Supporting early childhood development through holistic public policy

Inequities in socioeconomic and daily living conditions can cause adverse outcomes for young people that persist through their lifetime, but early interventions can make a difference in K-12 achievement and adult life, according to the report Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being […]

Evaluating the effects of the Local Control Funding Formula after 10 years

“Funding Education in California,” an event hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California on Aug. 9, featured a panel discussion on the Local Control Funding Formula and if it has met its goals to improve student outcomes and increase equity by providing more resources […]

CSBA announces new Student Board Member Training program

Student board members are integral to ensuring student voice is heard and included in decisions made by local governance teams that, ultimately, impact tomorrow’s leaders. But how can the youngest members of California school district and county office of education governance teams come to the […]

Governor spotlights California’s embrace of local control, parental engagement

Gov. Gavin Newsom addressed reporters at an elementary school in the Elk Grove Unified School District on Aug. 14 to highlight the state’s “family agenda” centered around efforts to enrich and empower kids and parents in schools. Newsom discussed the billions of dollars being invested […]

State launches new teacher recruitment initiative with press conference and summit

Like most states in the nation, California is experiencing a teacher shortage. Teacher recruitment has largely been led by the 1,000 individual school districts in the state, and the California Department of Education historically has not engaged in direct teacher recruitment or support. That is […]

Study finds progress toward academic recovery stalled in 2022–23, but with a few bright spots

Data from the most current school year shows persistent achievement gaps compared to pre-pandemic trends, except for the country’s youngest students who saw above average achievement gains, according to a report released July 11 by NWEA. Using data from 6.7 million U.S. public school students […]

Preparing for ethnic studies implementation

The California Department of Education held a webinar, “Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Train the Trainer Certification,” on Aug. 2 to review the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC), district implementation guidance, instructional guidance, sample lessons and topics, and resources developed by local educational agencies. Assembly Bill […]