Torlakson Calls for Education Reform, Discusses New Initiatives

Tom Torlakson is an optimist.

Despite the pressures facing California’s education system, the new state superintendent of public instruction is planning a renaissance.

Torlakson joined members from the Bay Area’s education, government and business sectors at California State University, East Bay, on Thursday for a mixer-turned-discussion about the state’s education policies and practices. The event, sponsored by the Superintendent’s Transition Committee, East Bay Economic Development Alliance and CSU East Bay, is part of a series that Torlakson has held since being inaugurated in January.

“We all have high hopes for the students of California,” he said.

The state faces a $300 million cut to K-12 education and $1 billion to colleges and universities. In the last three years, California has had to cut $18 billion from public education.

"Building back the $18 billion that’s been cut is going to take time,” said Torlakson, who pledged to reform the education system.

“We’re in this crisis partly because of the economy but it’s also self-inflicted,” he said. “We sort of lost our dream.”

California was once one of the best performing states in the nation, Torlakson noted.

“We were in the top five,” he said. “Now we’re down at 47, 48 [and] sometimes, 49.”

 Torlakson discussed a number of collaborative ways get California’s education system up to speed.

“The team theme is the way to go,” he said. 

The superintendent formed a 50-member transition team composed of educators, lawmakers, business leaders and community advocates to develop a plan of action.

According to Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti, president of the superintendent’s transition committee, the group will hold two meetings next month to make recommendations on a number of topics, including finance and curriculum.

“It’s been exciting. It’s a challenging time but there’s lots of innovation,” Sbranti said. “There’s more innovation in a crisis.”

In coming months, Torlakson will launch of series of new campaigns to improve education in California.

Among the programs he mentioned was "No Child Left Offline" to provide more access to technology. California ranks 48th in the nation in using technology in schools, according to Torlakson.

“This generation we’re seeing now are the digital natives. They’ve never known a world without online capacity,” said Paul Hefner, Torlakson’s communications director. “We have to meet students where they are. Using technology has to be part of what we do.”

Another of Torlakson’s actions is the Team California for Healthy Kids campaign to promote health and fitness. A number of athletes are behind the project, including “ultramarathon man” Dean Karnazes and former football star Bubba Paris.

“A healthier kid is more productive as a student and as a human being,” Paris said at the meeting. The three-time Super Bowl champ helped foster the program to re-educate youth about how to live and eat because of the increased cuts to physical education and sports programs, he said.

Torlakson also will partner with the Green Schools Initiative to engage students in hands-on environmental education in their schools. He has held meetings to discuss renewable and sustainable energies to build smarter schools, Hefner said.

The superintendent spoke Thursday of reforming the way success is measured. He said there is “too much testing” in elementary schools and called for an evaluation of STAR testing.

“Is life a multiple test choice? No,” Torlakson said. “We need to look at practical, fun and engaging problem solving.”

Jobs were a much discussed topic at the mixer. Finding ways of attract, retain and boost a local job base in California is a concern for the new superintendent.

“Without the genius of California colleges, we wouldn’t have the strength of the industry we have today,” he said.

An example of a collaborative effort was the recent donation of $540,000 by the Bayer USA Foundation to CSU, East Bay, for a new STEM Education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) center.

The biotech and science industries know the importance of education, said Trina Ostrander, community relations manager for Bayer HealthCare, who gave a short speech at the event. She said it was “frustrating” to see how the state performs in science-related subjects.

“I hope this can be the start for a better era in education for California,” she said.