March 19, 2025 | Willamette Week

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...

March 6, 2025 | USC Annenberg Media

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...

November 6, 2024 | EdSource

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...

May 9, 2022 | The 74

A recent review of school guidance and communications from the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention argues that the federal agency failed often in its goal of providing timely, actionable information to states and districts around COVID-19 safety protocols. As...

Commentary author
Summary

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected English learners (ELs) across participation rates, learning setbacks, health concerns, and parental disconnection. California's plan to reopen K–12 schools in fall 2021 coincides with a $15.3 billion influx from the American Rescue Plan to assist in reopening safely and address student needs. Each district must outline their use of these funds by June 1, 2021, with 20 percent dedicated to tackling learning loss. To benefit ELs, ten evidence-based recommendations are proposed. These include comprehensive fund use, leveraging cultural assets, tailored support, high-quality programs addressing language and culture, multilingual health services, parent engagement, educator training, reduced class sizes, and hybrid learning models. The piece emphasizes learning from past funding mistakes to provide progressive and equitable education for all, emphasizing the diverse needs of ELs in California's public schools.

Summary

A wide-ranging coalition of research, education, and community organizations from across California today introduced and endorsed a new framework based on research and lived experiences in schools outlining a restorative restart for public schools in California as students return to campus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 10, 2020 | Politifact

As thousands of school districts figure out how and to what degree they will reopen this fall, President Donald Trump railed against the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The administration has tightly linked reopening schools to...