Sonoma COE uplifts the voices of incarcerated youth in new magazine

“I feel happy when I finish a test in school. I am happy that I am going home this year. I feel happy about all the things I am learning and got taught while being locked up. I feel happy that I am going to finish high school this year,” wrote one student whose words were featured in the inaugural edition of Sonoma County Youth Voice magazine.  Released in January by the Sonoma County Office of Education, the 82-page literary magazine includes dozens of poems from students at the local juvenile justice center where the COE operates the educational programming for grades 7-12. 

New research on established education workforce housing projects signals need for proposed CSBA legislation

CSBA and education workforce housing (EWH) research partners from the University of California, Los Angeles’ cityLAB and UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools released a follow-up to the 2022 report that was used as a launching point by California Department of Education officials and […]

Merging elementary school student bodies can reduce school segregation

Research shows that diversity in schools — including staff and the student body — produce benefits such as improved academics for all compared to less diverse schools, less racial prejudice and better life outcomes. Other studies have found diversity in the student body of schools […]

More governance team input needed in budget deliberations

School boards play a crucial role in allocating resources to support student achievement, but a new report published by the Brookings Institution shows many budget deliberations focus on compliance-based budgeting rather than strategic investments to boost educational outcomes and long-term financial stability. With budgets shrinking […]

Promising strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism among homeless youth

Students experiencing homelessness miss school at nearly twice the rate of their peers, but school districts across the country are implementing strategies that are reducing chronic absence rates, according to a new report from SchoolHouse Connection and Attendance Works. Through a series of case studies, […]

Report shares how states can help support quality summer learning

The Learning Policy Institute’s January report, How States Are Expanding Quality Summer Learning Opportunities, and its accompanying brief and fact sheet cover the findings of nine case studies from Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont where policies and practices have been successfully implemented to support summer learning.

Survey shines light on the impact of gender bias in education leadership

Only 30 percent of the nation’s largest school districts are led by women, and they continue to face unique challenges and stressors compared to their male colleagues, according to the annual Women Leading Ed Insight Survey, released in February. This percentage has largely stayed stagnant […]