[CALIBK12] Sent to Corona-Norco Superintendent and Board Members

[Stephen Krashen]

Sent to the superintendent and board members of Corona-Norco Unified School District.


Dear Colleagues,

I thought you might be interested in a letter to the editor I wrote that was published in the Press-Enterprise on March 1, dealing with the budget problems.  The newspaper published a shortened version of the letter, so I am sending you the original.  

I will be happy to provide more information.

Sincerely,

Stephen Krashen, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California



Sent to the Press-Enterprise, March 1, 2009

I was sad to read about the proposed cuts at Corona-Norco ("Corona-Norco to consider cutting 165 certificated positions," Feb. 28). 

Local districts throughout the state are being forced to cut positions and reduce services in areas known to help children. For example, Corona-Norco is considering dropping five school librarians; there is strong evidence that library quality, library staffing and the presence of a credentialed school are related to reading scores.  California has among the lowest reading scores and the fewest school librarians per student in the nation.

 At the same time, the state continues to fund budget items that are at best useless and may be harmful. Right now, California taxpayers pay for a High School Exit Exam, high-stakes standardized tests for second graders (No Child Left Behind only requires tests starting at third grade), and a fancy computerized PE test (the "Fitnessgram"). Research has so far failed to find any benefit for these tests.

Dumping these useless (and painful) tests would save a billion dollars every few years, and take some of the financial pressure off school districts. 

Stephen Krashen