The first time a mother in our study heard her daughter say “Mami,” it wasn’t through speech. It came through a communication tablet at school. Sofía, a 6 year old with autism, pressed a button, and a digital voice spoke the word her mother had waited years to hear. That moment carried more than joy....

California’s schools are facing a dual challenge: closing persistent academic gaps while rebuilding an educator workforce stretched thin. Unacceptably high numbers of students are testing below state standards, 50% in reading and more than 60% in math, according to state assessment data from the California Department of Education. Chronic absenteeism, while improving from pandemic peaks,...

Imagine a restaurant that is losing customers. Instead of cutting back, the owner hires more servers. As revenues decline, the waiters demand higher pay and more busboys to help them serve fewer customers.  That might sound like the premise of an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. But something very similar is happening right now...

America is celebrating its 250th birthday this year. At a moment when new technologies and other societal changes are reshaping how people access information, make decisions, and participate in civic life, it is more important than ever for anyone with a role in public education to reevaluate and assess the question:  What steps are being...

If you spend enough time in public schools, you start to notice a pattern: Every year, districts warn of another round of cuts, another school closing, another program squeezed out of existence. Families hear about declining enrollment; teachers hear about shortages and burnout. Somewhere in the middle of all this, a quiet idea has taken...

One year has passed since the devastating wildfires across Southern California. Recovery, I’ve learned, does not happen on a predictable timeline; it is a slow, uneven and deeply human process. For thousands of child care providers across Los Angeles, this was an arduous journey with unique challenges — and it remains far from over.  Los...

How do I begin when those reading this piece have a completely different experience in navigating their bodies through this existence? Imagine knowing exactly what you want to say, but the words don’t make it from your brain to your lips. You know how you want to move, but your body fails to comply. You’re...

In our country, conversations about improving student performance typically focus on curriculum standards, class size, testing, teacher pay and school technology. These debates are certainly important, but they overlook a quieter factor that affects learning every single day: children’s oral health. As a practicing dentist in Montclair, California, I regularly see children whose ability to...

This story was originally published on EdSource. Districts across California face a looming crisis as funding freezes, proposed cuts and a government shutdown jeopardize critical resources for millions of students and threaten to disrupt classrooms, staffing and services. Federal volatility leaves even well-designed state and district funding systems vulnerable, and leaders must act now to ensure every dollar...

America’s public education system is well overdue for a strategic shift in how we help students discover their talents and navigate toward their futures. While most high school career pathways and vocational programs are well-intentioned, research consistently shows that the majority of young people start solidifying their essential identity, their interests and their sense of their...