No one wants to close schools. Not the communities that cherish their local school. Not the school boards that want to serve the needs of all their students. Not administrators and school district personnel who have to wade through the...

Closing or consolidating neighborhood schools is a painful decision that no school district or community ever wishes to face, but increasingly it may be on the table due to declining enrollment trends and budgetary pressures. In this episode, host Jason...

Preparation for college and a career is important to economic prosperity. How college and career readiness in schools is defined varies across the state. The College/Career Indicator, adopted by the State Board of Education, integrates eight pathways that demonstrate a...

While the vast majority of students in California—86% of seniors in 2023—graduate from high school, most—56% in 2023—do not complete their A-G requirements, according to an EdSource analysis of data from the California Department of Education. EdSource’s analysis found that...

A Hayward elementary school struggling to boost low test scores and dismal student attendance is spending $250,000 in federal money for an organization called Woke Kindergarten to train teachers to confront white supremacy, disrupt racism and oppression and remove those...

Between 2007 and 2022, California saw its K–12 public school enrollment decrease by more than 390,000 students, or more than 6 percent statewide, according to data from the state’s Department of Education. The baby bust is a large contributor to...

In the first glimpse of California’s K-12 schools’ year-over-year progress since the pandemic,  graduation rates hit some of their highest levels ever, absenteeism dropped significantly, and hundreds of districts showed academic improvements. But despite a few bright spots, most of...

The California School Dashboard is back in full color for the first time in four years. The dashboard, which the California Department of Education will release on Friday, is the state’s academic accountability and improvement tool designed for parents and...

In its ongoing commitment to foster development of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) identities in girls and nonbinary youth, the Fleet Science Center proudly showcases three key programs that San Diegans can engage with now. Expanded learning initiatives allow...

As districts consider closures to cope with budgetary declines, new research adds to concerns that schools with higher enrollments of Black students are more likely than other schools to be shut down. “The big picture is that race plays a...

Roughly four dozen Fort Worth ISD campuses are less than 70% occupied, making them likely targets for future closings.Fort Worth ISD officials have discussed the need to make some hard decisions due to challenges driven by dwindling enrollments and underutilized...

Two years after California schools reopened their classrooms to in-person instruction following the Covid-19 pandemic, students continue to struggle—both academically and emotionally. Both of these factors are deeply connected and recovery requires a team effort, according to panelists at the...

This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Panelists included Heather J. Hough, Policy Analysis for California Education, Stanford University...

Closing schools is, of course, often a turbulent experience for communities, families and students. But leaders can take some steps to reduce distress with an eye toward equity, says Carrie Hahnel, a senior associate partner for policy and evaluation at...

Each year about 2 percent of U.S. public schools permanently close their doors, a trend that has translated in recent years to roughly 1,000 school closures annually. Budgetary constraints or low academic performance are typically cited as justification, but advocates...

Between 20-plus years of plunging birth rates and, more recently, the historically unprecedented fact that more Americans are now moving out of California than into it, state demographics are changing profoundly. This is why the Golden State lost 800,000 in...

A bill signed over the weekend by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Bill 714, will begin to provide much-needed guidance and data for teachers like King, who often don’t have training or experience in how to teach newcomer students — defined...

Public school enrollment is declining across the country, and it won’t bounce back anytime soon. The steep drops in K-12 enrollment in the aftermath of COVID-19 exacerbated a much longer-term trend rooted in falling birth rates and slowing immigration. These...

A trio of resources recently published by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) — a policy brief “Addressing Inequities in College Preparatory Course-Taking,” a report Inequality in Academic Preparation for College and a resource guide Insights and Strategies from Exemplar...

As hundreds of thousands of migrant students enroll in U.S. schools annually, districts are responding in a variety of ways to help welcome students to schools, as well as support their academic and social needs once they are enrolled. The...

Chancellor Carol Christ and several other top UC Berkeley officials say the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today, that public and private universities cannot use race as a factor in admitting students, is regrettable. They warned the decision will reduce opportunities...

For decades, selective U.S. colleges and universities have considered, among other factors, whether applicants are from underrepresented minority groups, including Black, Hispanic and Native American. For just as long, critics of affirmative action have questioned whether race-conscious admissions policies are...

Newcomer is a term typically used to describe students who recently arrived in U.S. schools–but what recently means is not uniformly agreed upon. A new report from PACE, written by Californians Together Director of Newcomer Policy and Practice Sam Finn...