Celebrating African-American History Month: A Snapshot of African-American Students in California

With almost 400,000 African-American students attending California K-12 public schools, our state is home to the sixth largest population of African-American students in the country — larger than the overall student population of 15 other states. Unfortunately, large opportunity and achievement gaps exist for this […]

New initiative helps foster youth apply for college financial aid

Although 85 percent of California’s foster youth want to earn a college degree, only 8 percent will finish an associate or bachelor’s degree before age 26. A new initiative from John Burton Advocates for Youth, in collaboration with the California Department of Education and the […]

Recent report highlights opportunity gaps for Latino students

Of the 6.2 million children in California’s K-12 public education system, 3.3 million are Latino. That number is higher than every other state’s student population, excluding Texas. In addition to making up the majority of California’s K-12 school population, Latinos are also the fastest growing […]

Advanced Placement (AP) scores on the rise in California

Mirroring national trends, the number of California students taking college-level Advanced Placement exams has increased according to the California Department of Education. Equally significant, the CDE said the number of Latino and African-American students taking the tests has also increased. Along with the Scholastic Achievement […]

New ways to bring English learner success into focus

More than 1.3 million California public school students are English learners. Some are new arrivals to the United States, others have attended American schools for years. Both groups, though, share the challenge of learning English through an unfamiliar language — English. Teachers and administrators are charged with […]

New report on STEM deserts shows troubling trend for high-poverty schools

If you were to ask someone on the street today what they think the future job market will look like, it is likely you will hear the word “STEM.” The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics field is growing at a dramatic rate, and today’s students […]

New study finds “adultification” bias toward African-American girls

African-American girls face school suspension twice as often as white boys and five times as often as white girls. Even though African-American girls only make up 16 percent of the entire female school population, they are given 28 percent of referrals to law enforcement and […]

DeVos has turned attention to public education —  it’s up to school board members to keep it there

by Vernon Billy Earlier this year, the confirmation hearings of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education was covered more exhaustively than any other education secretary in recent memory The curiosity surrounding the new education secretary demonstrated the deep interest and concern that Americans have […]

Recognizing world-class teachers today for California Day of the Teacher

Today, May 10, is the California Day of the Teacher, an annual celebration that takes place on every second Wednesday of May to applaud the instructors who enrich the lives of California’s 6.2 million public school students. According to the California Department of Education, California’s […]