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Polling data: Presidents split the public on schools
With the presidential election less than six months away, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will soon unveil their platforms and begin rallying voters around their agendas for 2025 and beyond. And while K–12 education typically spends little time in the national spotlight, the campaign will bring far greater clarity to the candidates’ positions on contentious...
By Kevin Mahnken | June 13, 2024
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Parents of children with special needs charge LAUSD limiting services, holding back information
Los Angeles Unified parents of children with special needs say they are facing a backlash after the district tried to remove members of a state panel advocating for improved services for the students. The Improving Special Education Resolution, aimed at making services better for special needs children, was proposed by members of the Community Advisory...
By Katie VanArnam | June 11, 2024
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Lahaina teachers say more help is needed for struggling West Maui schools
Teacher retention and student safety are top of mind for West Maui families and school and union leaders as an academic year marked by deadly wildfires comes to a close. Since August, enrollment at Lahaina’s four public schools has dropped by roughly 1,000 students. Some families are still hesitant to return their children to the...
By Megan Tagami | June 10, 2024
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An early education rebound: After COVID disruptions, report shows pre-K enrollment hitting record levels
Four-year-olds entering pre-K in Mississippi’s Lamar County Schools don’t spend their days on worksheets or bent over papers practicing their letters. But they do have plenty of books, Play-Doh and time for friends. And some leave for kindergarten knowing how to read. “But it’s not because we’re hounding them,” said Heather Lyons, the program’s coordinator....
By Linda Jacobson | June 6, 2024
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LA parents concerned over school safety as violence spikes around campuses
Emily Juarez no longer feels safe letting her two older children ride public transportation or walk to their LA Unified school after an increase in reports of violence near district campuses. “I stopped maybe a couple of weeks ago,” Juarez said last month. “I see the stuff that’s happening. I do see the news and...
By Jinge Li | June 5, 2024
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California schools want more shade trees to combat extreme heat
Schoolyards are hot and getting hotter, but only a tiny fraction of California’s grade school students can play in the shade. Researchers and advocates are pushing the state to allocate money for green schoolyards, which can include trees, grass or gardens in place of the flat asphalt or rubber play surfaces at most schools. With the...
By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde | June 3, 2024
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‘Tip of the iceberg’: Student homelessness in LAUSD worse than data show, warns Carvalho
LA Unified senior Kamryn Williams is studying for finals this week — in the Chrysler sedan where she lives with her mother and their dog. Kamryn, 18, who graduates next month from Hamilton High School in Culver City and will attend college in the fall, is one of about 15,000 homeless students enrolled in Los...
By Ben Chapman | May 29, 2024
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Data reveals few community college transfers complete a bachelor’s degree
A recent report has revealed only 16 percent of community college transfers earn a four-year degree with Black, Latino and low-income students taking the brunt of the completion outcomes. The data, released by the Community College Research Center and the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, found about one-third of community college students transfer to a...
By Joshua Bay | May 23, 2024
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70 years later, the untold history of Brown v. Board: Meet all the families behind the 5 school cases that swayed the Supreme Court
Seventy years ago this month, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board that racial segregation of children in America’s public schools was unconstitutional. Today, we’re commemorating the anniversary by relaunching our special Untold Stories of Brown v. Board microsite, dedicated to sharing the stories of the lesser-known students, parents and plaintiffs who joined...
By Steve Snyder | May 22, 2024
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Critics call ‘consumer reports’ of school curriculum slow to adapt to science of reading
When Tami Morrison, a teacher and mom from outside Youngstown, Ohio, discovered Superkids, she thought she’d found the perfect way to help young children learn to read. Kids like her daughter Clara, a second grader, glommed on to its rich characters; she’s especially fond of Lily, who wears her black hair in a short bob...
By Linda Jacobson | May 20, 2024