Bishop Allen Vigneron reads a blessing during the Jan. 24 dedication
of the new school of education building at Saint Mary’s College.
With him are Christian Brother Ronald Gallagher, college president,
(left) and Christian Brother Mel Anderson, former president (right).
SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE
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By John Grennan
Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga dedicated
its newly named Kalmanovitz School of Education and its newly opened Filippi
Academic Hall on Jan. 24.
“This is a great moment for Saint Mary’s College and an opportunity
to assume a leadership role in promoting education in California,”
said Brother President Ronald Gallagher. “Teaching is a saintly
vocation.”
Oakland Bishop Allen Vigneron blessed the new building at the opening
ceremony for trustees and donors, and the Saint Mary’s community
toured the facility during an Open House the next day.
The two-story, 39,313-square-foot building includes state-of-the-art classrooms,
computer labs and an academic support center. All are designed to advance
the mission of the School of Education, which has trained thousands of
California teachers and educational administrators since 1967.
On Jan. 26, hundreds of Contra Costa teachers, Saint Mary’s education
faculty and alumni gathered at the college for a public opening that included
an open house and a panel discussion on the future of California education.
The panel examined the Lasallian principle of reaching out to needy students
where they are, even during California’s recent education budget
cuts.
“We’ve been asked to cut $4 billion from education by Governor
Schwarzenegger,” said panelist State Senate President Pro Tem Don
Perata ’67. “I don’t know how we’re going to get
through this.”
Moderator Laura Garcia-Cannon, a Saint Mary’s alumna and television
anchorwoman, noted that California public schools already face significant
funding problems before any proposed budget cuts take effect.
“California public schools went from 43rd to 46th last year (in
spending per pupil),” she said. “It spends almost $2,000 less
per student than the national average.”
Several panelists noted that funding shortfalls have a disproportionate
impact in poor and minority communities, where inadequate facilities and
teacher burnout are more common.
“We need to have a conversation about who the gatekeepers are and
how we can change the lock so everyone can enter and be prepared to meet
the challenges on the other side,” said Dr. Margaret Norris of the
Mt. Diablo Unified School District.
Perata also criticized the 2002 No Child Left Behind Law for requiring
teachers to improve schools’ test scores without giving them the
tools to do so.
“We either need to fund No Child Left Behind or get rid of it,”
Perata said, adding, “Since we’re not going to fund it, we
ought to get rid of it.”
Panelists were unanimous in recommending more funding for education, but
several also stressed that teachers must always stretch themselves to
reach students and parents.
“There’s an adversarial gap between school folks and parents
that we need to bridge,” said Contra Costa Curriculum Director Abe
Doctolero. “And I don’t know if you can expect a single parent
with three kids who is working two jobs to reach out to us and play in
our backyard by our rules.”
School of Education Dean Nancy Sorenson said the new building has filled
her and her colleagues with a renewed sense of mission.
“The College and Kalmanovitz foundation have challenged us to help
build up schools and strengthen communities, and we plan to live up to
that challenge,” she said.
(John Grennan is a writer in the communications office of Saint Mary’s
College.)
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