This week, we accompany Dulce Grant, the alumni success counselor for Downtown College Prep, a charter high school in San Jose, as she hands out “care packages” of sweets, socks and soup to a half-dozen first-year students. End-of-semester exams can be stressful, especially for students who are the first in their families to go to college. Grant, a first-gen college grad herself, delivers moral support, advice and well-received encouragement.
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