California: A Blueprint for Great Schools

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Report Puts Focus on Effective Teaching, Student Support, 21st Century Learning

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today unveiled A Blueprint for Great Schools, a report by his 59-member Transition Advisory Team calling for California to foster excellence in teaching, provide community support for families, and retool schools to make more students competitive in college and the workforce.

The 31-page report was prepared by Torlakson's Transition Advisory Team, composed of leading teachers, parents, school employees and administrators as well as community, labor, and business leaders.

The Blueprint notes that California has established several innovative training and support programs for teachers that have withered amid ongoing budget cuts. The report recommends creating a statewide Commission on Educator Quality to outline how to design and implement effective teacher recruitment, support, and evaluation systems.

Recognizing that California faces a potential shortfall of up to one million college-educated workers by 2025, the Blueprint calls for steps to focus rigorous school curriculum, materials, assessments, and accountability measures on problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are vital to college and career readiness.

The report also makes a wide range of recommendations to foster community partnerships and other efforts to provide students and their families with literacy, health, nutrition, and other services—before, during, and after school.

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