Live Interview with Candidate For Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry Aceves
Ventura County Blog
By Brian Dennert
I am interviewing Larry Aceves, who is running to replace Jack O'Conell as Superintendent of Public Instruction for California. This entry is for the interview between the two of us. if you have questions or comments please post them on the entry below. I appreciate that he is willing to come here and take my questions. Let any candidate that wants to be interviewed know about this opportunity.
Brian Dennert: Larry, Thanks for taking my questions. Next week President Barack Obama is giving a speech directed to students focused on words responsibility, persistence, and goals. Do you think schools should encourage teachers to play the speech? http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html
Larry Aceves: Hi Brian, I think it is fantastic that President Obama is addressing the youth of this country from his position as president. I am a strong believer that as adults we must always present ourselves as role models to our young people. I know that he believes strongly in the power of education for the future of this country, and I believe that schools should encourage teachers to have their classes listen to the speech, and then use it as a great opportunity to invite discussion, debate, critical thinking activities of the content and ideas presented.
What better way to involve students in the discussion of their future than to listen to the words of their elected president?
Brian Dennert: Larry, recently US Secretary of Education said that California law could stop us from getting some money under the "race to the top" reforms because we don't track data by teacher at the state level. Many education leaders and elected officials support changing the laws to clarify and comply with federal guidelines. Do you support a change in law to ensure California schools fit the requirements? http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-education25-2009jul25,0,4550811.story
Larry Aceves: Brian, your question assumes that all of the elements are in place for California to track data for teachers with the system we now have in place. We do not, and I am concerned that the Governor's plan to lay another set of requirements and an entirely new system onto the existing district and school intervention programs we now have will not serve us well.
Unfortunately the proposal by the Governor to be considered for the Special Legislative Session does not address our outdated structure of standards, assessments, instructional materials, professional development and accountability. While a strongly agree with the basic premise of Race to the Top, I think the work to be done to truly have California as a quality player, will take more time than seems allowed by the President's proposal.
I think we need to do take the necessary time and to do it right, rather than patch together proposals that do not serve our children.
Brian Dennert: Larry, The high school exit exam has many supporters because they believe it brings more accountability to schools. But for many students the level of difficulty (we start giving it in 10th grade) is so simple that it a waste of time and another two days spent administrating testing instead of teaching. Would you support allowing some students to substitute a SAT score of a high enough level instead of taking the test?
Larry Aceves: Brian, the high school exit exam probably needs to be reconsidered as we look at our entire accountability system. Many believe that a single test, particularly one that is given in 10th grade does not measure all that a student has learned. Conversations regarding "end of course" exams, SAT scores, and portfolios have all surfaced in conversations I have been a part of. I think we need to look again at what is it we want our students to know before they leave high school.
Brian Dennert: The position you are running for in a nonpartisan office that requires you to work with leaders from both parties. Can you name some leaders from both major parties that are involved in state politics that you respect? Larry, what awards have you won that you are most proud of in your career?
Larry Aceves: Brian, as a former district superintendent and state president of the Association of California School Administrators, I learned to respect the awesome responsibility that elected officials have, and to work with them collaboratively to move the agenda forward. I did that with city councils, county supervisors and state elected officials.
It would be my intent as Superintendent of Public Instruction to work closely with the new Governor and the legislature, regardless of party affiliation, for the betterment of our children, and their education.
Brian Dennert: Larry, can you name a few current leaders from the two major parties that you respect?
Larry Aceves: Brian, I'll answer the question on awards first, and then current leaders from the major parties.
I am most proud of the ACSA Marcus Foster Memorial Award presented to me in 2005. It was named for the slain superintendent of Oakland, who championed education for all children and was assassinated by members of a radical group because he fostered real change, rather than the status quo.
Was a big fan of Ted Kennedy, and the many causes that he stood for. I think Barack Obama has shown great courage and fortitude in the brief time he has been in office, in pushing for economic stability and trying to resolve the health insurance issues in this country.
I believe John McCain, as a war hero, has a deep understanding of the issues facing returning veterans and their health issues.
Brian Dennert: Larry, if you were elected would you like to see the number of charter schools greatly increase? Over your career I would imagine you agreed with the CTA more often than you have disagreed. But can you give us any examples where you have disagreed with the CTA?
Larry Aceves: Brian, as a superintendent I always believed in giving my parents alternatives for their children. For example, instead of having all students in K-5, and then 6-8 middle schools, I offered K-8 schools for parents that thought their children would learn better in a more "family" environment. I supported parents who wished to home school their children by setting up a structure that had two teachers meet with the parents and their children once a week, or as often as parents had questions about instruction. So for me, charter schools are an alternative for parents, that ought to always be available.
Having said that, I also believe that charter schools, as "lab schools" should be able to help our regular schools determine what works for various populations of our students. This should include changes they make to the regulations in the Education Code that are restrictive and should be eliminated, as well as working with various elements of schedules and curriculum.
I believe education is a work in progress, and if we see that some programs are working well, we should always look to follow best practices.
Brian Dennert: Larry, does that mean you would like to see the numbers of charter schools increase?
Larry Aceves: As a former teacher I have the greatest respect for the work that unions do to assure that their members are treated correctly. That is the history of unions in this country.
With 32 years in education, as a teacher and administrator, my interactions with CTA were always at a level of respect and mutual understanding. I understand the role of a union, and think that by and large, worked well with them in every one of the four districts I was part of.
The scope of bargaining has certainly increased over the time I have been in education, and there are times I have worried that the pendulum not swing too far one way or the other in regards to what are considered "working conditions", but that comes as much from the legislature as it does from unions themselves.
Brian, I am most concerned about what serves all kids best. If that means charter schools increase, yes, I would say they should. I also believe that they have to be held to the same accountability standards as other public schools, and serve all the children that apply to go there.
Brian Dennert: Larry, in your years as an administrator do you know roughly how often you fired a teacher for poor performance, incompetence, or inability to teach? Is it something that was as hard as some media reports such as the LA Times has been documenting?
Larry Aceves: Brian, I went through dismissal hearings for teachers three times. Always after numerous attempts to help them improve their performance, through repeated inservice and remediation. I made sure that documentation was thorough and complete on all the issues. All of them chose to resign sometime during the process, before the hearing was complete.
I was fine with them leaving with dignity rather than having to embarrass them with the stigma of being fired. All of the documentation was submitted to the Office of teacher credentialing for their records. Besides the termination process, I counseled many teachers out of teaching, without the need to fire them.
Brian Dennert: Larry, should test scores be included as one of the many factors in teacher evaluation? Larry do you agree that it is too hard to fire a teacher?
Larry Aceves: I think that it is clear that we are moving toward an accountability system that looks at student data. I think our present system does not do a good job of measuring the growth a student makes while with a certain teacher. Until such time as we have that kind of assessment in place, it will be hard to use "test results" to determine how a teacher has performed.
It is very difficult to fire teachers, as it should be. But I believe that firing is the final step in a continuum that has to include; pre-training, inservice training, continuous assessement of performance, remediation and careful documentation.
Too often our site administrators are not trained in how to conduct all of the above, and are so thinly staffed that it can be almost impossible to conduct the hard work of proper evaluation, necessary remediation and when necessary, termination.
California currently has one of the lowest administrator to teacher/staff ratios in the country, with one of the most diverse population of children to serve. The Herculean task of being the person responsible for discipline, parent complaints, community involvement, after school activities, required meetings, other issues, and instruction, often create a situation that makes it impossible to concentrate of improving the performance of staff.
This has to be addressed if we are ever going to assure that we have world class quality schools throughout the state.
Brian Dennert: Larry thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. When you come through Simi Valley you are invited to take a tour of The Reagan Library with a group of local teachers. Good luck on the campaign trail.
Larry Aceves: Thank you Brian. It was a pleasure, and would love to tour the Reagan Library.
blogs.venturacountystar.com/dennert/archives/2009/09/live-interview-2.html