During the past four years, the one thing Sandra Chen Lau learned from the pandemic is that the public education system in California is fragile and broken. California needs a new master plan for public education to provide a clear blueprint for one cohesive education system, from early childhood to K-12 to higher education. As a working parent with two school-aged children, she is concerned the current education choices — whether it’s public, charter, or private — are unsustainable for working families and will continue to divide communities and resources without making the seismic gains needed in education for all Californians across the socio- economic spectrum.
The Need for Comprehensive Reform
The pandemic showed Sandra the fragility of California’s education system. In many poor communities, and predominantly communities of color, the pandemic shattered years of academic progress—perhaps the academic progress itself was fragile to begin with, especially without decades of systemic support.
Some education leaders focused on access to technology as a solution by delivering free laptops and free WiFi. However, the real challenge was getting the students to log on to their classes, and in the Los Angeles Unified School District alone, over 150,000 students did not.
California failed many of these students and families because the local schools were not equipped to address the massive learning disruptions. Without state coordination, each local school district continued to navigate the delivery of education during the pandemic based on the local funding formula but with limited accountability for education outcomes.
Addressing Disparities in Education
At the same time, many parents in affluent neighborhoods, who typically support its award- winning public schools have cultivated a sense of quiet resentment that the state is underfunding their children’s education based on the local funding formula. The formula assures more funding for low-income students, English language learners, and foster youth.
These parents argue that they, too, pay taxes, if not more taxes, due to their high income levels, and yet they must count on private fundraising to supplement their children’s education. The state has made it clear to these parents that their children are not the priority, so they are turning to charter and private schools. These parents have the resources to opt out of public schools and they are leaving their public schools.
Over the next decade, one million college graduates are needed to fill the job market in California. The state is not adequately preparing children if we continue on this current path of decline in enrollment and confidence in public education without a new master plan for education. While higher education has benefited from Governor Pat Brown’s master plan for higher education in the 1960s, there has not been a comprehensive plan for education from early childhood education to K-12 and to higher education. We know access to higher education in the last 20 years is uneven at best; for example, there are too many in-state applicants to the UCs but too few spots. Again, the ire from families whose children were unable to attend UCs has eroded their confidence in the public higher education system.
Collaboration for a New Vision
The state must commit to drafting and implementing a new master plan for education by engaging with local education communities, including lawmakers, educators, administrators, and parents. The process alone in establishing a master plan for education will promote understanding, transparency, creativity, debate and allow for both advocates and critics to come together to reach a baseline for educating all children. Public education across the board deserves more collaboration and creative thinking amongst all stakeholders, especially giving parents a front-row view of the complexities and realities of educating communities in need.
Communities must come together to share their vision and hope for public education. With a clear focus on creating a master plan for education, there will be more room for dialogue on the future of education, and all our children deserve our best to provide access to quality education at all levels of their education journey.
Sandra is the governing board member of the Pasadena Area Community College District and board member of the Los Angeles County School Trustees Association. The opinion in this article is her own.
