education
As a former educator and a graduate of Stockton’s public schools, I understand firsthand the tremendous impact a quality education can have on our youth. I also understand the myriad of challenges that prevent too many young people from maximizing their educational experience, therefore stymying their full potential.
That’s why my administration has taken a cradle-to-career approach in my first term to help navigate our children from early childhood into higher education. We have launched a number of programs and initiatives to help Stockton’s students attain educational excellence. In partnership with the Reinvent South Stockton Foundation, we launched Stockton Scholars with an initial $20 million private donation, which guarantees every graduating Stockton highschool student a scholarship to a 4-year university, community college, or vocational school.
We partnered with the Newsom Administration and AmeriCorps to launch the first-ever service program in the Central Valley called Stockton Service Corps. This bold service initiative is based on a six year, $12 million investment in Stockton which will allow us to leverage our incredible spirit of community service to, in part, close our historic achievement gaps in communities many of our students come from.
Many students and their families in our community may feel as though higher education is out of reach. That’s why I’ve been a strong advocate of bringing a California State University (CSU) to Stockton. As part of his 2019-2020 budget, Governor Gavin Newsom allocated a $2 million grant for us to explore the possibility of developing a CSU in the City of Stockton.
priorities
- Expand Stockton Scholars to every public high school student in Stockton.
- Create Childhood Savings Accounts for kids born in high poverty neighborhoods.
- Bring a California State University to Stockton.
- Expand Pre-K offerings.
- Expand the model of Reinvent South Stockton to the four other “Hot Spot” areas identified in 2012 to begin revitalizing these areas that have not reached their potential due to high crime rates, few job opportunities, and failing schools.
- Continue to Work with federal, state, county and city agencies and departments to ensure new opportunities for the hardest hit neighborhoods of Stockton.
- Continue to Implement the South Stockton Promise Zone Strategy and rigorously monitor results.
- Continue to develop a Cradle-to-College continuum of support for children, focused on parent education, student growth, learning, and achievement starting at birth and expanding at each level of child development.
- Redesign Van Buskirk to be more reflective of recreational and community needs.
