November 18, 2020
Powell High School Principal Chad Smith has knocked on at least 20 doors since the school year began, searching for kids missing virtual classes at his school. Nearly 30 percent of his students chose virtual learning this fall, and that includes the school’s most at-risk teens. Figuring out what’s getting in the way of their…
From the pressure put on first responders to the demands placed on essential workers, COVID-19 upended professional norms across all industries — especially education. Last spring, teachers had to retrofit in-person curricula for a virtual environment and adopt new approaches for teaching students from afar. Then came fall, with the question of whether buildings would…
Seven urban California school districts, including the state’s four largest, have called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to adopt and pay for more stringent, uniform health and safety requirements they say should be in place before bringing students back to school during the pandemic. None of the districts plans to bring students back to regular classes…
There is a notable gulf between parents of K-12 students who are attending school in person this fall, and those whose children are getting some or all of their instruction virtually, according to the results of a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in mid-October. Ninety percent of parents whose children are back in school…
While voters statewide likely defeated Proposition 15, which would raise taxes on commercial property to increase funding for schools, voters in dozens of districts agreed by wide margins to raise their own taxes to support local schools. A preliminary review of local school initiatives shows that at least 39 out of 60 districts passed school…
November 18, 2020
Parents, teachers and school administrators who want to know how students are doing academically during the pandemic will have another report card to turn to this year. As school districts continue to grapple with distance learning and campus reopenings, the California State Board of Education on Thursday voted unanimously to adopt a modified and shortened…
November 18, 2020
Students at Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School in East Los Angeles are learning at one-and-a-half to two times the pace of their grade-level peers, based on their state standardized (CAASPP) test scores for the last three years compared to the average for the state. But the CDE has labeled Ochoa a “low performer,” based…
A surprisingly fast economic rebound advantaging higher-income Californians will create a huge unexpected state budget surplus that will provide an unexpected $13.1 billion in one-time revenue for K-12 schools and community colleges in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported on Wednesday. While tempering its forecast because of the pandemic’s…
November 18, 2020
President Trump tried to bully schools into opening their buildings, a hard-edge pandemic tactic that succeeded in places and backfired elsewhere. President-elect Joe Biden is hoping to pry them open with money for increased coronavirus expenses and clear guidance on how in-person schooling can resume safely, a shift that signals a new era for education…
November 18, 2020
With COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations spiking to record numbers across the U.S. and abroad, many school districts are temporarily shutting down in-person classes as holidays loom. Such decisions are complicated by a host of conflicting concerns — namely, safety versus the potential educational and economic damage from schooling children at home, in front of computers,…