A favorite San Francisco Chronicle article for the end of the school year celebrates “Forty years of magic on school bus” by Jill Tucker, May 30, 2011. Barbara Donovan drove her first bus route in 1971, time of the initial California desegregation efforts to provide equity to children from low-income neighborhoods by busing them to higher-income schools–a complicated effort in most large California cities. A long time reliable driver, she’s the kind who provides safety and comfort to all kinds of kids.

Routes have changed and languages spoken by little ones have changed as demographics transform in San Francisco. Until 2002, official end of state desegregation efforts, she drove large school buses, symbols of public school transportation the country over. Since then she’s serviced special education students in small buses. Next year, as fears for further California budget reductions hover over every dollar the district itemizes, bus routes are being consolidated.

In well-to-do suburbs, big buses have been long gone and parents in SUV’s roam the streets to drop children off and pick them up. Slashing transportation budget lines is easy enough in those districts, but what about low-income communities?

Larry N. Gersten from San Jose State University laments the problem he sees in the possible legislative failure to fund school budgets. The latest figures show that California spends $7000 per student, 48^th of 50 states, $3000 below the national average, not including the foreseeable cuts if the state doesn’t come up with a balanced budget. His concern is that people have stopped caring-the wealthy who can raise their voices send their kids to private schools and lower-income families are left to walk to a public school, if it hasn’t been closed. See “Public is bailing on schools,” San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, May 26, 2011.

Tell us, how will the achievement gap be closed with that prognosis?

In three recent Edweek articles, the authors throw up their hands about the fuss over testing, evaluation, and thrashing teachers and teachers unions. Justin Bauder’s position is that teachers use all that’s available to help weak students, but are squeezed harder each year with the latest plan to hold them accountable, while not listening to what a teacher knows. “Breaking the Orthodoxy About the Achievement Gap,” May 30, 2011

One of Anthony Cody’s main points is that it takes time to become a good teacher. He wonders at the constant interest in Teach for America, and example of coaxing graduates from revered colleges to teach for two years as if two years is going to make all the difference in the achievement gap. “Education Policy Should Honor the Obvious,” May 30, 2011

And Walt Gardner’s issue is that the constant uproar over tests and evaluation is driven by advocacy groups, not evidence of success or failure in improving student achievement which is the purpose of data analysis. He is not kind to “venture philanthropists” who look at the problem as needing corporate reform. Privatize, deregulate, and provide competition-those actions will make schools work? “The Octopuses in School Reform,” May 23, 2011

Bauder wants legislatures to ensure that “fighting poverty must move to the center of our agenda.”

Don’t rely on Teach Plus, a Gates Foundation project to reform public education. Cody advocates that teacher activists register to attend the Save Our Schools conference, July 28-29 and rally in Washington, D. C. July 30, 2011.

For the detailed perspectives of these teachers, see articles online in Edweek, May 31, 2011. For successful ways that the school adults can discuss these issues see takecareschools.com.