Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

3 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

3 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

19 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

19 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

21 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

22 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

1 day ago
Fresno Unified Out of Excuses for Terrible Academic Performance
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 5 years ago on
March 6, 2020

Share

There can be no more excuses or pleadings for more time from Fresno Unified about its terrible academic performance.
Never has the district had more tools to accelerate student learning.


Listen to this article:

Portrait of GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen
Bill McEwen
Opinion

Labor Peace, Big Budget, Stable Leadership

The district enjoys unprecedented labor peace — the result of a three-year contract agreed to last summer.
The board of trustees rewarded superintendent Bob Nelson with a four-year contract last October. Since 2005, Fresno Unified has had just two superintendents. No one can argue that instability at the top hinders academic progress.
Under Gov. Jerry Brown, the state began directing more funding to school districts with high concentrations of disadvantaged students.
As a result, Fresno Unified’s 2019-20 budget is $1.475 billion, half of which is in its unrestricted general fund.

Voters Pass $1 Billion in Construction Bonds

If Measure M continues above the 55% threshold, district voters will have approved four construction bond measures since 2001 totaling more than $1 billion. The state has kicked in hundreds of millions more in matching funds for school construction projects.
Fresno Unified taxpayers have been more than loyal to the cause of helping students learn. But, at this point, patience isn’t a virtue. Instead, it’s another barrier for students who are poor, English learners, special needs, or homeless.
Those who regularly attend Fresno Unified board meetings know that trustees and officials spend a lot of time celebrating success. That’s commendable.
But when only 12.1% of students started this school year at grade level or above in math, and just 18.9% were at grade level or above in reading, school board meetings should focus almost entirely on student achievement.
Saddest of all, few people apparently care. Results that should outrage the community are ignored or met with a shrug.

Fifteen Years After ‘Choosing Our Future,’ Little Has Changed

In 2005, the stat de jour was, more than half of Fresno Unified schools ranked in the bottom 10% of California schools for academic achievement. Community leaders reacted by studying the district from top to bottom and issuing the Choosing Our Future report.

From this day forward, Fresno Unified must drop its Too Big to Fail attitude and prove that it’s Not Too Big to Succeed.
“If we are to turn around the social and economic prospects of our region, the process must begin with turning our schools around,” the report said.
Fifteen years later, 96% of McLane High School’s 1,800 students started this school year below grade level in math. Nearly 81% were below grade level in reading. Other high schools have only slightly better numbers.
The families of McLane students should storm every district board meeting, but they don’t. And, absent widespread demand for accountability, the state’s third largest school district carries on, business as usual.
Our city can’t afford business as usual.
As former Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Larry Powell wrote in a 2018 op-ed about Fresno Unified’s shortcomings:
“We know that 80% of new jobs will require some form of post-secondary training. It’s critical that students who graduate (from) high school are prepared to choose college or trade school. It has been reported that 65%  of students entering school today will have jobs that do not yet exist.
“By 2030, over 400 million workers may be displaced by automation, meaning even more students will need higher skills to compete in a global economy. Also, California will be short 1.1 million college graduates to fill new and existing jobs that require a higher education.”
Photo of young students raising their hands in a classroom
An entire generation of students has matriculated through Fresno Unified since the 2005 “Choosing Our Future” report. But the district continues to struggle despite strong financial support from local and state taxpayers. (Shutterstock)

Social Promotion Inflates Graduation Rate

Meanwhile, Fresno Unified cranks out high school graduates with D averages. They are promoted from one grade to the next even if they read at a third-grade level and can’t do simple math.

Meanwhile, Fresno Unified cranks out high school graduates with D averages. They are promoted from one grade to the next even if they read at a third-grade level and can’t do simple math. That doesn’t help students or their families. But it does enable Fresno Unified to brag about its 87.6% graduation rate.
That doesn’t help students or their families. But it does enable Fresno Unified to brag about its 87.6% graduation rate.
When the district and the Fresno Teachers Association announced their three-year contract, trustee Keisha Thomas said, “This is the start of a new era.”
When does the new era begin?
An entire generation of students has matriculated through Fresno Unified since Choosing Our Future.
How many more generations must come and go before a majority of students graduate well-prepared for a job or college?

Show Real Progress or Break up the District

Nelson’s contract ends in 2023. If Fresno Unified isn’t showing significant progress by then, the district should be divided into smaller, more nimble districts. Districts that put student learning first and preserving the bureaucracy last, and can effectively engage with students and families.
Unlike past calls for the district’s dissolution from north Fresno stakeholders, the charge should be led by families with children in the dozens and dozens of failing schools in south and central Fresno.
From this day forward, Fresno Unified must drop its Too Big to Fail attitude and prove that it’s Not Too Big to Succeed.
Shame on us if nothing changes. A community with less than high expectations for its schools can hardly complain about second-rate results.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Trump’s Administration Finds Harvard Violated Students’ Civil Rights, WSJ Reports

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

UP NEXT

US House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

UP NEXT

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

UP NEXT

What Does the Fresno County Schools Superintendent Do? Read This Q&A to Find Out

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

1 hour ago

Visalia Police Investigate Deadly Shooting Near Bethlehem Center

1 hour ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

1 hour ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

2 hours ago

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

2 hours ago

Dollar Gains Ground Against Major Peers After Better-Than-Expected US Jobs Data

2 hours ago

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

2 hours ago

France Shuts Schools, Italy Limits Outdoor Work as Heatwave Grips Europe

2 hours ago

Powell Reiterates Fed Will Wait for More Data Before Cutting Rates

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Investigate Morning Shooting Outside Bethlehem Center

3 hours ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

WASHINGTON – The Senate’s massive budget bill that passed on Tuesday will make it harder to develop wind and solar energy projec...

56 seconds ago

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference after the Senate passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
56 seconds ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters on primary night, in New York, June 24, 2025. Mamdani, the democratic socialist whose blend of populist ideas and personal magnetism catapulted his upstart candidacy, has won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, according to The Associated Press. (Shuran Huang/The New York Times)
9 minutes ago

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

Amaury Fernandez is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 1, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
37 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Amaury Fernandez

1 hour ago

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

A 36-year-old man died after being shot multiple times outside the Bethlehem Center in Visalia, prompting an active homicide investigation on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (Visalia PD)
1 hour ago

Visalia Police Investigate Deadly Shooting Near Bethlehem Center

President Donald Trump arrives at a dinner for NATO heads of state and governments hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
1 hour ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

President Donald Trump and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speak with the media at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on the day of the opening of a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
2 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

Tesla CEO Elon Musk greets U.S. President Donald Trump as they attend the NCAA men's wrestling championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 22, 2025. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo)
2 hours ago

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend