College savings accounts lead to boost in enrollment among underserved youth, study shows

San Francisco’s Kindergarten to College (K2C) program, which provides every child entering kindergarten with a Children’s Savings Account (CSA) seeded with $50 toward their future education, led to significantly more young people enrolling in college with underrepresented students seeing the greatest benefit, according to new […]

New research emphasizes balancing enrollment, performance and equity in school closure decisions

As schools nationwide continue to face declining enrollment, the likelihood of school closures is increasing across communities. A Sept. 25 report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute identified almost 500 schools throughout the country that could be potential candidates based on enrollment and achievement factors. […]

Research network provides first look at lessons learned in school discipline

Negative trends related to disproportionate disciplinary rates have crept back into schools following pandemic closures, according to first-year findings of the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools and UC Berkeley Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity’s Race, Education, and Community Healing (REACH) Network. […]

Diversifying STEM fields one student at a time

A diverse workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) not only provides more potential for innovation by leveraging different backgrounds, experiences and points of view, but students who enter these fields are likely to experience higher median earnings and lower rates of unemployment compared […]

Guidance calls for ‘shared responsibility’ among LEAs and edtech providers in developing AI tools

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Education Technology published guidance for developers of artificial intelligence (AI) for educational settings in July outlining ways in which edtech providers can build trust with local educational agencies as they integrate AI into products and platforms. The guidance […]

Survey finds expanded learning opportunities are reaching the students most in need

New survey findings show 97 percent of California local educational agencies and 88 percent of community-based organizations (CBOs) used Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) funds to serve more students either by opening new programs or expanding existing ones. Based on more than 100 surveys and […]

LEAs serving high-need students utilized federal Emergency Connectivity Fund but need more support

While too early to fully gauge the impact of the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) on some of the state’s highest-need students, a June 20 brief from the Public Policy Institute of California found that there was an “impressive response from districts serving high-needs students” in […]

New report provides snapshot of the state of English learners in California

Californians Together released an inaugural The State of English Learners in California Public Schools report on June 12 that summarizes key demographic and outcome data for English learners using a variety of data sources to examine how they are being served in the education system […]