Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/994766
Compiled by Mike Myslinski QUOTES & NUMBERS QUOTES & NUMBERS 46,952 Number of California high school students who earned a coveted State Seal of Biliteracy for proficiency in a language other than English in 2017. State Superintendent Tom Torlakson announced a program on May 30 to raise the number to more than 150,000 by 2030. $1.4 trillion Total amount of outstanding student loan debt in the U.S., from a May 25 New York Times story about this debt preventing people from buying a first home. 12.9% Percentage by which union workers in California earn more than non-union workers on average, according to new research unveiled May 31 by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. 51.5% The percentage increase in the likelihood that a California worker in a unionized job will be offered a retirement plan, compared to non- union workers, according to the same UC Berkeley research. 268,699 Number of homeless California students in 2017, defined as lacking a "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence," reported May 29 as part of an in-depth investigation of homelessness by the Capital & Main online news site. " For us, this is a life-and- death situation." — Bay Area teacher DEMETRIO GONZALEZ, president of United Teachers of Richmond, at an April 20 rally with students in Richmond on the National Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools, quoted in EdSource. " I have to live with multiple people. I can't afford health insurance, and with school loans, it's getting to the point I'm going to have to leave the Bay Area." — Fourth-grade teacher EMILY CASEY, interviewed during May 23 KRON-T V news coverage of the Fremont Unified District Teachers Association's protest rally against the district's insulting salary offer of a 1.33 percent one-time bonus. " We reach into our pockets, we spend our money, we buy snacks for our kids when their bellies are hungry, and we buy pencils when there are none." — National City Elementary Teachers Association President CHRISTINA BENSON, in an NBC 7 T V news interview May 23 after NCETA members in the San Diego area voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. A tentative contract agreement was reached soon after. " As educators, we know the crucial role played by the thousands of paraprofessionals, office workers, bus drivers, custodians and maintenance staff in our schools. The fact is, we couldn't do what we do without the dedication and hard work of California ESPs. And we wouldn't want to." — CTA President ERIC HEINS, in a CTA news release about Education Support Professionals Day on May 22. " Betsy DeVos should know better, and to suggest otherwise only serves to frighten children." — NEA President LILY ESKELSEN GARCÍA, quoted in a May 23 Washington Post story about U.S. Secretary of Education DeVos wrongly saying that it's a "local community decision" for schools to decide whether to report undocumented students to immigration enforcement officials. Schools are prohibited by law from doing so, the story notes. 14 cta.org In the Know Q U O T E S & N U M B E R S