Looking at the elementary and secondary education system numbers, schools in California are host to approximately 6.3 million students dispersed across its 9,500 schools. In comparison, all of England has around 7 million students. Schools in California are so numerous that they make up a large portion of the United States’ 90,000 schools; 10.6% of all schools in America are located in one state – California. This is one reason that schools in California are examined so closely and so often the focus of critics.
In 2000, schools in California received nation-wide attention when students from numerous districts sued the state over poor facility conditions. In the shocking reports filed were claims that rodents inhabited a number of the schools, broken windows and ceilings leaked water into classrooms and hallways, defective fire detectors remained unattended to, and a door with bullet holes remained on one elementary school’s boiler room entryway.
But schools in California are in need of more than simply physical improvements. A 3.5 million dollar study, led by the Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice at Stanford University, boldly declared that a “commitment to wholesale reform” is necessary. The study noted the lack of qualified teachers in the program as well. InsideBayArea.com points out that in the Bay Area, 36% of campuses have at least one teacher leading a class in which they lack the credentials to teach; and throughout the rest of the Golden State, 53% of teacher do not have adequate training to be leading the classes they are teaching. The financial and managerial aspects of schools in California require urgent attention – a sentiment that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger echoed, calling for “critical school reform.”
As conventional schools struggle, on line colleges are continuing to gain advocates. An online college education equips an individual with the skills and credentials he or she needs to succeed in the job market. That is because an accounting course taken online or an engineering degree from an online university degree program results from hard work and commitment. In most cases, online studies are led by experienced faculty who hold advanced degrees in the subjects they are teaching and have work experience in the fields that many graduates will be looking to enter.
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