In September, the California Department of Education released the results of the 2016–17 Smarter Balanced English language arts/literacy and mathematics assessments. Compared to the previous year’s results, scores remained relatively flat across all grade levels and student groups, while troubling achievement gaps persist. To help […]
Category: Resources
Resources
Natural disaster resources for schools and districts
This week’s wildfires in Northern California and Southern California have left school districts and students in a state of emergency. These devastating fires have destroyed neighborhoods, forced many schools to remain closed, displaced families and students and are an ongoing concern. In response, state and local […]
The DACA Repeal: Resources for school districts and Dreamer teachers
Roughly 5,000 teachers in California are caught in the crosshairs of President Trump’s plan to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, joining hundreds of thousands of individuals across the state and the country facing an uncertain future. Known as DACA, the Obama administration […]
Supporting undocumented students & families after DACA decision
In light of the Trump Administration’s announcement to suspend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, school board members are encouraged to remember that despite changes to federal policy, school districts’ and board members’ responsibility to serve all students remains unchanged. […]
Stop Holding School Bond Funds Hostage And Start Supporting Students
by CSBA President Susan Henry If we want our students to achieve, we must first create conditions that are conducive to success. California voters honored this principle in the November 2016 election when, over the objections of Gov. Jerry Brown, they approved $9 billion in […]
Rural education report reveals both achievement and need
Some may assume that rural schools are the small minority, but the numbers don’t lie — more than one in four of the nation’s public schools can be categorized as rural, and almost one in six American students live in a rural area. California is […]
Finding meaning in California’s constitutional guarantee of education
by Keith Bray All children can succeed, but not all children have equal opportunity to do so. A child’s background and social station continue to play an inordinate role in his or her scholastic outcomes, both in California and across the nation. Schools, given the […]
New Adult Education Program Benefits District Students
by Alan Helfman School districts looking to leverage student success would be well-advised to look to $525 million on the table. The funds are from the California’s Adult Education Block Grant. This grant provides significant discretion for local planning and implementation as part of the […]
Minding the DROPS: Water conservation projects teach awareness at schools
by Renee Cashmere As a first and second grader in the Bay Area in 1976-77, an epic drought made impressions upon me that have lasted a lifetime. Even before the more recent drought began, I remembered the conservation rules all Californian’s were required to follow back then. […]
Schools have a role in helping children get health insurance
CSBA is partnering with The Children’s Partnership “All In” campaign to help schools get information out to families and employees about the new affordable health coverage opportunities. Covered California, California’s new health insurance marketplace, opened on Oct. 1 and offers ways for millions of Californians to obtain health coverage, including health and dental coverage for children.