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UCLA IDEA PRINCIPAL STUDY. 87 randomly selected Principals interviewed between July 4 and Labor Day of 2009; Interviews conducted over phone and lasted 30-45 minutes; Questions focused on effects of economic crisis on families and the impact of the budget cuts on the school.
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UCLA IDEA PRINCIPAL STUDY • 87 randomly selected Principals interviewed between July 4 and Labor Day of 2009; • Interviews conducted over phone and lasted 30-45 minutes; • Questions focused on effects of economic crisis on families and the impact of the budget cuts on the school. • 87 Schools proportionately represent the wide diversity of geography, school size, school type, and student demographics. 2
1) Recession has created acute new social welfare needs. • More than half of principals report that students’ need for health, psychological, or social services have increased. “There is an epidemic [of hunger] … A lot of students don’t eat at all when they go home. 5
2) Educators have acted to meet new needs, but Budget Cuts have limited schools’ capacity. • Educators have connected students and families with social services and contributed food and clothing. • Many principals, particularly from high-poverty schools, report cutbacks to outside service providers and their own staff. 6
3) Budget Cuts have led to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. • 62% of all principals report that their teachers either received layoff notices or were bumped to another school. • High-poverty schools were four times as likely (66% to 15%) as low-poverty schools to experience teacher layoffs. • 74% of elementary schools increased class size. 7
4) Budget Cuts have led to cutbacks to textbooks and other instructional materials. • 57.5% of principals report that their schools have delayed or cut back their scheduled purchase of new textbooks. • 75% of principals report severe cutbacks to materials and supplies. • “We have almost nothing to get through the year.” 8
5) Many programs have been cut: Summer School, After School, Field Trips, etc. • High-poverty schools almost 3X as likely as low-poverty schools (49% to 17%) to eliminate Summer School. • Roughly half of principals report cuts to After School, Field Trips, Art and Music. • Many schools shift costs to parents and community groups, undermining equality. 9
6) Budget Cuts have undermined efforts of schools to sustain improvement and reform. • 70% of principals report cuts to professional development. “Principals [are] dealing with problems on campus instead of focusing on student learning as we should be and the state is mandating us to do.” 10
7) Local strategies aimed at filling budget gaps are likely to exacerbate inequality. 11 On average, low-poverty schools received $8 in donations for every $1 of high-poverty schools. Districts who passed parcel taxes in 2009 are far wealthier than the rest of the state.
