Oakland mom Azlinah Tambu vividly remembers the moment that would transform her from the law-abiding, neighborhood school mom into a trespassing activist threatened with jail time. For months, Tambu, whose two children were then in elementary school, and others had...
San Francisco must do everything it can to avert a state takeover of its schools. That’s the stark message brought by Carl A. Cohn, the only outside educator to be brought in to help the team of city administrators set...
For the first time since COVID-19 hit, California students demonstrated slight across-the-board gains in math, English and science according to statewide standardized testing data released Thursday. The news offers a glimmer of hope for some in the face of concerns...
As the San Francisco Unified School District deliberates over a tentative list of school closures, it will have to account for the fact that the district’s enrollment has declined for several years—and could fall much further. But San Francisco’s public...
Falling enrollments and gloomy economics point to the inevitable: Many school districts in California will close schools over the next decade. So far, they have been mainly elementary and middle schools, but high schools, spared until now, won’t escape, a...
English learners (ELs) are the fastest-growing demographic in US public schools. Migration to industrialized nations like the US will continue to drive that growth. By 2031, 72% of jobs in the US will require postsecondary education or training.2 English is...
California’s public schools have a numbers problem—and it’s not just that their students don’t score very highly in national tests of mathematics ability. Their other numbers problem is the financial squeeze posed by declining enrollment, especially in large urban districts...
When global events unfold, the ripple effects often land in unexpected places—like a classroom in Oakland, California. Increased refugee resettlement, immigration at the U.S. southern border and the buses sent by Texas to cities like New York have created a...
When a new intervention or program is introduced, the conventional wisdom among many seasoned educators is, “This too shall pass.” This attitude doesn’t mean an intervention is not promising or educators are not flexible and innovative. Rather, it emerges from...
Bay Area schools have experienced the third largest decline in student enrollment in California over the past 10 years, as families left high-cost coastal areas for more affordable inland cities and states, new data shows. The region is expected to...
To get students back in classrooms, Oakland Unified decided to test out a simple solution—paying students for perfect attendance. The Equitable Design Project, which just ended its second trial year at Oakland Unified, gives students $50 every Friday if they...
We aim for the San Diego County Office Of Education (SDCOE) to be a place where, in accordance with our board goal of providing educational opportunities and support so that all students are successful, we prioritize the specific needs of...
The wealth gap in California is wider than in most other states, and studies show that providing financial literacy education in school can result in a higher rate of fiscally responsible actions, including avoiding high risk loans, beginning a retirement...
In this Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) Learning session hosted in partnership with the LEARN Network, panelists discussed scaling evidence-based products and practices and had a detailed discussion on how to effectively implement and scale educational interventions across different contexts...
Explore the vital role of rigorous coursework in academic success, including equitable access to preparatory schooling and courses from elementary and middle school through secondary education. In this session, uncover the effects of unequal access to challenging courses on educational...
California high school students may have an additional course added to the eight that are needed to graduate. These courses, such as the ethnic studies requirement passed in 2021, all entered the school curriculum at the direction of the State...
Technology transforms nearly every aspect of our lives: the economy, the environment, health care, and our social lives. Today, 92 percent of jobs across most industries require some form of digital skills, underscoring the importance of computer science (CS) for career and college preparation. But it’s not just about jobs—it’s about equipping students with critical thinking skills to examine the biased algorithms and the data sets they draw from, which could influence the way students think and make decisions about voting and social justice, as well as their own relationships and well-being. Cultivating these critical skills with technology begins with K–12 education. While there is an urgency to meet this technological moment, it’s essential that we build the systems necessary to sustain CS education that is equitable, accessible, and culturally relevant so that it will engage our most underrepresented students.
Chronic absenteeism skyrocketed during the pandemic, creating headaches for teachers and school administrators eager to bring students back to regular classroom routines. But for many schools, chronic absenteeism is a source of financial strain as well. For schools in six...
A conversation with Michelle D. Young, Dean of the Berkeley School of Education. Dean Young discusses the significance of leadership development and effective learning experiences for school leaders, particularly emphasizing the need for equity-oriented and culturally responsive leadership. Highlighting the...
Dublin Unified’s new grading policy will go into effect for all 6th through 12th grade classes next year and is part of a national shift toward “equity grading”—a controversial concept that moves away from traditional grading to better measure how...
Statewide, nearly a quarter of K-12 students remained chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year—a decline of about 5 percentage points from the previous school year, but a sign of the lingering effects of the pandemic that led to sharp...
It’s a debate districts are having across the Bay Area and the country, given increasing concerns over grade inflation, racial inequities on report cards and at the most basic level, whether an A means students actually mastered the subject matter...
I’ve been screaming from the rooftops about chronic absenteeism for over a year now. The phrase refers to when a student misses at least 10 percent of days in a school year and can lead to all sorts of negative...
Teaching in a school like mine, you get insulted a lot. Not by the students, who are (mostly) wonderful, but by conservative critics who judge and misjudge the performance of schools and districts that serve low-income, minority, and immigrant communities...
No one wants to close schools. Not the communities that cherish their local school. Not the school boards that want to serve the needs of all their students. Not administrators and school district personnel who have to wade through the...
