Safety, and will likely hold up well in the event of an earthquake. But what about private schools . It may surprise you to know that private schools are not regulated except in san francisco. It is the first and only city in california to require private schools do seismic evaluations. San francisco Friends School has an unusual seismic story that starts with a historic old building. Male it was built to house levi strausss blue jean Assembly Plant back in 1906. Jessica before the school moved in, it had to do a massive retrofit. Male we completely gutted the entire building, basically put the entire building, 82,000 square feet on stilts, and lifted it up off of its then foundation, and then created a whole new foundation and set the Building Back down. Jessica everything inside this old building is basically new. Male you see a lot of steel everywhere, in every classroom, in every office, in every common area. Youll see these huge steel ibeams that are holding up the building in addition to the original foundation, and preparing it to withstand an earthquake. Jessica an earthquake no one wants to experience, but everyone knows is coming. Simin naaseh its just a matter of time. It may not happen tomorrow, may happen, you know, the next day or 15 years from now, but we know that it will happen. Thats one thing were sure about. Jessica as part of san franciscos ongoing effort to reduce risk, the city has put in place the first law of its kind in california. Private schools have to evaluate seismic safety. Patrick at first, people realized that theyre a little shocked that this isnt already required. Jessica Public Schools have been regulated since the early 1930s, but not private schools. Patrick especially the parents that we surveyed, where you ask them and they assume because their kids were in private school and they were writing that check every month, that of course it must meet the same standards as the Public Schools, and thats just not the case. Jessica that doesnt mean private schools are dangerous. Theyre supposed to adhere to building codes, and a city report shows 43 of private School Buildings are likely to perform well in earthquakes. But 33 might perform poorly. And for 24 , there just isnt enough information. Simin i think a good first step is evaluating the buildings and assessing the nature of the risk and the magnitude of the risk. And thats what this ordinance is trying to do. Jessica there are an estimated 113 private schools in san francisco, many in older buildings. Schools occupy a movie theater, a victorian mansion, a former mayonnaise factory, a wide variety of campuses facing the same deadline. They have 2 years to complete the earthquake review. Patrick the schools are going to do these evaluations, and theyre probably not going to want to sit on them. Jessica thats exactly what happened at the archdiocese of san francisco, which operates more private schools than any other school group, 34 total. David we got a call one day that an engineer had identified one of the sites as being an immediate risk based on the configuration of the building. Jessica the classroom was a kindergarten located on the bottom floor of a building used for other parish purposes. Its permanently closed. David the school was closed by the end of the day, that particular site, and the children removed. Jessica the archdiocese evaluated all of its schools ahead of the deadline. And its not the only private School Entity already correcting deficiencies. The fixes are voluntary. Schools are not required to retrofit. The law simply doesnt go that far. Patrick we see schools in every type of building under the sun. And so, to come up with a uniform standard, a way to retrofit this, its not fair because some schools will be very cheap to retrofit given their construction type, other ones might be very expensive. Jessica but experts say if the law spurs action, its an important first step. Simin putting our head in the sand and ignoring the risk isnt going to help us. But knowing what are vulnerabilities are, and addressing them, and mitigating them will help. Jessica now private schools will file seismic evaluation to the department of building inspection, and those evaluations will be public information. A followup now on Public School seismic safety. Last year, we were the first to show you the extent of the damage inside napa valley unified Public Schools after the napa quake. You may recall that that 6. 0 earthquake struck in the middle of the night and school was not in session. It turns out, despite the earth roaring, none of napa valley unifieds 30 schools suffered any structural damage. Mark quattrocchi thats the real testament to how well schools are built. But what was dramatic and what was hard to see was the contents, what happened inside those classrooms. Jessica these still photos, taken inside napa valley schools, showed debris littered across the classroom floors, a daunting cleanup to be sure, but also, some experts say, an alarming indicator of troubling problems. Overhead lights fell to the floor. Mark some of them were not built the way that they were designed. Jessica bookshelves toppled and blocked exits. Mark you want to leave quickly, and suddenly a bookcase falls and blocks the exit. Jessica a file cabinet lurched forward onto desks. Mark it was pretty telling, pretty dramatic. Jessica now, since that report, napa valley unified has made changes since our story first aired. All schools have been instructed to move those bookcases and furniture away from classroom exits. This creates a safety zone around the door so debris wont fall and block the way out. The district is also in the process of securing all furniture taller than 36 inches. Okay, now to the perennial hot topic of funding Public Schools. One of the biggest changes in schools in decades is already underway, but odds are you havent even heard of it. Californias local control funding formula means more money and more decisions for local school districts. So, hows it working . Well, we paid a visit to oakland to see that new money put to use. The classroom is outdoors at Fremont High School in oakland. Male today, were making salsa and were going to eat it with chips, i guess. Jessica these young men are part of the latino men and boys program. Miguel salmeron its like a small circle where everybody is, like, pretty much in trust, so likeits like a Family Circle pretty much. Jessica its a circle thats about to get bigger thanks to extra dollars flowing in from the state. Antwan we get targeted funding from the state in order to support our most needy students. Jessica for the first time, oakland unified is investing newly available money, 200,000, in the latino program. Antwan thats the most important piece, that those young men, that they graduate from high school. Jessica the money comes from the local control funding formula, a landmark law now being put into practice across california. Angelica this is a historic change. Its the biggest change to our School Funding system in the last 40 years. Jessica under lcff, many funding decisions shift from sacramento to local school districts. Angelica california is leading the country in terms of having a formula that provides more support for the students with the greatest need. Jessica districts with high needs kids get more money. The extra dollars are for english learners, foster youth, and lowincome students. Jerry brown equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice. Jessica at oakland unified, where 80 of students are high needs, funding incrementally increases from 7,500 to almost 12,000 per student over the next 5 years. However, in more affluent San Ramon Valley unified, where just 8 of kids are highneeds, funding in 2021 tops out at a little more than 9,000. Ryan our biggest concern is that more people dont know about it. Jessica hes right, most voters have never heard of the funding law, even though for the first time ever, it requires Community Input on how that money is spent. Ryan in order to get this right, because theres more flexibility in how funds are spent at the local level, people have to get involved and hold districts accountable. Jessica back at fremont high, these students say theyre just happy to see their program expand. Miguel i think its good that its finally getting the recognition that it needs because its a really good program. Male that looks good. Male taste it. Its like what my mom makes. Jessica if you want to see how much money is allocated for your school district, check out edsources online calculator. Its really good. Its at edsource. Org. Okay, we are just getting started. When we come back, well introduce you to the bay area filmmaker whose new movie premieres next week at the mill valley Film Festival. And shes got an Important Message about schools that you will not want to miss. [music] that sound. Like nails on a chalkboard. But listen to this family talking thats a different kind of sound. The sound of the weekend. Unleash the power of dough. Give it a pop. Its always worth remembering. That icing the Cinnamon Rolls is a privilege not a right. Unleash the power of dough. Give it a pop. Jessica and welcome back to this class action news special. A new documentary has its World Premiere next week at the mill valley Film Festival. Its about education and it asks some hard questions about the way we do things in our schools. Take a look at beyond measure. Male you cant put 20, 30 kids in a room and expect them all to learn the same material, at the same pace, with the same structure. Everybody has their own learning style. Everybody has their own pace. Male even though our achievement data has looked pretty good over the last few years, our students are struggling in college, so were losing kids. We begin to think about what is it that were missing. Male in traditional education, we have always been having a oneway conversation. There has to be a better way to get students engaged in this process. Male we have this small cohort of people who do extraordinarily well, and everybody else drifts away, and that is not a healthy society. Male the strategy of successive governments has been to say, narrow the curriculum, standardize everything, and have more testing. Systemically, its not working. Jessica im joined now by vicki abeles. Vicki is the director and producer of the film beyond measure. And i know, vicki, that you make movies that are very close to your heart. You were here one time earlier before with your first film race to nowhere, which really captured the rat race that kids feel that theyre on, and that movie moved so many parents. Lets talk about beyond measure. What motivated for you to make this movie . Because i know your kids were an integral part of why you made race to nowhere. Vicki abeles right, so i would say that this film, i set out to make this film in large part based on the screenings of race to nowhere, and the passion that i saw for change. And yet, almost every screening i attended ended with the same question, which is, where do we go from here . I also set out to make a film that fills a void in what i see as a media story thats largely focused on whats wrong with education. It tends to lay blame on parents and educators and students, and to look to policy makers for the solutions. So, i wanted to take a journey and look for schools that were innovating and challenging the status quo. Jessica because one of the things that this movie touches upon is about that theres so much pressure in schools. A lot of it is about memorization, rote. And in that quote, you hear the man say the school is good for, like, one group of people that do really well, and everybody else just moves away. So, what did you find when you went to look for these schools that are doing things differently . What are theyhow are they making a difference that caters more to the child . Vicki so, what i found is a revolution brewing in Public Schools across the country, change makers at the local level teachers, educators and parents coming together and pioneering a new vision, reinventing school as we know it, classrooms that look nothing like the classrooms you and i attended. Youve got creative workshops instead of lectures, classrooms where students are leading the instruction, classrooms where homework has been replaced by projects that serve the community. Jessica that serve the community, so real projects that are out happening in the world . Jessica i bet the kids must love that. They must be so engaged. Vicki right, theyre much more engaged. I think their experiences are much more meaningful and purposeful. And i think across the board at the schools that we filmed at, you found schools that trust in the ingenuity of students and teachers to create learning experiences that are meaningful, and classrooms where the role of the teacher and the student has changed. Jessica so, what enables those districts to be able to do that, and why cant that be adopted by more schools . What is the impediment to Getting School systems across the country to say, okay, we know this isnt working. We have all these complaints. Why cant we try what these folks are doing . Vicki right, so i think that in large part, were stuck in a mindset that school is best done as currently done. The things that we associate with traditional school, with the traditional bell schedule, lectures, and homework, and standardized tests, i think that many of us just conclude that we have very little we can do to push back on that. And what you found at these schools were some brave, courageous change makers who wanted Something Different for the students in their schools. Jessica now, you say in the film that what counts cant be counted. What counts cant be counted. What does that mean . Vicki well, i think that our current Education System is so driven by measuring our kids rather than nurturing their talents, and supporting their growth and development. Jessica so, when people walk away and look at this film, what do you want them to walk away with, with the idea that lets spread the revolution, lets make change . How do we do that in california . Vicki we want to empower individuals, parents, educators, and students, to be the change makers in their communities. I think that many people are going to be inspired by the stories in this film. These are educators and parents pushing back against the status quo, and creating something new and meaningful and, in the end, better preparation for the young people in these classrooms. Importantly, because i know you havent seen the entire film yet, jessica, these are films that are partnering with innovative models that have been around for the last decade or more. These are proven models with track records. And so, i think that its possible for any school, any classroom teacher looking to create change, to partner with a school that is a little bit further ahead, and to also understand, you know, we need to get schools to loosen the reins and to give schools more freedom. Jessica you talk about a lot of different models. Did they have one thing in common . Vicki i think the thing that i would say is in common is the roles of the students and teachers have been changed. And connections. And what i would say is that all of these schools are fostering connections between the students, between the students and the teachers, between the schools and the communities that they serve in. Jessica so, as you know, here in california, the big thing now is the common core, and changing, getting rid of the rote memorization tests and trying to do a smarter balance test, which supposedly is supposed to test kids to see if theyre really preparing them for college and if theyre really getting meaningful education in the classroom. Whats your take on the common core as you see it right now . Vicki as i see it right now, i think it all depends on the implementation. I think the intentions behind it are good and i think that, you know, were going to have to see how its implemented in schools. But to the extent that it is still driven by highstakes testing, then im not in favor of that. Im much more in favor of giving the people at the local level the power to create meaningful experiences for the students and communities they serve in. Jessica and beyond measure, youre going to have screenings throughout california . Vicki absolutely, so, we have the mill valley Film Festival is coming up in a couple of weeks. Thats where were premiering. And then weve got dozens of schools across the state that have scheduled screenings. So, here in the bay area, i know theres a screening coming up at San Ramon Valley high school, as well as in irvington high school. And this is the launch of a nationwide screening campaign, which we hope is going to inspire people across the country to createto push back on the traditional model and create the schools that our kids need for the future. Jessica all right, go watch it, beyond measure. Well be back in a moment. [music] great change comes from doing the right thing. Like the radical idea that health isnt an industry. Its a cause. So we do things differently. We combine care and coverage. And believe prevention is the most powerful of cures. So forgive us for not going with the flow. We just think the flow should go with us. Which makes us rebels with one cause. Your health. That sound. Like nails on a chalkboard. But listen to this family talking thats a different kind of sound. The sound of the weekend. Unleash the power of dough. Give it a pop. This moment is perfect in every way just like my kid gooey. Flaky. Happy. Toaster strudel. Now with more icing. Ica a court fight over teacher tenure enters a new stage. As we first reported last year, a major lawsuit challenged longstanding teacher job protections in california. Its those job protections that are at the center of a major lawsuit filed by a nonprofit called students matter, founded by wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur david welch. David welch i myself am a product of Public Schools. Jessica theyre targeting three statutes teacher tenure, earned after 2 years on the job; last in first out rules, which are layoffs in which the last teachers hired are the first fired; and a dismissal process they say is overly complex and too expensive for any one district. Now, students matter won that lawsuit. It was a major victory, but the case is now in appeals court. The teachers unions are asking for a complete reversal of the decision. Supporters of the unions have filed friends of the court briefs, so opponents have on the other side as well. Oral arguments are expected this fall and the decision is likely to come next year. Of course, well keep you posted. Okay, now we go to our favorite stories about school architecture. Students at corte madera are getting googled. Yes, theres a school in marin county, and its taking a page from the search giants playbook. Its campus is designed to mimic googles famous open workspaces. Heres an encore presentation about the cove school. Female your goal for today is what . Who knows what the goal is by the end . Jessica it doesnt take long to notice that things are different with the cove school, a new Public Elementary School in corte madera. Mark ill tell you what its not like, its not like the schools of the last 100 years. Female get your town name done, and then well share those out at the end. Jessica folding doors divide extralarge rooms called learning suites, with a special nook this class calls the den. Some kids sit on stools with round bases, which allow them to wiggle while they work. There are no neat rows of desks. Female i want you to pick one street name. I came from a more traditional setting. Jessica inside and out, the cove school is designed for collaboration and flexibility, buzzwords in Silicon Valley, but less so in education. Thats why the designers of the school took a field trip to google to get some inspiration. Mark it was remarkable to see the expressions on their faces, that little sort of aha moment when we could take them to some of these unique workspaces. Jessica the campus is open and airy, with a strong connection to the outdoors, and lots of places for kids to gather. Interestingly, there are no bells. One of the cove schools philosophies is experiential learning. Seethrough spaces and open floor plans are the norm, just like at google. Female our son anderson just talks about it, sort of feeling like hes at home. Female im going to ring the chime and youre going to quietly come back to your circle spots. Male and im going to bring the parachute out and were going to spread it out like a big pizza. Jessica at the center of campus, an expansive hall gives new meaning to the old term multipurpose room. Michelle walker its designed for pe classes to be in there, performances, assemblies, as a gathering space where people pass through as the heart of the school, and that was something that we definitely took away from one of the main rooms that they had at google. Male good, lucy. Female so, who has a name for their town . Jessica but at the end of the day, learning still takes center stage, even in this decidedly 21st century classroom. Kristin lerohl i love it. Its fabulous and i told everybody, all my admin i dont want to go back. Female how about here . Natureville. How about here . Female tropical triangle. Female tropical triangle, another alliteration. Jessica looks like a blast, doesnt it . Now, many of the teachers at the cove school leave those dividers between their classrooms open all the time. That means they have two teachers working together in one large classroom. Back in a moment. [music] action stories by going to our website, nbcbayarea. Com. Just search on class action. Wed like to thank our guest, vicki abeles. You can check out her new movie, beyond measure, october 11th at the mill valley Film Festival. That is going to do it for us. Thanks again for watching, bye bye. [music] jackson home next. Ps pass. The the trump a man of the people for the people and clooney on shiring a bed with acceptedy. Welcome to access hollywood, weekend edition. Im liz. We begin with People Magazine big cover story at home with the trumps. Donald just couldnt help himself as he took to the new york streets during the people enter have you to pwring about the new cover. You will be in People Magazine everybody. Trump climbed on 60 minutes hes on more covers than a super model. Notice can add people to the portfolio but emit not have room to display it on his already crowded desk. On the cover gone is trump usual scowl replaced by a beaming smile as he pose with wife and their thenyearold son bayern at fifth avenue apartment. Hardest part of the company are the constant travel and. Reporter during the magazine q and a trump who we usually sea life had the luxury of tail organize the ans a little bit e. Running actually even covering. Hell say it a little differently. He was also asked about his future decorating plans for the white house. If i were elected i wou
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