In response to the educational challenges posed by COVID-19, a partnership between The Accelerated Schools (TAS) and the expanded learning provider, arc, aimed to revamp learning strategies for older students in South Los Angeles. Recognizing the inadequacy of a one-size-fits-all model, they reimagined a student-centered approach tailored to address the complex needs of older students in a virtual learning setting. Amidst pandemic disruptions, they observed that older students, often juggling familial and economic responsibilities, struggled with remote learning. The collaboration utilized a mix of synchronous and asynchronous models, leveraging community-based organizations (CBOs) to reinforce instructional content, support student needs, and enhance engagement. Lessons highlighted the need for robust collaboration between schools and CBOs, shared grading systems for consistency, and ongoing student input in shaping educational strategies. Their experience underscored the value of this partnership in creating innovative, adaptable learning approaches that better serve students during unprecedented times.
Long Beach schools, along with most other schools across the state and country, shut down their campuses last March to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. At the time, officials estimated the closures would last about a month. It’s...
Tony Thurmond, California’s state superintendent of public instruction, didn’t expect the school closures across the state last year to last more than a few weeks. County school superintendents that he spoke with about the pandemic response weren’t too concerned either...
A long-awaited deal to encourage California’s schools to reopen may provide families hope, but it’s unlikely to swiftly improve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political standing. It has been almost a year since California schools shut their doors indefinitely to combat the...
Nearly a year after schools closed campuses, most of Sacramento County’s 250,000 students are still attending school via distance learning, all while thousands of students in neighboring counties managed to return to in-person instruction months ago. Many parents have hit...
The commentary is a guidebook for districts, schools, and expanded learning providers in better serving California's 60,000 foster care youth amid the pandemic. For these vulnerable youth, COVID-19 worsened existing trauma, isolation, and educational disruptions due to frequent home and school changes. Collaboration among public systems and community partners is crucial to create caring systems acknowledging individual strengths and needs. To bolster pandemic recovery, the approach should prioritize tailored programs by consulting foster youth about their needs, amplifying community expertise, employing staff knowledgeable about schools, and ensuring accessible health services and multilingual resources. Creativity, flexibility, and continuous learning are vital in addressing the immediate and long-term needs of foster care youth, emphasizing constant evaluation through their perspectives for effective support.
As districts, schools, and families navigate a new normal following the abrupt end of in-person schooling this spring, students’ learning opportunities vary enormously across the nation. Access to devices and broadband internet and a secure learning environment are just a...
The transition to distance learning for all students has been a challenge, but particularly for those in transitional kindergarten through third grade who have not yet learned to read or lack experience using computers. A new brief from Policy Analysis...
Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar issues a statement in response to Governor Newsom’s announcement of a Safe Schools for All Plan. SCUSD continues its planning for in-person instruction as part of its Return Together Plan.
Over the past 10 months, K-12 school districts in California have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help reduce the spread of the virus in spring 2020, districts largely transitioned to distance-learning, with some or all of...
To support California’s school districts and county offices of education as they navigate the new terrain of education during the COVID-19 pandemic, three of the state’s leading education-focused organizations have joined forces to create the Hybrid Distance (HD) Learning Collaborative...
Child advocates and school officials fear the enrollment drop and educational disruptions for the young children could widen existing racial achievement gaps, and endanger school financing in the future.
California’s long-awaited roadmap to reshape early childhood care and education in the state took a critical first step on Tuesday with the release of a first-ever 10-year master plan, but some advocates say more specifics are needed to ensure progress.
As the pandemic rages mostly unchecked in much of the country, some of these families wonder if they’re being punished for choosing to keep their kids home. Providing an equal education to kids learning in person and to those learning...
As coronavirus cases spike across California, Bay Area school districts continue to weigh when and how to reopen. San Jose Unified School District recently announced plans to open classrooms in January; Oakland Unified has yet to set a date. But...
Policy Analysis for California Education Director of Strategic Partnerships and State Education Policy Expert Dr. Alix Gallagher discusses the biggest challenges facing in K-12 education.
When Sacramento City schools started back up again just before Labor Day this year, parents were scrambling to figure out their kids’ online learning schedule for the fall. The teachers union and the Sacramento City Unified School District still hadn’t...
Headaches, anxiety and exhaustion caused by never-ending video meetings are no longer exclusively for adults trying to work from home during the pandemic. Some schools have started the fall semester with remote-learning setups that mimic what a full day of...
Anticipating that the coronavirus would create a turbulent and financially unstable year, the Legislature agreed in June to fund schools at the same levels of student attendance in 2020-21 as in 2019-20. Most school districts welcomed the predictable funding.
When schools reopen for the 2020–21 school year, they will look dramatically different than before the pandemic. Whether in person, online, or some combination of the two, it will be critical that each student receives rigorous instruction and the academic...
Wanted for the new school year: high-quality remote-learning experiences to engage and benefit all students. In the current pandemic reality, educators can improve learning, we believe, by finding better ways to use and structure students' work time. That's true whether...
There is little that is likely to be regular about the coming school year. Hermosa and most other districts in California are beginning the year exclusively with distance learning.
Today, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and Results for America released two new EdResearch for Recovery briefs from leading education researchers addressing important COVID-related challenges facing policymakers, educators, and parents: distance learning and supporting immigrant students during COVID-19...
The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide reckoning about institutional racism have cast a bright light on longstanding inequities in our educational system. On August 17, 2020 we heard from UC Davis experts about the latest research into educational disparities for...
