CCHS educator named to state commission

The California Instruction Quality Commission just increased its numbers by adding a Culver City educator as of Nov. 10.

Kimberly Young, a teacher at Culver City, was appointed to the CIQC by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Young is the commission’s newest member and completes the 18-member staff.

She will serve for four years, from Nov. 10 to Nov. 10, 2024.

Young, 39, has been a teacher at Culver City High School since 2016. She was a program associate at Facing History and Ourselves from 2015 to 2016 and served as lead new teacher coach at the Oakland Unified School District from 2013 to 2015.

The was also a humanities teacher at Life Academy High School from 2006 to 2013 and is a teacher consultant at the Bay Area Writing Project and a member of the American Educational Research Association.

Young did not respond by Tuesday’s deadline for a News interview request. Her background and resume have been posted on the Culver City Unified School District email newsletter by Superintendent Leslie Lockhart.

“After graduating from high school, I attended community college and transferred to UC Berkeley, where I majored in Ethnic Studies,” Young said, as posted on the CCUSD website. “My undergraduate education changed my life and I knew that I wanted to be an educator.” She earned a Master of Education degree from Stanford University.

“I love teaching and I know that we can change the world to become a more compassionate and inclusive place for all humans,” Young said in the newsletter post.

Young joins 17 other commissioners, and is the only public member appointed by the governor. Thirteen public members were appointed by the State Board of Education, one by the Speaker of the Assembly, one member by the Senate Rules Committee, one state member by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one state senator by the Senate Rules Committee, as designated in the website listings.

Seven of the 13 public members appointed by the State Board are current kindergarten to grade 12 classroom teachers.

Public members shall serve a four-year term and shall not be eligible to serve more than one full term. Prior service on the IQC for a term of less than three years resulting from an initial appointment or an appointment for the remainder of an unexpired term shall not be counted as a full term. The pupil member shall serve a one-year term and shall not be eligible to serve more than one full term.

A commission videoconference meeting will take place Nov. 18-19.

Two-day meeting dates for 2021 will be held in the California Dept. of Education Building in Sacramento and take place in January, May, August, September and November.

The 18-member commission undertakes a number of duties, according to the California State Board of Education website.

Member duties are to develop and recommend curriculum frameworks; develop and recommend criteria for evaluating instructional materials submitted for adoption; evaluate instructional materials that have been submitted by publishers and make and recommendations to adopt or reject each submission.

Other responsibilities are to recommend policies and activities to the State Board of Education (SBE), California Department of Education, and local education agencies regarding curriculum and instruction; advises and makes recommendations to the SBE on implementing the state’s academic content standards; and advises the SBE on professional development, pupil assessments, and academic accountability systems alignments to the standards.