Get Updates
Newsroom
For Immediate Release |
Contact: |
County Supports Preparing All Students for College and Careers
Board of Supervisors adopts resolution in support of countywide implementation of “A to G Requirements”
San Jose, CA – At today’s meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution in support of countywide schools implementing “A to G Requirements” at the request of Supervisor Dave Cortese, President of the Board of Supervisors. This resolution promotes the importance of a quality education for future success of current students. “A to G Requirements” automatically place students on the path toward a college education by requiring they take and pass certain college-track classes to qualify for entry into the University of California or California State University systems.
“There is a strong correlation between the lack of post-secondary education and the reliance on county services,” said Supervisor Cortese. “The County’s support of A to G requirements will help school districts realize the importance of preparing students for college and a successful career. Students should be by default placed on the track towards college rather than requiring them to opt in to that track.”
The Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), a longtime advocate for A-G implementation in area schools, joins the Board of Supervisors in supporting the resolution. SVEF worked closely last year with East Side Union High School District officials when they implemented “A-G” as the standard curriculum in that district, the second district in the county to do so. San Jose Unified School District imposed A-G in 1992, and has eight years of positive data pointing to success.
“The debate is simple. Students need to be on the A-G track. The requirements push them to reach for a higher standard,” said Muhammed Chaudhry, SVEF President and CEO. “We are competing globally and students need to compete with the best and the brightest in the world. We have to get kids prepared to fill the workforce and become our future engineers and CEOs.”
In Santa Clara County, only 47% of students are fulfilling the “A to G” requirements. Among those, 70% are Asian; 52% are Caucasian; 26% are African-American, and 23% are Hispanic. Imposing A-G curriculum is a critical part of closing the achievement, or racial, gap.
The requirements expect students to pass 15 college-track courses and earn a 3.0 grade point average in them to qualify for entry to a University of California or California State University campus. School districts would mandate that students pass the classes. Only the UC and CSU systems use the “A to G” requirements.
Under “A-G,” students must take at least 3 years of college prep math; 2 years of lab science; 4 years of English; 2 years of history/social science; 2 years of foreign language; 1 year of visual and performing arts, and 1 year of college prep-electives.
For more information, please call Steve Blomquist at (408) 299-5030 or Jill Winkelstein at 408-790-9590.
About SVEF: Silicon Valley Education Foundation focuses on raising student performance in the critical areas of math and science across all 33 Santa Clara County school districts. Everything we do supports our objective to make Silicon Valley the number one geographic area in California in the percentage of high school graduates academically prepared for college and careers. Beyond serving students, teachers and administrators, we provide value to the larger community by making investing in education easy. For more information, visit www.svefoundation.org.
 |
 |
 |
 |
RSS
|
