As a new school year begins, many students — especially students of color, LGBTQ youth, and children in immigrant and mixed-status families — are carrying more than just the weight of academic expectations. They are navigating a world that feels increasingly unsafe, where political threats, discrimination and immigration enforcement have become part of their daily...

In the past decade, California’s public schools have lost about 420,000 students – nearly the population of Oakland. For most districts in the state, fewer students mean fewer dollars, forcing districts to stretch already thin resources. But it doesn’t have to be that way if state leaders equip districts with the resources and freedom to...

In south Los Angeles — where Black children grow up at the intersection of systemic inequities and untapped potential — reading is nothing short of a revolutionary act. Literacy here is more than a classroom skill; it’s a tool of self-discovery, resilience and civic power. As school administrators and educators, we’ve witnessed how access to...

Starting this week, California’s after-school programs will be required to provide more parent notification and consent — flowing from federal executive orders — another top-down mandate for programs already navigating considerable bureaucracy and funding uncertainty. While robust two-way communication between after-school providers and parents is vital, the notion that regulatory checklists and heightened administrative oversight...

This August, a group of wide-eyed sixth graders stepped off a school bus and onto Cal State Northridge’s campus. Some sixth graders look awestruck while others seem nervous. We often hear whispers like, “Do you think we’ll go here someday?” That line of thinking is exactly the point. At PUC Schools — Partnerships to Uplift...

One California teacher used an artificial intelligence tutor to support students below grade level. Another used AI to create lesson plans. A third tried the technology for sorting students into small groups. AI has the potential to address many fundamental barriers in education — if it’s implemented effectively. Headlines tout its rapid adoption and a...

These are lean times in public education. Public school enrollment is declining nationwide and in California. Major federal funding cuts to public education are looming, and California’s own budget woes mean that it will not be able to backfill these shortages.  Lean times should call for intentionality in allocating scarce resources and conservation of the...

This story was originally published on EdSource. For nearly 20 years, academic strategies, support and policies focused on closing long-standing achievement gaps in STEM between boys and girls. These efforts paid off, and by 2019, girls’ achievement in math and science equaled or exceeded boys’. Then the pandemic hit, and the gaps that took two decades to...

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...