Gov. Newsom's $20 billion proposal aims to transform the educational system in California.

On Wednesday, May 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a $20 billion proposal to strengthen the educational system in the California, speaking at Elkhorn Elementary School in Castroville. 

The funds will come from a nearly $76 billion surplus; Newsom said the state is “roaring back” from the Covid-19 pandemic. Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, said this reform could move California forward and “reinvent the public education system.”

This ambitious proposal includes the following: 

Creating another school grade and making transitional kindergarten, TK, available for all. Currently TK is only offered to students who turn 5 years old between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2. TK would be fully established by the 2024-2025 school year.  

Nicole Wall, a fifth-grade teacher at Elkhorn Elementary, says she sees a difference between students who attended TK to those who didn’t. She says TK helps students to learn about school routines and gives them independence. She sees a benefit “especially in our community where we have a lot of English language learners. It immerses the students in English instruction as well.”

Alisal Union School District launched a radio campaign on May 1 to boost enrollment in Tk and kindergarten, since enrollment in both has declined, both in California overall and specifically at AUSD.

“School is not just about learning letters or numbers. School also teaches children the importance of sharing, of taking turns, of becoming members of a larger community. Learning these skills at an early age gives children an advantage in life,” Susan Ratilff, director of early learning at AUSD, said in a press release.

Creating service-based community schools. Newom's proposal would provide $3 billion for wraparound services. Sandra Cuevas, principal at Elkhorn Elementary, says there is a lot of need among families who live in the North Monterey County Unified School District.

Cuevas says during the pandemic, families struggled to go or afford washing and drying their clothes. To help struggling families the district installed a washer and dryer. The district also has a Family Resource Center in Castroville with resources such as counselors, parenting classes, before- and after-school programs and more. 

Funding before- and after-school services and summer school programs. A universal before- and after-school program would focus primarily on districts with high numbers of English learners. It would start with $1 billion, and after that it would be funded at $5 billion per year.

Wall says providing summer programs will help to close the gap among students from different financial backgrounds. “Those services will help the kids that don’t have the opportunities to meet their peers in the middle,” she says.

Wall also notes that during remote learning due to the pandemic, summer school programs were some NMUSD's families' only way to get connected to the internet.  

Creating a teacher pipeline and providing additional training resources. Newsom's proposal calls for investing $3.3 billion in a teacher pipeline, designed to end a teacher shortage and also make sure teachers are placed where they are most needed. The proposal would offer professional development and training opportunities. Darling-Hammond said it's a part of achieving a goal of making California, once again, a leader in education. 

According to the Learning Policy Institute, a teacher shortage is severe in rural districts, especially in math and science. Districts across the country have also been facing a growing number of leaves of absence, resignations and retirements due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Building out health and mental health student services. Newsom proposes $4 billion to provide access to health services, including mental health services, for people 0-25 years old.

“Some young people don’t get the help they need on time,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services, said at the Elkhorn Elementary press conference. “We go from a system that is reactionary to one that is proactive.”

Creating a savings account for children in the public school system. This would be the first of its type, with $500 accounts for students. Newsom’s proposal would invest $3.7 million in this, meant to provide opportunities for low-income students. “If you believe in going to college, you’ve got to create a college mindset,” he said. California could become the first state to create such a program.

University of Michigan Professor Willian Elliott led a study in 2013 that analyzed families with incomes below $50,000. Students from those families who had $1 to $499 in a college savings account were at least four times more likely to attend college than those with no college savings account.

Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, said this $20 billion proposal would help to fill the gaps in the educational system and support students inside and outside the classroom.

Wall says if these programs are implemented the state should foresee a plan to make them permanent, given the underlying inequities. “We really need these programs to stay," she says. "Students that are disadvantaged and low-income are not going anywhere.”