Despite the impressive title of the office, the California Superintendent of Public Instruction has little actual authority to do much about education.
The governor has much more influence, as does the state board of education. And there are local school boards, which are legally responsible for about 1,000 school districts in the state.
That's why at least 500 people gathered at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento last week to honor Delaine Eastin, who was superintendent of public schools 20 years ago, the first and so far only woman to hold that position.
The superintendent position is largely a matter of choice, and Eastin, who died last November at age 76, made the most of it.
Part of her success had to do with her outsized personality. She prepared her colleagues for countless political battles with Shakespeare's slogan, “Once more, dear friends, once again.”
Part of her influence came from her enduring belief in public education, of which she herself was a product. A California native, she attended public schools and earned her bachelor's and graduate degrees from the University of California.
“Children are living messengers of a time we will never see,” she said. To those who argue that public education costs too much to the nation, she countered, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
And to those who wonder why their tax dollars should be used to support children in areas other than their own, she argued, “This country runs on other people's children.”
Part of her success had to do with the oratory she honed in high school drama class. As a lawmaker before becoming state superintendent, she was considered one of the Legislature's best speakers. She regularly received standing ovations at many of her speeches around the state. Former Speaker of the House Willie Brown, a legendary orator who attended her memorial service in person and was often sent to speak on her behalf.
Her legacy includes her single-mindedness in promoting smaller class sizes in grades K-3 in California. She was instrumental in creating California's Academic Performance Index in 1999, the first statewide system to rank schools primarily based on test scores.
She also led the way in advancing California’s first universal preschool effort, a vision that is now coming to fruition with the expansion of transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds.
Less well known is the Martin Luther King Jr. death in Berkeley in the mid-1990s. It was her support of Alice Water's Edible Garden Project that started at Middle School. “Without Delaine, we wouldn’t have the Edible Garden Project.” said Waters, founder of the popular Chez Panisse restaurant just a few blocks from the school. Waters shared in her video that there are currently 6,500 edible school gardens around the world.
Above all, Eastin was a big supporter of California itself. She would often say that Californians are “people who grew up somewhere else and came to their senses.”
Throughout her life, she was dedicated to promoting women's advancement into public service.
Eastin's last appearance on the political stage was in 2018, when she was “bold enough to run for governor,” as Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis described her candidacy. It was a whimsical effort at best, a fact Eastin was well aware of, Kounalakis said. “She came forward primarily to talk about the importance of public education.”
As the two traveled the state together during the election, Eastin said, “This is what the future will look like if they both get elected.” But Eastin only received 4% of the vote. Konalakis was more successful, becoming California's first female lieutenant governor.
Although she never became governor, there was a biblical aspect to the life trajectory of a woman who wanted children but was unable to have them, and yet was able to improve the lives of millions of children in her hometown.
Her staff at the Department of Education recalled many early, half-awake trips to outlying areas.
“It’s going to be a great day,” the ever-motivating Eastin told them. “We’re going to visit the school.”
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Louis Friedberg I am the interim CEO of EdSource.
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