Affordable housing and district boundaries continue to impact school funding

Despite efforts to provide more equitable funding for schools, district boundaries continue to be barriers nationwide blocking low-income families from accessing better funded schools with a variety of academic and extracurricular programs in more affluent neighborhoods, according to an October report from Bellwether Education Partners. […]

Graduation rates improved before COVID, growth can continue with targeted efforts

The high school graduation rate in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 85.8 percent in 2018–19, the final school year unaffected by the upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest Building A Grad Nation report. Released Oct. 6 by Civic and the […]

New guide offers LEAs best practices to improve foster youth outcomes

A new publication released this month from the Alliance for Children’s Rights shares the findings from a multiyear working group of California districts focused on improving educational outcomes for foster youth. “Best Practices Guide for Developing a District System to Improve Education Outcomes for Youth […]

State of U.S. public school facilities is an emergency, report says

The state of American preK-12 public school facilities is a national emergency, according to new report. “2021 State of Our Schools: America’s PK-12 Public School Facilities” was published in September by 21st Century School Fund, the International WELL Building Institute and the National Council on […]

CDE offers resources for handling students’ post-pandemic behavioral issues

The California Department of Education recently released guidelines to support local educational agencies grappling with an uptick in student misbehavior that emphasize counseling over suspension and other punitive discipline. After more than a year of social isolation and trauma, teachers, education officials and student advocates […]