Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/515703
observations. It was an amazing form of pro- fessional development." She has 17 students in her third-grade class this year. Her colleague, Noah King, has 18 and praises the teaching opportunities that the extra resources provided. "We definitely saw a lot of positive impact during all the years we have been under QEIA," King says. "The research shows that this kind of school deserves more resources. In the past, this kind of school never got more resources." While the QEIA program is ending June 30, something is beginning as well. It's a new understanding in California that schools strug- gling with poverty issues really need targeted help that works, and they respond to the invest- ment, says Heins. He notes that QEIA goals to help at-risk stu- dents and involve the community are mirrored in the state's Local Control Funding Formula, which provides extra funding for schools with more English learners and low-income and foster youths. As part of this funding promise, school districts must develop Local Control and Accountability Plans that involve parents and community leaders. Looking forward, these ideas will expand the safety net that QEIA first cast eight years ago. "CTA now has a strategic plan, and QEIA lessons all fit into that plan, especially our goal to fight for meaningful education change," says Heins, who is CTA's president-elect and takes office June 26. "I look forward to using the lessons we learned from QEIA to help all edu- cators in the years ahead. We built a successful student-centered, teacher-driven structure that mandated parental engagement. We showed the power of smaller class sizes. The students and our profession all benefited from the risks we took as a union, and from the rewards we all har- vested together." T H E Y E A R S 2 0 0 7 - 1 2 were dark ones for public ed- ucation in California, as the Great Recession took hold and budget cuts rippled throughout school districts across the state. But even during that era of serious belt tightening, some positive programs did emerge. One was the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA), which directed $2.7 billion to low-per- forming schools so they could reduce class sizes, improve teacher training, hire more counselors and increase parent participation. After eight suc- cessful years, this program comes to a close on June 30. It is a good time to reflect on what it accomplished. When I authored the 2006 legislation (SB 1133) that created this act, my hope was that we could target funds in schools that needed resources the most. I worked closely with the California Teachers Association to fashion the program as part of a legal settlement be- tween the organization and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. I felt strongly at the time that this was a smart way to direct Proposi- tion 98 money that the governor owed schools — by giving schools in the lowest 20 percent of test scores added resources to improve classroom learning, with a lot of flexibility on how to do it. The timing turned out advantageous. As districts had to cut deeply, QEIA schools were able to keep class sizes small and retain and develop their teachers. As a result, most QEIA schools significantly increased their test scores, attendance and overall success. We started with 500 QEIA schools, and we'll be ending with 352 that continued to meet performance goals and financial commit- ments. That 70 percent of these low-performing schools met their guidelines and excelled is a remarkably positive outcome. Harder to calculate, but equally important, is the overall value to teachers and students. Teachers at these schools received more relevant training and staff development, and they gained experience with smaller classes, allowing them to focus more on each student and see the positive impact that they have. While not fully recovered yet from the tough times and budget losses of the recession, public schools today, thankfully, are better funded due to an improved economy and the passage of Proposition 30 in 2012. And we are making great strides to better prepare stu- dents for college and careers in the 21st century. California has set new rigorous academic standards, given local schools and communities more control over spending decisions, and provided more resources to students with the greatest needs. We are on the right track, and QEIA helped get us there. Teamwork. Teachers, parents and administrators working together. Investing together in student success. Tom Torlakson is California's state superintendent of public instruction. By Tom Torlakson Tom Torlakson Lennox Middle School teacher Brian Guerrero visits colleague Patti Martin as she leads a seventh- grade language arts class that is a manageable size, thanks to QEIA funding. Photo by Frank Wells. END OF THE QEIA ERA 27 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 9