This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. This fall, every high school in California was supposed to offer ethnic studies — a one-semester class focused on the struggles and triumphs of marginalized communities. But the class appears stalled, at least for now, after the state budget omitted funding for it...

This story was originally published on EdSource. On a sunny Tuesday morning, students, parents and community members walked atop the bluffs alongside charred foliage and barren lots, back to Marquez Charter Elementary — almost nine months after the Palisades fire ravaged the school site and surrounding region, sparing only three classrooms in its wake.  For...

For Alicia Albek, a home-based child care provider in Los Angeles, Jan. 7 began like a typical Tuesday. She opened her child care program, Alicia’s Place, at 8 a.m. as she had for almost 30 years. Six infants and toddlers arrived ready to play and learn. Around 10:30 a.m., Albek received a call from a...

This story was originally published at EdSource With a state mandate looming, the Los Angeles Unified School District this week joined other districts in preparing to introduce a semester of personal finance by the Legislature’s 2027-28 deadline.  The LAUSD school board gave the go-ahead on Tuesday while stipulating that elements of financial literacy and economic...

This story was originally published on EdSource. Lawmakers waited until the final hours of the final day of the legislative session to resolve two of the most contentious TK-12 education issues: confronting rising antisemitism in schools and clamping down on charter school fraud.  Facing a stalemate on the former issue and a standoff between charter...

She wanted to earn credentials that would allow her to advance in the field, but it was slow going. Briones, 55, was working 40 hours a week at the San Francisco Bay area child care center and tending to her own family. It was tough to find the time and money to attend classes on...

This story was originally published on EdSource. Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools opened in Sacramento in 2014 with high ideals — to help adult students, many formerly incarcerated or new immigrants, to earn a diploma, improve English language skills, or learn a trade.  Now, the school is one reason state legislators are considering increased...

A quarter-century ago, David Saylor shepherded the epic Harry Potter fantasy series onto U.S. bookshelves. As creative director of children’s publisher Scholastic, he helped design and execute the American editions of the first three novels in the late 1990s. But when the manuscript for J.K. Rowling’s fourth book landed on his desk, Saylor sat up...

Jean M. Twenge holds an unusual place among Ph.D. psychologists. For the past two decades, she has toggled between the obscurity of the academy and the glare of academic fame.  The author of two college textbooks and five books for non-academic readers, she is equally at home researching and writing about adolescent mental health, sleep...

Last year, the Los Angeles YMCA held backpack giveaways for migrant families and needy students in public parks and community centers.  This year the giveaways were held in classrooms, afraid that crowds of Hispanic families out in public would prompt an ICE raid. “We’ve had to modify how we do things,” said Omar Torres, senior...