While younger students are falling behind in foundational reading skills, older elementary and middle school student reading progress is on par with progress prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In math, however, student achievement in all grades is still below pre-pandemic levels, according to new research […]
In 2007, SRI International released a report evaluating how California school art programs were meeting state goals. The state Education Code requires schools to offer courses in four arts disciplines — dance, music, theater and visual arts — to all K–12 students. The resulting report, […]
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond on Aug. 31 announced the California Bilingual Early Literacy Initiative, a $27 million digital literacy partnership that will provide free bilingual early literacy assistance to California children and families through interactive eBooks, songs and games in English and […]
On Aug. 29, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction and ruled in a 2-1 decision that San Jose Unified School District must reinstate the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) as an Associated Student Body-recognized club at Pioneer […]
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced on Aug. 23 the launch of the CalHOPE Schools Initiative, featuring transformational films that speak directly to the heart of students’ social-emotional and mental health needs and customized curriculum and guides to help teachers, students and […]
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) conducted a special administration of the NAEP long-term trend (LTT) reading and mathematics assessment for 9-year-old students to examine student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results, released Sept. 1, showed declines in both reading and math compared […]
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted many facets of daily life, including routine health screenings, vaccinations and medical check-ups. As the 2021–22 school year begins, more than one in eight children in California need to catch up on routine vaccines that were missed or delayed during the […]
Districts across California are reporting many start-of-year vacancies and will be relying on long-term substitutes and reassigned coaches, specialists and central office staff to start the school year. Start-of-year vacancies bring unique challenges for everyone, and long-term subs often don’t get the information and support they […]
Negotiating labor contracts is never easy, even in the best of times. Yet, the unprecedented scrutiny of school operations brought on by the pandemic means that collective bargaining is more public and more complicated than ever before. Deep disagreements about how best to allocate funds […]
A June 2022 report evaluating juvenile justice education programs in the U.S. found that, with rare exceptions, fragmented implementation and accountability measures virtually guarantee that incarcerated students do not receive a high-quality education. In Double Punished: Locked Out of Opportunity, Bellwether Education Partners reviewed juvenile […]
