Recent research lays bare an enormous toll facing California families: Child care has become so costly that in most of the state it’s surpassed housing as the largest monthly expense for households with young children. Even families who earn enough...

Preschool attendance is now the norm, and it is increasingly built into K-12 school systems. In many respects, as kindergarten has become the new first grade, preschool is becoming the new kindergarten. In this article, we draw on our four-year...

Some of California’s largest school districts are dropping D and F grades for high school students. While the hope is to help students reengage in school after distance learning and to boost their chances of acceptance into the state’s public...

When it comes to early childhood education, child’s play may well be serious business. Fun and games bring more than just joy. They may be the key to helping children thrive in tough times, experts say. Since young children don’t...

Some of California’s largest school districts are trying an unconventional tactic to help students re-engage in school after distance learning and boost their chances of acceptance into the state’s public colleges: by dropping D and F grades. Los Angeles Unified...

While literacy is often seen as a cornerstone to scholastic achievement, and many parents devote a lot of time and energy into nurturing their small child’s love of reading, studies show that mathematical reasoning ability may be even more crucial...

America’s future is figuratively on the line. After a year and a half of remote and hybrid learning, children across the United States have fallen desperately behind, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co., which estimates that the average American...

With coronavirus numbers creeping up, online learning in flux and public health departments revising their return-to-campus guidelines almost week by week, parents, educators and experts are increasingly turning to summer school to try to figure out fall.

In the wake of the pandemic, which shined a spotlight on the essential nature of early childhood education and care, universal transitional kindergarten is poised to become a reality in California. Although some of the state’s largest districts already offer...

Special education in California has been showered with more than $1 billion in new state and federal money in recent weeks, enough to potentially transform a system that’s been underfunded for decades. Advocates were thrilled with the funding windfall, but...

Finding and treating developmental delays early can have a huge impact on children and their families. Children who are screened early and receive early intervention services show improved social and cognitive skills and have higher academic achievement than children who...

Given how many kindergartners struggled with remote learning this year and the many families who opted out of kindergarten during the pandemic, experts say it’s likely a lot of children might need to play catch-up this summer before heading into...

Of all the students who suffered learning loss during the Covid-19 pandemic and remote schooling, one grade level has educators very concerned: the kindergartners. Kindergartners normally learn skills valuable for the rest of their education; an estimated 450,000 children may...

In the wake of the pandemic, which has cast the essential nature of child care into high relief, President Joe Biden has revealed the outlines of a strategy to rebuild the country’s early education and care infrastructure.

The pandemic has intensified a multi-year trend of dwindling student enrollment statewide, causing a steep drop this year. More than a third of the decline stemmed from 61,000 missing kindergartners.

One of the roles that new parents soon find themselves in—even as they are still learning how to be a parent—is that of teacher. Suddenly, in the eyes of a child, you’re a math whiz, an authority on shoelace tying...

We are all ready to put COVID-19 behind us. But let us be clear: Few people have been squeezed harder by this pandemic than low-income Californians who are trying to get a college degree remotely—while raising children who are also...

Although there are no official, national numbers yet, public school enrollment appears to have fallen significantly this year. Most notably, fewer kids are attending kindergarten. In Pennsylvania, kindergarten enrollment dipped nearly 4% — about twice as large as the overall...

Missing kindergarten has always led to learning gaps. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem by creating a larger than normal cohort of kids that will need extra attention next school year.

Are you concerned that schools will cancel recess?  Are you concerned that as schools return from Covid 19, recess will be eliminated or shortened in order to “catch” children/students up from the lost time?  Here is a Policy Analysis for...

Many California parents dreaded returning to remote learning last fall, but they did it anyway, holding onto hopes of going back to campus at some point during the school year. But for those whose children were just entering kindergarten, the decision...

EdSource asked leaders representing all segments of California’s education system to comment on Gov. Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal. This year, we’ve presented their responses in reverse alphabetical order, which seemed apt for these topsy-turvy times.

Safe, high-quality recess can play an important role in children’s adjustment to school when they begin returning to in-person class, according to a policy brief by Policy Analysis for California Education.

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.