Jason Freeman for School Board

Design-It and Explore-It

Jason Freeman — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:39:48 +0000

The National Partnership for After-School Science, funded by the National Science Foundation, involves a nationwide effort to train after-school providers in science activities. These activities, collected in curricula called Design-It (for engineering) and Explore-It (for science), are intended for use by instructors without a lot of science background. They are easy to implement and use everyday materials like cups, string, and marbles. By offering these types of activities in after-school programs, we are able to engage children in learning so they will be more excited to learn more detailed science from teachers during the school day.

As one of several trainers in the Bay Area, I am teaching all of the after-school providers in Mt. Diablo USD to use the Design-It and Explore-It activities. The leaders of MDUSD’s after-school program jumped at the opportunity to bring this program to their sites. Unfortunately, West Contra Costa USD did not have the infrastructure needed to offer this training when it started. In my role as an Ed Fund board member, I am working to increase after-school programming for WCCUSD students. As a school board member, I will make after-school a priority, and I will support efforts to connect after-school programs with exciting enrichment, including science, arts, and music.

Example of Design-It Activities: http://npass2.edc.org/balls-and-tracks-curriculum-guide

Community Schools and the Harlem Children’s Zone

Jason Freeman — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:18:54 +0000

In order to be prepared for success in school, children need many services, including afterschool programs, health care, and family support. ”Community schools” are places that combine academics with health and social services and youth and community development resources. By making schools the center of our community, we create a place where learning is celebrated and services are accessible to all. I have worked with national leaders in the Community School movement, especially Jane Quinn of Children’s Aid Society in NYC, who served on the board of the Coalition for Science After School while I was the director. Here is an interview and video that includes Jane talking about the concept.

Community schools have already begun to take root in West Contra Costa. Helms Middle School in San Pablo is a great example of school and city leaders working closely together. San Pablo leaders, including Mayor Genoveva Garcia Calloway and Councilmember Cecilia Valdez, are supporting my campaign in part because of our common commitment to community schools. West Contra Costa schools and cities should work together to integrate community services at all of our schools.

One model of community services and schools that has received much attention lately to the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), the innovative effort to provide a broad range of services to a small zone of blocks in Harlem. By offering support to parents before children are even born, HCZ creates a positive culture of child well-being and family unity that supports learning in the long term. The model in Harlem is inspiring replication across the country, including in Richmond’s Iron Triangle by the Building Blocks for Kids (BBK) collaborative.

Providence After School Alliance

Jason Freeman — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:57:14 +0000

In Providence, RI, community leaders have built a network of support for children “from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to sleep”. This network, the Providence After School Alliance (PASA), divides the city into “AfterZones”. Within each AfterZone, all relevant organizations – schools, YMCAs, Rec Centers, arts organizations, libraries, transportation providers, police, etc. – work together to coordinate services for middle school youth. By establishing a common schedule and coordinating transportation, PASA is able to connect students with multiple opportunities. For example, a child may learn martial arts at a recreation center on Tuesdays and go to the zoo to learn about veterinary science on Wednesdays. Watch the Edutopia video below or read the article for more information.

Afterschool programs have been proven to increase student engagement and achievement in school while decreasing bad behavior and crime. I have spent the past several years working to expand afterschool learning opportunities for young people around the nation, and I believe that this is one efficient way to expand our district’s services. PASA provides a strong model that uses existing services to ensure that a large number of students have access to high quality afterschool opportunities.

Providence is slightly smaller than the region served by West Contra Costa USD, but with many demographic similarities. There are already some good examples of successful collaboration between the cities and the district related to after-school and school safety. As a school board member, I would seek to expand these partnerships and take advantage of existing services to increase afterschool opportunities for youth.

Perritech: Perry Public Schools Computer Technologies

Jason Freeman — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:46:42 +0000

At Perry High School in Lake County, OH, students don’t just study technology; they also run a successful, green IT business. Perry High’s comprehensive computer technologies program, known as Perritech, starts with technology training for students and culminates with those students joining a student-run computer business. The Perritech Company offers hardware repair, networking, and web design services to homes and businesses in the community. Perritech GREEN, added to the program in 2007, accepts used computer equipment and either refurbishes or recycles these donations.

Perritech’s student employees develop marketable skills and provide valuable services to the school district. The students earn professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, etc. With this expertise, the students service the district’s computers in addition to selling services to outside clients. Perritech has won multiple awards, including an Innovations in American Government Award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

As a school board member, I would work to build new and expand existing district technology education programs. I would also seek opportunities to make these programs viable by connecting them to business opportunities. By encouraging our students to apply their knowledge in service to the district and market their skills to the community, we can expand programs without expanding our budget.

Why I Support the Parcel Tax Measure

Jason Freeman — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:23:19 +0000

On Wednesday night, the school board voted to place a parcel tax measure on the ballot for November. This measure asks the voters to approve a tax of 7.2 cents per square foot of building area for the next five years. If passed, the measure would provide approximately $9.8 million for our schools.

I spoke in favor of this measure and the 7.2 cent funding level because I believe that we must do everything I can to maintain a quality set of education programs for our children. Because our broken system of state funding has abandoned our children, we must dig deep to maintain school programs ourselves. Raising our local funding base is only one part of the long term solution, but it is a necessary action.

Below are my thoughts about common questions on the parcel tax measure. If you are looking for the formal arguments in favor of the tax, please visit the district website and For the Children of West County (which has not yet been updated but should be soon). If you want to help support the measure, please attend the meetings at 7:30 AM on Saturdays at the Local One Richmond Office or contact campaign chairs Glen Price or Genoveva Calloway.

What will our students gain if we provide these funds?

At a minimum, this tax should allow us to maintain the service level currently provided by the district. Because that level of service depends on funding that is not available in 2011-12 (such as federal stimulus funds), we must use local money instead.

As the economy recovers and if and when our state budget system improves (see below), these funds will provide a stable base to build upon. By using some of these funds to keep class sizes at reasonable levels, we will ensure that we do not lose our best teachers to other communities. We must also pay for staff who keep our students safe and our schools clean and operational. Furthermore, we must support the programs that engage youth in learning and drive them toward success in college and careers. Even with the parcel tax, our teaching, staffing, and program levels will not be sufficient, but we will maintain a level that we can build upon in the future.

We are asked to give to the district every election cycle. Shouldn’t we send a message to the board that we are angry about the condition of our schools?

If this tax fails, it does not punish the board members – it punishes the children who will face larger class sizes, understaffed facilities, and limited options for learning arts, music, etc. We need to support reforms to our state system, such as those supported by our state representatives as well as Proposition 25 for majority rule on budgets. I do not believe that the state budget mess will last forever, and we need these funds to sustain us while we work to fix the greater problem.

I also welcome your support for my school board campaign. As a national education leader, I have connected communities with resources to support students in and out of the classroom. I will apply this experience to help the district obtain alternative revenue sources, including government and private funds. In addition to obtaining new funds, I propose using existing funds more efficiently by promoting cooperation between city, county, and school agencies. I will be providing more specifics on these proposals in the coming weeks.

Why 7.2 cents?

The 7.2 cent tax raises approximately the amount that will go away when other funding options expire in 2011-12. There are actually a number of programs that would have benefitted from a higher rate, such as 9 or 12 cents. However, it was necessary to weigh the benefits of those potential funds against the risk that voters would reject a higher tax rate. A working group of community leaders (including parents, business owners, district teachers and staff, and others) determined that 7.2 cents was the most appropriate rate, and the committee that is supporting the measure concurred with that recommendation to the Board.

What about the poll numbers?

In approving a 7.2 cent tax rate, the Board agreed with the committee recommendation and went against the advice of their hired analyst, Godbe Research. I believe that the Board showed good judgment in doing this. Statistics provide valuable guidelines, but they must be considered in context. No tax measure will pass without an active campaign, and it was clear that the campaign will have a lot more active support at the higher rate. As was noted by several campaign committee members, the measure needs to be worth the effort put into it. Hopefully, a 7.2 cent parcel tax measure will have the full support of the district’s labor organizations as well as local business leaders, parent groups, and other community members. I will be among the supporters, and I hope you will be as well.

One Step in the Right Direction

Jason Freeman — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 03:47:11 +0000

I believe that all students deserve access to free, high quality education that prepares them for college and careers, and I know that the citizens of West Contra Costa county agree. We now need strategies to turn that common belief into realistic school improvement.

This is a critical point for public schools thanks to opportunities from public and private funders. The West Contra Costa school district has long failed to live up to its potential. Our district needs to be ready, willing, and able to transform its schools. In order to succeed, reforms must meet the needs of students, families, and teachers. I will work with all stakeholders to make our school district a model of excellence for California and the Nation.