August 8, 2022 | The Mercury News

California kids experienced the second-largest increase in depression and anxiety among U.S. states from 2016 to 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in lockdown orders and school closures, a national child welfare advocacy group reported Monday. The Annie E. Casey...

August 4, 2022 | Times Higher Education

With university set to become a near-universal expectation for high-school graduates, the separate silos in which K12 and higher education have traditionally operated are increasingly being seen as barriers to equity. But what, realistically, can universities do to bridge the...

Supporting Principals

Commentary authors
Tomika Romant
Summary

When the pandemic hit in 2020, school principals had to pivot, navigating the virtual world of engagement and instruction as well as the physical and mental toll of COVID-19 on students and staff. 2021–22 was supposed to be better, but for many principals, it was worse. Schools went back in person, but staffing shortages created daily challenges to covering even the basics, and COVID testing and tracing became additional urgent demands on already overwhelmed staff. Educators were emotionally and sometimes physically exhausted due to COVID.

June 21, 2022 | Early Learning Nation

Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, children throughout the world have had limited (or no) access to consistent, structured teaching. From early in the pandemic, researchers and early learning specialists sounded the alarm over the probability of significant losses in reading and...

June 3, 2022 | Cal Matters

During the pandemic, public education became a highly contentious arena for vitriol around masking, vaccines and reopening schools. But those tensions did not culminate in a heated election for California’s top schools chief. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond...

The Importance of Formative Evaluation in California’s Universal Pre–K Rollout

Commentary authors
Anna J. Markowitz
Jade V. Marcus Jenkins
Summary

California’s plan to expand the existing Transitional Kindergarten program as part of a universal pre–K program for all four-year-olds marks a substantial investment in the state’s children and families. In order to ensure a successful rollout, California should learn from recent research on other states’ pre–K programs and fund research infrastructure for formative evaluation that will help identify and address implementation challenges, drive continuous quality improvement, and ultimately ensure the provision of rich, developmentally appropriate classrooms for all California children.

May 19, 2022 | Daily Breeze

To the delight of the California School Boards Association, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest budget proposal has adopted what the CSBA calls “COVID attendance relief.” Newsom’s proposal would allow local educational agencies to be funded based either on their current-year average...