California’s teacher workforce needs stronger stewardship. Our state has established high standards for English, math, science and history that lay out what students must know and be able to do. But, as I have argued before, California has failed to...
Portland Public Schools has a math problem. The district enrolls 13,138 students across its nine major high schools. But enrollment numbers are in a steep decline. By the 2033-34 school year, population researchers at Portland State University project, those same...
A “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education on Feb. 14 threatened federal funding for schools’ race specific programs, including scholarships, financial aid, dormitory floors and graduation ceremonies. Now, as community members are interpreting the impact of new...
While it may be tempting to dodge stress and controversy, superintendents must strategically engage with the political nature of their jobs to create the best possible conditions for students to achieve. That was the message of a panel of former...
As schools grapple with declining enrollment and budget deficits, the only solution for many leaders is to consider closing schools. Here’s how leaders are handling those conversations. Hundreds of concerned family members recently entered Fort Worth ISD’s O.D. Wyatt High...
K–12 educators worry they won’t be able to defend their most vulnerable students as Trump reforms curriculums, strips classroom protections and moves to dismantle the Department of Education. Annenberg Media interviews with K–12 educators, policy experts and nonprofit leaders across...
California schools face potential disruption and destabilization related to increased immigration enforcement practices, with up to one in eight students, and/or their close family members, at risk of direct impacts. As schools increasingly face the possibility of becoming sites of immigration enforcement, many educators are working to understand how to support students and families who could be—or who already are—affected. This commentary suggests best practices educators can follow before and during any immigration enforcement event that affects a student or their family. The authors also highlight how districts can partner with legal organizations to educate students, staff, and families as well as to help students and families who are in deportation proceedings.
On February 10, as part of its mission to “maximize government efficiency,” the Trump administration announced its cancellation of roughly $1 billion in federal contracts for education research. These contracts were held under the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)—the research...
From private school vouchers to threats over “woke” curriculum, the Trump administration has launched a slew of reforms intended to reshape K–12 schools. But it’s still too soon to determine how—or if—those efforts will play out in California...
The SCALE Initiative is using text-based tutoring and research-driven insights to address key educational challenges, with generative AI as the next frontier. The next project for the SCALE Initiative is generative AI. Professor Susanna Loeb and her team, with input...
When I became president of the California State Board of Education in 1975 for the first of two stints in this role (1975–82), three different offices created state curriculum frameworks, instructional materials and assessments, without much coordination or integration. In...
California school districts would receive $2.5 billion through a small cost-of-living increase, plus additional funding to train math and reading coaches, expand summer and after-school programs, and help launch the state’s Master Plan for Career Education in the proposed 2025-26...
After ending my fourth term as president of the California State Board of Education in 2019, I have begun to reflect, in my sixth decade of education policy, about what I did right and what I should have done differently...
Students file out of classrooms after the final bell rings. It’s the end of the day and they shuffle to their parents’ cars or the school bus to catch a ride home or to an extracurricular activity or job. Others...
While an essential and very important part of USC Rossier’s mission is to prepare the next generation of education practitioners, leaders and scholars, we do so much more. Unlike many other academic schools or departments, a school of education is...
Among his campaign promises, Trump has vowed to dismantle the Department of Education, stating his intention to shift control of education back to the states. Additionally, he has proposed withholding funding from schools that recognize transgender students and deporting undocumented...
PACE co-founder Michael W. Kirst, former president of the California Board of Education (1977–1981 and 2011–2019), highlights in a new PACE commentary findings from his Learning Policy Institute report Standards-Based Education Reforms: Looking Back to Looking Forward, which analyzes the evolution of standards-based reforms in the United States. Kirst issues a call to action: California needs a strategic and tactical roadmap to improve instructional capacity in classrooms statewide. The commentary offers four recommendations: return the CDE to its former role of providing technical assistance on how to implement subject matter standards; strengthen COEs for effective capacity building; reorient the district role to focus on instructional capacity; and design the roadmap for targeted district support. Without a unified strategy, California risks more uneven progress. A comprehensive, coordinated approach is essential to equipping educators with the tools they need to deliver equitable, standards-aligned instruction to all students.
With president-elect Donald Trump putting together his cabinet at a record pace, one of his most recent picks is for secretary of Education. Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, has been chosen--but has minimal...
Across the nation, school board meetings have become increasingly contentious in recent years, with parents and community members expressing frustration and anger over a variety of issues. From critical race theory (CRT) to book bans, these meetings have become a...
Education has never been a top priority of President-elect Donald Trump’s, but that doesn’t mean schools — or students — will be immune from Trump’s agenda in the next four years, education experts say. Trump may slash school funding, cut civil...
The re-election of former President Donald Trump is certain to bring a period of conflict,tension and litigation between his White House and California’s political and education leaders whose policies and values the president-elect castigates. It also could potentially have major...
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...
A Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) commentary by UCLA Luskin Professor of Social Welfare Laura Wray-Lake highlights the first time that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote in school board elections in two California cities. Oakland and...
A commentary by PACE co-founder Michael W. Kirst, former president of the California Board of Education (1977–1981 and 2011–2019), highlights findings from his Learning Policy Institute report Standards-Based Education Reforms: Looking Back to Looking Forward, which analyzes the evolution of standards-based reforms in the United States. Kirst issues a call to action: California needs a strategic and tactical roadmap to improve instructional capacity in classrooms statewide. The commentary offers four recommendations towards creating this roadmap: 1. Return the California Department of Education (CDE) to Its Former Role: Providing Technical Assistance on How to Implement Subject Matter Standards. 2. Strengthen County Offices of Education for Effective Capacity Building. 3. Reorient the District Role to Focus on Instructional Capacity. 4. Design the Roadmap for Targeted District Support.
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...
