School districts across the United States are hiring additional teachers in anticipation of what will be one of the largest kindergarten classes ever as enrollment rebounds following the coronavirus pandemic. Educators are also bracing for many students to be less prepared than usual due to lower preschool attendance rates. Kindergarten is not required in most…
California’s largest teachers union voted Saturday to throw its weight behind Gov. Gavin Newsom, pledging to defend the Democratic governor in an upcoming recall election. “California educators stand in strong opposition to the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom,” union president E. Toby Boyd wrote in a statement. “From our classroom vantage point during the pandemic,…
The masks, the social distancing, the stick-up-the-nose testing: Those unpleasant coronavirus-controlling measures are far from over for K-12 kids returning to in-school learning after summer vacation ends. It’s unlikely that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available for children under 12 before classes resume in the fall. But a new study published by the Annals of…
Legislators want to spend $650 million a year to continue a pandemic program for free meals for all California public school students. The proposal will be decided in budget talks this week. Early in the pandemic, the only source of milk for some struggling families was from school lunches. Even for families who weren’t as…
For the first time since its adoption eight years ago, Gov. Newsom wants to change the formula that determines more than 70% of California school districts’ annual spending. But his plan to direct more money only to districts with the greatest concentration of low-income children is proving to be a tough sell so far to…
As several spring resignations nationwide illustrate, the toll of an unprecedented year of disruption is being felt at all levels of K-12. The social-emotional toll of a year of unprecedented disruption by the coronavirus pandemic is being felt at all levels of K-12 school systems, from students and teachers in classrooms to superintendents in central…
June 15, 2021
Can CA withstand a teacher retirement boom?
CA schools could be facing the largest number of teacher retirements ever, but factors like enrollment drops should take the sting out of it. Earlier this year, the STRS issued an ominous statement: teacher retirements in CA are projected to hit nearly record-breaking heights in 2021. The statement said that the numbers will be almost…
The U.S. Department of Education recently released a 61-page FAQ a school district’s use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. Most notably the FAQ says that a state education agency or a state legislature may not limit or limit districts’ access or spending of the funds. The FAQ — which addresses ESSER…
Los Angeles Unified on Friday plans to launch a student college savings program that will give thousands of first-graders their own college fund. The program, called Opportunity L.A., is set to become the largest school district college savings program in the nation once it enrolls all first-grade students attending district schools. L.A. Unified, the state’s…
Delays have been especially noticeable in ESSER I and II, impacting district plans for summer school and leaving superintendents to fly blind when budgeting. As pressure mounts for schools to reopen full time for in-person learning, delays in or changes to federal funding distribution are making it difficult for districts to plan for both short and…