California Children's Rally Weblog

Senator Gloria Romero

Capitol Office
State Capitol,
Room 2090
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-4024
(916) 445-0485 fax

District Office
149 S. Mednik Ave.,
Suite 202
Los Angeles, CA 90022
(323) 881-0100
(323) 881-0101 fax

JUNE 15

Dear Educator:

As Chair of the Senate Education Committee, I am committed to keeping you up-to-date on the latest discussions on education policy in the State Capitol.

On June 17, the committee has a full agenda with 21 bills for discussion including legislation on work-based learning, parental access to student records, immigration investigations in schools and education finance, among many others.

Also critical are the budget negotiations which are already underway and will continue through the next month. One of many issues to watch is Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed elimination of the Cal Grant Program, which helps over 250,000 California students pay for college. For the latest update, click here.

Please note: “Power to the Parents: The Role of Parents as Agents of Change in California’s Public Schools ,” a hearing which was planned for June 26 in Los Angeles, has been postponed until later this summer. I will let you know as soon as the new date and agenda have been set.

Lastly, I would like to invite educators throughout California to attend “Students First: Children Speak About the Mission of Public Education ” on Tuesday, June 23 from 10am-noon at the State Capitol. A press event on the West Steps will launch this dialogue to define the mission of public education in California and will be followed by an informational hearing in room 4202 beginning at 10:30am. Both the press event and hearing are hosted in conjunction with the California Children’s Rally which will take place from noon-1:30pm on the West Steps and will conclude with student visits to Legislator offices.

As always, I encourage you to provide feedback on pending legislation and other issues pertaining to education policy by emailing me at senator.romero@sen.ca.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gloria Romero
Chair, Senate Education Committee
Chair, Senate Budget Sub-1 Committee
School Building Finance Committee
Advisory Commission on Special Education

The Long Beach Rally contingent invites everyone to join us in further California adventures on June 18th for a tour of the historic Empire Mine.  We’ll tour the Empire Mine State Historic Park, and then enjoy a group “Miners’ Lunch” afterward. The cost of the luncheon is $12 per person. Check out the website at http://www.empiremine.org/ for more details.  The park is in Grass Valley, close to lots of other Gold Country sites you can visit.

We need to provide numbers ahead of time for the lunch, so please send e-mail rsvp to president@lowellpta.net. 

Friends, Families, Citizens, Artists, Musicians, Kids and Merrymakers,

Below is a rough June 17 California Children’s Rally “Menu” (Draft One).  It’s less set in stone than something to get you thinking, planning, practicing, etc.

Camp Cool (Saturday 6/14 night through Tuesday 6/17 morning):

Drum circle, campfire singalong, (yes–don’t want to be too predictable but. . . ) TIE-DYE, art-making storytelling, ad hoc vaudeville (“Mining Camp Theatre”), BBQ-ing, traditional music jam (bring guitars, fiddles, autoharps), etc. 

There are also farm animals: horses (including pony rides but YOU WILL HAVE TO SIGN A RELEASE–really!), cows, chickens, dogs and, particularly, adorable Nigerian dwarf goats.

Tuesday, June 17 (suggested) Rally Schedule (to approximate nearest half hour–subject to change):

NOTE: All below are participatory group activities–family singing, musical instrument-playing, dancing, art-making encouraged

10:00 – 11:00 a.m.        Children’s visits to their legislators’ offices, to present them with, among other items of their choice, an invitation to lunch downstairs at noon (which we can present on special biodegradable kid lunch trays).  See additional page on how to identify one’s legislator.  Also ongoing: others could stroll through Capitol gardens singing fab ’60s Peace and Protest songs (“We Shall Overcome,” with appropriate 21st updated California lyrics) with banners, etc.  (Led by Todd Crowley, Virginia.)

                                      The California Public School Songbook (seeing accompanying post)

11:00 – 12:00 noon       Build Beth Elliott’s fantastic trash (clean, recycled!) elephant

Rock Bands: The Kids from Widney High, the Foremen, the Grateful Dads, the Angry Tired Teachers (from that existential state of mind that is Hayward, California)

                                      Picnic Lunch

12 noon – 1 p.m.           The BARN DANCE!  Squaredance Fiddlin’ and Autoharpmania!

Evo Bluestein leads a BARNDANCE (including such traditional numbers as “Shortnin’ Bread” and “Skip to My Lou” from Fresno Migrant Scholar autoharpists). . . Everyone on the Capitol Quad is invited to learn to Square Dance!  Surprises from the California Autoharp Gathering include “La Bamba” (Tina Louise Barr), ”Paint It Black,” and more

                                      More from the California Public School Songbook, giant group singalong with The Guitar Army (feel free to join), of such tunes as “This Land is Your Land” in (“the People’s”) key of G

Ending with a short Vaudeville sketch, including a special appearance by performance art troupe The Burning Moms, sweating periomenopausal public school mothers with an unusual political platform.  Like California, they have unusual ways with cash.

                                      End with a festive cheer and, of course, cake!