CSBA webinar highlights digital divide challenges and solutions

School board trustees, state legislators, federal advocates, business leaders and more discussed the critical importance of universal broadband access to the state’s K-12 schools and its economic future during an April 20 CSBA webinar, Broadband for California: Connecting to Our Promise. CSBA CEO & Executive […]

“High-dosage tutoring” drastically improves learning after COVID

As state and local educational agencies seek out impactful ways to address the learning loss many children experienced this past year as a result of the pandemic, researchers at the University of Chicago Education Lab report promising results from “high-dosage tutoring.” In a study of […]

Summer learning programs will require community support

Partnerships will play a critical role in helping local educational agencies provide high-quality summer learning opportunities to children impacted by the pandemic, according to experts and education practitioners spanning California to Virginia. A March 29 webinar hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the […]

Lawmakers announce Broadband for All Bond Act of 2022

California lawmakers, CSBA President-elect Dr. Susan Heredia and others announced March 23 a $10 billion general obligation bond that would expand public broadband infrastructure to address the digital divide and provide access to high-speed, affordable, reliable internet — targeting school districts and other institutions in […]

Assessments should be next in line for a long-needed overhaul

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced school districts and policymakers to innovate at warp speed when it comes to the use of technology and personalized learning in education, community outreach, development of wraparound services and more. That same flexibility and openness to change should be applied […]

State digital divide taskforce discusses legislation to expand broadband connectivity

The first 2021 meeting of California’s Closing the Digital Divide Task Force on Feb. 2 provided viewers a more in-depth look at some the initial proposals put forth by lawmakers to boost broadband access to students and communities. “For us, this is one of the […]

New brief finds learning loss more acute among specific student subgroups

A Jan. 25 brief from Policy Analysis for California Education finds that there has been significant learning loss in both English language arts and mathematics, with students in earlier grades most affected. Additionally, low-income students and English learners are among those falling further behind. As […]

The digital divide is still an issue despite recent progress, study shows

Local educational agencies did an impressive job increasing access to computers and the internet during the fall school term, but there remains a persistent digital divide, especially for Black, Hispanic and low-income students, according to a new study. Researchers at the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge […]

New brief highlights ways of improving distance learning for the youngest students

The transition to distance learning for all students has been a challenge, but particularly for those in transitional kindergarten through third grade who have not yet learned to read or lack experience using computers. A new brief from Policy Analysis for California Education identifies a […]

Closing the digital divide will require significant policy overhaul

Since schools closed last spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus, districts and county offices of education throughout California have stepped up and gotten creative to ensure students without access to devices or internet connectivity had what they needed to learn in an online […]