The Buzz 09.29.22

FREE SPEECH

The flaws of school testing data have been long and widely covered. But at least we normally have testing data to look at. This year, the California Department of Education said it would delay the release of test scores, at a time when educators are working to make up for pandemic learning loss. The delay was reported by the education publication Ed Source, which noted it means “the public will learn about spring test results for third-graders who are now well into fourth grade.” According to Ed Source, CDE released the data to individual school districts, but not the full data set, which allows for comparisons. So Ed Source filed a California Public Records Act request for the full data set, but was denied. They reported that CDE was waiting to release it simultaneously with other data that go on the California School Dashboard.“That CDE is seeking to improperly control the release of this data in an election year has not gone unnoticed,” Ed Source attorney Duffy Carolan wrote to CDE. After the Ed Source story ran on Sept. 22, CDE reversed course and announced on Sept. 23 the data would be out “sometime in October.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I felt so tense on that putt, you have no idea.” – Kalea Hall, a Salinas High School junior, who placed second among junior girls at the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach on Sept. 25 (see story at mcweekly.com)

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

GOOD:

The sad truth is that violence still claims lives every year. But the good news is that many local leaders and organizations are taking steps to end violence, and a march for peace on Oct. 1 celebrates and honors their work. This march, coordinated by the city of Salinas and Community Alliance for Safety and Peace, is “an opportunity to memorialize loved ones we have lost to community violence, make a public call for peace in our city and uplift the important work of many local leaders and agencies to prevent violence.” Organizers hope this is the first annual March For Peace of many. The gathering starts at 1pm on Saturday, Oct. 1 in the Foods Co. parking lot at Alisal and Towt streets. The march begins at 2pm and goes one mile down Towt Street to Closter Park. The gathering continues there until 5pm, with food, music, art, resources and remarks from local leaders.

GREAT:

It’s a great week for love, with the reuniting of the condors Traveler and Shadow in Big Sur. Traveler ingested lead bullet fragments while foraging an animal carcass back in June and went through “the battle of her life,” according to the Ventana Wildlife Society, which works to protect the threatened species. Traveler went through two-and-a-half months of treatment, first at the Oakland Zoo and then the Los Angeles Zoo (see more about her journey on p. 8). VWS calls her recovery “miraculous.” She was released back into the wild on Sept. 7, and 10 days later she and her mate, Shadow, were spotted together on the organization’s Condor Cam. Traveler, who makes regular appearances in Big Sur, is described as “a curious, independent leader, and social butterfly” looked up to by younger condors. VWS announced the exciting news on Twitter with the hashtag “reunitedanditfeelssogood.”