Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall – August 27, 2024
I just finished reading an article titled, “Chicago teachers’ union president’s excuse for terrible test scores is completely cringe-worthy” in the Blue States Blues News.
Get this. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates blames it on “…testing is ‘junk science’ rooted in ‘white supremacy’.” I had to see what Stacy Davis Gates looked like. I figured she was probably not white. Sure enough:
Interesting stats: Background on the CTU: 25,000 members. Number of children who are essentially being left behind in Chicago public schools: 21,000.
Mrs. Davis Gates has three children. In 2022, she said her kids go to Chicago Public Schools. In 2023, she said she sends her son to a private school. Ummmm, why?
At any rate, the article was excellent. It was dated August 22, 2024, but no author was attached to the article. Take five minutes and read it.
Let’s now turn our attention to California public schools with over 300,000 members in the California Teachers Association (CTA) and has a relatively new President, David B. Goldberg, as of June 2023.
Stats: Number of students: 5,852,500 for 2022-2023. But get this. That was the sixth straight year that public school enrollment declined! Number of public schools: 10,325. Number of teachers: 312,124 for 2022-2023 school year. But, 1,400 schools lost more than 20% of their students during the pandemic. Added to that: low birth rate, high outmigration and parents pulling their students out of the public school system.
According to Lance Christensen, more parents are homeschooling. Also a lot of people are leaving the State. Lance is Vice President at California Policy Center of Government Affairs and the last time I saw him was when Linda Sutter and I received an award for Tax Fighter of the year from Jon Coupal, President of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in October 2023.
Looking at Del Norte public school system. Stats: Number of students for 2021-2022, 2,585. There have been four years of declining enrollment. Revenue for 2024-2025 is expected to be $14.2 million less than 2023-2024 (local, State and Federal dollars).
Now hold on to your seats as we look at testing scores in Del Norte County public school students. Be prepared. It’s pretty dismal.
2023
READING: 36% of elementary students, 36% of middle school students, and 40% of high school students tested at or above proficient levels.
MATH: 26% of elementary students, 27% of middle school students, and 17% of high school students tested at or above proficient levels.
Question? Why don’t they close down some schools and consolidate them? I don’t mean just in Del Norte County either. I just can’t see spending more millions on construction after witnessing what the last school board trustees and Citizens Oversight Committee did.
