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Systemic Change

Background

There are many challenges to the work of improving educational results for children. Some of those challenges come from systemic shortcomings in the education system itself. California has long been hailed a beacon of opportunity, innovation, and technological prowess. Why, then, do California children attend schools designed for a factory-model economy of an industrially-focused century that ended nearly a decade ago?

Over the past decade, California's students have made steady, modest gains in achievement. But progress remains painfully, unacceptably slow, and pernicious achievement gaps persist. By nearly every measure, for every segment of our population, California's education benchmarks are still among the lowest in America.

For California's children to be competitive in the technology-driven, globally connected 21st century, we must radically transform the way we approach the work of educating our students by addressing the entire educational system and helping to enact change. It is no longer enough to process students in batches and aim for improvements on averages.

Mission

Systemic Change is an umbrella project containing five sub-project teams. The project's mission is to provide a platform for Full Circle Fund members to examine and engage in key issues that affect education reform in California.

Full Circle Fund Role

  • Make complex education policy more accessible and understandable to Full Circle Fund members and other interested individuals
  • Connect policy makers and educators to high leverage resources and expertise
  • Facilitate high impact policy discussions, focusing for 2009-2010 on alternative compensation and school funding
  • Drive policy change towards better outcomes for children, with a specific focus on children in low-income communities
  • Catalyze community-driven policy leadership to create quality public education for all children

    Full Circle Fund Members are working on projects independent of a grantee organization. The five sub-team projects are focused on:

    1. The development of a policy platform which aims to be influential in major education policy conversations.
    2. Participation in planning and coalition-building efforts in support of a California Constitutional Convention integrating in key issues of Full Circle Fund Education policy platform.
    3. Briefing candidates in the 2010 California Gubernatorial Race on Full Circle Fund's Education Policy Platform or through a Full Circle Fund-led coalition.
    4. Gaining momentum for Equitable Local Funding conversations in major education policy conversations via publications, press activity, and, eventually, legislation or ballot initiatives.
    5. Continuing to work with districts who are exploring adopting new Alternative Teacher Compensation frameworks.

    More about the Constitutional Convention.

    Many of the systemic challenges for education in California are constitutional in nature. In August 2009, Full Circle joined a growing movement calling for a Constitutional Convention. With the Bay Area Council as an event partner, Full Circle convened Bay Area leaders to learn about the options. Education Impact Circle Chair Jeff Camp presented [insert link to slidecast, or to the relevant news page] possible ways that such a convention could help California's schools by remedying policies that harm the life prospects of California's students.

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    NAME: Systemic Change
    LOCATION: California
    GRANT TERM: 2009-2010
    TEAM LEAD: Natasha Hoehn

    Copyright 2010 Full Circle Fund