February 11, 2011
"NewSchools Venture Fund and Teach For America announced today the 25 aspiring education entrepreneurs selected to participate in the first-ever EdTech Entrepreneurs Lab..."
Get to Know San Jose
There’s an educational crisis in San Jose. Nearly 40,000 students are not proficient in grade level skills and 2,300 middle and high school students drop out every year.
But with this disheartening reality, there are reasons to be hopeful. Eight years ago, no schools in downtown or East San Jose were producing achievement levels near above the schools in the city’s most affluent neighborhoods – today, there are at least seven schools doing just that. We are seeing proof points in the form of high performing schools that are narrowing the achievement gap in San Jose. These schools were born from the demand and leadership of parents, students, and families in downtown and East San Jose. They worked in partnership with PACT (People Acting in Community Together) – an inter-faith, grassroots organization that empowers everyday people in San Jose to create a more just community. And it was through these examples of local leadership that the city of San Jose took heed.
In 2009, education leaders across different organizations in San Jose came together and committed to “SJ 2020” – an initiative aimed at ensuring all students in the city of San Jose are proficient in reading and math by the year 2020. The city’s commitment to a public school system that is delivering a world class education to every single child by the year 2020 is propelled by the efforts of individuals working across different organizations, including school boards, traditional public school districts, charter networks, teacher unions, and other educational organizations. The movement for social change in San Jose’s schools is already in motion.
Teach For America is a part of this story. Our corps members and alums are showing the city what is possible at a classroom and school level through their embodiment of transformational leadership. As classroom teachers, school leaders, union representatives, policy leaders and school network leaders, they invite more corps members to help realize the community’s vision for educational change.
Region Leadership
Paymon Zarghami, Senior Managing Director, San Jose
Paymon Zarghami is a product of the San Jose public school system. He is excited to help fuel the already active movement in his hometown – a city where the community leadership is aligned to the same vision – providing a world class education to all children in San Jose by the year 2020. After graduating from UC Berkeley, Paymon taught high school math for seven years before joining Teach For America’s teacher leadership development team. As a teacher in east San Jose, Paymon’s students outperformed students at higher-income schools – deepening his conviction in the solvability of this problem.
Region Timeline
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San Jose becomes the first incorporated city in the U.S. state of California, serving as the state's first capital with the first and second sessions of the California Legislature, known as the Legislature of a Thousand Drinks, being held there in 1850 and 1851.
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IBM establishes their west coast headquarters in San Jose, which also propelled the transition of the city’s economy from agriculture to technology.
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The National Hispanic University opens and becomes the foremost Hispanic-focused institution in the United States.
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The San Jose Unified School District is given a court-ordered desegregation plan that relies primarily on creating a series of magnet schools. A few heavily Hispanic schools, including Burnett Middle School, are left alone due to their status as “community focal points.”
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The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education adopts the University of California system’s entrance requirements as San Jose’s high school graduation requirements.
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People Acting in Community Together (PACT) begins organizing with parents and community members in East Side San Jose – directly contributing to the launch of small autonomous schools within the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District (ARUESD), the approval of over 20 high performing K – 5 Rocketship Charter Schools for primarily Latino, low-income students, and the launch of other charter schools through the ACE, KIPP and Alpha networks.
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Rocketship Education, a national non-profit elementary charter school network, opens the nation’s first hybrid school in San Jose.
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Education and city leaders across San Jose launch SJ2020, a commitment to close to close the achievement gap in San Jose by the year 2020.
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The Santa Clara County Office of Education approves Rocketship Education’s proposal to open 20 more elementary schools across the city of San Jose.
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The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approves “Opportunity 21” – a plan designed to eliminate the opportunity gap and provide the finest 21st century education for all students.
Overheard
The corps has had a profound impact of my career trajectory. Before, I never would have considered becoming a principal or working for an educational nonprofit, but today those are two of my top career goals.
The Bay Area Corps 2009
