California’s public school students are continuing to rebound from the pandemic, with more showing up for class, more graduating and fewer misbehaving at school, according to new data released today. The California School Dashboard, a color-coded snapshot of how students...
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.
When the superintendent in San Francisco Unified proposed closing schools recently, parents launched a prolonged — and successful — protest. The uproar may have died down for now, but the issue is likely to erupt at school boards across the...
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...
I dreamed of following in my mother’s footsteps to become a teacher. We would spend our Augusts decorating her classrooms with cheesy quotes and fun colors. During the year, she would grade assignments and share her elementary school students’ funny...
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...
