Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 06:18:09 -0700 (PDT) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: New Challenge Standards for CA schools [from a gay teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area comes:] California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin has a new "Challenge" Initiative for the state. It's a program she's initiating to promote school reform and restructuring. A handful of districts are discussing it with her and her staff. In return for agreeing to work toward some tougher educational standards, districts will be granted flexibility in program planning, scheduling, etc., through the Superintendent's Ed Code waiver authority. Now, there's some question regarding just how much authority Delaine really has to even implement the program (since the waiver authority seems to have been intended for purposes of granting waivers to individual schools rather than entire districts); and some key stakeholders are a bit dubious about the whole idea (CTA involvement and consultation has been minimal, and its comments on the whole things have been equally so, for example). But aside from that, the standards being produced by the CDE are available on the web in Adobe Acrobat format at http://goldmine.cde.ca.gov/WWW/Challenge_Standards/Contents.html. Information on the whole program itself is available at http://goldmine.cde.ca.gov/WWW/Challenge_Standards/Challenge_Standards.html, along with this note: >The California Department of Education has developed draft content and performance >standards as part of the Challenge Initiative announced by the State Superintendent of >Public Instruction. This draft was published and presented to represenatatives of the >participating districts in December, 1995. The draft standards are made available here for >other interested parties to access and review. You are invited to download those portions of >interest to you. They are available in separate files by content area. A letter from Supt. Eastin is available at http://goldmine.cde.ca.gov/WWW/Challenge_Standards/Letter_to_the_reader.html. I've downloaded a couple of subject areas' standards (Health and History/Social Studies) and ... surprise, surprise, LGBT content is virtually nil. ***I don't believe these standards are set in stone yet. ***There is an e-mail contact for people with questions: >If you have Questions about the Challenge Initative or the draft content and performance >standards you may e-mail us at ****and they are soliciting input from people in specific areas: >General comments and questions about the draft Challenge Standards may be >directed to the Assessment Office at (916) 657-3011. Specific comments and questions may >be directed to the individuals listed below. > > >Language Arts Division > > Director > Glen Thomas (916) 657-3351 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group Leader > Wendy Harris (916) 657-5409 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group > Diane Levin (916) 657-5236 (916) 657-5021 FAX > Nancy Sullivan (916) 654-1123 (916) 657-5437 FAX > >Mathematics Division > > Director > Glen Thomas (916) 657-3351 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group Leader > Wendy Harris (916) 657-5409 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group > Joan Akers (916) 657-4276 (916) 657-5460 FAX > >Science > > Division Director > TBA > > Working Group Leader > Dave Hammond (916) 657- 5373 (916) 657-3467 FAX > >History-Social Science > > Division Director > Glen Thomas (916) 657-3351 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group Leader > Wendy Harris (916) 657-5409 (916) 657-5021 FAX > > Working Group > Rod Atkinson (916) 657-3153 (916) 657-5021 FAX > >Foreign Language > > Division Director > Thaddeus Dumas (916) 657-4399 (916) 657-4399 FAX > > Working Group > Arleen Burns (916) 657-5441 (916) 657-5021 FAX > >Visual and Performing Arts > > Division Director > Thaddeus Dumas (916) 657-4399 (916) 657-4399 FAX > > Working Group Leader > Janice DeBenedetti (916) 657-5315 (916) 657-5460 FAX > > Working Group > Patty Taylor (916) 654-5979 (916) 657-5460 FAX > >Health/Physical Education > > Division Director > Thaddeus Dumas (916) 657-4399 (916) 657-4399 FAX > > Working Group > Jennifer Ekstedt (916) 657-3387 (916) 657-3467 FAX > Shirley Hazlett (916) 657-2810 (916) 657-5149 FAX > >Career Preparation/Applied Learning/Service Learning > > Division Director > TBA > > Career Preparation > > Agricultural Education > Charles Parker (916) 445-5636 (916) 445-5637 FAX > > Business Education > Bernie Norton (916) 445-5678 (916) 445-5639 FAX > > Health Careers Education > Beverly Campbell (916) 657-2541 (916) 657- 2638 FAX > > Home Economics Careers and Technology > Janice DeBenedetti (916) 657-5315 (916) 657-5460 FAX > > Industrial and Technology Education > Chris Almeida (916) 657-5425 (916) 445-5636 FAX > > Applied Learning > Chris Almeida (916) 657-5425 (916) 445-5636 FAX > > Service Learning > Mike Brugh (916) 653-7971 (916) 657-4969 FAX *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ OK TO RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK THIS OUT FOR TONS OF INFO - - http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts.