California Educator

March 2014

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Who is this woman? This masked person is Educator staff writer Sherry Posnick-Goodwin on the ground in Modoc County for our "Run? Hide? Fight?" feature. See how far Sherry will go for a story by checking out her blog at cta.org/blog. All I can say is, "Ouch!" View additional photos from all of our stories at cta.org/educator. editor's Note How do we make our schools safe? As we bring you this story, it's import- ant to note that schools are still the safest place for our kids to be. In fact, research shows the chances of a shoot- ing in any particular K-12 school in a given year are about 1 in 54,000. And recent research at CSU Sacramento shows that rates of school violence are going steadily down. Prevention efforts are working. I'm not talking about metal detectors, armed guards and armed teachers. That's not prevention. What you do in school every day — caring, teaching, providing a safe place — makes the difference. In many places, students get involved in making school a good learning place. That's what's happening in San Rafael. Read about a middle school "Peer Court" (page 44) that deals with behavior problems using a restorative justice approach. The result: increased learning and fewer kids kicked out of school. That's just one program making a difference. Check out the research (page 15) showing that sus- pension and expulsion rates in our state are dropping. I simply love what CTA members do to keep kids in school and to enhance teaching and learning. Like in San Diego, where one teacher is blending zombie attacks with science and math (page 42). Sounds scary, but it works. Or in Moreno Valley, where members are working with F I F T E E N Y E A R S AG O , my friend Dexter Meyer was in a negotiations session in Jefferson County, Colorado. The topic: the district's safe school policy. During talks a call came in. Shots had been fired at Columbine. In the wake of the school shootings since then, such as at Sandy Hook Elementary one year ago, we've heard a lot of discussion about how to make schools safer. Well, here in California, we heard about a new approach. John Czajkowski, a Chula Vista teacher and former Navy Seal leader (featured on the cover), thinks school employees should be prepared — and keep everything in perspective. In "Run? Hide? Fight?" on page 24, you'll visit a Modoc County school training session where teachers practice survivor strategies in the unlikely event of a shooter on campus, including building barricades and turning a fire extinguisher on an attacker. minority parents to close achievement gaps and open doors to lifelong learning (page 16). And then there's this mem- ber-requested topic: Adult education and its required merger, of sorts, between high schools and community colleges (page 9). Hear from teachers and stu- dents about this roller coaster ride. I often get letters from CTA members. Some truly touch my heart, like Colleen Nishikawa-Alanis' account of her journey to self-acceptance (page 55). Others make me burst with pride. Case in point: Kimberley Gilles being honored nation- ally for teaching excellence (page 52). So keep those letters and suggestions coming. Your stories are our stories, and we like sharing them. You're welcome to share, too! We've made it pretty easy for you to share these stories with your family and friends. Just visit us at cta.org/educator and look for the social media tools accompanying each article. Cynthia Menzel E D I T O R I N C H I E F editor@cta.org B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S 8 M A R C H 2 0 1 4 Educator 03 Mar 2014 v2.0 int.indd 8 3/6/14 10:51 AM

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