We end the last podcast of the year with an appreciation of teachers. Respected educator Ken Futernick describes Teacher Stories, a website he founded where parents and students can describe how teachers changed their lives; two contributors read their expressions of gratitude. And fifth-grade teacher Thomas Courtney, featured on Teacher Stories, tells us how he finds energy and joy connecting with two generations of students in his 22 years in San Diego schools.

For background on these issues, check out the following:

• California school districts, charter schools to get $6.8 billion, in varying amounts, of federal aid
• Covid relief by district in California, an EdSource database
• Congress approves billions more in Covid relief for schools and college
• Teacher Stories, Ken Futernick’s teacher appreciation website
• San Diego teacher Thomas Courtney’s interview with Ken Futernic

This week, Carl Cohn talks with Scott Marion, executive director of the Center for Assessment, who talks about these crucial questions.  Tantalizingly, Marion suggests that the impact of the pandemic on academic assessments could result in long-term changes in how we view and administer tests — for the better.

Carl has fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and now increasingly move to reopening. 

Interested in learning more about the Center for Assessment?  Check out their website: 

• The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment

This special podcast series is hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

“Education During Covid: California Families Struggle To Learn,” tracks how Covid-19 has affected a cross section of 16 families with children in pre-K through high school.

“College and Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted” — the focus of the podcast — takes a deep look into how the pandemic has disrupted the freshman year in college and interrupted some students’ plans to enroll. Márquez profiles three students working full time to shore up their families’ lost income. Gordon explains what the CSU is doing to keep students from dropping out. Ciotta outlines future plans for the project.

For background on these issues, check out the following:

College And Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted

• How counseling aims to help CSU freshmen graduate in four years
• When helping family comes before going to college

Education During Covid: California Families Struggle To Learn

• Finding joy amid tragedy, California families look ahead with hope
• Disappointing grades, technology glitches and glimpses of learning fun

This week, we take stock of the master plan from several angles.

EdSource early education reporter Karen D’Souza provides context for the document and what might happen next.

Kim Johnson, director of California’s Department of Social Services, describes the critical and expanding role of her department in consolidating child care programs and services to make them more consistent and comprehensive. 

Marlene Zepeda, professor emeritus in the Department of Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, explains the importance of the master plan’s recognition of the need to identify and assess dual-language learners at an early age. 

For background on these issues, check out the following:

• Master Plan for Early Learning and Care: Making California for All Kids
• Another step toward universal preschool in California?
• Preschoolers learning English need to be identified, supported, says California’s master plan
• New Master Plan for Early Learning and Care points way to California for all (commentary) 
• Inside California’s new master plan to reshape early education and child care

Plus, in a departing interview with EdSource, CSU Chancellor Tim White, who is stepping down after 8 years, relates that despite the pandemic, the 23-campus system had historically high first-year student retention rates, and is on target to meet ambitious 4- and 6-year graduation rates by 2025. He also discusses the challenges ahead for next year’s budget.

For background on these issues, check out the following:

• Public Counsel’s complaint in Cayla J v. State of California
• Public Counsel’s Sept. 8, 2020 letter to State Supt. Tony Thurmond and State Board President Linda Darling Hammond and their response (see pages 67 to 84 of the complaint)
• Up to 1 million California students may still lack connectivity during distance learning
• Retiring CSU Chancellor White says pandemic changes can benefit higher ed
• Next CSU chancellor pledges to improve graduation rates, despite the pandemic
• Newsom’s proposed budget cuts to higher education force difficult choices ahead

Also this week, President-elect Joe Biden named Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security, signaling that refugees and DACA recipients will again be welcome in the United States. Mayorkas, brought to America as an infant by parents fleeing from Fidel Castro’s Cuba, implemented the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program while head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Obama administration.  We listen to a passage from a speech in which he describes a life-changing visit to a refugee camp on the Somalia-Kenya border. 

For background on these issues, check out the following:

• Biden’s nominee for homeland security chief likely to change immigration policies affecting children and youth
• Trump administration refuses to accept new applications for DACA program
• Many undocumented youth remain in limbo after Supreme Court’s DACA decision
• GiveThx  – website designed to strengthen students social and emotional skills through expressions of gratitude
• Parents’ appreciation for teachers grows, but sentiments are simpler

The LAOs’ K-12 expert, Edgar Cabral, discusses why and previews a dilemma facing Gov. Newsom and the Legislature: whether to use the financial bonanza to pay off $12.5 billion in deferrals – the late payments to school districts they imposed to avoid funding cuts in this year’s budget– or give districts more money to spend next year.

Also, this year’s presidential election exposed a public largely ignorant of the basics of the democratic process. Erica Hodgin, co-author of a new report by UC Riverside and UCLA on the sad state of civics education in schools, suggests ways to rejuvenate it, including a new incentive, the State Seal of Civic Engagement.

For background on these issues, check out the following:

• UC Riverside and UCLA report: Reclaiming the Democratic Process in California Schools
• High school teachers in California wary of taking on contentious Biden-Trump election
• Impeachment trial a ‘teachable moment’ for government, history teachers
• Task force urges remake of civics education
• In ‘remarkable’ turnaround, California schools can expect huge one-time windfall next year, LAO says
• Guide to California’s education budget deferrals: pros, cons and costs of delayed payments
• California Legislature approves state budget; here are the highlights for education funding

“Look for plans to increase Pell Grants and unprecedented attention to community colleges,” she said.

EdSource higher education reporter Ashley Smith highlights other likely priorities, including the renewal, by executive order of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). And Louis delves into how preschool and K-12 will benefit – assuming a potentially divided Congress goes along.

With Covid-19 infection rates soaring, three more counties were reclassified as “purple,” meaning schools can’t reopen for at least several weeks. Christopher Hoffman, superintendent of Elk Grove Unified, the state’s fifth largest district near Sacramento, talks about the impact of a further delay in going back to in-person instruction.

For background on this issue, check out the following:

• Community colleges find an advocate in future First Lady Jill Biden
• President-elect Joe Biden’s expansive education agenda expected to draw greater scrutiny
• Education transition team for Biden administration announced, with Linda Darling-Hammond as “lead”
• Rising Covid-19 rates halt school reopening plans in three California counties
• Education and the coronavirus crisis: What’s the latest?

Pedro Noguera, dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, who debated Prop. 209’s creator Ward Connerly 24 years ago, shares his thoughts on why voters didn’t rescind it in voting down Prop. 16 this week. He discusses what can be done to further the goals of more inclusive college admissions without affirmative action. And he diagnoses why Prop. 15, which would increase taxes on commercial properties, is behind in the vote. 

Also discussing Prop. 15 are supporters Ryan Smith, chief external officer for the Partnership for LA Schools, and Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers. They agree that the energy of the community coalition behind Prop. 15 can be channeled for future tax campaigns even if this one falls short. 

School consultant and finance expert Bob Blattner advises school districts not to count on federal aid to get them through a potentially bleak coming year — while expressing hope that a Biden administration and Congress may funnel significant stimulus aid to schools.

And Jessica Ramos, student board member of Oakland Unified, shares how she and others managed a successful campaign to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections — and the difference it may make in their education.

For background on this issue, check out the following:

• Unclear ballot language, lack of time to connect with voters explain affirmative action loss, backers say
• Dropping affirmative action had huge impact on California’s public universities
• California’s Proposition 15, to raise commercial property taxes, in tight race
• Quick Guide: Proposition 15, the proposed ’split-roll’ tax on commercial property
• Biden’s exhaustive education agenda — and Trump’s skimpy one — get short shrift during long campaign
• California student activists push to lower voting age to advocate for change

This week, Devin Hess, an academic coordinator for the UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project, elaborates on what podcast cohost John Fensterwald found in EdSource article this week: There are many reasons why some teachers are choosing to teach the election process but not the issues dividing voters and candidates in the polarizing presidential race.

Also, with new EdSource data showing more districts are returning to in-person instruction or considering it, we speak with Capistrano Unified Superintendent Kirsten Vital on how the state’s 7th largest district is offering a full-day program for K-5 students, split between regular instruction inside school and additional time under tents.

And El Dorado County Superintendent Ed Manansala talks about how a district-county partnership solved the coronavirus testing and contact tracing dilemma, enabling students in the county’s 15 districts to return to school.

For background on this issue, check out the following:

• High school teachers in California wary of taking on contentious Biden-Trump election
• Helping students to sort facts from lies on the internet
• UC Berkeley History/Social Science Project
• Discord and Crisis: The 2020 Election, webinars co-hosted by Devin Hess (sign up for Nov. 10 post-election webinar)
• A look at Orange County as first in a wave of school reopenings in California
• Students getting in-person instruction at accelerating pace in California
• Map: In-Person Instruction and Distance Learning in California

Carl has fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and now increasingly move to reopening. 

Looking for resources related to coronavirus and the reopening of California’s schools?  Check out the following websites: 

• California Department of Education Covid-19 resources
• Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California’s Public Schools

This is the final episode of a special podcast series hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

For the last quarter century, most of the spotlight has been on how affirmative action has affected enrollments at the University of California’s flagship campuses. This week, we speak with Prop. 16 advocate Elisha Smith Arrillaga, executive director of the nonprofit Education Trust-West, about how passage might enable the state to target K-12 funding for underserved minorities and recruit more Black and Latino teachers. Luoluo Hong, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management for the CSU, discusses how race and gender considerations might help with scholarship programs for Black and Latino students, faculty retention programs and recruitment of women students to STEM programs.

But even if Prop. 16 were approved, in a series of landmark cases the U.S. Supreme Court has placed substantial restrictions on how affirmative action can be used. Stanford Law professor Ralph Richard Banks argues that affirmative action is still a useful tool — but it has to be applied carefully to pass constitutional muster.  

Finally, the father of Prop. 209, Ward Connerly, a UC regent at time, makes a pitch for keeping what he, more than anyone else, wrote and helped pass.

For background on this issue, check out the following:

• In historic reversal, University of California regents endorse push to end ban on affirmative action
• California universities prepare for possible return of affirmative action in admissions
• California ballot measure to lift ban on affirmative action widely opposed by surveyed voters
• CSU trustees endorse repeal of affirmative action ban

While schools grapple with the short term challenges of the pandemic, Feuer argues that attention should also be given to long term solutions to the issues in the education system that the pandemic has exposed.

Cohn has fifty years of education service in diverse roles including as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. 

This is the twelfth episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

This week, we speak with Donnie Rafter, principal of Beckman High in Tustin Unified in Orange County, which reopened three weeks ago. Students come to school in small groups a couple days a week and participate from home the other days. The same teachers broadcast lessons daily to students who to want only do remote learning. There’s no Covid-19 testing of students and staff — and no infections, so far.

Also, UCLA Education Professor John Rogers discusses a report he co-authored that examined the unheralded efforts by principals nationwide to meet the emotional, nutritional and financial needs of their students when the coronavirus hit. The survey revealed widening learning gaps in low-income communities that were thrust into distance learning with growing challenges and unmet needs for computers and internet connections.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• Learning Lessons: U.S. Public High Schools and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spring 2020
• Oct. 15 webinar on the Learning Lessons study with John Rogers, moderated by Louis Freedberg
• Up to 1 million California students may still lack connectivity during distance learning
• Schools need additional funding to cope with pandemic crisis, voters say
• Quick Guide: What California’s color-coded county tracking system means for schools

Also, Berkeley author and illustrator Aubrey Hirsch expresses her own exasperation with distance learning for her two young sons in “The Hell that is remote learning, explained in a comic,” a weeklong diary that Vox published. She reads excerpts and talks about the response she received from readers and friends.

And, on a hopeful note, Genzel Tolentino, a 3rd grade teacher at Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep, a charter school in East San Jose, shares strategies he’s using and his favorite app to keep students engaged while online.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• EdSource poll: Gov. Newsom gets strong support among California voters for handling of education
• EdSource poll: California voters, including parents, have deep concerns about distance learning
• Aubrey Hirsch’s “The hell that is remote learning, explained in a comic”
• Low-income parents turn to neighbors, family for help with distance learning
• ‘Rigor’ through distance learning calls for quality, not quantity

In California the ratio of students to counselors is 622 to 1, below the national average of 464 to 1 and far shy of the National Association of School Counselors recommendation of 250 to 1. Carl and the two leaders discuss this lack of mental health resources in our schools, and the additional challenges posed by the pandemic. Delivering services to students is no easy feat in a remote learning environment, but Dr. Topalian and Dr. Whitson explain how their members hope to get it done.

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. 

Looking for resources for addressing the mental health needs of students?  Check out the following websites: 

• California Association of School Psychologists Covid-19 resources
• California Association of School Counselors Covid-19 counseling resources
• California Department of Health Care Services: Services for Children and Youth

This is the eleventh episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

We focus on two highly disputed issues: Is Prop. 15 a smart way to raise education funding ? Would it harm small businesses? UC Berkeley Professor Jesse Rothstein from the Yes on 15 campaign and former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles from the No on 15 clearly disagree on the answers.

Also: The traumatic effects on children of the wildfires savaging California will linger for months and years after the flames are out. EdSource reporter Carolyn Jones discusses what we can learn from the past experiences of devastating fires in Butte and Sonoma counties.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• Quick Guide: Proposition 15, the proposed ’split-roll’ tax on commercial property
• How Prop. 15 would increase K-12 districts’ funding
• Even when the smoke clears, schools find student trauma can linger
• Gov. Newsom vetoes requirement for ethnic studies course in high school
• Also vetoed: A fix to the funding formula
• Gov. Newsom’s veto message for AB 1835, on Local Control Funding Formula reform
• Gov. Newsom’s veto message for AB 331, on ethnic studies 

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. 

Check out EdSource’s award-winning series on rural education here.

For more information about Mono County’s two school districts please see:

• Mono County Office of Education homepage
• Eastern Sierra Unified School District profile on Ed-Data
• Mammoth Unified School District profile on Ed-Data

This is the tenth episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

In a letter to state leaders and on this week’s podcast, CTA President E. Toby Boyd called on state government to make assurances there would be sufficient testing, contract tracing and ventilation in place — and to keep lobbying Washington for funding the state can’t provide.

“I would be heartbroken” if a student in his classroom were to contract the virus, took it home, and someone got sick and died, he said. “That is a horrible situation to place  a child in.”

Also, Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez discusses the drop in student headcount this fall at the state’s community colleges, including double-digit declines on two of his nine campuses. Particularly disturbing, he said, is that the declines appear greatest among low-income students. The disruption in achieving their academic goals “jeopardizes the fulfillment of our mission,” he said.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• Sept. 16 letter from CTA President E. Toby Boyd to state Gov. Newsom and state leaders
• Schools should not open until safety is assured, CTA tells state
• Fewer students attending California community colleges, early fall numbers show

Wong describes how the financial impact of the pandemic has landed disproportionately on the shoulders of poor families, and how her work with GRACE to advocate for those families has changed as a result. And Cohn asks Wong about the work being done in her district to ensure students, teachers, and families are prepared for the new frontier of distance learning.

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. 

For more information about Washington Unified School District, please see:

• Washington Unified School District homepage
• Washington Unified School District profile on Ed-Data

This is the ninth episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

Isolation, with students confined to studying online, has heightened their sense of loss and hindered colleges’ ability to identify those needing help. California’s community colleges, which serve by far the largest number of college students in the state, feel the pressures most acutely because all their students live off-campus and many of them were already having to cope with financial and other challenges before the pandemic struck.

This week, EdSource reporter Larry Gordon, who recently wrote an in-depth article on the issue, tells us about what colleges are doing to meet the need, including stepping up outreach, offering free counseling sessions and being creative in fostering student connections.

Also, Humberto Hernandez, a psychologist at Cerritos College in Norwalk near Long Beach, explains how his college is expanding teletherapy to help students deal with financial, academic and life challenges. Camille Horrigan-Slajus, a psychology major at Santa Monica College, one of the state’s 116 community colleges, tells how Active Minds, a national organization that focuses on young people’s wellbeing, is encouraging students to seek services that are available. She is the president of the local chapter. 

Check out the following EdSource articles on student mental health: 

• California colleges increase online mental health services to serve expected student need
• Student anxiety, depression increasing during school closures, survey finds
• Coping with stress of coronavirus crisis a challenge for California’s students
• California colleges expand mental health services to meet rising needs 

College President Gayle Hutchinson explains how plans went awry and what can be learned from the experience. EdSource reporter Ashley Smith compares events at Chico State with back-to-school at San Diego State, which also canceled in-person classes but has so far not closed dorms.

Also this week, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, came closer to her years-long quest to see ethnic studies taught in college and high school, with a bill mandating an ethnic studies course for a high school diploma heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Last month, Newsom signed a bill requiring an ethnics studies class for a CSU diploma. Weber, an emerita professor in Africana Studies at San Diego State, said passage is one more step toward making California “a role model for what the world can truly see: a diverse state that can actually function well with equal opportunity and access for all.”

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• Chico State becomes first California university to close dorms after students move in
• California to require ethnic studies to graduate high school under bill headed to Gov. Newsom

San Diego County is one of the counties on the verge of being able to reopen schools, after being off the monitoring list for two weeks. We check in with county superintendent Paul Gothold on what is happening in the 42 districts in his county.

And we explore the opposite challenges facing Mendocino County, with 12 districts and about 12,000 students. Due to a data mixup, the county was retroactively put on the state’s monitoring list (now Tier 1 or purple counties). We speak with county superintendent Michelle Hutchins about how some small rural schools that had already reopened were thrown into distance learning for weeks if not months.

Note: This podcast was recorded just before Gov. Newsom announced the new color-coded ranking system.

Also, we turn to Josh Weiss, a technology specialist with Stanford’s Graduate School of Education to weigh in on the contentious issue of whether it’s a good idea to require students to keep their video cameras off during live instruction.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• California schools ordered to close in-person instruction after counties were put on watch list
• Data glitches delay whether California districts can seek waiver for in-person instruction
• California issues rules for opening schools to high-needs students
• On or off? California schools weigh webcam concerns during distance learning

When the pandemic struck, three out of four Green Dot students needed devices, and 1,300 needed internet hot spots.  Now, de Jesus says, 96% of students are participating in distance learning. That includes a minimum of 240 minutes of live instruction with teachers.

“In the last five months, the persistent inequities and injustices that have plagued our country for centuries have been laid bare,” she says. “The pandemic has exposed for all to witness, the digital divide, resource divide, the opportunity divide.”

Carl Cohn has fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in a fashion never seen before in California. 

For more information about Green Dot Public Schools, please see:

• Green Dot Public Schools information

This is the eighth episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

In July, the Orange County Board of Education filed a lawsuit to overturn Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order barring in-classroom instruction in counties on the state’s monitoring list. Mijares spoke out against the lawsuit, emphasizing the importance of putting student and teacher health first. Cohn and Mijares discuss this and other challenges schools in the county face.

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. 

For more information about Orange County Department of Education, please see:

• Orange County Department of Education coronavirus information and resources
• Orange County profile on Ed-Data

This is the seventh episode in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

Al Mijares is a member of the EdSource board of directors.

To discuss the multiple challenges facing the Central Valley, we interview Don Shalvey, the veteran California educator who now heads San Joaquin A+, about a new poll of parents and plans to help more students get a college education.

Plus Brian Biedermann, interim superintendent of Stockton Unified, one of the first districts to open in California for the new school year. They have just completed the second week of classes and Biedermann tells us how distance learning is going, and how teachers and students are coping.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• Veteran educator returns to his roots in Central Valley, EdSource, July 7, 2020.
• Rural California: An Education Divide, EdSource, 2019.

Negotiations overall have been difficult, so we check in with Shannan Brown, executive director of the teachers union in San Juan Unified, a 38,000-student district near Sacramento known for collaborating with teachers. Brown describes how the union and district settled potentially contentious issues over minutes for live instruction and teacher training.

Also, Jeff Camp reflects on the successful Ed100 Academy for California Student Leaders with Zachary Patterson, one of the students who benefited from the weeklong exploration of education policy.

For background to this podcast, check out the following:

• San Juan Unified and San Juan Teachers Association agreement on distance learning 
• Los Angeles Unified reaches deal with teachers over distance learning while other districts struggle to finalize plans
• More explicit guidance for distance learning sparks debate in Legislature
• California school districts make new investments in teacher evaluation
• Podcast: Summer academy for student leaders
• The making of the academy, by Jeff Camp

This week Schools on the Frontlines host Carl Cohn talks with Paul Escala, superintendent of schools for the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Its school system consists of 270 K-12 schools and an enrollment of 73,000 students. More than 90 percent of students of the 70 schools in the Diocese that receive Title 1 funds qualify for free and reduced-price meals. 

Carl brings a deep understanding of the challenges school districts face as they regroup and reopen in the fall. He has fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. Among other boards, he is on the Education Standing Committee of the California Catholic Conference. 

This is the sixth in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

With weeks before California schools reopen with distance learning, Khan said he is worried: “I haven’t seen a lot of evidence that people have thought deeply about what instruction looks like, because traditional curricula aren’t going to work that well in this new world.”

But he’s also confident that distance learning, when done well and consistently, with interactive tools that engage and challenge students, can bridge the period of time until students return to school. He offers advice on what districts should focus on during the time they have before school resumes.

Khan Academy created a suite of programs for education during a pandemic.

Here are some of the resources:

• Khan Academy for Kids YouTube Channel
• Sample schedules of a full day of activities and instruction, by grade
• Get ready for math courses to make the transition to fall
• Basics for teachers who want to use Khan Academy
• Quick Guide for parents to use Khan Academy

This week Schools on the Frontlines host Carl Cohn talks with Bob Nelson, the ukulele-playing superintendent of Fresno Unified School District.

Nelson, who has been called “the Mr. Rogers of school superintendents,” has taken a hands-on approach to the job, interacting with the community via social media and even reading children’s stories on YouTube. Carl asks Nelson about his unique approach to the job. They also discuss the district’s plans for the fall and lessons learned during the ongoing pandemic. 

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a unique understanding of the challenges school districts face as they try to regroup and reopen in the fall. 

For more information about Fresno Unified School District, please see:

• Fresno Unified School District homepage
• Fresno Unified School District profile on Ed-Data

This is the fifth in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

That won’t happen in Oakland, however, if Lakisha Young can help it. Her nonprofit, Oakland REACH, has created the City-Wide Virtual Hub. Its pilot summer program, providing family support, distance learning and enrichment activities for 180 Black and Latino students, may expand in size and scope, with tutoring, in the fall. She describes the goals and plan.

Also, John and Louis discuss the waiver school districts can seek potentially to send K-8 students back to school in districts where in-school instruction will be prohibited due to rising cases of the coronavirus.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California school districts brace for an online back-to-school season
• Parents must have a say in districts’ distance learning plans under new California law
• Getting to 100% student engagement in distance learning
• A California district’s plan to boost remote learning includes in-person ‘student support hubs’
• Information on Oakland Reach’s Virtual City-Wide Virtual Hub
• KQED interview with Lakisha Young

This week Schools on the Frontlines host Carl Cohn talks with Socorro Shiels, superintendent of Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

In response to the killing of George Floyd and the protests for racial justice that followed, Shiels wrote a letter to the school community in which she said that “racism is not just in our past but woven deeply into the fabric of our institutions.” Cohn and Shiels discuss the reaction to the letter, as well as the challenges the district faces as fall approaches. 

Cohn and Shiels were both at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence when that agency was first established as part of the Local Control Funding Formula. They bring their statewide experience as well as district leadership perspectives the conversation. 

For more information about Sonoma Valley Unified School District, please see:

• Sonoma Valley Unified School District homepage
• Sonoma Valley Unified School District profile on Ed-Data

This is the fourth in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

Many school districts have already announced they will start the year with distance learning, and the number will almost certainly mushroom as a result of  Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new guidance this week barring  in-person instruction for all districts in schools in over 30 counties on the state’s coronavirus monitoring list.

Sarah Lillis, executive director of the nonprofit Teach Plus, tells us why the state’s new minimum standards for distance learning don’t go far enough and how parents can demand higher quality instruction. 

Note: Our interviews were conducted the day before Gov. Newsom announced his guidance, and it is not clear how it will affect the programs we discussed.  But they suggest innovative approaches worth considering whenever schools are deemed safe to bring small groups of students back to school. 

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Governor’s order means most California school campuses won’t reopen at the beginning of school year
• In new guidance, Gov. Newsom expected to impose strict regulations for school opening and closing
• As schools go to distance learning, key strategies to prevent learning loss 
• Parents must have a say in districts’ distance learning plans under new California law
• More explicit guidance for distance learning sparks debate in Legislature

In this episode of Schools on the Frontlines, host Carl Cohn talks with Ron Williams, superintendent of Victor Valley Union High School District and the president of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). 

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a unique understanding of the challenges school districts face as they try to regroup and reopen in the fall. 

He asks Williams how the district is addressing the needs of students and staff in the high desert community it serves, and its plans for reopening schools. They also discuss the protests for racial justice, how the situation has created an opportunity for those in leadership positions to hear from students and the community about pain they have experienced as a result of systemic racism and how the district is responding. 

For more information about Victor Valley Union High School District, please see:

• Victor Valley Union High School District homepage
• Victor Valley Union High School District profile on Ed-Data
• Association for California School Administrators (ACSA): Coronavirus resources for schools

This is the third in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

This week, we’ll explore those and other questions with Barbara Nemko, Napa County superintendent of schools, and Sarah Sutherland, a San Diego attorney who specializes in school litigation.

We’ll also discuss the naming of Michael Drake, former president of Ohio State University, to succeed Janet Napolitano as the new president of the University of California. He’ll take over at a time of turbulence and tensions from a pandemic, potential budget cuts and student activism over racial discrimination. EdSource higher education reporters Michael Burke and Larry Gordon share their insights.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California school superintendents navigate safety concerns, conflicting guidance as they plan to reopen schools
• Schools should not open until safety is assured, California Teachers Association tells state
• Small California school districts face overwhelming challenges to reopen schools
• Michael Drake, former UC Irvine chancellor, named University of California president
• Students at California’s top-tier universities don’t reflect state’s racial and ethnic diversity, says Urban Institute study
• UC San Diego uncertain if robust testing plan will be enough to welcome students back to campus

In this episode of Schools on the Frontlines, host Carl Cohn talks with Nancy Albarrán, superintendent of San José Unified, the largest and most diverse district in Santa Clara County, which boasts a graduation rate of more than 90%. 

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a unique understanding of the challenges school districts face as they try to regroup and reopen in the fall. 

He asks Albarrán how the district is addressing the widely varying needs of students and staff in the large and diverse community it serves, and its plans for reopening schools. They also discuss the protests for racial justice, how the situation has created an opportunity for those in leadership positions to hear from students and the community about pain they have experienced as a result of systemic racism and how the district is responding. 

For more information about San Jose Unified, please see:

• San José Unified profile on Ed-Data
• San José Unified resources and information during school closures

This is the second in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

This week, Linda Darling-Hammond, an education adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom and president of the State Board of Education, explains what districts must do and why they should include live instruction as a component of distance learning. She also forecasts how schools will reopen amid great uncertainly.

EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely discusses many parents’ ambivalence about sending their kids back to school amid a pandemic and the conflicting factors of safety, child care, work needs and the pros and cons of distance learning weighing on their minds.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Small California school districts face overwhelming challenges to reopen schools
• California parents weigh risks, benefits of sending kids back to school
• How schools across the globe are reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic
• California schools must provide daily live interaction, access to technology this fall
• California parents weigh risks, benefits of sending kids back to school
• Long road ahead to close California’s digital divide in education before new school year begins

In the first episode of Schools on the Frontlines, host Carl Cohn talks with Christi Barrett, superintendent of Hemet Unified, a sprawling district that covers 627 square miles in Riverside County, including urban, suburban and remote rural communities.

With fifty years of service as a counselor, teacher, district superintendent, State Board of Education member, and executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, Cohn brings a unique understanding of the challenges school districts face as they try to regroup and reopen in the fall. He asks Barrett about how the district is planning to accommodate families and students who want to return to school as well as those who will opt for distance learning. They talk about the district’s response to the protests for racial justice, school security and how Barrett communicates with the many stakeholders in her district.

For more information about Hemet Unified, please see:

• Hemet Unified profile on Ed-Data
• Hemet Unified website
• Hemet Unified’s reopening plan

This is the first in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.

Bob Nelson, superintendent of Fresno Unified, describes the multi-layered complications of planning for a safe return for students who want in-person instruction and those who will insist on distance learning at home.

In a farewell interview, University of California President Janet Napolitano discusses strategies for reopening and her support for the repeal of Proposition 209, which, through a vote this week in the Legislature, will go before voters in November.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Napolitano says farewell to UC, advocates for affirmative action and Covid-19 research
• State Senate action allows California voters to decide on affirmative action
• California universities prepare for possible return of affirmative action in admissions
• California school leaders ambivalent as they await vote on state budget
• California schools must provide daily live interaction, access to technology this fall
• In California budget deal, no cuts for K-12 but billions in late payments to schools

And Maria Blanco, executive director of the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center, based at the UC Davis School of Law, discusses the impact of the long-awaited U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rescinded the efforts by President Trump to eliminate the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program.  As a result, undocumented immigrants who arrived  in America as children can continue to work or attend college without fear of deportation — at least for now. 

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California districts look to rename schools linked to racist history
• California moves toward requiring CSU students to take ethnic studies to graduate
• Supreme Court upholds DACA, protecting hundreds of thousands from deportation
• How Supreme Court DACA case could affect U.S. citizen children
• Quick Guide: Understanding DACA and education in California

We also speak with Brenna Pangelinan, the student representative on the California State Board of Education about her experience as the voice for the state’s 6 million students. She will moderate a 4-day program this summer for aspiring student leaders sponsored by Ed100. We ask her what the program will achieve.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• ‘A turning point’: California education leaders speak out about racism and police brutality
• California schools chief launches campaign against racial bias

Ed100 explains its first Student Academy

• Learn about Ed100’s Student Academy

This week, we speak with Alex Cherniss, superintendent of Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified. He crafted a letter, signed by 10 other superintendents in Los Angeles County, questioning the wisdom of coronavirus precautions that may make it impractical and prohibitively expensive to open and stay open this fall.

We discuss how California’s system of local control meshes with physicians’ guidance for health and safety restrictions for a pandemic that knows no local boundaries.

We also speak with Heather Hough, executive director of PACE, who makes the case that the wide variations in the quality of distance learning among districts during school closures show why the state must take a stronger role in setting performance expectations.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Schools should encourage but not require students to wear face covering, draft guidance says
• Classes outside, face coverings and one-way hallways: How Los Angeles schools may reopen
• California schools can’t reopen safely without more federal dollars, state schools chief says
• Understanding, Measuring, and Addressing Student Learning Needs During COVID-19 Recovery by Heather Hough, PACE

To read more about and register for EdSource’s June 2 and June 3 webinars on Distance Learning 2.0

• June 2, 1 p.m. – Pajaro Valley Unified looks ahead, with Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez
• June 3, 1 p.m. – Anaheim Union High School District envisions education in a post-pandemic world

We discuss that big news as well as the assertion by school groups and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond that schools’ reopening will be delayed without more state or federal funding.

Also, the coronavirus has hit the state’s 200,000-plus homeless students particularly hard and created daunting challenges for school districts to reach out to them. Reporter Carolyn Jones points to districts making extraordinary efforts to serve homeless students, and Susie Terry, coordinator of homeless education services for the San Diego County Office of Education, suggests what else districts could be doing for them.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• In historic action, UC moves to drop SAT/ACT and develop a replacement exam for admissions
• California State University suspends SAT/ACT testing for 2021-22 admissions, joining UC
• California’s homeless students at risk of falling through the cracks during pandemic
• Schools fail to identify thousands of homeless children, state audit finds
• California schools can’t reopen safely without more federal dollars, state schools chief says
• Six urban California districts say proposed budget cuts will set back restarting school

Plus, EdSource reporters John Fensterwald and Larry Gordon sum up the big budget cuts, and glimmers of good news for education, in the revised state budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom released. The gist: It’s bleak for higher education and bad — but could have been far worse — for K-12.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• CSU chancellor explains decision to keep most fall classes online
• Newsom’s proposed budget cuts to higher education force difficult choices ahead
• Gov. Newsom’s revised budget would partially offset huge drop in revenue for K-12 schools, community colleges
• Preschool and child care plans slashed under California governor’s proposed budget
• Gov. Newsom’s proposed budget revision cuts programs to recruit, train teachers

With nearly all of it in the coming fiscal year, schools could face an unprecedented budget cut of 20 percent — unless Gov. Newsom and the Legislature find more money for education or Congress steps in with aid, as it did during the Great Recession.

This week, we explore those and other options with school consultant John Gray, the president and CEO of School Services of California and a school finance expert who helped districts weather the Great Recession. He predicts the state will jury-rig ways to blunt some damage, but cuts for districts will be painful.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Gov. Newsom now projects $18 billion shortfall in revenue for K-12, community colleges
• The coming storm: big budget cuts, rising costs for California schools
• Advocates urge Newsom to order schools not to permanently close any buildings
• California school funding formula has a spending loophole; is a recession the time to fix it?

This week, South Bay Union School District Superintendent Katie McNamara discusses the many health and safety concerns that must be addressed before schools can resume. She heads a task force looking into how to prepare schools for uncertainty created by the coronavirus.

Plus, Cal State Northridge President Dianne Harrison speaks to the quandary that California high school seniors faced on May 1, Decision Day, in deciding whether and where to enroll in college this year. 

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Addressing California students’ loss of learning shapes plan to reopen schools
• Anxiety builds as colleges consider how and when to resume on-campus fall courses
• More California students are online, but digital divide runs deep with distance learning
• Students sue California universities over fees lost amid pandemic

While they wait for districts and donors to close the digital divide, teachers are improvising with distance learning. We interview Larry Ferlazzo, well-known author, blogger and Sacramento high school teacher, about how he’s staying in touch with students and handling classes for new students learning English and for those seeking an International Baccalaureate diploma. And teachers in Venice and East Palo Alto share their biggest challenge and satisfaction with remote learning.

Connecting with Larry Ferlazzo:

• On Twitter
• Classroom Q&A with Larry  Ferlazzo at Education Week
• Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California takes steps to remove hurdles faced by prospective teachers whose training is stymied by coronavirus
• Parents worrying about coronavirus’ toll on children’s learning, survey finds
• Internet providers asked to do more for California students without access
• Teachers are the foundation for superintendent success

Cindy Marten, superintendent of San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest district, discusses the importance of daily check-ins with students to assess how they’re feeling and the district’s system of additional support, involving counselors and mental health specialists.

Robin Detterman, who’s in charge of school partnerships for Seneca Family of Agencies, which provides mental health services statewide, discusses strategies for continuing therapeutic services remotely to emotionally frail students who already had been receiving services.

Plus, students from Granite Bay High School, near Sacramento, read excerpts from their journals of life at home, under social isolation.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Children’s mental health a cause for concern in report on California youth policies
• Coping with stress of coronavirus crisis a challenge for California’s students
• California colleges expand mental health services to meet rising needs

This week, Lisa Gilbert, deputy superintendent in the Office of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, explains how it’s coming together. And the county’s chief technology officer, Anthony Davis, describes how he’s solving the other big challenge the rural county faces: getting Chromebooks and internet connections as quickly as possible to the tens of thousands of students in the county who lack them.

Also, EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely reads a powerful excerpt from “Parenting during a pandemic: A family journal,” chronicling her life in chaotic times.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• Thousands of California students still without laptops and Wi-Fi for distance learning
• With students at home, “spring break” has very different meaning during coronavirus epidemic
• Parenting during a pandemic: A family journal

This week, Thurmond discusses what the department is doing to ease the transition to remote learning and his concern that low-income children may be left further behind.

Plus, Louis and John talk with EdSource reporter Larry Gordon about the impact of the agreement by the University of California and California State University to accept pass/fail grades on courses this semester and UC’s decision not to require that high school juniors take the SAT and ACT for admissions next year.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California leaders take on tough assignment: convincing students that school is still in session
• Thousands of California students to get free Wi-Fi and Chromebooks for distance learning
• California school unions, district leaders pledge to cooperate on coronavirus challenges
• First few weeks of remote teaching is learning experience for teachers and students
• University of California suspends SAT/ACT requirements for 2021 applicants

This week, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley discusses the challenges facing the 115-college system serving over 2 million students — and how it is adapting using multiple technologies and strategies — as it serves some of the state’s most vulnerable students deeply affected by the current crisis.

Plus, we speak with Marisa Martinez, editor-in-chief of University Times, Cal State LA’s student newspaper, which has continued to report extensively on the impact on the campus of the coronavirus crisis. She describes how the newspaper is covering the big story and gives portraits of students under stress.

To read the University Times’ coronavirus coverage, go here. 

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• All community colleges in California suspending most in-person instruction
• California colleges and universities respond to the coronavirus: a quick guide
• Some California college students find refuge on campus during a pandemic
• $31 billion in federal coronavirus relief coming soon to schools, college students and universities

Districts started feeding children with “grab and go” lunches and — with Newsom advising them to plan on being shuttered for months — making plans for online learning and non-classroom alternatives for the state’s 6 million students.

This week, Newsom’s education adviser and State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond speaks to us about the state’s plan to partner with districts to share resources and find innovative ways to meet the learning needs of all students.

Plus, Jill Baker, deputy superintendent of Long Beach Unified (and a finalist to succeed current long-time superintendent Chris Steinhauser), describes the plans of the state’s third-largest district to begin providing standards-based and engaging online content that requires teaching differently.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• California school districts learn more about what state expects during a long shutdown
• Nearly all California K-12 districts closed to avoid spread of coronavirus while few in rural remain open
• Education and Coronavirus: What’s the Latest?
• California students enrolled in special education face unique burdens during school closure
• What California parents and students should know about the coronavirus: a quick guide

But they now have to deliver on their pledge to offer a high-quality college curriculum to millions of students remotely — not at some distant date, but beginning almost immediately. How prepared are they to do so?

This week, Louis and John talk with Jenn Stringer, deputy chief information officer at UC Berkeley, and EdSource higher education reporter Ashley Smith about the challenges and opportunities of remote learning.

They also talk to Melanie Russo, a Cal junior majoring in astrophysics, about her reactions to her suddenly transformed learning environment. How students and faculty traverse this new landscape could shape the college learning experience for decades to come.

For background to this podcast, check out the following from EdSource:

• College faculty in California scramble to adapt as classes move to online instruction
• California community colleges begin to move classes online in response to coronavirus
• Education and the coronavirus: what’s the latest?
• Coronavirus Q & A: What California parents and students should know
• Many California K-12 schools closed for in-person instruction due to coronavirus

The Poynter Institute webinar referenced by Ashley Smith in her interview can be found here: How to Effectively Teach Online

The $15 million state bond measure was on the ballot along with 148 local facilities bonds and district parcel taxes — fewer than half of which appear likely to pass. Was it a tax rebellion, unease over the state of the economy amid coronavirus concerns, or confusion over the more famous Prop. 13 that restricted property taxes four decades ago? We explore these questions.

Also, with coronavirus, or COVID-19, spreading across California and some other states, Orange County Superintendent of Schools Al Mijares discusses the role of county offices of education and the lessons learned from responding to a measles epidemic in 2015 at Disneyland.

For more, check out the following:

• Post-Prop. 13: Why a likely winner may end up California election’s big loser
• Why bond and tax measures to bolster California schools struggled to pass at the polls
• Vote still out on three measures to build California teacher housing
• EdSource’s automated vote tracker for March 2020 results
• What California voters need to know about proposed $15 billion school construction bond: a quick guide
• California K-12 schools prepare for coronavirus-related closures
• Coronavirus Q&A: What California parents and students should know

There has been considerable confusion and misinformation about the bond proposal, which, by unfortunate luck of the draw, will appear on the ballot as Prop. 13 — the same number as the 1978 initiative that set limits on property tax increases.

This week, Jeff  Vincent, director of the Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley, and author of influential research on school construction, explains what the bond would do and how the money would be distributed.

Also, four school districts have bond measures on the ballot to build more affordable teacher housing. EdSource reporter Diana Lambert provides the details and Chris Funk, superintendent of East Side Union High School District in San Jose, lays out the case for a proposed $60 billion bond, which would provide housing for 100 teachers and extra income for the district.

For more, check out the following:

• What California voters need to know about proposed $15 billion school construction bond: a quick guide
• Video: Achieving fair funding for school modernization in California, a case study
• Californians argue for and against Prop. 13 on March 3 ballot
• For better or worse, school construction bond on March 2020 ballot will be Prop. 13
• Four California school districts ask voters to pay for teacher and staff housing
• San Jose school district asks voters to fund employee housing
• Interactive Map: Where teachers find affordable housing in California
• In need of teacher housing, more California school districts building their own

Election Day primer: On Education: What Democratic presidential candidates are promising

Bonus: more good reading and audio as mentioned on the podcast – KPCC’s Facing the Music : The Uncertain Future of the Orange County School of the Arts

This week, we speak with Leslie Hsu Freeman, manager of dual enrollment for Oakland Unified, about the value of this increasingly popular strategy. About 1,000 high school students in Oakland now take college courses each semester which are taught by college professors on the district’s 15 high school campuses.  

We also talk about the weeklong protests at Berkeley High School, where students say the administration has not done enough in response to sexual harassment and assault carried out by classmates, including the impact of assaults at non-school events on the school culture itself. Students are demanding additional counselors, more education beginning in earlier grades, and other proactive measures in what could signal increased activism in high schools over the issue.

For more, check out the following:

• Webinar: What’s next for dual enrollment in California?
• High school students benefit from taking college courses, but access uneven in California
• Taking college classes in high school can lead to more college success
• A week of student protest against “sexual harm” in Berkeley
• California approves new guidance for teaching sex education

Opponents say they will continue fighting the testing mandate both in court and at the UC Board of Regents.

This week, EdSource reporter Larry Gordon explains the history behind the SAT and ACT and summarizes the report’s findings. We also interview Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, one of the organizations that oppose the use of the tests. 

For more, check out the following:

• Critics will fight on despite faculty report urging University of California to keep SAT and ACT in admissions
• Debate underway whether University of California should require SAT and ACT for admissions
• Gov. Newsom vetoes allowing districts to substitute SAT for 11th grade state test

We review the complex ruling, and Louis interviews Randy Capps, research director for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. He says the rules broaden a climate of fear, discouraging immigrant families from using services they can legally receive like school lunches.

Louis also speaks with Arturo Valdez, deputy superintendent of the L.A. County Office of Education, about how the county is responding to challenges facing immigrant children and families. 

For more, check out the following:

• California school officials reassure immigrant parents after ruling limiting benefits
• Federal government to restrict green cards for immigrants who could use food stamps or other aid in future
• Fear, absenteeism, falling grades among impacts of immigration crackdown, study finds
• It is up to states to ensure English learner and immigrant students receive a quality education

We also speak with San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney, about how her campus is meeting the multiple challenges of increasing the graduation rate, attracting more local students to the university and meeting the needs for housing in a high-cost city.

For more, check out the following:

• CSU trustees delay formal vote on requiring extra year of high school math

This week, we explore teacher residencies, a key element in the governor’s strategy to get more fully trained teachers into low-income schools facing critical teacher shortages. Residencies place aspiring teachers under the wing of a veteran mentor teacher for a year during which they also earn their teaching credential.

We speak with Marquita Grenot Scheyer, who oversees teacher preparation programs at the CSUs 23 campuses, about the value of residencies, and with Priscilla Bernardino, a 2nd-year teacher in Bakersfield City School District, who describes how her residency benefited her. 

We also hear quick takes on the proposed state budget from 4 of the 44 education leaders who shared views of what they liked and would have liked to hear in Newsom’s budget presentation.

For more, check out the following:

• Teacher hopefuls offered $10,000 to enter California State University residency program
• Teacher residencies: A long-term strategy to solve California teacher shortages
• Aspire sees opportunity to grow teacher residencies
• California Voices: Education leaders speak out on Gov. Newsom’s budget proposals
• California governor proposes nearly $1 billion to tackle teacher preparation, shortages

Also this week, John reviews action by the State Board of Education and the introduction of two bills responding to a state audit that sharply criticized school districts’ lack of transparency and accountability for spending state funds under the Local Control Funding Formula.

For more, check out the following:

• LA Unified, teachers still face challenges over contract and charter school moratorium
• Podcast: Who is Austin Beutner and why was he chosen the next superintendent of Los Angeles Unified?
• New efforts to make school spending in California more transparent 

They also discuss the prospects of a $15 billion school construction bond in March, whether 2020 will see added attention to strengthening the teacher pipeline, what might be done to address low achievement in math, and whether Newsom and the Legislature will add teeth to accountability requirements of the Local Control Funding Formula.

For more, check out the following:

• California education issues to watch in 2020 — and predictions of what will happen
• Gavin Newsom’s 1st-year K-12 scorecard: good grades on priorities and some incompletes

We also delve into a recent state auditor’s report that was highly critical of how three districts reported their spending for high-needs students under the state’s local control school funding law. In a preview of a likely debate in Sacramento next year, we interview David Sapp, assistant legal counsel for the State Board of Education, and Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a San Diego Democrat and frequent critic of the funding formula.

For more, check out the following:

• A California school’s alumni adviser hits the road to ease 1st-year college students’ jitters
• California students, first in their families to attend college, mentor each other to succeed
• California State University graduation rates show uneven progress, some backsliding
• State audit finds education money not serving high-needs students, calls for changes in funding law
• Smaller classes, more novice teachers: the ‘tradeoff‘ for low-income California schools

We interview Debra Duardo, the superintendent of Los Angeles County Office of Education, and Morgan Polikoff, associate professor of education at USC’s Rossier School of Education, for their perspectives. Duardo cites improvement by the lowest performing student groups as an indication that the new system of county support is working. Polikoff criticizes the dashboard itself, for the inability to compare schools’ results and the way it measures academic progress. 

For more, check out the following:

• Some ratings rise in 3rd year of California School Dashboard
• Search and compare data from the California School Dashboard, 2019
• Ratings in updated California School Dashboard target more districts for assistance

We also speak with two staff members of Acknowledge Alliance in Mountain View, about their organization’s mental health partnership with school districts. Sarah Kremer counsels teachers on coping with stress on the job; Alexandra Papa provides therapy to traumatized high school students.

At the conference, the school boards’ association also announced it was deferring until 2022 the pursuit of a $15 billion tax measure to benefit schools and community colleges. Association spokesman Troy Flint explains why.

For more, check out the following:

• Schools keep hiring counselors, but students’ stress levels are only growing
• California parents and educators help students cope with fire trauma, again
• Schools need more resources for student mental health and wellness
• Trauma in Paradise: A California school system focuses on mental health after devastating fire
• School-based health care a low priority in California
• California School Boards Association pulls plan to put $15 billion tax on 2020 ballot
• One step closer to what no one wants: dueling tax plans in November 2020

April 27, 2019

Foster children in California are still lagging behind other students in graduation, attendance, and achievement on math and English tests, despite major reforms that six years ago required school districts to track students in foster care and make plans to help them succeed.

This week, hosts Louis Freedberg and Zaidee Stavely interview reporter Rob Waters, who has been covering the issue, and Michelle Francois, of the National Center for Youth Law, a leading expert in supporting foster students. They both discuss what some schools are doing right, and what has yet to be done.

For background:

• Despite education reforms, foster students in California lag far behind on multiple measures

This week, we explore the issue of gun violence and how school counselors are dealing with it and the multiple areas of stress in students’ lives. Reporter Carolyn Jones describes how the significant increase in hiring of school counselors has barely kept up with the need for student mental health services.

Loretta Whitson, executive director of the California Association of School Counselors, discusses the need to train the full school community on how to recognize signs of student trauma. UCLA professor Ron Avi Astor, an authority on school violence, talks about the need to go beyond safety measures — such as installing metal detectors — to focus on school climate and social-emotional learning in schools. 

For more, check out the following:

• Schools keep hiring counselors, but students’ stress levels are only growing
• Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita: Teen girl and boy dead, alleged shooter in ‘grave condition’
• For principals, biggest task is creating a school culture without the threat of gun violence
• California school shooting a potent argument against arming teachers

For him and other Latinos of his generation, the passage of Prop. 187 was a turning point in their lives, determining career choices and igniting an interest in politics. That was perhaps its biggest legacy; courts threw out most of the initiative’s provisions, including banning undocumented children from attending public schools.

Also, the superintendent of schools in Placer County, Gayle Garbolino Mojica, discusses how her 16 districts, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, were able to lessen disruptions from multiple days of electrical blackouts over the past month. The new normal of devastating fires requires more preparation, she says.

Plus, reporter Sydney Johnson captures sounds of high school students learning skills in the outdoors to become what California will need a lot more of: well-trained forest managers.

For more, check out the following:

• Gustavo Arellano’s 3-part podcast, This is California: The Battle of Prop. 187
• University of California heads to Supreme Court to defend protections for undocumented immigrants
• California schools closed for unprecedented number of days due to fire, power outages
• As fires rage, pressure mounts to train California’s next generation of forest stewards
• California parents and educators help students cope with fire trauma, again

Also, with a big decline in out-of-school suspensions for disruptive behavior, some districts are looking at ways to transform how they handle in-school suspensions. We speak with veteran educator Ramiro Rubalcaba, assistant superintendent of Victor Valley Union High School District, on how teachers and principals can avert suspensions, and also with Hemet Unified administrator Tracy Piper on the district’s alternative suspensions, a 3-day curriculum of learning and counseling.

Plus, we hear a short but powerful anecdote from a school library teacher in Oakland on how children can learn from one another’s diverse experiences.

For more, check out the following:

• California parents and educators help students cope with fire trauma, again
• As fires rage, pressure mounts to train California’s next generation of forest stewards
• Students return to dramatically different Paradise
• In-school suspensions the answer to school discipline? Not necessarily, experts say
• Learning through children’s literature: a school library teacher’s perspective

Samantha Tran, senior managing director of education policy at Children Now, explains why Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature should negotiate a compromise to place only one tax increase for education on the November 2020 ballot – instead of allowing two competing tax measures to move forward. She highlights a new study, comparing high schools in California, Illinois and New Jersey, which supports the case for raising revenue for California schools. 

For more, check out the following:

• One step closer to what no one wants: dueling tax plans in November 2020
• Report: What money can buy: Comparison of high schools in San Jose, Urbana and Garfield, NJ
• How to make room for 100,000 more college students in California without major construction
• School boards group committed to tax plan despite legislative setback
• California State University chancellor to retire, touts graduation gains
• California State University graduation rates show uneven progress, some backsliding

Shriver will be the keynote speaker on Oct. 30 in Sacramento at a social and emotional learning conference co-sponsored by EdSource and the Partnership for Children and Youth. You can learn more about it and get tickets here. The conference offers an opportunity to connect with a wide range of school and district staff, policymakers, advocates and researchers.

For more, check out the following:

• From A Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope: a report from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, co-chaired by Tim Shriver and Linda Darling-Hammond.
• Understanding social and emotional learning: a quick guide
• Social and emotional learning appears to provide benefits that last
• As social and emotional learning expands, educators fear the ‘fizzle’
• National commission aims to improve schools through social and emotional learning
• There’s more to a ‘growth mindset’ than assuming you have it
• California mandates later start times for middle and high school students

There were some bright spots — most notably improvements in Latino student performance which are contributing to narrowing the achievement gap. This is a significant development, given that Latino students make up more than half of the state’s public school students. Gaps between less and more affluent students, and between English learners and other students are also narrowing.

But significant achievement gaps remain, especially those experienced by African American students. That is especially the case when it comes to math. Only about 40 percent of the state’s students met or exceeded the math standards on the tests, compared to about half who did so in English language arts. We talk with Lisa Andrew, the CEO of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, which offers a summer math program for thousands of students who have fallen behind.  

Providing insights into the lagging education performance of many African American students, a new UCLA report titled Beyond the Schoolhouse also came out this week. We interview Tyrone Howard, a professor of education at UCLA who co-authored the report. It paints a compelling picture of the many adverse factors in and outside of school affecting the 109,000 African American students in Los Angeles County, and urges a comprehensive approach to overcome the obstacles.

For more, check out the following:

• 2019 CAASPP Database: How did students at your child’s school do on Smarter Balanced tests?
• Slow growth, big disparities after 5 years of Smarter Balanced tests
• What will it take to make headway on student achievement?
• UCLA report: Beyond the Schoolhouse

We review the bill, which all of California’s private and public colleges opposed, with its author, Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and explore potential ramifications – whether the NCAA will reform its policies or instead crack down on California schools to bring them in line.

Newsom signed another notable bill we discuss, a contentious, hard-negotiated compromise that will bring big changes to the state’s charter school law. In an excerpt from the signing ceremony, Newsom praises lawmakers and the chief antagonists, the California Charter Schools Association and the California Teachers Association, for their cooperation.

EdSource reporter Ashley Smith gives an update on Calbright College, the CSU’s new online college that opened its virtual doors with hundreds of Californians enrolling in its three initial classes.

For more, see the following articles:

• Hundreds sign up for the new Calbright College
• California’s new online community college to open after months of planning
• Charter school reform in California: what state leaders had to say
• California’s charter schools soon to enter an uneasy era
• Governor, lawmakers agree on new controls on California charter schools
• Governor’s team jumps into fray over contested charter school bill
• Proposed legislation would substantially curb growth of California charter schools
• Text of the Fair Pay to Pay Act, SB 206

This week, we take a look at how students and teachers in California are helping to raise awareness and shape action in the fight against global warming. 

We speak with one of the young environmental activists who helped organize the actions in California, 16-year-old Isha Clarke, a senior at MetWest High School in Oakland and a leader in a group called Youth vs. Apocalypse. We also speak with Karen Cowe, CEO of Ten Strands, an organization that promotes environmental literacy in California schools, about how climate change and other environmental issues are being taught in California.

For more, see the following articles:

• California students join global strike demanding action on climate change
• California schools getting a little greener as environmental education guidelines roll out
• California renews push to promote environmental literacy in schools

With persistence – and some legal help – they persuaded the school board to amend their annual spending plan, the LCAP, and put several million dollars toward hiring more counselors, expanding arts and music and providing more services for foster youth and English learners — instead of on police and security officers, as the board had planned.

This week, we speak with Jesus Sanchez, a community organizer and founder of Gente Organizada, and Iris Villalpando, a student leader, about why they fought so hard to change spending priorities in the district.

We also speak with Nicole Gon Ochi, senior attorney with the nonprofit law firm Public Advocates, who argues that spending state funding on services like counseling for English learners and low-income students is not only more effective in advancing student achievement but also a legal imperative under the state’s funding law, the Local Control Funding Formula.

Plus, EdSource early childhood reporter Zaidee Stavely discusses a bill on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk that would require every school to offer at least one full-day kindergarten class. About a fifth of California schools currently don’t do that.

For more, see the following articles:

• Letter from ACLU/Public Advocates to Pomona Unified
• LA County Office admits it shouldn’t have approved Long Beach’s LCAP
• Torlakson reinterprets department’s stance on teacher raises
• Full-day kindergarten could soon be required in every California school
• Expanding Early Learning Time: Accessing Full Day Preschool and Kindergarten in California

These were among the more contentious – and momentous – bills that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law this month. 

And in the hours before they adjourned Friday, lawmakers passed one more big education bill with a big price tag – a $15 billion bond measure with funding for pre-K-12 and higher education facilities that will go to voters next March. 

In this week’s podcast, we interview Jeff Vincent, of the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, who co-authored a Getting Down to Facts research project on school facilities funding data and policy options last year. Vincent summarizes his findings and gives his view on whether the proposed bond measure will solve the funding inequities that he discovered.

We also interview Laura Schifter, the policy director of a new coalition, ED2020, whose goal is to persuade presidential candidates to pay more attention to education in the lead-up to the 2020 election and to focus on their priorities. 

For more, see the following articles and video:

• Gov. Newsom, lawmakers strike deal on $15 billion education construction bond
• $13 billion state bond for school construction targeted for 2020 California ballot
• California plan for school construction bonds sparks debate for reform
• Achieving fair funding for school modernization in California: a case study [video]

California, in adopting a new accountability system based on multiple measures, has firmly rejected the idea of a single ranking for schools. We interview Michael Kirst, the former president of the State Board of Education, who tells us why he is still against the idea of a single rating for schools.

For a transcript of Kirst’s comments, go here.

And we interview Jon Deane, the CEO of GreatSchools.org, an Oakland-based parent-oriented nonprofit that ranks schools on a 1-to-10 scale, which he says many parents find helpful.

We also discuss the $15 billion construction bond covering pre-K through higher education facilities on the March 2020 state ballot.

EdSource released a video that looks at the school construction and renovation needs of Fresno Unified. It indicates that low-income communities with lower than average property values, like Fresno, get a disproportionately small share of state bond funding.

For more, see the following articles:

• Push for single rating of LA schools challenges state’s multi-dimensional accountability system
• Contrary to critics, parents tell pollster they find California’s school dashboard useful
• Gov. Newsom, lawmakers still negotiating K-14 construction bond
• Achieving fair funding for school modernization in California: a case study [VIDEO]

We also interview two key players with opposite perspectives on a controversial proposal by the California State University chancellor’s office to require a fourth year of math or an additional course using quantitative reasoning as a CSU admissions requirement.

Chris Steinhauser, superintendent of Long Beach Unified, supports the idea. His district already requires a fourth year of math, with evidence, he says, that more students have been admitted to and are succeeding in college.

Audrey Dow, senior vice president of the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity, opposes the proposal. She says it will present another obstacle for students in low-income high schools that already can’t find math and science teachers and don’t offer courses already required by CSU.

CSU trustees may vote on the proposal in the fall.

For more, see the following articles: 

• Governor, lawmakers agree on new controls on California charter schools
• Governor’s team jumps into fray over contested charter school bill
• Gov. Newsom proposes tighter rules on charter school enrollment
• Critics urge CSU to drop or delay plan to require extra year of high school math
• Opponents urge CSU to reject 4th year of high school math or related courses for admission
• Cal State drops intermediate algebra as requirement to take some college-level math courses

In his new book, The College Dropout Scandal, David Kirp calls out American colleges and universities for a “dereliction of duty” for allowing this problem to persist.

But Kirp, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and contributing columnist to the New York Times, also suggests solutions. His travels took him to Georgia State, the University of Central Florida and, in California, Cal State Long Beach – universities where strong leadership and persistent strategies have significantly raised graduation rates, especially among low-income, first-generation student populations.

California has initiated ambitious plans for all its public university systems to improve graduation rates. But it still has a long way to go to reach its goals.

This week, we interview Kirp about his findings and Cal State Long Beach President Jane Conoley about efforts, starting in local high schools with the Long Beach Promise, to build an institutional culture that helps students to pursue and thrive in college.

For more, see the following articles: 

• Boosting California college graduations is first up for governor’s panel
• National college dropout rates are a scandal, UC author says
• High school starts early for California freshmen in ‘summer bridge’
• ‘College Promise’ programs reaching more students in California
• America faces a colossal college dropout problem; here’s what to do about it

Paradise, in rural Northern California, and El Paso, Texas, are linked together by a common thread of tragedies – one by fire, the other by gunfire. In both places, schools must cope with the anxiety of children who experienced trauma directly or fear what might happen next.

This week, we speak with Michelle John, the new superintendent of Paradise Unified, about how the district is preparing for the emotional needs of students on their return to school. Through a remarkable effort, the district’s buildings have been renovated; counselors and teachers are ready for the psychological scars that are harder to spot.

We also interview Fernando Garcia, founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, about the existential threat to Latino and immigrant communities that a white supremacist shooter exposed. Compounded by worries over federal deportation raids, immigrant families in California share their anxiety.

For more, see the following articles: 

• Students return to dramatically different Paradise
• Trauma in Paradise: A California school system focuses on mental health after devastating fire
• Fear, absenteeism, falling grades among impacts of immigration crackdown, study finds

Clamping down on exemptions from vaccinations. Starting high schools later in the day. Giving school boards more latitude to reject charter schools. Paying quality child care providers based on regional costs.

These are among some of the key issues that California lawmakers will take up next week when they end their summer vacation. In a roundtable discussion this week, three EdSource reporters – Zaidee Stavely, Theresa Harrington and Diana Lambert – highlight the key early education and K-12 bills they’ll be following and why you should, too.

For more, see the following articles: 

• Building blocks: California’s proposed early education legislation
• California education bills to watch
• Child care providers push California to boost pay for early education teachers
• Governor’s team jumps into fray over contested charter school bill
• Another push to expand use of SAT in California amid criticism of test

High school physics, once the province of college-bound engineers and math majors, will be open to all students as a result of California’s new science standards and the state placing a greater emphasis on physics as a core part of the high school curriculum.  

What will this mean for students, and how will districts find more physics instructors?  We pose those and other questions this week to Shawna Metcalf,  president of the California Science Teachers Association and a science specialist with the Glendale Unified School District. 

We also explore the hidden reality that low-paid teachers and other staff in child care and preschools are, in effect, subsidizing California’s early education system to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. A new study out this week makes this provocative case, and a co-author of the study, Lea Austin, co-director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley, reviews the numbers with us. 

For more, see the following articles: 

• Plan to expose all students to physics missing one element — teachers
• Where to start? Inside one California district’s approach to redesign STEM education
• Funding, teacher training top educators’ wish lists for science education in 2018
• New report: “Breaking the silence on early child care and education costs”
• Teacher shortage, early education targeted in Gov. Newsom’s California budget revision

Since 2013, 10 California school districts, small and large, rural and urban, have been collaborating on strategies to improve student achievement in math under the Common Core standards, perhaps the state’s biggest academic challenge. A five-year evaluation of their project, known as Math in Common, documents their struggles and some promising strategies that could benefit other districts. 

This week, two educators involved in the initiative share their insights: Vicky Armstrong, chief academic officer of rural Dinuba Unified, and Laura Schwalm of California Education Partners, an organization that guided the collective work. 

We also discuss another foundation-backed initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement, which held a conference this week at the University of Maryland to review what has been accomplished during its first year. Four grantees, including the CORE Districts  in California and California Education Partners, are working on projects whose goal is to improve the performance of black, Latino and low-income students.

For more, see the following articles: 

• 10 California districts struggle, and find some success, as they shift to Common Core math
• Educators learn early results of Gates initiative to improve student outcomes
• Gates Foundation moves to implement new strategy to support ‘networks for school improvement

A highly contested bill that would sharply limit the growth of charter schools in California got a rewrite this week, when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s advisers submitted amendments after some shuttle diplomacy and meetings with the bill’s author, Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach. Assembly Bill 1505, which would let districts consider a proposed charter’s financial impact, passed a Senate committee but more negotiations are expected this summer.

We discuss the compromises that the Newsom administration proposed and hear testimony from San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten.

We also interview Todd Ziebarth of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, about how events in California fits in with what is happening around the nation.

For more, see the following articles: 

• Governor’s team jumps into fray over contested charter school bill
• Gov. Newsom’s task force recommends more discretion to deny charter schools
• New charter schools to open this fall despite efforts to curb growth
• Drive to cap California charter school growth stalls
• Proposed legislation would substantially curb growth of California charter schools

San Francisco pediatrician Nadine Burke-Harris, California’s first surgeon general, has done groundbreaking work studying the debilitating impact of emotional and physical trauma on young children. With $95 million in the new state budget that Gov. Newsom signed this week, soon every pediatrician and school health clinic in California will be able to give the parent survey that Burke-Harris created to identify children facing adverse experiences, such as violence, neglect or divorce. 

This week, we speak with EdSource reporter Zaidee Staveley about plans for using the survey and with Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger, chief medical officer of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, which Burke-Harris established, about how survey answers can guide critically important treatment.

We also interview Lisa Eisenberg, the policy director of the California School Based Health Alliance, about how hundreds of school-based health clinics will use the survey to identify factors behind chronic health problems and behavior issues in the classroom. 

For more, see the following articles:

• California wants to find out if you — or your kids — have experienced trauma
• Q&A: California’s first-ever surgeon general on her plans to tackle toxic stress in children
• How a tiny Native American community’s trauma might impact education law
• Addressing early childhood trauma requires shift in policy, more training for teachers

With hundreds of school districts in California serving as charter school authorizers, the Charter School Task Force unanimously agreed in a report to Gov. Gavin Newsom that districts and county offices of education need help approving and overseeing charter schools. This week, we interview the executive director of CARSNet, an organization run by the Alameda County Office of Education that offers bootcamps and tutorials in charter school responsibilities, and could serve as a model for a new state agency that the task force says should be created.

We also discuss a proposal to put a $13 billion school construction bond on the statewide ballot as early as March 2020, and we interview Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, who has had to deal with a teachers strike and the threat of  insolvency during her first two years as Oakland Unified’s  school superintendent.

For more, see the following articles:

• Charter school authorizers come under greater scrutiny in California
• $13 billion state bond for school construction targeted for 2020 California ballot
• Recent EdSource webinar on the future of school construction and renovation
• Oakland Unified committed to fixing fiscal problems, but state must also step up

Billions in relief from rising school pension costs. Hundreds of millions more for child care and preschool. College grants for thousands of new teachers committing to teach subjects in high demand.

This week, we dissect Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first education budget to see which campaign promises he kept and which new directions he’s taking. Jonathan Kaplan, senior policy analyst for the nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center, gives the big picture for K-12 and higher ed, and EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely highlights significant increases in funding for early childhood programs and education. Their take: a good budget for school districts and young children.

For more on the state budget:

• California’s budget deal takes a step toward universal preschool
• Pension relief, special education funding highlight Gov. Newsom’s budget
• More aid for older and homeless students in California’s higher education budget

Passing a school parcel tax is usually a stiff climb in California. Los Angeles Unified’s Measure EE, however, didn’t make it to base camp. The proposed $500 million tax on properties got only 46 percent approval, creating a quandary for a district that will need the money to reduce class sizes and meet the commitments to settle the teachers’ strike. This week, we explore reasons for the defeat and the strategies Superintendent Austin Beutner and the board of education might take in response. We interview LAUSD board member Nick Melvoin and David Tokofsky, a former board member and strategist for the district administrators’ union.

We also speak with EdSource higher education reporter Larry Gordon, who reveals the name of California’s new online community college and the thinking behind it.

For more, see the following article:

• Los Angeles voters decisively reject parcel tax that would have raised $500 million annually for schools
• And the winner is: “Calbright” will be the name for California’s new community college

EdSource delves into student absenteeism in rural California in a two-part series by reporter David Washburn this week. Interviews with students and counselors in Butte County put a human dimension on disturbing data about why children struggling with poverty, isolation and parents facing a range of challenges are staying out of school in disproportionately high numbers.

Rural California: An Education Divide

• Find the rate of chronic absenteeism in your district here.
• Part 1: Lost days: Poverty, isolation drive chronic absenteeism in California’s rural school districts
• Part 2: Lost Days: Inside one rural California district’s effort to combat chronic absenteeism

Also this week, we discuss how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed huge increase in funding for special education – what normally would be an unbridled cause for great celebration among advocates for students with disabilities — has become a major disagreement between the Legislature and the governor. And we note the defeat in the state Senate of a bill calling for a moratorium on charter schools — the latest twist in the year’s ongoing battle between pro- and anti-charter forces.

For more, see the following article:

• California governor and lawmakers at odds over new special education funding

After an intense debate and suspenseful moments, legislation that could substantially reduce the number of new charter schools in California got just enough votes to pass the Assembly this week — with lead author Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, promising amendments to satisfy skeptics, but the legislation is still a long way from becoming law. We play excerpts from the debate and discuss prospects for AB 1505’s  passage.

We also interview Tom Epstein, president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors, which last week extended Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley’s contract through 2023. Coming a week after a vote of no confidence by a community college faculty association, the board’s vote signaled for support in Oakley’s leadership and in reforms that he has championed. They include a sharp reduction in remedial courses, the creation of a new online college and a funding formula for the system’s 114 colleges partially based on students’ success.

For more, see the following articles:

• Efforts to restrict charter school growth in California inch forward in state Legislature
• Proposed legislation would substantially curb growth of California charter schools
• California Community Colleges will extend chancellor’s contract through 2023
• California Community College faculty groups vote no confidence in chancellor

How are more than 150 districts in California “beating the odds”?  This week, Linda Darling-Hammond talks about a new study from the Learning Policy Institute that focuses on school districts in California that achieved higher test scores for all or most students than their demographics predicted. A co-author of the study, Darling-Hammond says the most important factor contributing to success in most of those districts was not higher per-student spending or a lower teacher-student ratios, but a workforce of  experienced teachers.

For a list of districts “beating the odds,” check out the LPI report here. 

We also asked Darling-Hammond, in her first interview with EdSource since being selected as president of the State Board of Education, about what has surprised her in her first few months in the post.

And we discuss the College Board’s announcement this week that it plans to expand its new “Adversity Score” that will take students’ hardships and  challenges into account.

For more, see the following articles:

• Experienced teachers key in California districts that ‘beat the odds’
• Another push to expand use of SAT in California amid criticism of test
• Coming soon to the SAT: An ‘adversity score’ offering a snapshot of challenges students face

For the first time since becoming U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos spoke  to the annual conference of the Education Writers Association in Baltimore this week. Louis and John, who were there, play excerpts of her talk and discuss topics on her mind: her relations with the press, her views on school choice and her latest federal initiative, which hasn’t yet gotten much traction: Education Freedom Scholarships.

They also interview Katie Hern, co-founder of the California Acceleration Project, for an update on landmark legislation, AB 705, to reform the overuse of remediation courses in community colleges. And Louis gives a quick take on highlights in Gov. Newsom’s revised state budget, which the governor released on Thursday.

For background:

• Trump administration’s school safety report met with harsh criticism in California
• Education Secretary Betsy DeVos praises California governor on local control of schools
• As California community colleges gear up to teach less remedial math, one college shows how it can be done
• Some college students more prepared than placement tests indicate
• Teacher shortage, early education targeted in Gov. Newsom’s California budget revision

California teachers in many districts across the state face out-of-control housing costs that they are unable to meet in the districts where they teach. This week, host Louis Freedberg talks with reporter Diana Lambert about an EdSource project that identified the scope of the problem, and where teachers face the greatest cost crunch.

Many educators are looking to the state to come up with more funds that could help bump up teacher salaries and perhaps make a dent on the housing affordability challenge. We talk with California school finance expert Kim Rueben, director of the State and Local Finance Initiative at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, about several ways the state could generate additional funds to support public education in the state.

For background:

• Rising rents in coastal California outpace teacher pay
• In need of teacher housing, more California school districts building their own
• California teachers share their stories
• How much housing can California teachers afford?
• Interactive Map: Where teachers find affordable housing in California

On Wednesday, hundreds of teachers and parents for and against charter schools made their voices heard at the State Capitol before the Assembly Education Committee, as expected, passed three bills that would substantially curb charter school growth.

This week we discuss prospects for the bills and how they may or may not align with the forthcoming recommendations by the Charter Task Force convened by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request.

Also, with the state fund to assist districts with school construction projects running out of money, legislators are considering putting two state bonds on the state ballot in 2020 and 2022. We talk with Jeff Vincent, co-director of the Center for Cities + Schools at UC Berkeley, who is urging legislators to give school districts with small tax bases and low-income homeowners a bigger share of the state grants. His recent research shows how wealthy districts are getting the lion’s share.

For background:

• Efforts to restrict charter school growth in California inch forward in state Legislature
• California governor’s new task force on charter schools convenes
• Proposed legislation would substantially curb growth of California charter schools
• California plan for school construction bonds sparks debate for reform

This week, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris put forward a 10-year, $315 billion plan to close the pay gap nationwide between teachers and other professional workers to attract more college grads into the classroom. For insight and perspective, we interview two experts on the federal role in education: Michael Kirst, former president of the California State Board of Education, and Professor Dan Goldhaber of the University of Washington.

Also, John and Louis discuss new twists in the debate over giving students more access in school to take the SAT and ACT. Two bills before the Legislature reflect conflicting views on the college entrance exams: one would allow districts to substitute SAT or ACT for the 11th-grade Smarter Balanced test; another would ask UC and CSU to consider stop using SAT and ACT altogether.

For more information:

• Kamala Harris’s plan to boost teacher pay would cost $315 billion over 10 years
• Another push to expand use of SAT in California amid criticism of test
• Gov. Brown vetoes bill to let districts give SAT or ACT as 11th grade test

Bribes that wealthy parents paid to get their kids into prestigious colleges were brazen but — for urban students competing on an unequal footing for college — not surprising. This week, Tina Kim, a site director in Los Angeles of the nonprofit College Track, shares the perceptions of low-income students who know the obstacles they face on the path to college.

Plus Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe discusses the financial challenges confronting Oakland Unified. And EdSource’s Larry Gordon talks about the challenges facing California’s community colleges in reaching their ambitious goals to improve student completion and transfer rates.

For background:

• Too many college students are not going back to school this fall
• After seven-day strike, Oakland teachers approve new contract
• Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs
• California community colleges show little progress in student graduations and transfers
• California’s community colleges’ new push to improve graduation and transfer rates

Spurred by Gov. Newsom’s pledge to expand services for the states youngest children, early education has moved to the top of the legislative agenda in Sacramento. This week, Louis and reporter Zaidee Stavely discuss the highlights of the recommendations issued by California’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood Education. And Zaidee interviews Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top advisor on early education, Giannina Perez.

Also, John interviews UCLA Professor John Rogers, whose survey of more than 500 high school principals nationwide reveals that the incivility and tensions of politics under President Trump are percolating into the classroom, heightening anxiety and conflict.

For background:

• Gov. Newsom’s early childhood advisor describes ‘whole-child, whole-family, whole-community’ strategy
• Increasing subsidized child care and pay for providers crucial for California, report says
• School and Society in the Age of Trump, a report by UCLA Professor John Rogers

Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded a bill requiring more transparency from charter schools, and he got one in record time, then signed it this week, flanked by negotiators for school districts, teachers unions and even charter schools. But he made no commitments for further restrictions, saying he’d wait for a panel of experts’ advice in the spring.

This week, Louis and John play back his remarks and discuss what’s ahead for charter schools. And we share snippets of our webinar on public employee pensions, highlighting key disagreements on how to view the escalating pension expenses facing school districts. We also discuss the implications of the California Supreme Court decision on pensions.

For more:

• Gov. Newsom signs legislation requiring charter school transparency in California
• Disclosure requirements for charter schools await Gov. Newsom’s signature
• Recording of EdSource’s March 6 webinar on the school public pension challenge in California
• California Supreme Court stops short of allowing school districts to modify existing pensions

On Friday, the Oakland Unified School District reached a tentative agreement with the teachers union that would end the 7-day strike. This week, Louis and John provide an update on the agreement, which is expected to be voted on by the union membership this weekend.

Striking teachers in Los Angeles and Oakland have drawn attention to the critical shortage of school nurses in a state with one of the nation’s highest student to nurse ratios. Melinda Landau, who runs San Jose Unified’s health and family support program, explains what one district is doing to attract and retain nurses.

And Cory Koedel, author of a study on California school pension costs, gives a preview of what he and other panelists will discuss at an EdSource webinar on Wednesday, March 6 from 1 to 2 pm  on the pension predicament. (You can sign up here). 

For more:

• Tentative agreement reached in Oakland Unified teachers’ strike
• Even when districts want more school nurses, they have trouble finding them
• Gov. Newsom proposes to chip away at mountain of pension liability and ease school districts’ burden
• State, new teachers to pay more to shore up state teachers pension fund
• Oakland Unified discloses improved contract after protesters shut down board meeting

With the teachers strike in Oakland Unified ending its first week, we interview a parent and an overworked school nurse for their take on why the district’s 3,000 teachers walked off the job, and speak with EdSource reporter Theresa Harrington about prospects for a settlement.

We also review a bill quickly moving through the Legislature that  would require charter schools to follow the same public disclosure and conflict of interest laws that apply to school districts. And Louis interviews Roberta Furger, co-author of a new report by the Learning Policy Institute on the state of education reforms in California.

For background:

• Oakland superintendent: District must choose ‘imperfect solutions over strife’
• Why I am on the picket line, not in my classroom
• California’s school funding flaws make it difficult for districts to meet teacher demands
• Distrust is a central issue in Oakland teachers’ strike
• California charter schools facing new oversight under fast-track legislation
• Support, strengthen education reforms in California, new report urges

After a busy week in California education, Louis Freedberg reflects on Gov. Newsom’s pick to be next president of the State Board of Education — Linda Darling-Hammond — whose focus on teaching and learning over many decades will  bring fresh perspectives to the board.

John Fensterwald discusses the release of the list of California’s lowest-performing schools as measured by several indicators on the California School Dashboard.

We also look at how some teachers are using immigrant students’ home languages to build their confidence, and to integrate them into their new schools.

And we share EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely’s story about a novel approach in an Oakland school, first aired on Public Radio International’s The World.

For background:

• Gov. Newsom names new head of State Board of Education in California
• California quietly publishes list of 781 lowest-performing schools
• In this California classroom, students teach each other their home languages – and learn acceptance

We also talk with EdSource’s Larry Gordon about the big push at the California State University to improve graduation rates and how far many campuses have to go to reach their goals.

For background:

• Oakland teachers vote overwhelmingly to authorize a strike and win city council support
• California State University graduation rates show uneven progress, some backsliding

And Louis interviews U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-VA, the new chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, about his plans to enforce states’ compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act and his goal of reauthorizing the  Higher Education Act this year.

For background:

• LA Unified, teachers still face challenges over contract and charter school moratorium
• Los Angeles teachers return to class after voting to end strike
• After eight years, Democrats assume power over education policy in House of Representatives

• Outcome of Los Angeles teachers’ strike crucial for labor movement nationally
• Los Angeles teachers return to work after voting to end strike

They interview EdSource early education reporter Zaidee Stavely and Erin Gabel, deputy director of the state commission First 5 California, about Newsom’s proposals. These include phasing in full-day preschool for all low-income 4-year-olds and full-day kindergarten for those districts that don’t offer it already; expanding family home visits by nurses and social workers; and establishing a 6-month leave for parents to care for newborn children.

They discuss what’s doable with a budget surplus now and what requires longer-term funding.

For background:

• Gov. Newsom proposing to expand services for babies and toddlers
• Gov. Newsom wants universal preschool for low-income children in California to be phased in over three years
• New push underway to expand preschool for low-income children in California
• Windfall for California K-12 schools, more spending from early to higher ed in Newsom’s first budget

While expressing satisfaction with changes so far, Kirst warns that a lack of funding for teacher and principal training in the new academic standards and a lack of guidance from the state on strategies to improve will undermine the new reforms. He also calls for more school funding and a data system that will track students from preschool to the workplace.

For background:

• Excerpts of the interview with Mike Kirst
• Short video of Mike Kirst looking back over his career
• Kirst’s parting advice: more teacher and principal training is critical to success of local control
• State Board of Education President Mike Kirst announces he’ll retire — and reflects on changes he has led
• Tony Thurmond sworn in as California’s new superintendent of public instruction

John and Louis met with Gov. Brown on his last day working at the Capitol, where staffers were clearing out offices and boxing up belongings.

• Landmark reforms championed by Gov. Brown leave deep imprint on California education
• Perspectives on Gov. Brown’s contributions to education — and what is yet to be done
• Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms
• Gov. Brown reemphasizes local control of state’s public schools

They also discuss important stories that EdSource covered — on homelessness, lead in school drinking water and school discipline.

And we get an update from EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely about the effect on immigrant families — especially children — of the Trump administration’s proposed restrictions on granting green cards to people who have received government support such as food stamps or Medi-Cal.

For background:

• California education in 2018; A look back at EdSource’s top stories
• Trump’s proposed regulations limiting benefits for immigrants could hurt many US-born children

Another district dealing with a budget crisis and tense relations with teachers is Oakland Unified. Louis talks with Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell about, among other things, the prospect of having to close a sizable number of schools to balance her budget.  

For background:

• Why LAUSD’s 30,000 Teachers Might Go On Strike  (Kyle Stokes, KPCC & LAist)
• Los Angeles teachers plan to strike Jan. 10, union says (EdSource)
• Oakland risks state takeover if it fails to make budget cuts, state and county officials warn (EdSource)

Presumably, Newsom’s proposals will build on what California has done already — and avoid pitfalls from past experiences. In recent years, under Gov. Brown’s watch, there has been considerable movement toward making college and career readiness a key part of California’s K-12 education system, and linking the high school curriculum to the workplace.

This week, John Fensterwald talks with Carrie Hahnel, co-director of The Education Trust—West, about the new college and career indicator on the California School Dashboard, which measures how districts are doing in preparing students for life after high school. And Louis Freedberg talks with Marty Alvarado, a senior director at Jobs for the Future, about what we can learn from California’s massive investment — through the California Career Pathways Trust  — in creating career pathways from high school into college and the workplace.

For background:

• Ratings in updated California School Dashboard target more districts for assistance (EdSource)
• When $500 million career pathways grants ran dry, so did regional collaboration (EdSource)
• Sustaining cross-sector partnerships (Jobs for the Future)
• Lessons About the State Role in Sustaining Efforts to Improve Economic Advancement (Jobs for the Future)

This week, Louis and John discuss the possibility of a deal between President Trump — who has attempted to end DACA — and Congress to establish permanent residency with a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. They speak with EdSource reporter Zaidee Stavely, who has been following the issue, and interview Salvador Cruz-Matus, a senior at CSU San Marcos who dreams of becoming an American citizen with a Ph.D. in plant biology.

Louis and John also review the latest state data on school discipline, which show a continued decline of student suspension rates, particularly for disruptive and defiant behavior. However, suspension rates for more serious offenses, including violent acts and possession of weapons, have not significantly fallen.

For background:

• In limbo, DACA students look to Congress again for help
• Trump’s proposed regulations limiting benefits for immigrants could hurt many US-born children
• Proposed ‘public charge’ rule change stirs confusion over green card eligibility – podcast on PRI’s The World by Zaidee Stavely
• Understanding DACA and education in California: a quick guide
• Suspensions in California schools drop, but trouble spots remain

Votes are still being counted, but in the latest tally on Nov. 24, Thurmond was leading Tuck by 1.8 percentage points, or 182,000 votes. He now has a chance to help shape the nation’s largest school system — one with nearly 10,000 schools and more than 6 million public school children.

The race was marked by total spending of over $60 million — much of it spent on political ads, several of which were harshly negative ones.

Ads saying Thurmond had been sued by the ACLU for many problems in the school district where he had served as a school board member were misleading or false, according to analyses by PolitiFact and EdSource, as were ads that he had been “reprimanded” by the Obama administration for the district’s failure to adequately respond to assault and sexual harassment charges by students and others in the district.

Similarly, ads intended to link Tuck to President Trump and suggesting that Tuck had been endorsed by Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos were also misleading and false, according to similar analyses.

In the final analysis, what may have made the difference in Thurmond’s victory was the “blue wave” that brought millions of new voters to the polls.

In keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving, our podcast producer Shuka Kalantari interviewed Maryam Abdullah, a developmental psychologist and parenting program director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, who cites the benefits of raising a grateful child and offers practical tips for integrating gratitude into children’s daily living. 

For background on the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction:  

• ‘Blue wave’ helps push Thurmond to victory in California schools chief race
• Thurmond wins race for California state superintendent of public instruction

Tips for promoting gratitude in children  — year round:

• How to foster little moments of gratitude with your children, by Maryam Abdullah.

How to help children, teachers and families cope with the Paradise fire:

• Donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser established by teachers in Chico and Paradise
• Check out other ways to contribute in this EdSource article.

For a perspective on the impact of the devastation on families and schools, Louis and John interview Mandy Corbin, assistant superintendent of the Sonoma County Office of Education. A year ago, she coordinated the county’s response to the state’s last big wildfire, the Tubbs Fire, which destroyed sections of the city of Santa Rosa and the surrounding area.

Corbin discusses the training that teachers and administrators took in the aftermath of the fire, the traumatic effects on students and their teachers and the state of the recovery a year later.

For background:

• After the fire, a school district gone
• In aftermath of fires, schools brace for newly homeless students
• Fires, floods, hurricanes: Teachers turn natural disasters into science and history lessons

Focusing on the record-breaking, $50-plus million race in California for State Superintendent of Public Instruction between Tony Thurmond and Marshall Tuck, Louis and John turn to long-time political observer Kevin Gordon, who is president of the K-12 education consulting firm Capitol Advisors. Gordon offers his take on why a position that offers a big podium to talk policy but little power to make it is attracting a barrage of negative ads on both sides. Louis recalls another contentious campaign for state superintendent nearly 50 years ago, when Wilson Riles upset arch-conservative incumbent Max Rafferty to become California’s first African-American statewide officeholder.

For more on the race for state superintendent of public instruction.

• Differences between Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond are real, as are areas of agreement
• Donations reach $50 million in race for California state superintendent of schools
• Profile of Tony Thurmond
• Profile of Marshall Tuck
• What does the state superintendent do?

Read more here:

EdSource campaign coverage of the superintendent race

Candidates for California state superintendent of schools clash over attack ads

Millions more pour into race for California state superintendent of public instruction

Listen here

Read more here: 

New warnings about California students juggling college and jobs

Cal State system reports improvement in graduation rates

For background:

• EdSource guide to the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Where Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond stand on key issues
• A future in flux: what next for the California Department of Education?
• Millions pour into race for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

They also review education bills that Gov. Jerry Brown signed and vetoed, focusing on one that would have expanded the ban on suspensions for willful defiance through 8th grade. Reporter David Washburn explains the governor’s opposition despite widespread support for the bill.

For background:

• Small rise in California’s math and reading scores in 2018
• EdSource database: California Smarter Balanced Test Results: Fall 2018
• Statewide results on 2018 Smarter Balanced tests in California
• With bill signings, Gov. Brown makes his final mark on California education
• Gov. Brown vetoes expansion of California’s school suspension ban

Louis and John talk with EdSource reporter Nico Savidge, who gives an overview of the series, and with Dr. Jennifer Lowry, the chair of American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Environmental Health and an expert on the effects of lead exposure on children. She argues that the state and federal standards for lead content in drinking water should be lowered. 

For background:

• Index and overview of Tainted Taps
• Gaps in California law requiring schools to test for lead could leave children at risk
• Lead problems in water linger at Los Angeles schools, despite years of testing and repairs
• Under local pressure, California school districts adopt lower lead limits for water
• Interactive Map: Lead levels found in California schools’ drinking water
• Search lead test results in California school water

The EdSource team that produced the report were reporter Nico Savidge, database reporter Daniel Willis, graphic artist Sunny Xie, web designer Justin Allen and editor Rose Ciotta.

For background:

• Multifaceted reforms needed to reach California’s education goals, research project finds
• Essential Guide to Getting Down to Facts II
• A conversation with Sean Reardon and Deborah Stipek on early childhood education
• School-based health care a low priority in California

Louis and John focus on that controversial bill, speaking with Dr. Mariah Baughn, a pathologist and San Diego leader of the national organization Start School Later, who lays out the evidence of strong health and student-achievement benefits of accommodating teenagers’ sleep patterns.

EdSource reporter Theresa Harrington, who wrote about the issue, explains why groups representing school boards and administrators strongly oppose Senate Bill 328. John and Louis speculate on whether Gov. Jerry Brown will sign it.

They also talk about the impact of banning for-profit charter schools; Brown signed legislation to do that last week.

For background:

• Both sides lobbying California governor on bill to delay school start time for teens
• Gov. Brown again to decide whether to ban for-profit charter schools

Louis and John speak with Alexandra Logue, a professor at the Center for Advanced Study in Education, Graduate Center, The City University of New York, about her research showing the effectiveness of corequisite courses, in which students take a credit-bearing math or English course, while receiving extra support, instead of being assigned to remedial courses.

They also spoke with EdSource higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn about some community college faculty members’ concerns about the new approach, which will take effect next fall.

For background:

• California community colleges urged to plan now for fewer students in remedial courses
• Commentary: Research backs California’s push to reform remedial math education
• Commentary: Community college reforms are on the right track

Louis and John also discuss some of the key K-12 bills that have been sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto. They include a ban on for-profit charter schools and three measures to improve school safety.

For background, read these EdSource articles:

• In strategy shift, Gates Foundation to spend bulk of education dollars on ‘locally driven solutions’
• Gates Foundation’s new school initiative awards big grants to California nonprofits
• California lawmakers send school safety bills to Gov. Brown’s desk

EdSource receives support from a dozen philanthropic foundations, including the Gates Foundation. Editorial decision-making and content remain under the sole control of EdSource.

A bill to do that, Assembly Bill 1951, soon may reach Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature. The bill passed the Assembly, but has yet to be approved by the Senate.

Long Beach Unified, the state’s 3rd largest district, has been one of the most active proponents of the idea. The district is already giving the SAT at its own expense to all juniors in its effort to encourage more students to apply to college.

Louis and John speak with Christopher Lund, the assistant superintendent for research and school improvement at Long Beach Unified. Then they speak with State Board of Education President Michael Kirst, a strong opponent of the idea.

For background:

• Renewed push to offer SAT and ACT as California’s 11th-grade test
• Growing number of California school districts offer students free college entrance exam
• Don’t swap state tests like Smarter Balanced for SAT or ACT, report cautions
• Text of Assembly Bill 1951, authored by Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach

Brentwood Union School District is also reconstructing all of its playgrounds to go well beyond what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. Superintendent Dana Eaton discusses the effort – and why it’s so important.

Read a Q&A with Olenka Villareal by Erin Brownfield:  Making playgrounds fully accessible for all kids

Louis also speaks with EdSource reporter Nico Savidge about the reasoning behind, potential benefits from and challenges facing California’s new online community college, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.

For background:

California’s soda tax ban stalled a grassroots movement, but didn’t kill it

California’s online community college will break new ground in higher ed

Cohn reflects on his past roles as school superintendent and member of the State Board of Education and discusses other challenges facing California, especially the persistent academic achievement gaps among different student groups.

For more: Gov. Brown urges work on new online college; faculty drop  opposition

For background:

Battle ramps up to convince California school employees to withhold union fees

High court ends mandatory fees collected by public unions

How teacher strikes in other states help California unions make their case

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos signs off: California’s plan finally satisfies federal law

For more: Jonathan Raymond reflects on leadership and his experience leading Sacramento City Unified in a recent interview with Education Dive. 

Public employee unions in California and 21 other states that permitted these “fair share” fees could lose substantial revenue and members as a result. They spoke with Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Association, about the union’s strategy to keep members. They also spoke with two labor union experts with divergent views on the merits of the case: Ken Jacobs, chair of the Labor Center at UC Berkeley, and Terry Moe, a professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

To read EdSource’s coverage of Janus: 

High court ends mandatory fees collected by public unions

Lawmakers give California unions new protections as Supreme Court ruling looms

What’s at issue, what’s at stake in Janus, the Supreme Court case challenging compulsory union fees

To read the Supreme Court ruling in Janus, go here

Louis discusses the move to “performance-based budgeting” at California’s community colleges with two observers deeply familiar with the issue. And John talks about a new $300 million appropriation, directed to students with the lowest test scores, with an interesting backstory.

For background information:

In race for governorship, Villaraigosa and Newsom pledge unity

Legislative leaders strike deal with Gov. Brown on education funding 

California budget deal includes extra funding for students with lowest test scores

There’s enough money to reach the goal Brown set for his K-12 funding formula and forgo tuition increases for Cal State and UC. Why, with so much new money, aren’t more school districts feeling flush? In an interview, Edgar Zazueta of the Association of California School Administrators, offers an answer.

Louis and John also speak with Tom Armelino, new executive director of the agency overseeing school improvement, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.

More from EdSource:

The 2018-19 state budget for education in graphics

Legislative leaders and Jerry Brown reach deal on budget

More money, short of demand, for infant and toddler care in state budget

Tom Armelino named to head new education agency

John and Louis are joined by Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley IGS Poll, who offers an overview of the campaigns, and by Professor Fernando Guerra, an expert on Los Angeles politics at Loyola Marymount University, who discusses the impact of outside money in the race for state superintendent. Finally, John and Louis discuss how the larger fight over charter schools will shape that race.

Also this week, we play an excerpt from the  California School Field Trip, a podcast from the California Collaborative For Educational Excellence that examines school improvement in the desert community of Blythe.  Go to the CCEE website to hear the full-length version.

Watch the entire 1-hour conversation, the last joint appearance of Tuck and Thurmond, before the June 5 primary.

To read EdSource’s story on the forum. 

A quick guide to what the state superintendent does. 

For background

EdSource’s special report, Full Circle: California Schools Work to Transform Discipline

Despite progress, California’s teaching force far from reflecting diversity of students

What does California’s superintendent of public instruction do? A quick guide

And join us this Wednesday, May 23rd 9:30 am PST for a live conversation with Tony Thurmond and Marshall Tuck the front-runners for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. John and Louis will ask about their positions on critical issues and their visions for California’s public schools.

For background:

Mike Kirst announces he’ll retire and reflects on his career in education policy

In his own words: Kirst’s April 2018 lecture to the American Educational Research Association 

On the campaign trail, a push to strip school funding for undocumented students.

Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald devote this week’s podcast to exploring the implications of Beutner’s selection on May 1 to head the state’s largest school district. A former investment banker with no experience running a school district, Beutner is an unconventional choice to guide the district in challenging times. For two views on his appointment, Louis and John spoke with Nick Melvoin, vice-president of the LA Unified school board, and John Rogers, a professor of education at UCLA.

For more on Beutner: 

KPCC’s Kyle Stokes: Heres’ what we know about what Austin Beutner thinks about schools.

Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times: L.A. school board makes a bold, controversial choice in Beutner.

Louis and John also talk about the wave of teacher strikes across the country and their implications for California. And they discuss the value of teacher diversity – and efforts to increase it – in California, where students of color now comprise three-quarters of public school enrollment.

You can read:

• Carolyn Jones story on science education in rural districts here
• Louis Freedberg’s story on teacher diversity here
• A graph of how much teachers earn relative to other workers in their states here.

Louis and John also talk about the millions of dollars that pro-charter school backers are giving to support gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, suddenly making K-12 education a front-and-center issue in the race. Lastly, they look at implications of the shockingly high childhood poverty rate in California.

You can read:

• David Washburn’s stories on efforts to register teenagers to vote here and here.
• Reporter Carolyn Jones’ article on childhood poverty data here.
• Louis Freedberg’s coverage of gubernatorial campaign donations here and here.

They also discuss two important school funding bills, one of which would set an ambitious target for the state: reaching the national average in per-pupil funding.

And listeners will meet Gema Quetzal Cardenas a 16-year-old junior and student activist from Oakland, who will become the next student representative on the State Board of Education, with full voting privileges.

EdSource’s NAEP coverage

EdSource’s interview with student leader Gema Quetzal Cardenas

Text of the bills discussed: AB 2808 and AB 2635.

John and Louis discuss whether the State Board of Education will approve compromises negotiated with the federal government on California’s proposed plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act; the board meets on April 12.

And they give listeners a preview of CA School Road Trip, a new podcast from the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence that visits schools taking on difficult academic challenges.

You can read EdSource’s coverage of:

• Chronic absenteeism at California’s continuation schools
• The State Board’s negotiated compromises on the Every Student Succeeds Act

You can find CA School Road Trip here.

They also talk about the surprise increase in federal funding for child care and education, contrary to the wishes of President Trump, and about the state’s new plan deal with disproportionate numbers of inexperienced and ineffective teachers in low-income schools.

Louis interviews reporter Theresa Harrington about the civil rights lawsuit to change how school boards are elected in a Bay Area district.

You can read EdSource’s coverage of:

• The California Charter Schools Association Advocates’ endorsement of Antonia Villaraigosa
• The move to change at-large elections in West Contra Costa Unified School District
• The state ESSA plan for inexperienced and ineffective teachers
• Federal funding for after-school programs intact, despite threatened budget cuts

The forum was sponsored by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a research and policy collaboration jointly run by USC, UC Davis and Stanford University, and the Center for Education Policy, Equity and Governance, a new institute at the USC Rossier School of Education.  (read story)

John and Louis will also discuss how the Trump administration is trying to tie the high school massacre in Florida to its plan to repeal Obama-era school discipline policies (read story).

Lastly, they’ll talk about the ongoing dispute between the Trump administration and California over its plan for the federal Every Student Succeeds state plan. $2.5 billion in federal funding for California schools hangs in the balance (read story).

Louis shares excerpts from presentations at a Feb. 28 event he attended in Washington, D.C., One Nation Indivisible? America 50 Years After the Kerner Commission, co-sponsored by the Learning Policy Institute, the Eisenhower Foundation, and the Economic Policy Institute.

The podcast includes comments from Learning Policy Institute president Linda Darling-Hammond, co-directors of UCLA’s Civil Rights Project Gary Orfield and Patricia Gándara, The Education Trust president and former U.S. secretary of education John King, and Hewlett Foundation education program director Kent McGuire.

Louis and John also talk about a proposal in the state Senate to increase base funding for the Local Control Funding Formula beyond what Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing.

Produced by Sarah Tan

They’re joined by Sean Tanner, a senior researcher at the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) to discuss the findings of a study he co-authored with Rucker Johnson, an economist at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. The study, Money and Freedom: The Impact of California’s School Finance Reform, found that extra funds received by school districts through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resulted in higher graduation rates and improving math and reading outcomes.  (read story)

Louis and John also talk about Gov. Brown’s response to criticisms that there is not enough transparency in how school districts spend. Brown is proposing that districts be required to include in their budgets a clear a summary of the funds they plan to spend on high-needs students in their annual budgets, linked to what they way they say they will be doing in their Local Control and Accountability Plans. But the proposal has raised concerns that the document Brown has in mind is unnecessary, and will only be another bureaucratic burden for districts. (read story)

And John and Louis discuss a new PPIC poll that indicates that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are running neck and neck at this stage of the gubernatorial campaign.

Produced by Sarah Tan

They also cover how the Every Student Succeeds Act may require California to offer support to 3,003 schools where student sub-groups are lagging behind their peers. That represents just under half of all the schools in the state that receive Title 1 federal funds for low-income students. (read story)

And, for the first time in years, the number of charter schools that closed in the San Francisco Bay Area exceeded the number that opened last year, according to a new report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington. In an interview, Trey Cobb, one of the co-authors of the report,  says competition over scare facilities to house new schools seems to be a key reason for the slowdown in charter school growth, along with political resistance.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Will the increase in funding during Brown’s two terms as governor help close the achievement gap, and is the new funding level adequate?
• How will public colleges and universities respond to Brown’s challenge to broaden their mission beyond traditional college-age population – especially his plan for the development of a new online-only community college?

Louis and higher education reporter Larry Gordon also discuss why the UC Regents decided to back off a 3 percent increase in tuition and fees — a price hike Brown opposed. On the horizon, the California State University trustees are meeting next week to review a 3.5 percent rise in tuition, though a vote isn’t scheduled until at least March.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• How much does salary matter?
• What’s a persuasive message to college students and others?
• Is it a hard case to make?

John and Louis also discuss the news of the week:

Despite sharp criticisms by the U.S. Department of Education, the State Board of Education is sticking with its plan for complying with a federal law requiring states to improve low-performing schools. John explains what the disagreement is about.

In a shocking case of physical abuse, a couple from Perris with state authority to run a private school in their home faces charges of mistreating and imprisoning their 13 children for more than a decade. Louis discusses the lack of state regulations of homeschooling and actions the Legislature may take in response.

Produced by Sarah Tan

Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald discuss how Brown proposes to spend the additional money, including a $100 million plan to address a critical shortage of special education teachers, modestly expanding early childhood education, and extending the concept of the Local Control Funding Formula to community colleges which would dramatically change the way they are funded.

Produced by Sarah Tan

The questions they cover include:

What will teachers unions do if, as expected, the Supreme Court rules workers don’t have to pay fees to the public employee unions that represent them? Based on what’s happened in other states, a third or more members of the California Teachers Association could choose to stop paying fees.

Will Congress and President Trump grant permanent protections to recipients of DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – before President Trump’s March deadline for action?

How will California resolve the U.S. Department of Education’s criticisms of its plan for improving the lowest performing schools under the Every Student Succeeds Act?

Will the Legislature resolve the perennial battle over lengthening the two-year probation for teachers, or will this become a contentious election-year issue?

And lastly what impact will the state’s new legalization of recreational marijuana will have on Californa’s teenagers?

See all of the California education issues we’ll be watching in 2018 — and John’s predictions of what will happen (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

This week Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald and Producer Sarah Tan, joined by David Plank,  Executive Director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), review these and other key education developments in 2017,  and look ahead to what to expect in 2018.

Produced by Sarah Tan

They spoke with Carrie Hahnel, the deputy director of research and policy at The Education Trust-West, who has closely followed the dashboard creation and the new accountability system since its inception. Among the questions we asked her:

• What was her impression of the way the dashboard presents complicated information to parents?
• What ways might it be improved?
• Are other states presenting similar information better/differently?

Louis and John also discuss the proposed new credentialing requirements for special education teachers, the first major change in 20 years. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is hoping that having special education and general education teachers working closer together will have a dramatic impact on improving services for students with special needs and identifying those students at a younger age.

Produced by Sarah Tan

This week marked a major milestone in California’s efforts to establish a new accountability system that shifts the state decisively away from the top-down, sanctions-heavy, and test-focused No Child Left Behind regiment. After years of development and public input, the state has launched the multi-colored California School Dashboard, a new way to measure how well, or poorly, schools are doing on a range of indicators, not just test scores.  Two-thirds of the 228 districts the state has identified as needing assistance are on the list because of the lagging performance of their special education students (read story).

In this week’s podcast, Louis Freedberg talks with Carl Cohn, executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, about the “systems of support” the state is establishing to assist districts to improve education outcomes. He also talks with Arun Ramanathan, executive director of Pivot Learning, about the need to reform how the state serves challenges districts face in improving the performance of students with disabilities.

Related Resources

Read Carl Cohn’s commentary on how the CCEE is working to get the right kind of help and assistance to districts, charters and county offices of education (read story)

Use EdSource’s School Dashboard database to search and compare all California schools and districts on a range of performance indicators (search database)

Understand how to use the information in the California School Dashboard using our quick guide (read guide)

Produced by Sarah Tan

EdSource executive director Louis Freedberg talks with California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley about the online college, and the huge population of “stranded workers” it is aimed at.

Also, Jory Hadsell, executive director of the Online Education Initiative of the California Community Colleges, talks about why online classes work better for several categories of students — and the 700,000 community college students who are already taking online courses.

In a major development this coming week the California Department of Education is expected to finally release the California School Dashboard which has been under development for several years.  EdSource Editor-At-Large John Fensterwald talks with Josh Daniels of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence about how the new support system will work.

Produced by Sarah Tan

John interviews Dennis Meyers, assistant executive director, government affairs at California School Board Association, on how abolishing deductions for state and local taxes in calculating your federal income tax bill could hurt middle-class families in California and funding for California schools. They also review the Legislative Analyst’s Office forecast for robust education revenues next year.

Louis and John also discuss the tragedy in Rancho Tehama and how a state-mandated safety plan may have averted a worse tragedy at the elementary school. (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Why is tracking chronic absenteeism important?
• How extensive is the problem in California?
• Why are students chronically absent?
• What should schools be doing about it?
• What are other states’ effective strategies?
• What’s next for this issue?

Plus: From the field in Oakland, podcast producer Sarah Tan speaks with a high school student about her frequent school absences and examines an elementary school that’s tackling the problem.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• How and how much LGBT history should be covered in California’s new history and social science textbooks for elementary and middle schools. Reporter Theresa Harrington forecasts what to expect when the State Board of Education meets to adopt new textbooks next week.
• A new Seal of Civic Engagement that some high school seniors will see on their diplomas. California will become the second state to offer it (read story).

Use EdSource’s suspension and expulsion database to look up rates for all California schools for the past 5 years

Produced by Sarah Tan

In this edition of “This Week in California Education,” Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald discuss the California Teachers Association’s endorsement of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for governor and Assemblyman Tony Thurmond of Richmond for state superintendent. (read story)

After moderating appearances of the four leading Democratic candidates organized by Advancement Project California, Louis also shares his impression of their positions on issues such as universal preschool, for-profit charter schools, and the Local Control Funding Formula.  (read story)

Also, hear from the candidates themselves at a debate organized by the San Francisco Chronicle in which the candidates give their views on teacher tenure and seniority laws in California. (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

Free college tuition?  EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg, joined by producer Sarah Tan, talks to California Competes executive director Lande Ajose, about a possible free year of tuition for full time first-year community college students (read story)

Expelled from preschool? Louis talks with early education reporter Ashley Hopkinson about the new prohibition on state-funded preschools expelling or unenrolling a child because of behavior problems unless the school has taken “reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program.” (read story)

Search our database of all 100 education-related bills here.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• California has joined many other states in abolishing the high school exit exam (read story)
• The wine country fires are having an impact on California schools both in the immediate areas of the fires, and in nearby communities due to smoke and dangerous air pollution levels (read story)
• At EdSource’s October 5 Symposium, Mike Kirst, president of the State Board of Education, said that special education in California is in “deep trouble” (read story). EdSource spoke with Miriam Freedman, an author and attorney specializing in special education law, about what’s working and what’s not in special education.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• An excerpt from UCLA Distinguished Professor of Education Pedro Noguera’s powerful keynote speech, Creating Inclusive Environments for All Children.

• A profile by podcast Producer Sarah Tan of a teenager facing the challenges of trying to graduate from high school while living in Oakland’s Dream Catcher Youth Shelter. The piece explores the challenges she shares with 15,000 other homeless students in the Bay Area.

It’s part of EdSource’s special report California’s Homeless Students: Undercounted, Underfunded and Growing, an extensive look at the broadening crisis of homelessness and includes an interactive map identifying rates of homeless students in the state’s 10,000+ schools.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Chief Deputy State Superintendent Glen Price points to positive signals on other measures of student performance and stresses the need to replicate what successful schools are doing.
• John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization, expresses disappointment over the results but also says the state’s new school accountability system should be given time to work.
• Louis and John discuss how much importance to put on the test scores after three years of results.

Search results for the 2017 Smarter Balanced assessments by school, district or student group and see 3-year trend using EdSource’s database here — caaspp.edsource.org

For  John’s coverage of the results, go here and for Louis’ perspective in EdSource go here 

Produced by Sarah Tan

• CSU’s faculty is rebelling against recently announced changes in remedial education and math requirements at the 23-campus system and is seeking delays of at least a year (read story).
• What education bills what didn’t pass in the California Legislature and what did; the latter includes legislation to forbid ‘meal shaming,’ the practice of denying kids full meals when their parents fall behind in lunch payments (read story).

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Criminal charges against Los Angeles Unified School Board President Ref Rodriquez and the potential impact on his leadership and the direction of the district (read story).
• The settlement of a lawsuit against L.A. Unified that will steer $150 million in state funding to 50 high-poverty schools  (read story).
• What’s in, and what’s out of the state plan for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act that the State Board of Education adopted (read story).
• New developments in a dispute between California and the federal government over testing students in new science standards  (read story).
• A bill needing Gov. Brown’s signature that would provide free tuition for a year for all students wanting to attend community college (read story).
• And finally, in a break from hectic news, a look at schools that are turning off bells and buzzers to create a calmer atmosphere (read story).

Produced by Sarah Tan

• How California schools and universities are responding to President Trump’s decision on Tuesday to rescind DACA protections (read story).
•  What DACA recipients at U.C. Berkeley told producer Sara Tran about their worries and frustrations over a possible loss of study and job protections.
• How the 9/11 attacks shifted the conversation around immigration away from family reunification and a path to citizenship toward national security and border control (read story).
• Why prominent author and education adviser Michael Fullan issued a strong warning over the future of California’s promising school and district reforms (read story).

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Controversial legislation to create a state-run STEM school in Los Angeles for low-income, ethnically diverse middle and high school students. (read story)
•  Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi’s plan, opposed by teachers’ unions and school district leaders, to have several districts audited to see if their spending on low-income children and English learners complies with the Local Control Funding Formula. (read story)
• The results of EdSource’s survey of the state’s largest districts to see when they started school, and what difference that might make for students and parents. (read story)
• The delay of the release of this year’s Smarter Balanced test scores due to problems with the data. (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

• With school back in session, teachers are grappling with the fallout from President Trump and his administration’s actions over the summer dealing with immigration enforcement, the threat of nuclear war with North Korea, and violent demonstrations in Charlottesville (read story)
• California has drawn criticism from reviewers for a national nonprofit who have been rating states’ plans for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act; they questioned California’s approach to school accountability (read story)
• Some school districts and teacher preparation programs are accelerating efforts to  train Spanish-speaking teachers to become bilingual educators (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

• A poll new national poll by Education Next that found a drop in support for charter schools and a polarizing impact of President Trump on education issues  (read story)
• Articles  by the California Budget and Policy Center on the potential impact of federal tax credits and vouchers for private and religious schools (read the Center’s post)
•  How Bay Area high school students explored maps, visited monuments and interviewed 1960s activists to discover roots in their communities (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The possibility that California universities will award more teaching credentials and bachelor degrees in four years, as it once did decades ago (read story)
• The critical role of K-12 schools in reducing the need for students to take remediation classes in community colleges and the California State University (read story)
• How teachers are incorporating the upcoming solar eclipse into science classes in innovative and fun ways (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The clouds on the financial horizon for California’s school districts (read story)
• Efforts at CSU to increase graduation rates by building more on-campus housing (read story)
• CSU’s far-reaching strategies to reduce barriers to graduation by dropping math and English placement tests (read story) and by eliminating proficiency in intermediate Algebra as a prerequisite for non-science majors (read story).

Produced by Sarah Tan

Among the issues they discuss:

• Simpson’s tax proposal that would liberate school districts from revenue constraints of Proposition 98 and bring more money to schools (read story)
• A new AP computer science course that’s attracting students of color and girls in large numbers (read story)
• A settlement in a Kern County lawsuit around high suspension rates of minority students  that’s focusing on implicit bias in an innovative way (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

Among the issues they discuss:

• A frank report released by the California Community Colleges covering where the system is succeeding, where it’s falling short and what can be done to significantly increase the numbers of students who complete certificate programs, associate degrees and transfer requirements to a 4-year college  (read the story).
• A recent rally in Sacramento organized by students and supporters of Californians for Justice in defense of the Local Control Funding Formula and the finance and school reforms it has put into place.

Produced by Sarah Tan

Among the issues they discuss:

What lay behind the marathon State Board of Education meeting this week to review California’s education plan it will send to Washington as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act.

What can be done to alleviate the shortage of bilingual teachers in the state.

Why a push in the Legislature to extend the probationary period for teachers before they are granted permanent status has floundered — at least for this year.

Produced by Sarah Tan

• Should school districts be required to do more detailed reporting on how they spend state funds? (Update: Since the podcast was recorded, the bill that would have required more information has been substantially amended. You read an update on the story here.)
• Where in California should educators go to produce more college graduates? (read story)
• How do some school districts convince students to take math courses — over the summer no less? (read story)

And John and Louis make their predictions of the week!

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The fissures that President Trump’s proposed cuts in federal funding for public schools are creating in the charter school movement (read story)
• The implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring the state of Missouri to provide funds to a church preschool to repair its playground (read story)
• The request by eight CORE districts in California, including some of the state’s largest, to be declared “innovation zones” (read story)
• How school districts need to be more assertive in diagnosing children with dyslexia (read story)

And John and Jane make their predictions of the week!

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The California Legislature approves its FY18 budget, with increased funding for K-12 schools (read story)
• U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos criticizes charter school advocates who promote charter schools to the exclusion of other “school choice” options (read story)
• Netflix CEO Reed Hastings commits to a decades-long campaign to increase charter school enrollments.

And hear John and Louis’ predictions of the week!

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The surprising progress of legislation in Sacramento to extend the length of time it takes for teachers to get tenure (read story)
• An increasingly popular strategy to reduce superintendent turnover: hire an insider (read story)
• What schools can do to prevent youth suicide (read story)

And also hear about a new mobile app from the California Department of Education to easily access information about schools and districts around the state!

Produced by Sarah Tan

Featured on the podcast are Chris Minnich, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers and MikePetrilli, President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Produced by Sarah Tan

In this edition of “This Week in California Education,” Executive Director Louis Freedberg, and Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald will focus on money matters on both a state and federal level. They get input from Learning Policy Institute President Linda Darling-Hammond, New Teacher Center Policy Director Liam Goldrick, and EdSource senior reporter Larry Gordon.

• Gov. Brown’s revised budget for the coming fiscal year will send $2.8 billion more to schools than last year has a catch — $1 billion of it won’t go to schools until May 2019 (read story).
• California would lose about $400 million if President Trump’s proposed deep cuts to federal education programs gain traction in Congress, including hundreds of millions in funds for teacher preparation programs (read story).
• In a surprising piece of good news, Congress restores Pell grants for summer study, which should help more low-income students graduate on time and help reduce college debt (read story) 

Plus Louis and John’s predictions!

Produced by Sarah Tan

Their discussion includes interviews with newly elected board member Nick Melvoin, who defeated incumbent board president Steve Zimmer, and with Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles.

Related Stories

Drive to increase charter enrollments triggers massive spending in L.A. school board race

Charter-backed candidates win majority on L.A. Unified school board

Produced by Sarah Tan

• The education plan California must submit to the federal government stresses the “California Way” in its approach to reforms (read story)
• How the California Charter School Association is flexing its muscles at the ballot box and in the state Legislature (read story)
• The potential for more “personalized learning” as a result of a new partnership between the online Khan Academy and county offices of education in Southern California (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

•  New push in Legislature to increase probationary period for new teachers from two to three years. (read story)
• School districts look for help to undo limits the state has placed on the amount of money they can keep in their budget reserves. (read story)
• Trump has yet to followed through on his education pledges in his first 100 days — which critics say may be a good thing. (read story)

Produced by Sarah Tan

EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg is joined by CALSA’s Executive Director David Verdugo and Oxnard School District Superintendent César Morales — to discuss the importance of creating a college-going culture among Latino students and families, beginning at an early age. Louis also speaks with Jessica Garcia-Kohn, vice-president for partnerships and sustainability at LRNG, about bridging the gap between what employers need and what students are learning in school.

Thanks for listening!

• California’s new vaccination law is getting results, as figures released this week show that kindergarten vaccination rates reach an all-time high (read story)
• Nearly half of California school districts earn top ratings on the California School Dashboard for lowering suspensions, according to an EdSource analysis (read story)
• California’s high school graduation rates increased for the 7th year in a row, although large gaps persist for some racial and ethnic groups (read story)
• The California Community College’s “student success initiative” has yet to result in substantial gains, but education leaders are hopeful that the state’s nearly $1 billion investment will begin to pay off in higher student completion rates  (read story)

•  Latest figures show only a small percentage of California school districts are on a shaky financial footing. (read story)

•  California still has a ways to go in offering full-day preschool and kindergarten to many students. (read story)

• Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says if parents can choose between Uber and a taxi, or a hotel and Airbnb, they should also have more choices of schools for their children. (read story)

And John and Louis preview upcoming EdSource stories to watch for next week!

• California considers new way of funding state’s challenged special education system (read story)
• State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson files amicus brief against Pres. Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities (read story)
• How charter schools could benefit from Trump’s education budget (read story)

And hear their predictions of the week!

Among the topics they take on this week:

• After years of discussion and planning, California finally rolls out its new color-coded school report cards. Will they work? (read story)
• President Trump calls for billions in cuts in federal education programs, with California the biggest loser, and “school choice” advocates the clear winners. (read story)
• Marshall Tuck is first to jump into race to be state superintendent of public instruction — after losing narrowly in the same race last time out. (read story)
• For the first in several years, school districts issue pink slips to almost 2000 teachers.  Could that discourage would-be teachers from entering the profession? (read story)

And hear John and Louis prediction of the week!

Listen here to Louis and John discuss:

• The imminent release of the long-awaited California School Dashboard.
• The impact on California of the congressional vote to rescind accountability regulations governing the Every Student Succeeds Act (read more)
• How President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are framing “school choice” as a civil rights initiative (read more )
• The many non-academic challenges “first generation” college students face (read more)

And more!

Among the topics this week:

• Why California’s ranking in how much it spends on on education varies so much (read story)
• Why Long Beach Unified’s effort to replace the 11th grade Smarter Balanced assessment with the SAT was rejected by the state (read story)
• Why the Common Core is likely to continue in California, regardless of what President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have to say on the topic (read story)

And more!