2020s | Policy Analysis for California Education

COVID & College: Indiana Enrollment Declines, as Only 53% of HS Grads Continue

July 6, 2022 | The 74

Under a third of schools are utilizing federal COVID relief funds to improve school facilities and air quality, says a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While some schools and districts prioritized investments in portable or...

Crisis Response in California School Districts

Leadership, Partnership, and Community

June 2022 | Case study, Policy brief, Report

Authors

Laura Steen Mulfinger

Taylor N. Allbright

Jacob D. Alonso

James C. Bridgeforth

Eupha Jeanne Daramola

Taylor Enoch-Stevens

Kate Kennedy

Akua Nkansah-Amankra

This study of seven California school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic shows how districts responded in real-time to the crisis and structural racism. Districts showed resourcefulness, collaboration, and commitment to serving students and communities. However, challenges remain, including declining enrollment, staffing shortages, and polarized communities, with school boards at the center of broader political debates.

California Prop. 13’s 'Unjust Legacy' Detailed in Critical Study

June 22, 2022 | EdSource

A new analysis of the enduring impact of Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that voters passed as a backlash against rising property taxes, concluded it has contributed to a widening wealth gap, a severe housing shortage and, for decades, inadequate...

Learning to Read Online: It’s Possible and Doable

June 21, 2022 | Early Learning Nation

Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, children throughout the world have had limited (or no) access to consistent, structured teaching. From early in the pandemic, researchers and early learning specialists sounded the alarm over the probability of significant losses in reading and...

Serving English Learners During the COVID-19 Pandemic

June 2022 | Report

Authors

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for English learners (ELs) to receive the services and support they need for academic success. This report highlights how K–12 public school districts planned to support ELs during the pandemic. While many districts communicated plans to assess student progress and provide services for ELs, details on the sufficiency of these plans were lacking. The legislation mandating the plans did not include measures for adherence or monitoring student outcomes, leaving questions about the actual strategies implemented by districts and how ELs were affected.

Report: Marin’s Public Pension Systems Trimming Liabilities

June 4, 2022 | Marin Independent Journal

An analysis of the public pension systems in Marin County is offering an upbeat appraisal. The assessment was released Wednesday as the second installment in a three-part series by the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of...

What Has Tony Thurmond Done as California Schools Chief?

June 3, 2022 | Cal Matters

During the pandemic, public education became a highly contentious arena for vitriol around masking, vaccines and reopening schools. But those tensions did not culminate in a heated election for California’s top schools chief. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond...

Community Schools: Lessons Learned/Lessons Shared

June 1, 2022 | The Learning Counsel

Community Schools are a time whose idea has come, a solution that was waiting for the perfect storm–and the perfect storm is here. In this final installment, we’ll look at the lessons learned from the community schools movement. What can...

Reading Scores Slip During Pandemic for Ohio's Youngest Students

May 25, 2022 | Coshocton Tribune

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the reading skills of Ohio's youngest students, according to state data. The third-grade reading proficiency decreased statewide from 67% in the 2018-19 school year to 51.9% in 2020-21, said LM Clinton...

California Students Need More High-Quality Advanced Math Options

May 17, 2022 | EdSource

The recent debate over California’s proposed math framework is missing the forest for the trees. In its myopic focus on which advanced math courses best prepare high school students for their futures, it glosses over a glaring fact: More than...