schools are literally one size fits all because THEY DON’T HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE CHILDREN WITH EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES THEY JUST BOUNCE THEM FROM THE SCHOOL SAYING “IT’S NOT WORKING”.
Is that $7500 check for 1 year’s tuition, 1 semester/term, what?
“I have personally toured two in that range. ” – then you should have no problem telling us all what schools you’re referring to. Dude, YOU are the one pushing for this magic check and telling us all how local families can afford private schools, but you don’t want to tell us which ones?
It’s been fun slapping you around as usual.
What
Are
The
Schools
Names
Bishop Diego: $24k
Anacapa school: $26k
The Knox School: $26k
Riviera Ridge: $36k
Providence: $22k
Elementary:
MCS: $22k
Providence: $16k (Christian)
St Raphael’s: $6500 (Catholic, no thanks)
Any non-religious schools? Haven’t found any.
LETMEGO – St. Raphael’s offers “Non-Denominational: $8,500.”
Critical fact: That is PER YEAR tuition, not full cost for 8 years (grades 1-8). So, that imaginary one time check of $7500 won’t even cover 1 year’s tuition.
It’s annual check, not a one time, just like public schools receive an annual amount per student not one time. You really should at least do the smallest bit of research on a topic so you at least know a little bit about it before you go spouting off against it, not a good look.
“my first hand knowledge of a local elementary school with an annual tuition below $7,500 is a “lie” – Moving goalposts there pretty hard buddy…. Couple things:
1) You said there were “several,” not just one.
2) It’s about FULL tuition, not annual. Or, are you saying parents will get $7500 PER YEAR for schools? Not sure, I asked multiple times and you never answered….
VOICE – Your arguing future hypotheticals. My comments are isloated to one thing: asking you to name the “several” “in town” private schools that cost less than $7500. You said those words. Words have meanings. Where are these schools?
“All that arguing and you STILL haven’t point out any downsides to school choice.” – uh…… think a little harder pal. ALEX, LETMEGO, myself and others are all saying the same thing – your pretend $7500 is NOT ENOUGH for families in this town to send their kids to a private school of their choice. It’s about choice. 1 heavily Catholic school is not a “choice” for most people. THE WHOLE POINT of all our demands for your schools’ names is to prove that, once again, you wrongfully assume that your $7500 is enough to give families a real choice in education.
We’ve pointed out the downside AD NASEUM. You just don’t like it and instead choose to ignore it and deflect, dodge and lie. It’s really all you do.
Do you really think no new schools or educational vendors would open up if every family had the option to receive a $7,500 voucher instead of attending their assigned public school? Do you really think no one would re-start their “covid pods” and hire their own teacher? Do you really think some parents wouldn’t use those funds to supplement a hybrid home school type situation? $7,500 was just an arbitrary number, it could be $10,000 per year and the state would still be saving $5K-8K per student per year. Have any thoughts on where they could redeploy those fund, IDK like special needs students? It would really do you a lot of good to actually do a little bit of research on a topic you clearly know nothing about before your go off running your mouth and arguing for the sake of arguing. All that arguing and you STILL haven’t point out any downsides to school choice.
VOICE – lol let’s not talk about good looks bub!
OK, so parents get $7500 per year under this plan. That gives them ONE, not “several” options here “in town” and that option may not be agreeable to most people. St. Raphael’s is a HEAVILY Catholic school, as I recall from my kids’ preschool days. Telling families they have ONE option and it’s a very religious one, might not be as perfect as you think.
Now, how about the others “several” “in town” private schools for under $7500?
“You really should at least do the smallest bit of research” – on what? Voice of ______’s make believe future schools? What is the specific program I should be researching?
If you want parents to have this opportunity so bad, please help them discover it. What schools (besides Catholic) are available and how do they get more info about your program?
VOICE – There are no local private schools with tuition under $7500. Also, there are more human total deaths from nuclear power than there are yearly deaths from wind power.
167 is less than 1,595 and you are unable to name the schools.
VOR–in a world of dumb comments you just pinned one at the top.
Of course religions indoctrinate and religious schools indoctrinate. If you are good with offering parents a “choice” which equals access to only a school which will push beliefs on their kids, well shit, you sound like some kind of woke culture warrior.
LOL!!!!
You are still wrong on both counts.
No, I’m actually correct… on both counts. If you are so certain I am wrong, name the schools and explain how 167 is a larger number than 1595.
Still wrong on both counts. check your sources.
Yes, you were wrong and spit out two dozen posts calling me wrong, maybe chill out next time? And calling a religious schools an “indoctrination” – how bigoted of you, is this that “tolerance” you speak so much about? there’s also more private schools that the one listed by someone else, b/c you’d prefer to argue than read and learn.
I’ll concede on ONE local school being below $7500, albeit for an indoctrination, not an education.
On the other issue, it was YOUR source that gave the 1595 number. Read more carefully maybe?
Uh you ARE wrong. You said there are “several,” not one. Still wrong champ.
Wow, there are what – 2 posters here who STILL want to argue incessantly that our current school ‘scores’ and this press release represent good news for our schools?
You know who you are. Call me and everyone else who doesn’t agree with you a name – we don’t care. We care about education, kids, and the future. That’s why we’re commenting on this.
Absouteltly crazy how opposed they are to improving educational outcomes for children and prefer to put political partisanship ahead our children’s future.
Wow, there are STILL what … 2? 3? posters here who refuse to see an increase in scores as positive news and a trend in the right direction. Mind boggling really.
Here’s a tip: celebrating improvement and recognizing that district scores are still substandard are not mutually exclusive!! They can (and do) exist simultaneously.
LessThanBasic Comprehension–
Personally, I have made zero statements about the press release or scores.
I have commented only on ridiculous claims about the availability of choice and the notion that private schools are a.) accessible, and b.) serve a diverse group of learners better than public schools.
Your implication that you somehow own the market on caring about education and kids is laughable.
Get off your high horse.
LETMEGO – So much reason. So much common sense! Crazy that it needs to be repeated at them. So hellbent they are at complaining about everything. Love their holier than thou attitudes too. Blech!
Info like this shouldn’t read like a PR document. Here’s a succinct summary of the article’s information of the STAR data for 3rd and 6th graders:
Reading – Minor Good News – % of kids failing to meet basic standards fell from 56 to 53.
Math – Minor Bad New – % of kids failing to meet basic standards rose from 68 to 70.
Nothing much has changed.
One thing that is very clear from the SB Unified Press Release is that the State of CA schools do not perform well.
Below find the link to the 2022-23 UC/CSU standards. The UC standard eligibility GPA is 3.0, but that won’t get you into UC unless you are an athlete. CSU doesn’t publish a GPA standard on this website.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/_files/documents/csu-uc-a-g-comparison-matrix.pdf
Please note that the standard at this link above is not a 3.0, or a B, it is a letter grade of C or above.
“30 semester of approved college prep courses with a grade of C or above”
So 62% of the SB Unified Schools were at or above a C average.
The UC/CSU number of 62% must be the subgroup of students who take College prep level courses that meet UC/CSU requirements. I’d note that on the A.B,C,D,F scale a 62% is a very solid D and yet we did better than the State of CA. Ouch.
Not understanding why the SB Unified uses Star Data
“The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System was established on January 1, 2014. The CAASPP System replaced the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, which became inoperative on July 1, 2013.”
30% of students met an (obsolete?) STAR standard for Math… which is below F
We are told reading numbers are better, but must not be great because SB Unified chose not to include those numbers in their own Press Release, but because Math got praised for 30% of STAR standard, I am guessing reading is lower. Another F.
Take your politics out of these results and admit these improvements are still a failure. Go ahead, vote for your super majority political team, I’m not asking you to vote for crazy people, but am asking you to require that your supermajority team put people on the ballot that produce better results and get rid of the people who produce miserable results. Your supermajority team is going to win regardless of who you pick, so why not get rid of producers of decidedly mediocre results and find someone else?
This may be an unfair comparison, but if my plumber came to me and said he or she left 3% less raw sewage in my bathtub than last time I’d have two questions:
Why is 3% less raw sewage than last time considered a good thing by this plumber? and more importantly,
Why in the heck did I hire this plumber again?
The reason for the STAR test data is the ability to take it multiple times per year to get “in process” data and improvement statistics. Our elementary school has the students take the STAR test at the very beginning of the school year, and also mid-way, to track improvement.
The CAASPP test is only offered once/year, near the end of the school year, and it takes awhile to compile. Thus, you have to wait months to get the data from 2022, whereas the STAR data for 2023 is available already.
If I remember correctly, the CAASPP data from 2023 (testing window is March/April/May – my high school student’s tests were a couple of weeks ago, the elementary student data has not happened yet) is generally available in the summer.
Pathetic results. Where are the parents who sit down with their kids and read to them, have them read back, actually interact? The kids have been surrendered to the dopamine addiction of Tik Tok, and are doomed to be stupid.
OGSB – a bit, yes. Reading to your kids is CRITICAL and does wonders for them. I was being a bit snarky though at the thought that seems to come from many that it’s all on the parents. As if reading to your kids is the only thing needed to bring up test scores. As we all agree, it’s a complex issue. Parents need to help, the district needs the resources to provide quality education for all and we need dedicated, patient and compassionate teachers. I don’t think any of us disagree on that.
Sac- I assume you’re being sarcastic… I’m not reading through all these predictable comments but I would like to add. Reading to your kids is very important! I feel that we as parents had to teach our kids at least as much as the schools. They all consistently came home not knowing how to do homework, which led to having to teach them what they should already have learned in school. This is West Goleta and my experience with my kids going through 20 + years of our local public schools. We were involved at school helping in class, donating, fundraising etc, and then had to spend hours explaining to our kids their homework. I could expand forever on this, but IT COULD BE BETTER! If you think it’s all good… you’re the problem. Our teachers work hard, but it’s up to US to teach our kids. So, YES Sac… an easy fix.
LUCKY777 – yeah, because not all parents read to their kids, we have low scores in school. Gosh, such an easy fix!
We are all still here. As are the parents working multiple jobs until 2 am to pay rent, families who are homeless or tripling up to pay rent, parents who can’t speak or read English (so they cannot read to their children), children who are dyslexic and are not learning to read at school.
The taxpaying public that funds the schools ought to be getting a better return on its investment. I noticed on my recent tax bill we’re still paying on a school bond that was passed two years before the birth of my child, who graduated eight years ago. Unexpectedly, we had to fight just to get decent instruction in reading, writing and spelling–and ended up paying a fortune out of pocket to make up the difference. The stress of that time on our family is indescribable. There is a pervasive education issue here and there really should be more accountability than a press release and a couple of quotes from the current superintendent trying to put a positive spin on abysmal results and whose entire administration walked away just one year ago. Without the constant flow of tax dollars, SBUSD as an independent organization would never be viable, yet the “leadership” behaves as thought they are superior in every way.
We should be fund students not systems.
Edney and Salsi have summarized this situation quite well, avoiding petty personal comments that are completely useless and intentionally distracting . Just read theirs and think about it. My take is that being complacent and believing everything you read has led to this mess. The CA education system isn’t doing well and this press release shouldn’t be convincing anyone otherwise. Wake up.
Fund students not systems.
No, I had plenty of comments. Take a look and read them. Just think it’s funny for you to complain about personal comments while your buddy sits in the penalty box for insulting everyone instead of actually responding to concerns.
“petty personal comments” – cute.
You just proved my point Sac. There it is. No comment other than that?
Democrats on the Senate Education Committee defeated (California) Senate Bill 292 by a 5-2 vote last week. As proposed in SB 292, the state would set up a trust fund that would provide families an amount equal to average per student funding for public schools to send a child to the private school of their choice. That would be around $17,000 this year. Parents could put it toward tuition, transportation or other expenses; what’s left over in their ESA account each year could be put toward college tuition or other post-high school certificates and career training.
What are the costs of a private school for students with learning disabilities?
Why not just increase the amount of money given to public schools so they can improve the quality of education? If we can afford $17K per student for private school, imagine how far that would go in public schools!
Basic aid districts do have that option and, as you noted, public schools in wealthy areas do take advantage of that like Cold Springs, Hope, MUS, but not Goleta. SB Unified receives significantly more than $10K per student. What about all the poor areas outside our privileged bubble that is SB? Student’s with disabilities aren’t being properly educated right now, per the article regular students are barely being educated. A change like this would give parents a choice to send their students with learning disabilities somewhere besides the assigned public school, which isn’t meeting the childs needs.
PARENTS: I have some magic beans to sell you! They used to be worth $7500 but now I made them worth $17,000! You can afford to send you kids wherever you want! For FREE! I promise not to complain about the high taxes I will have to pay to give this money to you!
So now we’re giving them $17K? Cool! Are we also giving public schools that same amount per student? Wow, that’s a lot of money! Do you only get that money if you commit to a private school? What if that’s STILL not enough to cover ALL expenses for low-no income families? Glad we’re still paying the public schools the same amount so kids can still go there. Right? You’re not taking that money from public schools… right?
PARENTS: what would you do if you had the option to take $17,000 per year to put into an educational fund for your child rather than send them to public school? Imagine if you didn’t live in SB with our comparatively good public schools, what would you do then?
It goes to the student. Read…. The…. Bill….. Why are you so against providing educational options to families that aren’t wealthy?
Does the $17K go to public schools as well or not? If you can’t answer, then why are you bragging about this? Do your research.
The amount the public schools receive per pupil would be unchanged, the only change is the funds follow the student, not the institution.
VOICE – I’m not against that at all, you need think a little more critically. OK, so you’re saying public school funds remain the same and absolutely untouched AND we set aside $17,000 per student per year. That sounds amazing. Now, where does that money come from?
And please, did you read the bill or did you read ABOUT it on one of your news sites?
Follows the student, means the funds would be taken from public schools if they go to a private school. Yep, there’s the catch. Public schools can’t afford to lose $17 per student.
No, they don’t lose $17K. They receive funding on a per student basis. Their funding stays the same.
VOICE, basic aid districts do not receive funding per student. They are funded by local property taxes – this generally applies to MUS, Cold Spring, Hope, and Goleta. SB Unified has been basic aid a few times in the last 10 years also. So no, the money doesn’t follow the student.
SB Unified currently receives approximately $10k per student, which is about what it costs to educate a typical student. The cost to educate a student with disabilities is $27k. So, would I be okay with pulling $17k from a public school that is required to serve students with disabilities? No. I wouldn’t.