It didn’t take long before the consequences of the pandemic shone a spotlight on the growing inequities within our communities and systems. Existing disparities in housing and food security, education, and health care, for example, grew wider between socioeconomic and...
Many California voters consider college affordability to be a top priority and also support increasing resources for California’s community college students, according to “Californians’ Attitudes About College Access, Affordability, and Equity in the Time of COVID-19,”a new research brief published...
Our 6-year-old grandson, who lives in Texas, recently discovered how much fun it is to read. My wife Diane has been sending him packets of early reader books since he loves getting mail that is addressed to him. He likes...
Teachers across the country are seeing more and more students struggle with reading this school year. Pandemic school closures and remote instruction made learning to read much harder, especially for young, low-income students who didn’t have adequate technology at home...
The bottom line is: Spanish is just one of the many languages spoken by members of the Latino community. This problem has bled into schools, where administrators and teachers don’t know that their students speak an indigenous language, and don’t...
We all know the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a change to every aspect of life. We’ve seen how work and school looked drastically different than usual — and so did health care, transportation, nutrition and more. In many cases, inequities...
Students across the nation, including in Kern County are testing lower than required for their grade level as a result of virtual learning in the past year and a half. Teachers said it helps that the students are back in...
The Hoover Education Success Initiative (HESI) presented a six-part webinar series this fall that explored how public education can improve moving forward given the ongoing disruption of in-person instruction caused by COVID-19-inspired restrictions, as well as foundations of the system...
Since May 2020, the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative (NCOLI) has created dozens of free resources to support districts to center equity by returning students to school safely through the use of outdoor spaces for learning. In the spring and...
Much of the discourse around learning loss has gotten stuck on what to call it. Learning lag, interrupted learning and unfinished learning are favored among academics, because knowledge did not vanish from the minds of young people. Kids just didn’t...
The COVID crisis led to a windfall of taxpayer dollars for our local schools. It was much-needed money but all that isn’t being spent. And, if it doesn’t get used, millions, even billions, could go away. NBC Bay Area’s Raj...
The COVID-19 pandemic crippled learning for many students, leaving some kids years behind their classmates. In June, the non-profit Policy Analysis for California Education released a report showing students at 19 school districts were about two and a half months...
Using data to help guide decisions about increasing student engagement, providing extended learning opportunities, and finding effective ways to communicate with parents and students can help boost attendance rates as students adjust to full-time, in-person learning. The timely analysis of...
As of Sept. 23, Piedmont, Hayward, and Oakland students — 12 and older — must be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing to attend school in person. This mandate goes into effect starting November for Piedmont and December 17 for Hayward...
The metaphor “summer slide” has been used for decades to describe the essential skills that children lose over the summer when they’re out of school. Though this term was popular before 2020, unfortunately it is now the least of many...
As parents fearful of coronavirus’s spread and frustrated with their schools’ forays into remote learning seek other options, they are increasingly turning to virtual for-profit charter schools. Numerous studies show that parents of color were more likely to keep their...
A report from a coalition of bipartisan education groups—including the California PTA, the California Teachers Association and Policy Analysis for California Education—has urged schools to use their COVID funding to support mental health programs this year. The report recommends school...
Canada’s literacy gap was an issue long before the pandemic. But as the health crisis continues to exacerbate existing economic and health challenges, while increasing levels of precarity, instability and inequality in many households, the need to address the problem...
A new study examines how the pandemic affected scholarly research and early education careers of those who were suddenly at a precipice of funding shortages or program cuts. The past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a...
Literacy is about more than being able to read or not. It refers to how well people understand and use printed information to function in society and the economy. Research suggests the pandemic has not only increased inequities in literacy...
As we consider what we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about the new skills needed for future superintendent success, who will lead that debate on the future state of superintendent preparation? Will it be traditional universities and their education...
The term “learning loss” is too often used to describe the restorative restart needed in California’s most underserved communities for the 2021-2022 academic year. It is accurate that many students have experienced enormous disruptions in their lives and learning, but...
Last March according to the National Center for Education Statistics, just short of 40 percent of U.S. students were still learning entirely remotely. Roughly the same percentage were back attending full-time in-person learning (another 23 percent of students were enrolled...
The pandemic has already taken a hefty academic and emotional toll on students It’s hard to measure academic performance in a way that applies to all. But early in the pandemic, test scores for U.S. students hinted of educational blows...
With Fall fast approaching, parents and teachers alike are wondering if this school year will bring with it some normalcy. But with over three-quarters of school districts offering remote learning options, many are worried the pitfalls of the past year...