EXPLORE: California's Community Colleges: At A CrossroadsQuick Guides
Topic

Early Learning

Quality early care and education are critical to prepare California children for school and their lives in general. But a large percentage of children do not have access to high quality early childhood education programs. The coronavirus pandemic has caused financial strife for early learning programs trying to meet health and safety guidelines and keep staff and children safe. But the public health crisis has also illuminated the essential nature of the early learning and care field and reinvigorated hopes to expand preschool access to more children.

Early Learning
May 13, 2021

Should California offer transitional kindergarten to all 4-year-olds?

Expanding TK captures the spirit of the Master Plan for Early Learning and Care and aligns with Biden’s campaign for universal preschool.

Karen D'Souza
School Finance
May 12, 2021

Newsom proposes universal transitional kindergarten, new programs for low-income students

With a continuing surge in revenue, the governor would expand community schools and create a $500 college savings account for every low-income first grader.

John Fensterwald
Early Learning
April 28, 2021

Biden's plan for families could bolster California's push for early education, care

This roughly $1.8 trillion package sets aside big money for key early childhood initiatives as part of its vast cradle-to-college agenda.

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
April 27, 2021

What President Biden's recovery plan for families means for California's children

The proposed legislation to champion childhood comes at a time when the pandemic has widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

Karen D'Souza
Legislation
April 22, 2021

Missing kindergartners drive largest drop in 20 years in California's K-12 enrollment

Causes for the slide in enrollment are myriad, complicated by existing trends including declining birthrates and people's continued exodus from the state, as well as the sudden economic chaos wrought by the pandemic.

Karen D'Souza, John Fensterwald, And Daniel J. Willis
Commentary
April 20, 2021

Recovering from the pandemic by investing in our earliest learners

Universal high-quality preschool for three- and four-year-olds is a proven way to reduce the opportunity gap, lift families out of poverty, and stimulate the local economy.

Kelly Gonez
Legislation
April 19, 2021

Why does California disappoint in preschool access and quality?

The report arrives just as momentum builds to expand access to both transitional kindergarten and state-funded preschool.

Karen D'Souza
Los Angeles Unified
April 13, 2021

Los Angeles Unified reopens for in-person learning

Los Angeles Unified, the state's largest district, reopened for in-person learning amid ongoing lawsuits from parents pushing for a full reopening.

Betty Márquez Rosales
Early Learning
April 2, 2021

Amid pandemic, infants especially need quality child care, reformers say

Child care is far more than just babysitting, advocates say, it’s building the architecture of the brain at a pivotal stage in construction. 

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
March 24, 2021

What are California teachers seeing as the early grades go back to school?

After being apart from each other for so long, children may need to be retrained on how to socialize before they can be ready to learn. 

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
March 11, 2021

What the federal stimulus bill means to California's child care sector

California, with almost 3 million children under age 5, stands to receive about $3.8 billion in federal relief.

Karen D'Souza
Career Preparation
March 5, 2021

Why I must earn a college degree as a parent of a young child

Returning to community college was no easy feat as a single mother and first-generation, low-income college student.

Melanie Gerner
Early Learning
March 3, 2021

Should kindergarten be mandatory in California? 

Without kindergarten to help build critical skills in reading and math, some students may fall behind.

Karen D'Souza
Coronavirus
March 1, 2021

Newsom, lawmakers set April 1 deadline to reopen schools for K-2 students

Under the deal, $2 billion in incentives would require opening up all elementary grades and partially middle and high schools in the “red tier.”

John Fensterwald
Early Learning
February 25, 2021

Most California parents worry about their young children’s education amid pandemic

More than a third of parents surveyed said they have skipped meals or had to cut back on food for the children as a result of the pandemic. 

Karen D'Souza