Author: Alisha Kirby

Popularity of girls’ flag football has skyrocketed. More effort needed to ensure future opportunities don’t stall out

When the California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) Federated Council voted unanimously to add girls flag football as a statewide sanctioned sport for the 2023–24 school year, there had already been a boost in interest among young people in recreational leagues as well as burgeoning financial and material support from the NFL, which advocated for the sport to be added to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. According to the latest CIF Sports Participation Survey released Aug. 3, flag football is now the sixth most popular sport among girls by participation.

Families and educators say data literacy should be incorporated into more subjects

Recent results from a survey conducted by Mathematica and Data Science 4 Everyone show that while educators and parents agree that data literacy is an important skill as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in students’ lives, many feel their local schools do not offer enough opportunities to learn it.

New risk assessment of AI features included in Google Search details concerns for student use

Without an ability to opt-out of its use, the artificial intelligence (AI) features built into Google Search pose unacceptable risks to children, according to a new risk assessment conducted by Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute.

Cellphone ownership linked to worse reading scores in elementary school, with one caveat

Children who own cellphones tend to have lower reading comprehension scores regardless of what age they were when they first got one or whether or not they take it to school, according to new research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

New research identifies fragmented systems as a key barrier to student achievement

A new report from the Center for MH in Schools & Student/Learning Supports at UCLA finds that current efforts to address barriers to learning and teaching, while valuable, won’t provide lasting progress until policymakers adopt student and learning support systems that are unified, comprehensive and equitable.

Research warns against perpetuating inequities to high-level math access

A recent report, Calculated Barriers: Examining the History Behind Math Inequities Facing Black Students, documents seminal events in the United States — including the nation’s history of policies and practices that restrict access and opportunity for Black people — that have constrained Black students’ access to quality math education.

New survey highlights teen struggles with AI-generated sexually explicit material

Nearly half of teens have already seen artificial intelligence (AI)-generated explicit sexual material, and almost a quarter have seen it depicting themselves or someone they know, according to new research from Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute.

Small Schools, Big Ideas: Bret Harte Union HSD Fire Technology

Bret Harte Union High School District’s Fire Technology Program launched in 2022 to help prepare students for in-demand careers in fire and emergency medical services close to home. Located in a rural community surrounded by forest in Calaveras County, the program currently serves 30 of the approximately 600 students enrolled in the district.

Millions of children stand to lose access to free school meals from federal cuts. Researchers offer recommendations to help states fill the gap

Students across the country could lose access to free school meals under cuts to funding and other policy provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), according to a July 7 report from the Center for American Progress.