White House officials and the departments of Education and Homeland Security announced on Aug. 6 public and private initiatives to strengthen K-12 cyber defenses, as well as new guidance documents highlighting cybersecurity recommendations and promising practices from states and districts across the country. Jointly released […]
Author: Alisha Kirby
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 […]
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 […]
Loss of free school meals results in lower participation
There has been a significant decline in student participation in school meal programs since the end of the national universal meals program, according to a report released in June by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). Survey findings from 91 large school districts in […]
Research highlights long-term economic impacts of addressing barriers to high school graduation
Addressing the systemic inequities that lead to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and disciplinary infractions and lower high school graduation rates among the most impacted student groups would benefit the children themselves, as well as society as a whole, according to a recent brief from […]
Preparation programs not sufficiently training new educators to teach children how to read
Most programs at the colleges and universities that prepare future elementary teachers still do not fully cover the science of reading, according to a recent report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). Among the nearly 700 teacher preparation programs analyzed, only 25 percent […]
Study examines how one district is improving outcomes for foster youth
Family disruptions, trauma, out-of-home placements and school changes are common experiences among children in foster care, and often result in higher rates of disciplinary problems, grade repetition, special education placement and dropping out of high school, as well as lower academic achievement, and increased barriers […]
New brief compares state early literacy policies
At least 89 bills have been introduced throughout the country this legislative session that address reading instruction, third-grade intervention or literacy in general, according to the Education Commission of the States. According to the commission’s updated 50-State Comparison on K-3 Policies brief, recent legislative activity […]
SBE closes the book on revised math framework adoption saga
After nearly four years of rewrites, debates and thousands of public comments, the State Board of Education adopted a revised K-12 Mathematics Framework during its July 12–13 meeting. “One of the things I realize is that at the heart of every comment … children are […]