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  • ‘A step backwards’: How federal threats to DEI are impacting California schools 

    ‘A step backwards’: How federal threats to DEI are impacting California schools 


    Credit: Carlos Kosienski/Sipa via AP Images

    Tough decisions lie ahead for schools across California as the federal government cracks down on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.  

    The latest measure came in the form of a letter issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Education, giving K-12 schools across the country two options: to eliminate programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within two weeks, or face unspecified cuts in federal funding.  

    “I fully anticipate that it will have a chilling effect on school districts, but also colleges and universities,” said Royel Johnson, who leads the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center’s National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates. 

    The Department of Education’s letter isn’t law — nor is it legal, Johnson said. 

    However, many advocates and community members say they are concerned that more and more districts will gut their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives out of fear and deprive students from marginalized backgrounds of the support they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

    “We often think about California as being protected from this larger right wing movement,” Johnson said. “But as we saw with changing patterns and demographic votes in the presidential election, I think there are many people in California who are wrestling with this conservative movement and who are afraid of it — and who are proactively or preemptively making decisions.” 

    ‘An underlying disconnect’: The letter 

    The Department of Education’s letter opens with the words “Dear Colleague,” but the ensuing message takes on a different tone. 

    “Rather than engaging in that work of acknowledging and affirming educators, what the Trump administration has done thus far is to express hostility and disdain,” said John Rogers, a professor at UCLA’s School of Education and Information Studies and associate dean for research/public scholarship. 

    The letter specifically claims that white and Asian American students, including those from lower income backgrounds, have been discriminated against and that “educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism.’”

    Increasing schools’ scores on the Nation’s Report Card has been a justification for some of the administration’s changes, according to Rogers. 

    But instead of boosting student performance, Rogers maintains that the directive could “throw K-12 schools into further tumult” due to the high fiscal costs of culture wars. Just last year, conflicts surrounding race and LGBTQ+ issues cost schools more than $3 billion nationwide. 

    “They’re pushing superintendents and those underneath the level of the superintendency to spend time seeking out legal counsel, talking with other educational leaders, trying to figure out, ‘What do we do? What are we doing now that might be considered problematic? Do we need to take action, etc?’” Rogers said.  

    “All of that time and energy, and to the extent that they’re seeking out costly legal counsel, that has real costs associated with it. It’s pushing people away from the important work of improving student learning and supporting student well-being.” 

    While Rogers maintained that the letter was hostile in tone, he also described it as vague and confusing — a sentiment shared by many.  

    Rogers said: “If I was a superintendent, I would want to know: ‘Can my principals bring together a group of Asian American students to talk about whether they’ve experienced anti-Asian hate? Could my district invite African American parents to share their oral histories about growing up in my community as part of African American History Month, or, for that matter, can we even celebrate African American History Month?” 

    Superintendents, he said, “don’t have enough information — yet they’re being given two weeks to either take dramatic action or not, of which they have really no sense of what that would mean.”

    ‘Uncharted territory’ for California districts  

    With new, unclear circumstances on the horizon, more questions than answers are percolating through school districts across California. 

    Nikki Henry, spokesperson for Fresno Unified School District, said Tuesday that the district and its attorneys are reviewing the letter to understand its impact. 

    Fresno Unified’s school board in 2020 passed a resolution declaring the district an anti-racist institution that would “examine and confront biases” and in January reaffirmed the district as a safe place for all students, including immigrant students and families.

    That mindset and approach may put Fresno Unified, which received around $238 million in federal funds this school year, in jeopardy of losing such funding under the new administration.

    With nearly 93% of its students identifying as members of minority communities, the district has implemented “strong” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Henry said. Their DEI policy ensures that students have equitable access to the district’s programs and services, that the curriculum reflects and celebrates diversity and that there are sufficient academic, social-emotional and behavioral supports. 

    Further south, administrators in Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest district, have also expressed support for students of all backgrounds — a move that is lauded by Evelyn Aleman, the organizer of Our Voice/Nuestra Voz, a bilingual Facebook group largely made up of parents and advocates.

    “In terms of advocating for and supporting the difference between populations that it serves, (LAUSD])really does try to do that, so … I think we’re going to be OK. I think we have a district that gets us.”

    In a statement to EdSource, a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson said the district “adheres to all federal and state law and guidance” — and that if there are discrepancies between the two, they would be resolved through the state. 

    However, last July, Parents Defending Education, a Virginia-based conservative group, filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights against the Los Angeles Unified School District for its Black Student Achievement Plan. 

    Months later, the district watered down the language surrounding the program. 

    And some members of LAUSD’s larger community, including United Teachers Los Angeles President Cecily Myart-Cruz, said they fear that this decision could signal how the district might respond to directives from the federal government. 

    “If I only had to go on that (decision regarding the Black Student Achievement Plan), then I would say I’m concerned,” Myart-Cruz said. “I believe in our students. … I know that UTLA, we’re going to stand right alongside our students and our community. … If we put resources in for our students, then it helps everyone.” 

    Other districts like Clovis Unified, however, maintain that they will not be impacted, according to spokesperson Kelly Avants. 

    Based on the way Clovis Unified is interpreting the Education Department’s letter, Avants said affected districts are likely those with hiring practices or scholarships with DEI guidelines or selection criteria based solely on race or gender. 

    Avants added that all Clovis Unified activities to celebrate different cultures are open to the entire student population. 

    “We’ve not gone one direction or the other,” Avants said. “We really have tried to be sensitive to our programs being holistic versus centrally focused.” 

    What’s at stake

    Experts and teachers have continually emphasized that diversity, equity and inclusion programs enrich students’ learning and that they also play a critical role in students feeling like they belong. 

    “DEI provides mechanisms for addressing issues of safety and security for students who sometimes experience physical harm, psychological harm,” Johnson said. “But, if we start removing the very mechanisms that are designed to address these issues, we’re going to see higher reports and students having concerns around their safety at school.” 

    He added, “If students feel a sense of connectedness and belonging to the school environment, they’re more likely to be retained, they’re more likely to come to school on time and persist toward their goals.”

    Several indicators of student success, from student attendance rates to engagement, rise when DEI programs are implemented, he said. 

    And in the classroom, Aleman from Our Voice/Nuestra Voz, emphasized the importance of learning about the contributions of immigrants from various backgrounds. 

    “We’re at a stage of global interaction that requires that we understand … the rich history and contributions of immigrants and different populations,” Aleman said. “We are a heterogeneous culture. … and we don’t understand why the administration doesn’t understand that.” 

    Pushing back 

    While the Department of Education’s letter focuses on race, civil rights protections — including through diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — support students from various identities based on other factors, including gender, disability and age, according to Amir Whitaker, senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Southern California.

    And Johnson said marginalized groups, including those who are LGBTQ+ and first generation, could also be impacted by potential cuts to DEI.

    “I hope that school district leaders and leaders of college and universities will not back down from this moment — and lean into the institutional values that have animated their work for years prior to this erroneous sort of guidance that is designed to threat and intimidate,” Johnson said. “If we all roll back and back down at this moment, then our students will suffer.” 

    Whitaker added that the very policies that the letter cites — like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — were victories that “people fought and died for.” 

    The Trump administration’s action, he said, is a “a step backwards in this nation’s journey towards equality and justice.”

    “If California backs down,” Johnson said, “I wonder also what message that sends to the rest of the country, that this ultra-progressive place is already making concessions and their sort of commitments to do DEI, what that might mean for less progressive places who are figuring out where they fit within this conversation.” 





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  • Our failure in teaching early math shortchanges children for life

    Our failure in teaching early math shortchanges children for life


    Credit: Zaidee Stavely / EdSource

    In education circles, early literacy — such as ensuring all children are reading by third grade — gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so. Early reading skills have been shown to have a profound impact on kids, increasing their likelihood of graduating from high school, earning a higher salary and living a healthy life throughout adulthood. And especially in California, where we rank among the bottom of states in grade-level reading, we have a lot of work to do.

    However, another subject has proven to be an even greater predictor of later academic and life success than reading, yet gets far less attention: early math. And California is even further behind other states when it comes to grade-level math than it is with reading.

    To turn those results around, we must also put a stronger and more dedicated focus on improving early math skills.

    California ranks an unacceptable 50th in the country in eighth grade math achievement gaps. Only around 33% of our eighth graders meet or exceed state math standards, and California is consistently one of the lowest performing states in eighth grade math on national assessments. That failure in our classrooms then leads to struggles in adulthood. When looking at the ability of adults to use mathematics in their daily lives, California ranks near the bottom of all states.

    Alarmingly, this achievement gap in math skills is already evident by the time children enter kindergarten, with children from lower-income families and children of color showing significantly lower basic math skills than their peers. This disparity is then exacerbated by a lack of support in schools that serve low-income communities, where teachers often lack the preparation, professional development and materials needed to provide effective math instruction.

    A lack of early math skills has been shown to have a substantial effect in shaping a child’s future educational trajectory. Research has found that early math proficiency is a strong predictor of later academic success, particularly in the elementary grades (even more than early reading skills). Early math abilities also correlate with broader cognitive skills, as kids with stronger math skills in preschool tend to show better performance in reading, attention control and executive function. These results then hold across a wide array of students, underscoring that early math knowledge is not simply about numbers and calculations, but also about developing problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and logical reasoning ­— all of which form the backbone of lifelong learning and personal development.

    Prioritizing early math education, particularly with a focus on skills such as the ability to work with numbers, problem-solving and reasoning, would also help mitigate some of the persistent inequalities in education. Kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who were provided early math instruction showed significant gains in their later academic performance, particularly in math and reading.

    Exposure to math early on also helps foster positive attitudes towards the subject, which can counteract the negative stereotypes and anxiety many children — especially girls and children of color — experience when they encounter math in later years. Early math can, therefore, not only improve academic performance, but also combat the social and psychological barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized groups.

    In 2023, the California State Board of Education approved a revised math framework, the statewide guidelines on teaching math, but as with past frameworks, there was neither sufficient nor sustained state funding for implementation. That could improve this year with Gov. Gavin Newsom proposing additional funding for teacher professional development and math coaches. But these would be one-time dollars and are not yet guaranteed. If we are serious about changing the trajectory of student proficiency in math, then we need to act like that. We need investments that match the task and are sustained over time until we see lasting improvements.

    We must focus on providing high-quality, evidence-based early math programs and ensuring every child, regardless of socioeconomic status, has access to these opportunities. We must prioritize professional development and coaching for early childhood educators, equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary to teach early math effectively. We need high-quality instructional materials and assessments to successfully support and tailor early math learning experiences to meet each student’s needs. And this added attention must not come at the expense of supporting literacy programs — both are critical to kids’ development.

    Addressing the math gap is not merely a question of academic improvement. It is a moral imperative to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have an equal opportunity to succeed so we progress to a more equitable and just society. That increased success in the classroom then translates to increased success in the workforce as kids transition to adulthood, creating a stronger economic future for not just our kids, but collectively.

    No longer can we afford to not pay attention to our state’s failure in math achievement gaps and the critical need for early math programs. The equation is simple: The time to focus on math is now.

    •••

    Vince Stewart serves as the vice president of policy and programs at Children Now, a California-based children’s policy research and advocacy organization that works to improve children’s education, health and overall well-being.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Pacifica’s ‘singing principal’ engages students through music

    Pacifica’s ‘singing principal’ engages students through music


    Student band members perform a concert at the Pacifica School District.

    Credit: Courtesy of Tom Stafford

    Tom Stafford has been singing his heart out since he was 5 years old, performing in a gospel trio with his sister, Pam, and their mother, Doris. The Stafford Family singers traveled all over Appalachia with their unique three-part harmony. 

    “My mother used to say I came out of the womb singing,” says Stafford, who grew up in Vanceburg, Kentucky, before studying music at Morehead State University and getting a master’s degree in education at the University of Louisville. 

    Tom Stafford, former music teacher, principal and arts coordinator for Pacifica School District.
    Credit: Courtesy of Tom Stafford

    The exuberant 61-year-old hasn’t stopped singing yet. When Stafford first landed at the Pacifica School District just south of San Francisco in 2002 as a choral director, he taught music to all the third, fourth and fifth graders. That’s well over 1,000 students a week.

    “It was pretty crazy,” he admits. “It was a lot. By the time I was done on Friday afternoon, I was toast. Thank God I was younger then. But, you know, I loved it. I loved that every kid in town knew me.”

    Over the years, Stafford has played many roles in Pacifica, including music teacher, bandleader, classroom teacher, principal of Linda Mar and Cabrillo schools and visual and performing arts coordinator. He was dubbed the “singing principal” because he sang to his students every day. It was his secret to spark engagement amid widespread student disaffection.

    “It’s a way to get their attention and help them listen to you and know that you are there and that you care,” he said. “The arts are always the first thing cut, and that’s sad because the arts help you build a strong foundation for everything else. Learning to read music early is going to improve reading in class. It’s going to improve the way kids think mathematically in class.” 

    Stafford retired last year, but his legacy lives on for Pacifica’s students because he remains the district’s unofficial music man, the architect of its ambitious sequential music curriculum. He has always believed that music matters in education.

    “We are aesthetic beings by nature,” Stafford said. “And because of that, having a music program allows kids to really explore who they are as individuals, as musicians, as students, as anything they really want to be. The arts in general allow for kids to experiment in becoming who they are.”

    Stafford stepped up when opportunity knocked, expanding the district’s ambitious music program, bolstered by new Proposition 28 funding. Despite declining enrollment and the budget woes it triggers, a challenge now facing many districts, Pacifica remains all in on music education. 

    “Their early commitment to expanding music education is a game-changer for their students,” said Allison Gamlen, visual and performing arts coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education. “By offering a sequential, standards-based music program from TK through grade 8, they are ensuring that every child has the opportunity to develop creativity, collaboration and critical thinking skills through music.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9ekvnYdyg

    Check out a student performance from 2015 at Cabrillo School in Pacifica, which features an introduction by then-arts coordinator Tom Stafford, now retired.

    Stafford had to tap into multiple funding streams, combining private philanthropy with Proposition 28 money, to expand the district’s original music program to reach all grades from transitional kindergarten to eight. Finding music teachers amid a chronic staffing shortage was also a key challenge.

    “You have to leverage every dollar to make it happen,” he said. “You leverage the other funding you have so you can use Prop. 28 to pay the teachers.”

    While some school districts have been hesitant to jump on Proposition 28 arts funding, others have been chomping at the bit to bring the arts back into classrooms after decades of cutbacks. Under Stafford’s watch, Pacifica envisioned a symphony of learning, a program that gradually develops from transitional kindergarten to eight so that students emerge with a profound understanding of the art form. 

    “Depth of knowledge in music education, focusing on progressing skills over time within a single discipline, has profound benefits for students,” Gamlen said. “By prioritizing depth in music education, Pacifica is giving students more than just exposure. They’re equipping them with a pathway to mastery, self-expression and a lifelong love of the arts.”

    Even if students don’t become virtuosos, this deep dive into music will make a lasting impact, experts say.  Even students with a tin ear are likely to get the full cognitive boost that music lessons give the growing brain. For example, research suggests that even 45 minutes of arts practice, however rudimentary it may be, notably reduces stress. Skill is no obstacle. You can be drawing blurry stick figures or mangling chopsticks on the piano, and it still helps spark focus and concentration in the classroom. 

    “Sustained, high-quality arts education enhances academic achievement, social-emotional learning and overall student engagement,” Gamlen said. “Pacifica’s investment in music is an investment in their students’ success —both in school and beyond.”

    When Stafford stepped down last year, he passed the torch to Benjamin Gower, the district’s current visual and performing arts coordinator and band director. They both see music as a tool for building academic skills and emotional resilience in a generation hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The program starts in transitional kindergarten with the basics of song, rhythm, and dance and builds until students join a concert band and specialize in a woodwind, brass or percussion instrument by eighth grade.

    “While the core subject areas teach us the important things we need to understand the world, it is art that helps us learn how to understand ourselves and to be able to live with and make sense of the world around us,” Gower said. “Music is what helps to do that for me and has impacted my life in almost every way I can think of, and it’s that idea that helped inspire me to become a teacher in the first place.”

    Immersing in music over time allows students to achieve a feeling of expertise, of charting their own course and following their passion, that can lead to greater knowledge and pride, experts say. 

    “Music requires students to develop critical thinking skills, organizational skills, understanding the need for teamwork, communication skills, the idea and concept of practicing for improvement,” Gower said, “while also helping boost their self-confidence and helping them to learn how to overcome difficult obstacles and tasks.”

    Pacifica School District students compete in an all-city band competition.
    Credit: Tom Stafford

    Some children will discover an instrument they will play their whole life. That musical acumen will help shape their identity, buttressing their love of learning. 

    “Sequential music and arts programs are essential,” said Merryl Goldberg, a veteran music and arts professor at Cal State San Marcos. “Deep learning in any subject teaches not only about the subject, but it also teaches one how to learn, how to be disciplined, how to embrace understanding, and to feel confident in one’s ability to understand, question and wonder.”

    Stafford has long seen music as a balm for the soul. He says he has always embraced this philosophy: “If you didn’t show up to help, then why are you here?”

    When he realized how much suffering and isolation children had weathered during the pandemic, he began holding “dance parties” during recess at school. He cranked up the music, from disco to K-pop, and invited all comers to bust a move. 

    “That was my favorite part of being principal,” he said. “I wanted to do something joyous. It was also the best move I ever made to maintain discipline.”

    The dance break gave students a chance to let off steam, which helped release frustrations and resolve behavior issues in class, and gave them a chance to bond with their peers. If he ever got too busy and had to cancel a dance party, students inevitably came knocking on his door. They didn’t want to miss out on a chance to socialize. 

    “They needed it, and they knew they needed it,” said Stafford, “Music is how you build bridges in a community. It brings people together.” 

    The best part of retirement for Stafford is finally having more time for his own music, such as his revue “Totally Tom.” He says doesn’t miss the herculean administrative headache of running a school, but he does miss the kids.

    “I miss them every day.”





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  • Education concerns remain high at LA County juvenile hall

    Education concerns remain high at LA County juvenile hall


    Minors detained at Los Padrinos juvenile hall in Los Angeles County.

    Credit: Richard Ross

    Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles County remains open a year after the state’s corrections oversight board deemed it “unsuitable for the confinement of minors” and four months after it ordered the center to shut down due to ongoing noncompliance with the state’s minimum standards for juvenile facilities.

    The problems plaguing the facility, located in the southeast LA city of Downey, include insufficient probation officers, students arriving to class late, abysmal performance on standardized education testing, and the center’s heavy reliance on substitute teachers.

    A court hearing that had been scheduled for Friday was to decide the hall’s fate, but L.A. County Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza deferred the decision until April, to allow for the completion of a re-inspection by the Bureau of State and Community Corrections, known as BSCC, the state agency that deemed it unsuitable after multiple inspections.

    Advocates say they are concerned that the situation could impact the quality of education the youth are receiving.

    “When we are thinking about young folks who are in these camps and halls, we want to make sure they’re having access to academic rigor that is deeper than just a packet, that they’re actually being challenged, and that they have the opportunity that when they leave these sites, to either return to their school of origin and be ready for the next thing — for trades, for college, for these things that allow them to be productive members of our community and society,” said Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, director of education equity at Children’s Defense Fund California.

    While the issues found at Los Padrinos appear to be improving according to reports from an ongoing inspection, advocates are skeptical because such moments of compliance in the past were short-lived.

    “We have a history of these independent bodies identifying issues with the education being provided, and then it might improve for a little bit, but then, once eyes are off or the settlement ends, we see those issues persist and get even worse,” said Vivian Wong, an education attorney and interim director of the Youth Justice Education Clinic at the Loyola Law Cchool, whose recent clients have included Los Padrinos students.

    This chaotic history has led to the formation of groups like the Education Justice Coalition, which started in 2020 to advocate for the release of as many youth as possible at the height of the pandemic and high-quality education for detained youth.

    Advocates like Wong insist that while conditions must improve inside the juvenile facilities, the priority should be to release youth back into their communities.

    “Our policy recommendation, and something we’ve been consistently advocating for, is keeping people in the community as much as possible,” Wong said of the education coalition. “If you don’t have the staff, we should really question why young people are in here.”

    In less than two years since its reopening, Los Padrinos has been plagued with accusations and findings of violence, allegedly incited by probation staff, and about the inadequacy of its programs, including the residents’ access to education. This site was to provide relief after two other juvenile halls, Central Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights, were shuttered and deemed unsuitable given their ongoing problems. Issues included insufficient staffing, lack of proper training on the use-of-force policy, as well as youth being confined to their rooms for too long.

    Los Padrinos itself was closed in 2019 amid allegations of abuse, with six officers charged with assault and child abuse the year of its closure, and a history of concerns about safety for both youth and probation officers. Then- California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, the county, and the county office of education entered into settlements in 2021 after problems were revealed with access to education for the youth. A 2010 settlement in a class action lawsuit showed inadequate education programs for the youth in the county’s largest juvenile detention facility. Reforms focused on 13 major areas, including literacy, instruction, transition, special education, and after care.

    School at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall

    Over 230 youth are at Los Padrinos and, as of Jan. 6, 190 of them were attending the hall’s court school, which is operated by the county’s office of education. They are all pre-disposition youth who are awaiting court action or transfer to another facility.

    The student population consists of 167 male students across 21 living units in the hall and 23 female students across two units. Students’ ages can range from 13 to 22 years old in grade levels from sixth to 12th. Some youth remain at Los Padrinos for months, up to a couple of years, but the average stay is about 22 days.

    A typical day at Los Padrinos is supposed to go as follows: School is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., and students remain for two class periods until 11:50 a.m. Then they return to their units for lunch for the next hour and a half, after which they return to class until 3 p.m. for their third and final period of the day. The only shortened day is Friday, which ends at 1 p.m. for teacher professional development.

    Probation staff are tasked both with taking students from their units to their classroom and remaining in the classroom while class is in session.

    But the BSCC’s inspection from December 2024 noted that inspections have found an “inability of facility staff to get youth to school on time due to lack of staff available for supervision within the classroom.”

    The issue seems to have subsided at least once in the last year and a half. During an annual inspection in June last year, both the county office of education and youth reported that students had not been late to class in months due to low staffing. That inspection was conducted by the county’s Probation Oversight Commission, a group created by the county Board of Supervisors in 2020 to monitor and advise the Probation Department and the Board of Supervisors as they implement justice system reforms.

    But that appears to be one of the few inspections since Los Padrinos reopened that found that students arrived at class on time. On-time arrival to class — of both students and teachers — has been listed as a problem during inspections more often than not.

    It is unclear how many instructional minutes students have missed due to low staffing, but the 2024 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress showed that not a single 11th grader at Los Padrinos met the state standard for math, and just over 2% met the English standard.

    Students enrolled in LA County’s juvenile court schools take additional assessments referred to as STAR Reading and Star Math, which measure achievement and growth in the two subject areas.

    Assessment results for the fall of 2023 showed that 0% of students tested proficient in reading and less than 5% tested proficient in math.

    In the most recent STAR assessments from winter 2024-25, “urgent intervention” was needed for nearly half of all students in reading and about 44% in math. Just about 10% of students met or surpassed the benchmark for reading; 11.5% in math. The remainder were either bordering on needing intervention, or they needed it already, in both subjects.

    While the numbers indicate progress, they remain low for the students’ grade levels.

    At Los Padrinos, there are currently no reading specialists on staff, according to Erin Simon, associate superintendent at the county’s office of education. Reading intervention is provided by students’ teachers.

    Many students arrive with “very low reading levels,” she said, and the county education office has implemented intervention programs such as Read180 to increase reading levels.

    “They’re adjusting to their environment; there’s mental health and trauma,” said Simon, who was hired nearly 11 months ago to provide oversight over the county’s juvenile facilities, with an emphasis on Los Padrinos.

    “The complexity of it is knowing that many of those students only stay with us for a very short period of time, so we are always pushing to have more intervention and more instruction, but we also know that there are certain things that happen when a student gets here.”

    She added that more counselors are available now to help Los Padrinos students address mental health concerns, first addressing social-emotional learning and mental health challenges and then moving into academic intervention programming.

    On a typical day, students might be taught by their assigned and credentialed teacher, but it is not uncommon for a substitute to lead the class instead.

    While Los Padrinos, the county’s largest juvenile hall, has 33 permanent, credentialed teachers — up from 26 in October 2023 — they rely on nine to 14 substitute teachers on a daily basis, according to Simon. There are also seven vacancies at this time.

    “It does require a teacher who is really not afraid to work in those camps and halls; a teacher who can really build relationships with many of our students, knowing they have trauma and also some mental health issues, and so it does become a very difficult position to fill, especially at Los Padrinos,” Simon said.

    On the day of last year’s inspection by the county’s probation oversight commission, there were seven full-time teachers on the job and 16 substitute teachers.

    “It’s a huge problem, especially for this population, where they have adults come in and out of their lives, and, frequently, there is already so much instability in their education. They’re coming and going in and out of schools, transferring school districts,” said Wong about the reliance on substitutes. “If the teacher is not there, then they have to build up that trust again with the new person.”

    It can be especially difficult for a student who requires accommodation in the classroom, as is the case with Wong’s clients. She said a client, currently at a county juvenile camp, was doing well in school after having developed a relationship with a teacher. But when the teacher was out for a month, the student could no longer access his curriculum in a similar fashion, “because every teacher implements accommodations differently.”

    As the debate continues over whether Los Padrinos will close or remain open, in part depending on the result of the latest BSCC inspection that began last week, advocates are pushing to maintain the focus on the youth inside the hall.

    “We’re dealing with fires and fire recovery, climate change, housing, homelessness, all these things that overlap with our young folks and their needs,” McMorrin said. “But it’s such a priority to get it right, because there is no do-over for these critical years of youth and to do what we can to prepare them for this world.”





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  • Santa Ana to drop contested ethnic studies courses to settle closely watched lawsuit

    Santa Ana to drop contested ethnic studies courses to settle closely watched lawsuit


    Diane Diederich for iStock

    To avoid further embarrassing and expensive litigation, Santa Ana Unified has agreed to terminate three staff-created high school ethnic studies courses starting next fall and to start again from scratch. Next time, according to a settlement released Thursday, the district will comply with the state’s open meeting law it sought to evade and to seek public input, including Jewish advocacy organizations that brought the lawsuit and signed the settlement with the district.

    The 13-page agreement ends a lawsuit that the American Jewish Committee and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed in September 2023. The lawsuit asked the board to reject ethnic studies courses that it had approved in violation of the Brown Act, the open-meetings law. The lawsuit also claimed that the courses included sections on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that were biased against Jews and Israel.

    The deal followed a hearing in Orange County Superior Court in December and two months of negotiations.

    “We hope this is a cautionary tale to all the districts in California and anyone else who’s hoping to infuse ethnic studies with antisemitism, especially if they’re doing it in secret,” said Marci Miller, director of legal investigations for the Brandeis Center, Thursday. Miller said that the terms of the settlement should act as a deterrent for other districts.

    The agreement also could help other districts avoid similar conflicts. It spells out the procedure for “meaningful, substantive input from members of the public.”  There will be at least one public meeting no sooner than seven days before a school board considers an ethnic studies course;  representatives of community groups will be invited to offer their comments. The district will prominently publish drafts of course outlines on its website at least a week before the meeting.

    The Brandeis Center has also filed related state or federal discrimination complaints against Berkeley Unified, Fremont High School and Santa Clara Unified. A separate nonprofit law firm, the Deborah Project, has filed antisemitism lawsuits against a San Jose charter school and another Bay Area district, Sequoia Union High School District.

    In a statement that Santa Ana Unified provided Friday, district Superintendent Jerry Almendarez cleared up “some misperceptions” that led to the filing of the lawsuit.

    “At no time has the district supported the teaching of instructional content to students that reflects adversely on any group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin as alleged in the lawsuit,” Almendarez’s statement said. “The settlement of this lawsuit affirms that principle and resolves any misunderstanding that may have occurred.”

    Board President Hector Bustos signed the agreement for the district.

    The lawsuit focused on the work of the school board’s ethnic studies steering committee, which was led by two board members, Carolyn Torres, a seventh-grade teacher and longtime ethnic studies advocate; and Rigo Rodriguez, an associate professor in the Department of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at CSU Long Beach. He lost his re-election bid in November.

    The lawsuit said the committee members “consisted of a narrow and insular group of individuals who were ‘handpicked’ to promote a ‘very pro-ethnic studies’ vision, without any ‘naysayers.’”  

    Damaging court documents

    The district adopted three ethnic studies courses grounded in Liberated Ethnic Studies, a doctrine that stresses that the forces of white supremacy and capitalism are continuing to oppress minorities. It has made the conflict in Israel, which it characterizes as an oppressor state and a modern example of  “white settler colonialism,”  a central element in its curriculum.

    Promoted by the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium as an alternative to the mainstream state-adopted ethnic studies curriculum framework, the liberated approach has been adopted by more than two dozen school districts in California.

    Emails, documents, text messages, and chats obtained by attorneys during the discovery process revealed Santa Ana steering committee members’ biases. In a summary of the remarks submitted to the court, one unnamed member referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County as “racist [Z]ionists” to whom the district should not “cave.” Additionally, in a chat, the same employee referred to the lone Jewish member of the steering committee as a “colonized Jewish mind,” as well as a “pretender,” a “f—— baby,” and as “stupid” because of the person’s reservations about some of the committee’s work.

    In an online chat, the Jewish member summarized what he heard as members were preparing to meet with the Jewish Federation: “Jews greatly benefit from White privilege and so have it better,” and “We don’t need to give both sides. We only support the oppressed, and the Jews are the oppressors.”

    According to the lawsuit, the federation had asked to contribute its perspective to the committee. Instead, the committee worked “under the radar” to avoid public scrutiny. When deciding when to present two proposed ethnic studies courses to the board, two senior district officials in text messages suggested scheduling it on a Jewish holiday so that Jews would not attend.

    “We may need to use Passover to get all new courses approved,” one suggested.  The other official responded, “That’s actually a good strategy.” 

    In March 2023, the steering committee submitted the proposed World Geography and World Histories ethnic studies courses to the school board. There was no discussion, public comment or presentation by the select committee. The plaintiffs’ memorandum said the agenda item consisted of “merely reading the titles of the courses. The entire ‘presentation’ was over in less than 30 seconds.”

    The school board approved the courses at a subsequent meeting, again without discussion. Jewish residents learned about the courses’ content only after their adoption, the lawsuit claimed.

    “There is reason to require that meetings have to be open to the public,” Miller said. “When nobody is watching, people will be left to their own prejudices.”’

    Details of the settlement

    Other points in the agreement include:

    Santa Ana’s previous steering committee and subcommittee that created the ethnic studies courses will be abolished.

    The superintendent, not the school board, will appoint members to future committees considering an ethnic studies course; board members will not be involved in that work until the final approval process.

    The district will recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a controversial issue; as such, any classroom instruction or curriculum will comply with the district’s own policy on dealing with controversial issues. Many districts have adopted a similar document consistent with state law. Among the provisions:

    • The issue provides opportunities for critical thinking, for developing tolerance, and for understanding conflicting points of view
    • All sides of the issue are given a proper hearing using established facts and primary evidence.
    • Teachers do not use their positions to press their own bias
    • The discussion does not reflect adversely on anyone because of their race, sex, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, handicap or occupation.

    To create the ethnic studies courses, Santa Ana hired the Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing (XITO); its leader, Sean Arce, is a team member of the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium. According to records, the district contracted $300,663 for its services, plus $79,200 for another Liberated ethnic studies contractor. Under the agreement, the district will stop using XITO’s services and any individuals associated with it.

    Arce did not respond to a request for comment.

    Under the agreement, Ethnic Studies World Geography; Ethnic Studies World Histories; and Ethnic Studies Honors: Perspectives, Identities and Social Justice courses can continue for the rest of 2024-25 under the condition that materials and instruction with claims like “the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor” will not be taught — unless done so in a way that complies with the controversial issues policy. A glossary by the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Coalition will be stripped from the courses.

    The district may have time to create new courses. A 2021 state law would require that school districts offer a semesterlong ethnic studies course starting in fall 2025 and that students must take it to graduate as of 2030-31. However, Assembly Bill 101 requires funding to become a mandate, and the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have not provided money so far. Last month, Newsom did not include ethnic studies funding in his proposed 2025-25 state budget.

    The district will also reimburse $43,091 in plaintiff lawyers’ direct costs, like filing expenses. But the agreement did not cover attorney fees, which would easily have been so much more than the direct costs, at a time when the district faces laying off up to 300 employees.  The law firm Covington and Burling, doing pro bono work, and the Anti-Defamation League were co-counsels on the case,

    Miller said that was a deliberate choice in the negotiations. “Money was not the main goal of the lawyers,” she said. “Making systemic change was.” 





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  • What does threatened federal funding do for California K-12 schools? | Quick Guide

    What does threatened federal funding do for California K-12 schools? | Quick Guide


    Students read and write at Frank Sparkes Elementary in Winton School District in Madera County.

    Credit: Zaidee Stavely / EdSource

    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    The U.S. Department of Education alarmed school leaders last week by threatening to withhold federal funding from schools and colleges that do not abandon “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. President Donald Trump has also threatened to withhold federal funding from states or schools that allow transgender students to play sports on teams that align with their gender identity.

    It is unclear exactly which federal funding could be targeted to be cut from schools. There are several different educational programs funded by the federal government. Many of these programs have been approved in federal legislation since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and have continued in the current Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

    California K-12 schools received about $8 billion in federal funding in 2024-25, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office — about 6% of total K-12 funding. Federal funding may represent a much larger percentage of the budget in some districts, particularly those in rural areas.

    Elizabeth Sanders, a spokesperson for the California Department of Education, emphasized that federal education funds “are appropriations made by Congress and would need to be changed by Congress, not by an executive order.”

    Below are some of the largest K-12 programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education. All numbers were provided by the California Department of Education for the fiscal year 2024-25, unless otherwise specified.

    Students from low-income families (ESSA, Title I, Part A) — $2.4 billion

    California school districts and charter schools with large numbers of students from low-income families receive funding from Title I, intended to make sure children from low-income families have the same opportunities as other students to receive a high-quality education. Schools where at least 40% of students are from low-income families can use these funds to improve education for the entire school. Otherwise, schools are expected to use the funds to serve low-income students achieving the lowest scores on state assessments.

    Students with disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) — $1.5 billion

    This funding is specifically to help school districts provide special education and services to children with disabilities. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities are entitled to a free public education in the “least restrictive environment” — meaning as close as possible to the education offered to peers who do not have disabilities.

    The state also receives funding for serving infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families and preschoolers with disabilities.

    Training, recruiting and retaining teachers and principals (ESSA, Title II) — $232 million 

    These grants, called Supporting Effective Instruction, can be used for reforming teacher and principal certification programs, supporting new teachers, providing additional training for existing teachers and principals, and reducing class size by hiring more teachers. The goal is to make sure that all students have high-quality principals and teachers in their schools.

    English learners and immigrant students (ESSA, Title III, Part A) — $157 million

    California schools use this funding to help recent immigrant students and students who speak languages other than English at home to learn to speak, read and write English fluently, to learn other subjects such as math and science, and to meet graduation requirements.

    Student support and academic enrichment (ESSA, Title IV) — $152 million

    These grants are intended to make sure all students have access to a well-rounded education. Programs can include college and career guidance, music and arts education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, foreign language, and U.S. history, among other topics. In addition, funding can be used for wellness programs, including prevention of suicide, violence, bullying, drug abuse and child sexual abuse. Finally, funds can be used for improving the use of technology in the classroom, particularly for providing students in rural, remote and underserved areas expanded access to technology.

    Before- and after-school programs (ESSA, Title IV, Part B) — $146 million 

    The 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants are for expanding or starting before- and after-school programs that provide tutoring or academic help in math, science, English language arts and other subjects. These grants are intended particularly to help students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools.

    Migratory students (ESSA, Title I, Part C) — $120 million

    These funds are used for programs to help students whose parent or guardian is a migratory worker in the agricultural, dairy, lumber, or fishing industries and whose family has moved during the past three years.

    Impact Aid (ESSA, Title VII) — $82.2 million, according to the Education Law Center

    These programs help fund school districts that have lost property tax revenue because of property owned by the federal government, including Native American lands, and that have large numbers of children living on Native American land, military bases, or federal low-rent housing. The money can be used for school construction and maintenance, in addition to teacher salaries, advanced placement classes, tutoring, and supplies such as computers and textbooks.

    Career and technical education (Perkins V) — $77 million

    This funding is aimed at programs that help prepare students for careers and vocations, including “pathway programs” in high schools.

    State assessments (ESSA, Title I, Part B) — $27 million

    This funding is used to develop and administer state assessments, such as the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress and the English Language Proficiency Assessments of California.

    Children in juvenile justice system and foster care (ESSA, Title I, Part D) — $17 million

    This funding is labeled for “prevention and intervention programs for children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk.” It is intended to improve education for children in juvenile detention facilities and other facilities run by the state.

    Homeless children (McKinney-Vento Act) — $15 million

    This federal funding is specifically to serve children who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act, which includes children whose families are sharing housing with others because they lost housing or because of economic hardship. The funds can be spent on a variety of different things, including identifying homeless students, tutoring and instruction, training teachers and staff to understand homeless students’ needs and rights, referring students to health services, and transportation to help students get to school.

    Small rural schools (ESSA, Title V, Part B, 1) — $7.9 million, according to the Education Law Center

    These federal funds are available to rural school districts that enroll fewer than 600 students or are located in counties with fewer than 10 people per square mile.

    School breakfast and lunch (child nutrition programs) — $5.7 million

    This funding from the U.S. Department of Education supplements a much bigger amount of funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($2.6 billion in 2023, according to the Public Policy Institute of California), to help provide free breakfast and lunch to low-income students during the school year, meals and snacks during after-school programs, and meals for low-income children during the summer.

    Low-income rural schools (ESSA, Title V, Part B, 2) — $5 million

    These federal funds are available to rural school districts where at least 20% of students are from families with incomes below the poverty line.

    Native American students (ESSA, Title VI) — $4.6 million, according to the Education Law Center

    This funding goes to districts for programs to help Native American students, for example, tutoring in reading, math or science, after-school programs, Native language classes, programs that increase awareness about going to college or career preparation, or programs to improve attendance and graduation rates.

    Literacy (ESSA, Title II, Part B) — $3.8 million 

    This is funding for California’s Literacy Initiative, which seeks to ensure that all children are reading well by third grade.

    Competitive grants for teacher training, community schools, desegregation and more

    The U.S. Department of Education also has grants for which school districts can apply directly, rather than going through the state Department of Education. These are harder to track, but many school districts in California have received funding from these grants. 

    For example, in 2023, the department sent out $14 million in grants to help districts desegregate schools, some of which went to Oakland Unified. In 2024, Congress put aside $150 million for grants to help school districts set up full-service community schools, offering wraparound services to students and families.

    Other grants have focused on teacher preparation, career pathways and other issues. The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it had already canceled $600 million in grants for teacher training.

    California Department of Education staff

    According to the California Department of Education, the department receives federal funding for 875 positions, about half of which are fully funded by the federal government.





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  • In the age of AI, students urgently need access to computer science

    In the age of AI, students urgently need access to computer science


    Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource

    For school leaders, artificial intelligence (AI) might feel like the latest shiny new thing to tackle in education. 

    With ethical questions to reflect on, it may be shiny, but computer science teachers will tell you it’s not new — it’s been part of computer science education for 60 years. 

    Computer science is foundational to learning about artificial intelligence, including thinking critically about AI’s ethics and impacts, data and algorithms, and equipping students to use technology responsibly. Like learning to drive a car, it’s good to know what’s under the hood, and be aware of the dangers, troubleshoot problems, know where you’re going and how to get there safely.  If technology is driving the future, how can we prepare students to do the steering if they do not learn computer science in school?

    Yet, only 5% of California students take computer science in high school­, something we need urgent action to change.

    A high-quality computer science education offers a new way of teaching in the currency students understand best: with their technological devices. Learning to think computationally — using algorithms to construct learning — can be a tool for engaging students to think critically about technology’s influence in making meaning of their world. Whether we like it or not, the choice facing us now is: either we teach students how to use technology safely and be justice-minded creators of it, or risk students’ harm of getting used and manipulated by it.

    Despite widespread use of technology, school leaders are overwhelmed with decisions about teaching with AI tools and teaching about artificial intelligence in the classroom. Research conducted by the UCLA Computer Science Equity Project affirms that administrators struggle to juggle their overflowing plate of responsibilities. But instead of seeing AI as yet another thing to fit into the school schedule — one of the main reasons more schools aren’t offering computer science — understanding how it’s part of a high-quality computer science education can help expand access to this foundational learning.

    California’s computer science (CS) strategic implementation plan serves as a road map to realizing the state’s vision that all schools offer computer science education and all teachers are prepared to teach it. To make good on that plan, the Legislature funded the Educator Workforce Investment Grant, to provide professional learning in computer science for thousands of California’s educators. This comprehensive model of professional development, Seasons of CS, equips educators with knowledge and skills to engage students with culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy aligned with the state’s computer science standards (which classifies AI as a sub-discipline of computer science).

    California, a hub of innovation across industries, has made significant efforts to prioritize equity, access and engagement in computer science education, but remarkably, California lags behind the national average and 38 other states in the percentage of high schools offering at least one computer science course. As of 2021, just 34% of schools serving high proportions of Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Pacific Islander students offered computer science courses, compared with 52% of schools serving a greater proportion of white and Asian students. Despite student interest in computer science, not enough schools prioritize it because they are not held accountable for it by the state.

    Yet, exposure to computer science can impact college majors and increase earnings, especially for students of color who are underrepresented in computer science. 

    Educators need support bringing computer science to every student, regardless of their background, and school leaders have a role to play in bridging this gap. District and county-level supervisors can leverage state-level initiatives like the Math, Science, Computer Science Partnership Grant to build a pathway with more computer science class offerings that are integrated into other subjects.

    To ensure every student has access to this foundational knowledge that prepares them for college, careers and community engagement, every school should offer computer science education. This year, Assemblymember Marc Berman is re-introducing legislation that will add California to the list of states whose schools are required to offer CS. Assembly Bill 887 would require every high school to offer at least one course in computer science by the 2028-29 school year, with support for schools in rural and urban areas.

    Regardless of a student’s post-high school plan, computer science can help students grapple with the good and bad of technology, including effects of social media, biased algorithms that lead to inequitable outcomes, and controversial issues around privacy and disinformation that influences our democracy. All students should have access to the foundational learning computer science provides, building critical skills for our students’ future, no matter whether their future career is in tech or not.

    It’s not easy keeping up with the rapid change of technology’s newest tools, but one thing is clear: Computer science education can inspire students to become competent and confident navigating online life. Expanding access to opportunities to teach and learn computer science and ensuring all schools offer it, will help respond to the ever-changing landscape of technology and prepare students for our digital future.

    •••

    Julie Flapan is a researcher, educator and the director of the Computer Science Equity Project at UCLA Center X, School of Education and Information Studies and co-lead of the CSforCA coalition.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Cal Poly Humboldt will cover gap between tuition and aid for eligible students next fall

    Cal Poly Humboldt will cover gap between tuition and aid for eligible students next fall


    A new initiative at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, seeks to allay students’ doubts about whether they can afford to enroll there. If there is a gap remaining after traditional financial aid awards, Humboldt says it will pick up the balance starting in the fall.

    Cal Poly Humboldt’s Green & Gold Guarantee makes it the second among the 23 California State University (CSU) campuses to launch a last-dollar tuition guarantee after California State University, Fresno began one last fall. Based on previous enrollment trends, the Humboldt program could cover as many as 2,000 students a year.

    The average award is expected to fill a gap of roughly $200 on average, not an enormous amount on its own but enough to provide a sense of stability to worried students, officials say. And by attracting and keeping more students, Humboldt hopes to continue its climb back from a drastic enrollment drop in the past decade. 

    Chrissy Holliday, Humboldt’s vice president for enrollment management and student success, said students will learn whether they are eligible for the guarantee soon after submitting financial aid applications, rather than having to wait for their entire aid package to be determined in detail. “It creates just a level of certainty that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” she said. 

    Cal Poly Humboldt’s guarantee program is open initially to new first-year and transfer students who are California residents or otherwise qualify for in-state tuition and meet financial criteria. It can continue for up to four years for full-time students and two for transfers. There is no separate application after filing the usual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application. The guarantee at the campus of roughly 6,000 students covers tuition and mandatory fees — such as those used to fund health services and the student center — but does not cover other expenses like food and housing.

    Admissions trends suggest the program could benefit hundreds of incoming students, if not more. Cal Poly Humboldt estimates that 300 first-time students per year would have received the guarantee in 2023 and 2024 if the program had existed. The university additionally admitted an average of 1,700 applicants who would have been eligible had they chosen to enroll at Humboldt. 

    “When it comes to programs like this, it’s so, so helpful to students that are low-income, maybe first-generation, whose primary barrier to college access is going to be financial aid,” said Rachel Perry, who assists high school students with financial aid applications through her work with the North Coast California Student Opportunity and Access Program Consortium. “There are so many students who I see at my workshops every week that are discouraged because they feel like, ‘Even if I get some financial aid, is it going to be enough?’”

    California State University, Fresno, launched a similar initiative, Tuition Advantage, in fall 2024. Phong Yang, the interim vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Fresno State, said the program is a response to concerns from students who report in surveys that “the cost of college is always towards the top of their priorities.” Given that reality, university officials were also concerned about how the troubled rollout of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid might impact prospective students.

    In its first year, Fresno State awarded 111 students between $70 and $3,300 through Tuition Advantage, Yang said, at a total cost of roughly $200,000. It’s hard to gauge whether the new program was a deciding factor for those students in its first year, he added, but enrollment rose 3.6% this fall from 2023.

    Students weighing whether to pursue a college degree may have difficulty estimating how much their education will cost because the sticker price on many academic programs can deviate from students’ actual costs after scholarships, financial aid and loans. Living expenses can also add to students’ overall cost of attendance, adding to unpredictability.

    At Cal Poly Humboldt, a full-time, first-time undergraduate living off campus with family and receiving in-state tuition could expect expenses of $12,316 a year including food, housing and other costs before aid, according to federal data for the 2022-23 school year. An in-state student living on campus faced estimated expenses of $24,856 before aid. 

    But if a student qualifies for financial aid, that won’t be their final price tag. At Cal Poly Humboldt, in-state undergraduates in the lowest income bracket — those with a family income of $30,000 or less — faced an average net price of $8,090 for all costs in the 2022-23 school year after average aid awards, the most recent data available. Those in the next-highest income bracket, which is capped at $48,000, had an average net price of $9,623.

    The Green & Gold Guarantee could reduce tuition and fee costs further for selected students. Eligibility will be based on a measure of financial need called the student aid index, which is calculated when students apply for state or federal assistance to attend college. Manny Rodriguez, the director of policy and advocacy in California for The Institute for College Access & Success, said the program seems like it will support low- to moderate-income students, including those who receive a minimum or partial Pell Grant, a common form of federal aid. It also could support students who do not qualify for a Cal Grant because of factors like age or time out of high school, he said, even though they are Pell-eligible.

    Students who take a break from school or return to Humboldt after transferring to another institution lose eligibility. The guarantee is also not open to students in graduate, credential or extended education programs, nor to students who entered Humboldt before fall 2025.

    To be eligible, students must also be enrolled full time, maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and renew their financial aid application annually.

    Cal Poly Humboldt, formerly Humboldt State, has in recent years transitioned to a polytechnic university, concentrating more on science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. 

    The university in far Northern California anticipated that its polytechnic status would bring a wave of new students after a period of decline. That prediction has proven at least partially true: The student body grew 5% between 2021, the year before its name change became official, and fall 2024. However, overall enrollment remains more than 30% lower than a decade ago in 2015. While Cal Poly Humboldt’s beautiful location attracts students, others have felt too far away from metro areas around the state. 

    Cal State data shows that another challenge has been retaining students who are already enrolled. Though Cal Poly Humboldt’s first year continuation rate has risen slightly in recent school years, it still lags most of its sister campuses in the CSU system. Across the CSU system, 83% of full-time, first-time freshmen who started in fall 2023 continued to a second year, while a slimmer 76% of Cal Poly Humboldt first-year students returned to the campus for year two. 

    Mary Mangubat, a Cal Poly Humboldt student who participates in the Students for Quality Education internship program, which is funded by the California Faculty Association, said one of her concerns about the Green & Gold Guarantee is that it’s not open to current students. “We as continuing students don’t get a lot of support or outreach from the university,” Mangubat said, “and so people often can’t sustain themselves here on this campus and they transfer out.” 

    The university anticipates that the program will cost about $82,000 annually. In its first year, it will receive one-time funding from the university’s contract with food vendor Chartwells, Humboldt VP Holliday said, and will be funded by tuition revenue going forward.

    This post has been updated with the legal name of California State University, Fresno.





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  • California takes a big step in how it measures school performance, but there’s still more to do

    California takes a big step in how it measures school performance, but there’s still more to do


    Credit: Alison Yin / EdSource

    Accountability has been a central plank in California’s — and our nation’s — school reform efforts for over two decades. Over nearly that entire period, California has been criticized (including by me) for being one of the few states that does not include a measure of student achievement growth in our accountability system. The current approach, exemplified in the California School Dashboard, rates schools on their average performance levels on the state’s standardized tests, and on the difference between the school’s average performance this year and last year.

    But the state doesn’t have, and has never had, a student-level growth model for test scores. Student-level growth models are important because they do a much better job than the state’s existing measures of capturing school effectiveness at improving student achievement. This is because growth models directly compare students to themselves over time, asking how much individual children are learning each year and how this compares across schools and to established benchmarks for annual learning. The crude difference models the state currently displays in the dashboard could give the wrong idea about school performance, for instance, if there are enrollment changes over time in schools (as there have been since the pandemic).

    Growth models can help more fairly identify schools that are often overlooked because they are getting outsize results with underserved student groups. In other words, they send better, more accurate signals to report card users and to the state Department of Education about which schools need support and for which students. Along with Kansas, California has been the last holdout state in adopting a report card that highlights a growth model.

    Though the state’s task force on accountability and continuous improvement, on which I served, wrapped up its work and recommended a growth model almost nine years ago, the process of adopting and implementing a growth model has been — to say the least — laborious and drawn-out. Still, I was delighted to see that the California Department of Education (CDE) has finally started providing growth model results in the California School Dashboard! This is a great step forward for the state.

    Beyond simply including the results in the dashboard, there are some good things about how the state is reporting these growth model results. The growth model figures present results in a way I think many users will understand (points above typical growth), and results for different student groups can be easily viewed and compared.

    There is a clear link to resources to help understand the growth model, too. The state should be commended for its efforts to make the results clear and usable in this way.

    It doesn’t take a detailed look at the dashboard to see, however, that there are some important fixes that the State Board of Education should require — and CDE should adopt — as soon as possible. Broadly, I think these fixes fall into two categories: technical fixes about presentation and data availability, and more meaningful fixes about how the growth model results are used.

    First, the data are currently buried too deeply for the average user to even find them. As far as I can tell, the growth model results do not appear on the landing page for an individual school. You have to click through using the “view more details” button on some other indicator, and only then can you see the growth model results. The growth model results should, at minimum, be promoted to the front page, even if they are put alongside the other “informational purposes indicator” for science achievement. A downloadable statewide version of the growth model results should also be made available, so that researchers and other interested analysts can examine trends. Especially in light of the long shadow of Covid on California’s students, we need to know which schools could benefit from more support to recover.

    Second, the state should prioritize the growth model results in actually creating schools’ dashboard ratings. Right now, the color-coded dashboard rating is based on schools’ status (their average scale score) and change (the difference between this year’s average score and last year’s). It would be much more appropriate to replace the change score with these growth model results.

    There are many reasons why a growth model is superior, but the easiest to understand is that the “change” metrics the state currently uses can be affected by compositional changes in the student body (such as which kinds of students are moving into and out of the school). Researchers are unanimous that student-level growth models are superior to these change scores at accurately representing school effectiveness. Even for California’s highly mobile student population, growth models can accommodate student mobility and give “credit” to the schools most responsible for each child’s learning during that academic year.

    To be sure, I think there are other ways the dashboard can likely be improved to make it more useful to parents and other interested users. These suggestions have been detailed extensively over the years, including in a recent report that dinged the state for making it difficult to see how children are recovering post-Covid.

    The adoption of a growth model is a great sign that the state wishes to improve data transparency and utility for California families. I hope it is just the first in a series of improvements in California’s school accountability systems.

    •••

    Morgan Polikoff is a professor at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • How CSU campuses are helping more students graduate on time, without debt

    How CSU campuses are helping more students graduate on time, without debt


    Student para-planners at the Chico State Financial Wellness Clinic provide the campus community with free financial planning and education services overseen by a licensed financial planner.

    Credit: Jessica Bartlett / Chico State

    There’s a group of students whose fate has largely been forgotten amid the shifting political and policy landscape of higher education. It’s young people from lower-income backgrounds who are taking classes and studying while also working, caring for their families, and struggling to afford housing and basic needs, such as food.

    As the shifts continue, institutions and their allies can step up and do more to ensure these students complete their studies and realize the lifelong benefits of graduating with a bachelor’s degree. And they can do so by prioritizing affordability, recognizing that cost is often a major barrier to student success.

    Consider the example of Dejanae Wilson, who graduated from California State University, Chico, last year with a bachelor’s degree in social science. While working toward her degree, she was also caring for three younger siblings. 

    “I had a lot on my plate trying to manage our finances and keep up with my courses,” she said. 

    To ensure that Dejanae could graduate on schedule and according to plan, she turned to the recently established Financial Wellness Clinic at Chico State. Thanks to consultations with both a student and a faculty adviser at the clinic, she managed the household budget and connected to campus resources (like the Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry), which offered her family crucial support.  

    “It’s easy to get caught up in the flow of life, your job, and taking care of people — and not realize there are resources on campus that can help,” Dejanae said.

    Across California State University’s 23 campuses, administrators, faculty and students are working diligently to support students like Dejanae to complete their studies on time and according to plan. From expanding mentorship, tutoring, and academic advising, to increasing access to financial counseling, to instituting early warning systems to identify and support struggling students, campuses are piloting a range of promising approaches to support student persistence and success. These approaches often build on existing campus policies and programs, making them impactful and achievable.

    The Financial Wellness Clinic at Chico State, led by finance professor Jaycob Arbogast in the university’s College of Business and staffed by finance students, is just one example of these practical and effective strategies. This well-organized and structured program, which seamlessly integrates classroom learning with practical experience to support student needs, was recognized for its effectiveness and bestowed the prestigious Catalyst Fund award by the National Association of Higher Education Systems. The awards recognize replicable programs and strategies that California’s public colleges and universities are pursuing to remove cost as a barrier to higher education.

    At CSU Channel Islands, another innovative initiative that received Catalyst Fund support has provided additional resources to students who are struggling academically so they can stay on track and reduce the time (and costs) of earning a degree. Launched in spring 2022, the initiative targets students who have nonpassing or incomplete grades and/or other indicators that they are not progressing academically. The program connects these students to faculty and peer mentors and special, cohort-based activities where they bond with other students and develop skills and mindsets that support their persistence and success.

    Early results from the program show that participating students’ average GPAs increased, and the percentage of students who graduated or returned for the following semester was higher than that of the general student population. Interestingly, one of the key benefits students point to is how the program builds connections with peers facing similar challenges. As one student said after participating in the program, “You are able to be part of a group that becomes your family, you learn about the experiences of other students, and realize you are not alone.”

    Supporting students to persist in their studies can take several forms. At Sonoma State University, students who are the first in their family to go to college are 47% of all undergraduates. As university officials started to see a decline in retention among these “first-gen” students during the Covid pandemic, they developed an early alert system that pings a student and connects them to their adviser and other support when a faculty member reports low test scores or attendance problems. At the end of the program’s pilot year in 2023-24, 97% of first-year, first-gen students enrolled in the program ended in good academic standing and returned the following fall.

    What’s happening at Sonoma State and the other CSU campuses is part of a broader commitment to closing the equity gap in higher education across a university system that, despite its uniquely diverse student population, continues to experience racial disparities in degree completion. It was in response to these disparities that CSU set a goal to increase graduation rates between 2015 and 2025. Thanks to Graduation Initiative 2025, the system has nearly doubled its four-year graduation rate for first-year students, and undergraduates are earning their degrees faster than ever before.

    Expanding access to a bachelor’s degree and supporting student persistence and success are core functions of the higher education system. In California and across the nation, campuses are showing it’s possible to do better, even in today’s uncertain political and policy environment. All it takes is creativity and a commitment to students who might otherwise struggle to achieve their college dreams.

    •••

    Dilcie Perez is a deputy vice chancellor and chief student affairs officer for the California State University system. Monica Martinez is program director for college success at the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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