In-Person Learning for the Whole Child
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Learning hubs are being implemented in California and across the US to provide in-person education supports to distance learning students. This brief explores a prevalent learning hub model, including considerations for policymakers, schools, and expanded learning partners. Guidance for hub design and operations is provided, along with policy levers that support the model. The brief is part of a series on how expanded learning programs and staff can support students during pandemic recovery.
A Foundation for Rebuilding to Support the Whole Child
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The partnership between schools and expanded learning programs is crucial to build equitable support systems for children and their families. California's school reopening guidance encourages coordination between these entities to meet the students' needs during the pandemic. This brief provides key principles for building successful partnerships informed by insights from California leaders and practitioners. It is part of a series on how expanded learning programs can support students during pandemic recovery.
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This brief addresses the challenges that have arisen in California's transitional kindergarten through third grade distance learning during the pandemic. It offers promising practices and policy changes that can benefit students, parents, and teachers involved in distance learning.
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California is the wealthiest state in the US, yet its school funding is insufficient to meet educational goals due to the high cost of living. A series of 12 charts provide an explanation of what is happening, with solutions outlined in the final section of an accompanying report.

Insights from California's Local Control Funding Formula
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This policy brief focuses on California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide guidance for involving the public in goal setting and resource distribution decisions. It highlights weak accountability for using public funds by LCFF’s target populations, low awareness and engagement among stakeholders, and a gap between interest and participation. To improve engagement, it suggests investing in communication, targeting a range of stakeholders, and capacity building.
A Summary Brief
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California schools' funding had improved, but still fell short of what is necessary to meet the state's goals. Now, schools face three major challenges: declines in student achievement and social-emotional well-being due to COVID-19, increased costs associated with distance learning and school reconfiguration, and the need to tighten budgets. Securing necessary funding will require an enormous and sustained effort from many stakeholders to improve schools and student outcomes and strengthen the economic and social outlook for future generations.

Pivoting Amid COVID-19
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This brief outlines Ayer Elementary's journey of continuous improvement since 2016 and how their organizational conditions were tested during the COVID-19 crisis. Despite the challenges, the school invested in improvement practices to strengthen student engagement in distance learning and build staff capacity for when students return to school.
Removing Barriers to Data Accessibility
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Parental engagement is essential to improve academic outcomes for all students, particularly low-income, Black, and Latinx students. Distance learning has intensified the need for parental support, but state policies and tools for engagement are inadequate. Local Educational Agencies can remove barriers to data access and support parent engagement by following three key principles and taking related actions.

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How can schools provide high-quality distance and blended learning during the pandemic? This brief includes a mix of rigorous evidence from extant studies, data from interviews with practitioners who described their learnings from informal experimentation during the spring of 2020, and expert researchers who thought about how to apply research to the current context.
A COVID-19 Recovery Strategy
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The brief argues that community school strategies can help address the social and learning impacts of COVID-19, by reforming underlying classroom, school, and district behaviors and systems that prevent student-centered collaboration, partnership, and teaching. The focus should be on student-centered learning, integrated teacher and student supports, collaborative leadership and practice, and the centrality of family and student relationships. The brief encourages all schools to adopt a community school approach, which can serve as a sustainable and successful investment.

What California’s Leaders Must Do Next to Advance Student Learning During COVID-19
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Governor Newsom announced that rising COVID-19 infections would require remote learning for K-12 schools in California counties. However, without quality remote education at scale, up to 1.1 million students could fail to graduate high school, affecting low-income, Black, and Latinx students the most. California's leaders must prioritize equity, strengthen teaching and learning requirements, and ensure adequate monitoring, support, and resources with deep attention to equity to avoid further differences in opportunity and achievement among districts and students.
Research to Guide Distance and Blended Instruction
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This article provides 10 recommendations based on the PACE report to help educators and district leaders provide high-quality instruction through distance and blended learning models in the 2020-21 school year. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, research can guide decisions about student learning and engagement. These recommendations can be used as a framework to prioritize quality instruction.

A Rural District’s Response to COVID-19
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COVID-19 has disrupted California’s education system in fundamental ways. Districts across the state are quickly creating strategies to serve all students, and many are designing their response around the needs of their most vulnerable students. This brief highlights the response of Mother Lode Union School District (MLUSD) to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which district staff and teachers were able to collaborate—despite the unprecedented crisis—to meet student needs.
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Governor Newsom suggested a staggered calendar for the fall to get students back in school. While multi-track calendars have shown slight negative effects on learning, the current situation would have clear learning benefits and help parents and teachers. However, there is no evidence that multi-track calendars can control COVID-19 transmission. Schools should look at evidence from other countries and partner with local communities to test aggressively for the virus if implementing this approach.
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This brief discusses how the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) in California is addressing the challenges of COVID-19 through family engagement and instructional access for English learners. The district has a history of serving all students through bilingual programming and a whole-child approach, and over 40% of its population are classified as English learners. PVUSD is a member of the national League of Innovative Schools and is known for its inclusive, data-driven decision-making.

Evidence from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier Annual Poll
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California voters generally support policies to increase teacher diversity and require high school ethnic studies courses, according to a 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Support for increasing teacher diversity was higher when respondents were informed of its positive impact for students of color. Support varied by race/ethnicity and political party, with white and Republican respondents showing less support than African American, Latinx, Democrat, and Independent respondents.

A Summary of the PACE Policy Research Panel
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Over 725,000 California K-12 students received special education services in 2018-19, but the system is not always equipped to serve them. Early screening, identification, and intervention, as well as better transitions, educator support, and mental/physical health services, need improvement. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework in schools could address SWDs' needs, but it requires additional resources and policy support to improve educator capacity and collaboration between agencies while systematizing data on SWDs.
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California is failing to identify and serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with developmental disabilities compared to national averages. The transition from infant/toddler services to preschool services is hindered by various factors such as the lack of a systematic screening and child tracking system, interagency coordination, and family/staff preparation for transitions. Significant investments are required to improve the state of early education for children with disabilities in California.
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This brief discusses how California's System of Support uses differentiated assistance (DA) to provide support to districts and boost student group performance levels. It analyzes the districts eligible for DA in 2019 based on their students with disabilities' (SWD) performance on State Priority Areas (SPAs) and indicators. The findings show that over half of the 333 eligible districts were driven by SWD performance in SPAs 4 (Pupil Achievement) and 5 (Pupil Engagement), highlighting intersectional challenges facing SWD that districts can address through their continuous improvement process.
Lessons from Other States
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This report discusses the challenges California faces in improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities (SWDs) and how inclusion in general education classrooms has positive benefits. It examines strategies used by Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida to improve inclusion rates and makes four recommendations for California, including implementing a data system, targeted support for districts with poor inclusion rates, and an inclusion tool for schools and districts to assess their practices.
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This brief outlines the necessary steps to integrate care systems and improve outcomes for California's children. It suggests forming a statewide interagency leadership council and recommends policy reforms to promote collaboration, integration, and service delivery. The goal is to create a "Whole System" approach that integrates child-serving agencies and organizations. A full commitment from the state administration is needed to achieve these solutions at scale.
Views from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
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In the run-up to 2020 elections, where do California voters stand on key education policy issues? This report examines findings and trends from the 2020 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Key findings include rising pessimism about California education and elected officials, continued concern about gun violence in schools and college affordability, and negative opinions about higher education. However, there is substantial support for increased spending, especially on teacher salaries.

A Progress Report One Year After Getting Down to Facts II
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The 2018 Getting Down to Facts II research project drew attention to California’s continued need to focus on the achievement gap, strengthen the capacity of educators in support of continuous improvement, and attend to both the adequacy and stability of funding for schools. Based on the nature of the issues and the progress made in 2019, some clear next steps deserve attention as 2020 unfolds.

Abundant Hopes, Scarce Evidence of Results—Executive Summary
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Public education in the US is widely criticized and everyone wants to reform it, but there's no consensus on the best strategy for improvement. This report focuses on school choice, a reform avenue gaining steam in California and the US, to explore policies and institutional changes that can boost children's learning.
Abundant Hopes, Scarce Evidence of Results
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Public education receives criticism from various stakeholders. Despite satisfaction with local elementary schools, overall quality concerns prevail. There is no consensus on the best approach to improve schools. PACE report investigates school choice, which is a reform strategy gaining popularity in California and beyond.