Imagine being 4 years old and ready to start preschool, eager to learn, play and make friends, only to find out there’s no classroom available to you because you have a disability. That’s a reality for too many young children despite the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which for 50 years has mandated a...

School’s out for summer, and for many California parents, that means worrying a little extra about how kids will fare over the next few months. Will their new routines and activities be rewarding or will they add stress? Will they stay connected with the mentors who support them?  Will they have setbacks without the structure...

The day education leaders, researchers and advocates have feared is here: It is now clear that student attendance will not return to pre-pandemic rates on its own. The number of students missing more than 10% of the school year skyrocketed in the COVID years from 15% in 2019 to 28% in 2022. Five years after...

Across California, students face a daunting academic reality.  In January, scores from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) showed that students in our state performed significantly below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math. Gaps between low-income students and their wealthier peers widened. As the world becomes more complex, it is critical that youth are...

As spring showers give way to rising temperatures, teachers and families across the country are bracing for another record-breaking hot summer — and this time, they’re heading in with even fewer resources and protections. A slew of funding cuts from the Trump administration impact everything from school heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to...

In the agricultural regions of California’s San Joaquin Valley, schools like Firebaugh Middle School are surrounded by fields. But many of Firebaugh’s students struggle to read that word. If they were to see “field” on the board, they would likely pronounce it as “filed,” a reflection of their unfamiliarity with the varied pronunciations in English....

California needs superheroes. Children, families and child care providers are in danger of losing access to healthcare and early childhood education funding. Yet the only ones being saved now are corporate billionaires known as the “Silicon Six,” who paid $278 billion less in taxes than they should under statutory rates. Our working class has helped...

In 1984, I was part of the first responder team sent to 49th Street Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) after one of the country’s first school shootings happened there. Two children were killed, and a dozen children and staff were wounded.  Following that heartbreaking tragedy, I saw the outline of...

As we raised our margarita glasses and dipped into guacamole on Cinco de Mayo, most of us weren’t thinking about why this celebration even matters. Cinco de Mayo commemorates a Mexican victory over French invaders, but May 5, 1862, is also an important day for the United States.  On that day, our country was in...

Few observers were probably surprised when Asian students outscored other students on test scores released by California state this fall. Statewide, and here in Los Angeles, Asian students who completed California’s 2024 assessments showed higher levels of proficiency in reading and math, compared to other racial groups.  Asian kids’ dominance of California’s state tests echoes...