by Hector Camacho, (courtesy of San Mateo Daily Journal) A recent report from the California School Boards Association indicates that California schools are underfunded by approximately $42 billion every year. Filling that gap would bring our state to a position of adequate funding for public […]
Year: 2015
Summer Matters at CSBA
by Katie Brackenridge Summer learning programs are popping up all over the state. School board members and superintendents are replacing traditional summer school programming with a more interactive and engaging approach called summer learning. Using a combination of funding streams, including Local Control Funding, these […]
Engaging Families from the Classroom Out
By Teneh Weller I remember being a new 5th grade teacher, full of excitement and hope. I had the opportunity, in some small way, to change the world. I had a vision that all of my students, no matter where they started out, would reach […]
New Adult Education Program Benefits District Students
by Alan Helfman School districts looking to leverage student success would be well-advised to look to $525 million on the table. The funds are from the California’s Adult Education Block Grant. This grant provides significant discretion for local planning and implementation as part of the […]
Call to Join the California Community Schools Network
by Deanna Niebuhr A few years ago, I worked with a team to write a Healthy Start grant proposal for an elementary school. The principal understood that this proposal writing process presented an opportunity to offer her students a valuable leadership experience. To give students […]
Survey shows California school wellness programs are bearing fruit
by Dr. Lynn Silver Statewide and local efforts to support healthier schools and students have blossomed from Humboldt to Imperial Counties. These efforts are bearing fruit today. California school districts are approving and implementing increasingly innovative wellness policies and practices. To gauge progress on school […]
New mathematics placement law may take effect Jan. 1
by Gina Dalma Starting Jan. 1, 2016, school districts across the state could be called upon to develop and adopt a fair, objective and transparent mathematics placement policy for all students entering 9th grade. Under legislation currently awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, districts would have until […]
Smarter Balanced Assessments: Keep results in perspective for students and their families
by Kathy Caric With the release of California’s new Common Core-aligned test results for students from the third through the eighth grades, and 11th graders, the following is a perspective from the front lines. The commentary originally appeared as a From the Field piece in […]
Close the achievement gap by reducing the attendance gap
by Hedy Chang September is attendance awareness month. To kick it off, CSBA invited Attendance Works Director Hedy Chang to address chronic absence and how school boards, superintendents and other education stakeholders can work together to help solve it. More students in California, just over […]
Leadership Matters in the Reserve Cap Policy Debate
by School Services of California, Inc. staff We have written quite a number of negative articles outlining the potentially disastrous financial effects of the reserve cap policy contained in Senate Bill 858 enacted in June 2014. We think that the education community is well informed […]