Past Events

Jan
25
2024
Revitalizing Public Education in California: Navigating Challenges, Seizing Opportunities
Topic
The PACE Annual Conference in January 2024 will bring together California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to address critical questions about the state's public education system and explore transformative actions for improvement at all levels, from early childhood through higher education.
Feb
3
2023
40 Years of Evidence and Impact
Topic

PACE’s 2023 conference marks many important milestones: our first in-person annual conference since the start of the pandemic, the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, and the 40-year anniversary of PACE’s founding.

Jul
28
2020
Aligning Systems to Support the Whole Child
Topic

This webinar will present findings from two forthcoming publications on community schools: the PACE brief “Community Schools: A Coronavirus Recovery Strategy;” and “Creating Strong Community Schools: The Role of California Counties in Providing Technical Assistance” by the Learning Policy Institute. The webinar will also feature perspectives from leaders at the school and county levels who will speak to what it takes to launch and sustain community schools.

Feb
27
2020
PACE Series on Special Education 1
Topic

This webinar was the first of a three-part webinar series on special education featuring new research on the status of special education in California and paths forward for organizing schools to better support students with disabilities. This webinar covered issues related to transitions into and out of special education services for students: Early Identification, Transitions into Preschool, Transitions Into and Between Identification Categories in K-12, Post-Secondary Transitions, and Work-Based Learning for students with disabilities.

Feb
7
2020
Evidence to Advance Equity and Excellence in California’s Cradle-to-Career Vision
Topic

PACE’s annual conference brings together nearly 300 California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to discuss new research and approaches to improving educational outcomes for California’s students, from early childhood through higher education.

Jan
10
2020
Challenges and Opportunities in California
Topic

What happens following preschool to sustain learning gains? To what extent do early learning programs align with early elementary grades in areas such as instruction and teacher professional development? What are the challenges in creating alignment? What state policies facilitate or hinder districts from creating stronger connections between preschool and elementary school? To answer these questions, PACE researchers interviewed superintendents or directors of early learning programs in 25 representative California school districts to better understand alignment work and challenges.

Dec
10
2018
Topic

Leading experts and practitioners discuss the state’s ambitious goals of expanding high-quality early education and care statewide. Learn more about California’s constraints and opportunities. The webinar, part of an ongoing series of deeper dives into the Getting Down To Facts II research released earlier this year, is co-sponsored by PACE and the Learning Policy Institute.

Nov
16
2018
Topic

Once a national leader in early childhood education, California faces unique challenges in addressing the educational and developmental needs of the nearly 24 million children. Compared to the rest of the US, twice as many of these children live in families without a parent fluent in English, and an additional one in five live in poverty. The current early childhood education system consists of an array of underfunded and incoherent programs that under-serve children, families, and workers. In this seminar Deborah Stipek highlights inefficiencies and potential areas of improvement.

Apr
21
2017
Topic

Motivated by statewide efforts to improve persistence and completion rates in college, the goal of Early Start is to better prepare students in math and English before their first semester at CSU. Specifically, Early Start requires all incoming students who do not meet the threshold on the entry level math or English proficiency requirements to take a designated developmental education course in the summer before their freshman year. In this seminar Michal Kurlaender will present results from a study that examines the impact of Early Start on persistence rates and achievement in the CSU.

Feb
29
2016
Topic

Don’t miss the Learning Policy Institute, The Opportunity Institute, New America, Educare California at Silicon Valley & Early Learning Lab as they present new research briefs to inform the policy conversation on California’s Early Education System, with responses from policy makers and practitioners.

Mar
14
2014
Topic

As California moves to implement the Common Core State Standards in Math the question of when to introduce key math content has taken on even greater importance. In this seminar, Neal Finkelstein will report findings from a recent comprehensive transcript study on the math pathways that students follow in California, and explore the implications of those findings for developing effective course sequences and placement strategies in the context of CCSS implementation.

Apr
17
2013
Topic

Policy Analysis for California Education presents a panel discussion on the state and future of higher education in California with a focus on the issues of cost and quality.

Feb
26
2010
Science for Policy Makers
Topic

Lifting early school achievement depends on the quality of early learning environments—but what do we know about these environments that most effectively stimulate young children’s growth? How can we enrich children’s daily activities? In this seminar, Alison Gropnik and Bruce Fuller discuss key findings on quality, including play, close interactions with caregivers, and exploration—all which have been shown to have lasting effects on children’s development.

Oct
29
2009
Topic

California’s education system continues to struggle to close persistent achievement gaps that often exist at school entry, and the state’s dire fiscal situation certainly doesn’t help. But real progress is possible, even now, as new strategies to build seamless early learning systems are being developed and supported through federal efforts. In this seminar, presenters discussed the critical components of PreK-3rd systems, provided specific examples of how these systems are working locally to improve school readiness in California, and offered up new opportunities for statewide leadership.