RUNNER TAPPED FOR COMMITTEE; PANEL WILL DEVELOP MASTER PLAN FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. George Runner George C. Runner, Jr. (born March 25 1952 in Scotia, New York) is a Republican California State Senator, who represents the 17th Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County. has been appointed to a newly formed legislative committee tasked with developing a master plan for California's educational system. The Lancaster Republican was named to the 18-member committee by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , D-Los Angeles. The committee will begin meeting next month to develop the state's first master plan for K-12 education. ``Currently, our education system looks like a patchwork quilt,'' Runner said. ``California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). is in dire need of an overall master plan to present the vision for California's schools for the next century.'' The master plan will be used to determine goals for the state's school and to propose reforms to meet those goals. The master plan will be used by the Legislature to determine funding and policy priorities for the state's education system. ``K-12 education has been the reform du jour du jour adj. 1. Prepared for a given day: The soup du jour is cream of potato. 2. Most recent; current: the trend du jour. . Whatever the newest idea is gets funding regardless of how it fits together,'' said Runner, the founder of Desert Christian School A Christian School is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country according to the religious, educational, and political culture. . Runner said he would like to see the committee suggest ways to provide more local control for school districts. ``That's for everything from curriculum to school construction,'' Runner said. ``There are Democrats and Republicans that would like to see local school districts empowered. That's one area I have a great deal of hope for.'' One more issue Runner would like to see addressed is the age that children start school. Runner has introduced legislation aimed at moving up the cutoff date for children to meet the age requirement to get into kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be . Under existing law, children can enter kindergarten if they turn 5 by Dec. 2 of that school year. Runner's bill, Assembly Bill 513, would move up the cutoff date to Sept. 1. California's kindergarten cutoff date is the latest in the country, Runner said. That, Runner said, can contribute to lower performances because children are younger on average than their counterparts nationwide. The committee comprises nine senators - six Democrats and three Republicans - and nine Assembly members - two Republicans and seven Democrats. |
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