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  • Stockton Unified superintendent has been on the job for a year. What’s changed?

    Stockton Unified superintendent has been on the job for a year. What’s changed?


    Stockton Unified Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez talks about how she arrived at her goals and plans for improving student achievement.

    Credit: Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource

    Stockton Unified, a mostly poverty-stricken community in San Joaquin County, has become known for its legal troubles, financial issues and superintendent turnover, which have, for years, distracted the low-performing school district from addressing student achievement. Most of the district’s nearly 40,000 students have failed to meet state standards in English and math.

    Becoming superintendent in July 2023, Michelle Rodriguez knew those facts to be true. Rodriguez, the 14th superintendent to lead the district in less than two decades, said she was determined to change SUSD’s troubled reputation by focusing on students, creating stability, restoring public trust and engaging the community “one interaction, one decision, one day at a time.” 

    But without “actually digging in to find out what is happening,” Rodriguez refused at the start to make assumptions about what the district faced, especially its barriers to student achievement. 

    “Until I get in the classroom, I probably won’t be able to answer the question about lack of student achievement here,” Rodriguez told EdSource last year. 

    “What I knew was that because I was the 14th superintendent in 19 years, and because of just the headlines that we had seen, we knew that we needed to make sure that we solidified the system,” she said in a recent sit-down. “Instead of making the assumption that I knew specifically what was happening, I identified four key areas that effective systems have”: quality assurance, high expectations, continuous improvement and community trust. 

    A little over a year since her start — aligned with those areas and guided by an initial 100-day plan, over 40 school visits and dozens of listening sessions and town halls — Rodriguez is implementing a public accountability system, 44 priority recommendations, and a district culture in which data and feedback drive change. 

    “Something that I’m trying to do is create new traditions and new systems to hear feedback, make changes and, kind of, move the work forward,” Rodriguez said. 

    A system of accountability

    At the start of her superintendency, Rodriguez hosted meet-and-greets and community listening sessions in English and Spanish to identify concerns that the district needed to address; based on the sessions, there were in-person and virtual town halls to create priority recommendations with “fingerprints” of community feedback. 

    “We want to reach the hardest-to-reach parent. We want to reach the hardest-to-reach student,” Rodriguez said a year ago about listening and collaborating with the community to develop a plan. “And within those priority recommendations, you will see your fingerprints.” 

    As a result, all 44 priority recommendations, including a goal to create student success plans for certain student groups, came from those engagements.  

    Setting those goals was merely one part of Rodriguez’ approach. 

    Under the banner of It Takes All of US (the word “us” emphasized within the letters SUSD), Stockton Unified created a public accountability dashboard available in both English and Spanish. 

    Going Deeper

    Visit Stockton Unified’s Pubic Accountability Dashboard, here

    Read the 2023 State of District, here, which detailed last school year’s priorities

    The dashboard includes each goal, its complexity, which of the four areas it falls under, the department(s) responsible, actions, whether it’s completed or not, outcomes and the impact of those outcomes. 

    Simply put, the dashboard shows the district’s progress and holds the superintendent and the other officials accountable to the goals. 

    Rodriguez said she didn’t want the Stockton Unified community to feel as though “we did all this work, we did all these 21 listening sessions, and now nothing happened.” 

    44 goals is a lot. What’s been accomplished? 

    Within weeks of setting the goals, Rodriguez and the district completed “easy wins.” 

    An easy win, for example, was providing radios for special education classrooms to address student safety. Since the pandemic, dozens of teachers and staff had reported high numbers of “elopers,” mostly special education students but also young learners, running from the classroom — a recurring problem that “no one necessarily was able to solve, or chose to solve, until now,” she said.  

    For each radio purchased, a staff member felt better equipped to support students, Rodriguez said. 

    “Things like that seem insignificant, but to the system, they had a lot of impact because now those teachers feel more at ease that if they do have a student leave the classroom, there’s a way to get help to retrieve them,” she said.

    Rodriguez, also in her first few weeks, formed a student advisory group of 90 students from the district’s high schools.  

    The formation of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory, the first of its kind in Stockton Unified, allowed her to listen to students, such as Emily Gomez Valle, a Chavez High School junior, who said the advisory was a way for her to advocate for her peers. 

    Then, the district tackled short-term goals, accomplishing them in three months. The district, for instance, started conducting thorough exit interviews to understand why staff were leaving the district. 

    The easy wins and short-term goals were intentional, so that “people knew the superintendent was getting things done,” Rodriguez said. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioCMRo7P1Dw

    In the 2023-24 school year, under Rodriguez’ leadership, Stockton Unified’s graduation rate increased to 83.9% — the highest in the district’s history.

    Long-term goals completed in the 2023-24 school year included increased access and participation in Educators Thriving, a program that provides social-emotional support and training for teachers and other school staff. Stockton Unified is set to have two program cohorts with up to 100 educators participating this school year, according to its accountability dashboard. 

    Based on the need to “focus on our most vulnerable students and have an action plan that is linked to them,” Stockton Unified created specific student success plans for Black students, English learners, homeless youth and students with special needs. 

    Other long-term goals have addressed the district’s legal and financial woes. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, launched a criminal investigation into Stockton Unified in April 2023, after a state audit by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) found evidence that fraud, misappropriation of funds or other illegal fiscal practices may have occurred between July 2019 and April 2022.

    Millions of dollars in federal one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding, which school districts received to address the impacts of the pandemic, was the subject of the investigation. Under Rodriguez’ leadership, the school district didn’t have to repay the federal government the $6.6 million in ESSER funding that was improperly awarded for a contract. 

    Rodriguez’ challenge was spending the ESSER funds by their timeline. 

    As of March 2023, just months before she started, Stockton Unified had spent only 1.84% (over $5 million) of the more than $156 million it received in ESSER III, which must be returned to the federal government if not budgeted this month and spent by January 2025. According to Rodriguez, the district has now used all the funding, completing over 40 projects. 

    But the allegations about the misuse of ESSER funding triggered a 2021-22 grand jury investigation into the district’s overall spending as well. Stockton Unified, Rodriguez said in 2023, relied on and spent a lot of money on consultants, which the grand jury attributed to district staff lacking the “necessary training and guidance to execute complex district business needs.”

    Stockton Unified has since identified and evaluated the consultants and increased staff expertise to take over the work, leading to a reduction in consultant costs from $886,561 last school year to an estimated $275,000 this year. 

    And as of June, the district has finalized 32 of 44 priority recommendations, including the easy wins, short-term goals and long-term priorities.  

    Still there are larger systemic and structural projects and objectives that are taking more than a year to accomplish, up until this school year or longer. 

    What’s left to do

    Three weeks after school started in the 2023-24 school year, Rodriguez said she met a homeless student who hadn’t attended school at all. She told the student about district supports, such as transportation to school and other available resources once on campus. 

    “And what she said to me is, ‘How do you expect me to come to school when I haven’t bathed in a week?’” the superintendent recalled. 

    Such encounters highlighted the need to expand family and community partnerships, increase expectations and develop equitable action plans, all of which are among the remaining priorities meant to support students and improve their experience in Stockton Unified, Rodriguez said. 

    More than 82% of Stockton Unified students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, according to EdData, with many facing challenges such as the student Rodriguez encountered. Even so, there must be increased expectations for students to perform at high levels with strong support. 

    Using her saying, “You change experiences to change beliefs to change expectations,” Rodriguez said, “I actually have to reframe your experiences so that it changes your beliefs about students, and, then, that changes your expectations for students.”

    The district will also conduct an equity audit to develop a three-year action plan. The equity audit is meant to evaluate district and school policies, practices and procedures that are inequitable and create barriers “that are getting in the way of our students,” Rodriguez said. The goal requires the district to form teams of employees from each school, which will develop a multiyear action plan. 

    Another accountability metric

    The remaining priority recommendations will also be woven into the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), a key accountability requirement of the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).

    In fact, Stockton Unified’s 2024-2027 LCAP goals are to increase student academic achievement; center the whole child; provide systemic and innovative programs aligned to students’ passions, interests and talents; create meaningful partnerships; provide access and opportunities to ensure success for students with disabilities; and provide positive learning conditions and experiences for Black students to thrive. 

    Some of the other district priorities include: 

    • Investing in facilities by putting $50 million of ESSER funding into schools so that students have access to amenities such as classrooms with science labs. 
    • Equitably offering arts programs at the district’s 55 schools and for all students, specifically those who are Black, English learners, homeless, have special needs and/or are foster youth who benefit from “differentiated instruction,” Rodriguez said.
    • Launching school and district administrator classroom visits, allowing classroom staff to get feedback and administrators to gain a better knowledge of the adopted curriculum.
    • Resolving the remaining findings and corrective actions reported by the California Department of Education and the San Joaquin County Office of Education as well as the findings of grand jury, FCMAT and audit reports.

    Knowing if and when to change course

    In some areas, such as chronic absenteeism, Stockton Unified identified a systemic goal and improved that metric in a year’s time, but still must find solutions to continue addressing the problem. In this case, the goal was to identify solutions to chronic absenteeism, in which students miss 10% or more days in a school year. Stockton Unified data shows that chronic absenteeism, though still higher than prepandemic numbers, decreased by 3.1 percentage points from the 2022-23 to the 2023-24 school year. 

    Stockton Unified has a nearly 40-person child welfare team responsible for improving that rate. 

    “How can we celebrate that?” Rodriguez asked, “but at the same time say, ‘OK, well, what we’re doing is working. Is it working fast enough? Are there any shifts that we could continue to do?’”

    Chronic absenteeism, performance indicators and other data measured over time create the challenge of knowing if, when and how to pivot a district response. 

    For example, even though there isn’t a specific district goal about it, Stockton Unified has been adding an intervention teacher to each K-8 school based on district data. Seventeen of 41 such teachers have been hired so far.

    “When we’re looking at our KPI (key performance indicator) data, what we know is that our students aren’t making the growth that we need them to make,” Rodriguez said. The district is now using iReady data, which allows teachers to deliver adaptive lessons and includes data on student progress. 

    Based on fall 2023 iReady data, 35% of fourth graders were one grade level behind in English, 13% were two grade levels behind and 39% were three or more grades behind, meaning that just 12.6% were on grade level. In math, 35% of fourth graders were one grade level behind, 25% were two grade levels behind and 32% were at least three years behind, meaning only 8.4% of students were on grade level. 

    “What is our data actually telling us? Every quarter we’re looking at the data because we want to be able to pivot and shift quicker than just yearly,” she said.  

    And the district was able to do that by the end of the 2023-24 school year. In the spring 2024 semester, 24.3% of fourth graders were on grade level in English – an 11.7 percentage point increase from the previous semester. In math, fourth graders on grade level grew from 8.4% to 29% — an improvement of 20.6 percentage points. 

    Maintaining focus

    The priorities that Stockton Unified has identified are what the district has and will continue to focus on moving forward, Rodriguez said. While the equity audit will identify needed changes over the next three years, and while the district will respond to data, the district won’t shift much from the priorities it has identified. 

    “If you aren’t actually focused on what you need to do, then you can be too scattered and not really have the impact that you want,” she said, adding that, “Some of these changes will not change in one single year.”  

    Rodriguez maintains her pledge to make those changes by dedicating the last eight years of her career to Stockton Unified — a plan that became more attainable when the school board extended her contract until 2028, or year five. 

    “Why aren’t kids being successful?” she said. “That cannot happen until people even believe that I’m going to stay put. I won some people over at the six-month mark. I (won) some people over at the year mark. Some people will take the two-, three- year mark.” 





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  • ‘Something went wrong’: state reconsiders who will get $470 million for college and career grants

    ‘Something went wrong’: state reconsiders who will get $470 million for college and career grants


    A student in Oakland’s Skyline High School Education and Community Health Pathway sculpts a clay model of the endocrine system.

    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    UPDATE: The California Department of Education has announced a new timeline for the Golden State Pathways Program. Learn more.

    In June 2022, the California Legislature decided to invest a half billion dollars into the Golden State Pathways Program, a career and college preparation program that Gov. Gavin Newsom called a “game-changer” for high school students. But two years later, frustration is rising among school leaders who have begun another school year without the promised funding.

    Advocates say the vision of the Golden State Pathways Program laid out by the Legislature is both progressive and practical. Career pathways aim to prepare high school students with both college preparatory courses and career education in fields such as STEM, education or health care. But those same advocates are frustrated by the program’s rollout, which they say has been beset by late deadlines, a confusing application process and delayed funding.

    “We are approaching a third budget cycle, and to not have the money out the door is derelict,” said Kevin Gordon, president of the education consultancy Capitol Advisors Group. He lobbies on behalf of clients that include school districts that were promised funding.

    The most recent snafu came to light when the California Department of Education announced in July that it was again reviewing the way it would dole out grant money — two months after Newsom and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the 302 districts and education entities that would be recipients of $470 million.

    Previously announced Golden State Pathways Program grant recipients include school districts large and small, charters, regional occupational centers and county offices of education. Recipients could receive up to $500,000 to implement one career pathway, and $200,000 to plan a pathway. Districts with many high schools and pathways could expect millions or even tens of millions of dollars in grants.

    Schools plan to use the grant money to expand dual enrollment, increase exposure to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers through programs like job shadowing, and to hire support staff to help students with their college and career plans.

    Administrators counting on that funding said the news that the California Department of Education (CDE) was reviewing grant awards has thrown their plans and budgets for this school year into disarray.

    One administrator at a midsize school district said the prospect of not receiving the expected grants, especially in the wake of sunsetting pandemic funds, is difficult. This administrator asked to speak on background, citing a concern that CDE could hold it against the district during the ongoing grant review process.

    “Our district had an implementation plan that we are continuing to move forward with, and we are hopeful that the funding will materialize,” the administrator said. “The unfortunate part is that there are other resources that students will not receive if the funding doesn’t come through.”

    A group of organizations penned a letter asking state leaders to do everything in their power to get the promised funds flowing by November for a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Signatories included advocacy groups such EdTrust-West, school districts in Los Angeles, Oakland and Sacramento and even businesses such as the port of Long Beach. The letter to Newsom, Thurmond and Brooks Allen, executive director of the State Board of Education, referred to delays that have affected the competitive grant program.

    “We are extremely concerned, as this is not the first time processes have been delayed without a stated resolution date,” the letter stated.

    Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire said he hopes to work with the state to find a swift resolution for the sake of students. The Tulare County Office of Education was selected as the lead agency for the state in November.

    “When there’s a delay, that means kids aren’t accessing those experiences and resources,” Hire said.

    Schools are in limbo

    There were signs during May’s announcement of grant awards that something went awry, according to school administrators.

    One school district was awarded three times the funding it requested, and others were awarded 1.5 times what they applied for, according to a countywide administrator. This administrator also asked for anonymity over a concern about CDE’s possible reaction to speaking out. 

    These local education agencies (LEAs) “don’t have the capacity to do three times as much work, even if they were awarded three times as much money,” the countrywide administrator said. This problem left school leaders “frustrated and a bit confused.”

    Hire confirmed that “overallocation” of grants was a problem across the state. Some schools received more than they asked, while others received none, but it wasn’t clear why.

    “Why did a district receive more than they requested?” he stated. “That’s a legitimate question to ask.”

    Scott Roark, a spokesperson for the department, said last May’s announcement was “preliminary.” The reconsideration of the recipients resulted from a “substantial” number of appeals, according to a July 16 statement.

    “Upon receiving appeals for Golden State Pathways Grant awards, the CDE determined that it was necessary to review all awards allocations in order to ensure that allocations are distributed consistently and fairly,” Roark wrote in a statement. The review will conclude by the end of September, he added. There will be a window for further appeals before funds are released.

    Many schools believed the announcement was official and included the awards in annual school budgets passed before July 1, according to an administrator who also declined to be identified by name, and who assisted schools with their grant applications.

    Roark said that the department received appeals for a “range of reasons” but declined to say what those reasons were.

    The review of $470 million in funds, now stretching well beyond the beginning of the school year, has put districts in an uneasy position. 

    Some school districts have put their plans on hold amid the uncertainty. By the time the grant funding is actually released, “it will likely be too late to hire,” said the administrator at a mid-sized district. “That puts the program launch another year behind.”

    Long Beach Unified is splitting the difference by moving forward with only a portion of the initiatives the district outlined in its grant application. In the initial announcement, the district was awarded $10.7 million in implementation grants and $335,523 in planning grants.

    Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was initially awarded $37.8 million in implementation grants and $200,000 in planning grants. A district spokesperson said it will be difficult to understand the effect of the revised awards until they’re announced.

    “We will have a better sense of its impact at that time,” said Britt Vaughan, a spokesperson for LAUSD.

    Regional leaders don’t have contracts

    It’s not just schools that have been left in financial limbo by the delayed rollout. 

    Up to 5% of $500 million for the program is set aside for grant administration, mostly through county offices of education. But that funding has yet to go out to the state lead and eight regional agencies for work they have been doing since January.

    Hire said that not having a contractual agreement yet with CDE has put the Tulare County Office of Education in an “uncomfortable position,” especially during a tight budget year.

    “We delayed hiring and just spread the workload among our current staff, which is challenging and probably not the best delivery of service,” Hire said.

    Colby Smart, deputy superintendent for the Humboldt County Office of Education, said this program is vital for California’s workforce, not just a “nice-to- have.” He expects the state will ultimately send funding to the regional lead office for Northern California, but the office has faced many “roadblocks,” including finalizing its contract and nailing down the scope of work.

    The administrator of one regional lead, who declined to use their name, said, “I’ve never in my life seen such dysfunction.”

    Rollout was ‘set up to fail’

    The rollout of the grant funding has faced hiccups along the way.

    The legislation behind the Golden State Pathways Program passed during the 2022-23 legislative session. Requests for proposals didn’t go out that year, but the program survived a massive budget cut in the next legislative session. In January, the department put out its request for proposals.

    Originally, March 19 was the deadline for grant proposals for programs that would begin in April. But due to “overwhelming interest,” the department said it needed extra time to complete the reviews. The awards were announced May 31.

    Administrators who worked on the proposal said that the application process itself was fraught. CDE revised the grant application several times.

    “They created something that was so complex from the get-go that it was set up to fail,” said Kathy Goodacre, the CEO of CTE Foundation, a nonprofit that works with school districts in Sonoma County. “But still, something went wrong.”

    CDE denied that a review of this magnitude was unprecedented.

    “Though we work to avoid significant review when possible, a review is not highly unusual and has occurred in the past,” Roark wrote in a statement.

    Both the federal and state governments have made big investments in preparing high school students for college and career at the K-12 level. The Golden State Pathways Program is a key piece of the governor’s plan for career education — a broad vision to ensure that all the agencies in the state are working together coherently.

    The countywide administrator said the problems with the rollout of the Golden State Pathways Program is an example of what happens when the funding for career and technical education (CTE) is not coherent. Funding for career pathways comes from over a dozen grants, some of which require applications every year. That creates a burden for both local education agencies and CDE, the administrator said.

    “Funding CTE is like buying programs on gift cards,” the countywide administrator stated. “We never know what we will get.”

    Even though the rollout of the Golden State Pathways Program has been frustrating, educators say that the program is critical for the state.

    “Half a billion is important for our students and our future,” the countywide administrator stated. “We want students to have economic mobility and make more than their parents did.”





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  • Making the most of my belated return to college

    Making the most of my belated return to college


    Xavier Zamora graduates from Cal State LA in a commencement ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

    Credit: Myles Bridgewater-Jackman/Cal State LA

    My academic career was delayed and nearly derailed by ADHD, and I didn’t have a clue. 

    I started my academic journey in 2002. At the time, I had a 2-year-old son with another child on the way. I enrolled at the University of New Mexico and, within a few years, started working part time as a mental health technician at a youth mental hospital. Little did I know that a single, off-the-cuff conversation with one of the doctors there would change my life forever.

    He asked if I had ever been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), which, to me, was an absurd question to ask because I am certainly not hyperactive. At the time, when I thought of ADHD, I imagined little kids running around like they had just drunk 2 liters of soda. I can’t remember what answer I gave him, but his question planted a seed in my brain, and there it remained for years.

    While I loved studying photojournalism at that time, my grades gradually went from OK to bad. I didn’t have a problem understanding the concepts. I struggled with time management, completing tasks and procrastination.

    I had responsibilities. I thought it best to return home to California and pivot. In 2009, I dropped out of college and became a freelance photographer, shooting everything from weddings to commercial photography. I missed college and photojournalism, but I needed to pay bills.

    Fast-forward to 2017. With both my boys now attending high school, I re-evaluated my first attempt at college to see where I went wrong.

    Reflecting on the conversation about ADHD I had years ago, I decided to consult my doctor and a psychiatrist. I was diagnosed with a condition called attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive or ADHD-PI.

    The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders offered me this explanation: “Inattention manifests behaviorally in ADHD as wandering off task, lacking persistence, having difficulty sustaining focus, and being disorganized and is not due to defiance or lack of comprehension.”

    All this gave me flashbacks to high school. I clearly remember the decline in my attention span. I was reading books by authors like Michael Crichton, Anne Rice and Carl Sagan before my freshman year. By the end of that same year, I struggled to retain anything I read from a few pages of a class textbook. 

    I had so many thoughts in my head, and they were all vying for my attention simultaneously. A song I heard the day before, a conversation with a friend, a scene from a movie I hadn’t seen in years. It felt like trying to read a book while in a packed sports bar during the Super Bowl. These explanations for my inattentiveness and procrastination were seen as thinly veiled excuses and had been regularly dismissed by teachers, counselors and my parents. They told me I was lazy and needed to snap out of it. I never could.

    I am not alone. Roughly 3% of adults in the U.S. live with inattentive ADHD, the most common variation of the disorder.

    Talk about a revelation. I had been fighting with one hand tied behind my back and didn’t even know it. When I realized what I was dealing with, I did my research and found ways to manage the effects. 

    I created an office space free from distractions like loud conversations and easily accessible video game controllers. I don’t often play video games, but giving in to a quick game of Call of Duty can send me down a rabbit hole of distractions that can easily consume hours of my time.

    I also started using apps like Calendar, Reminders and Evernote to keep track of notes, appointments, tasks and deadlines.

    I restarted my academic journey in 2019 at Pasadena City College, and at 41 years old, I approached it with care and discipline. In two and a half years, I graduated with two associate degrees, in communication arts and social and behavioral sciences.

    Next, I enrolled in Cal State LA in 2022, ready to knock out two more degrees.

    I wrote notes for every class lecture and every reading and class assignment. By the time I graduated, I had amassed a collection of 65 notebooks, one for each class I took.

    My ADHD made it hard to retain what I read, so I used text-to-speech features to make my laptop read my books aloud while I read along. Also, I isolated myself. I used my noise-canceling headphones to study as if in the silence of a monastery.

    When I returned to college, I placed myself in a better place to succeed. My kids were old enough to take care of themselves. I had my ADHD in check and built an incredible support structure among professors and therapists. The support of my family helped immensely. 

    And, I was blessed with professors who understood what I had on my plate.

    Today, I am chasing a master’s degree. And I will not care whether a fellow student asks me “Are you a professor?” Every gray hair holds a story worth telling.

    •••

    Xavier Zamora recently graduated from Cal State LA with a double major in journalism and TV, film and media studies. He is a member of the EdSource Student Journalism Corps.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. We welcome guest commentaries with diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Budget cuts begin to surface at California State University

    Budget cuts begin to surface at California State University


    Students on the campus at Cal State LA.

    Credit: Erik Adams / EdSource

    Faculty, staff and students at four campuses in the Cal State system said they’re starting to feel the impact of belt-tightening in the early weeks of the 2024-25 school year, saying this fall has brought heavier workloads, larger class sizes and fewer course options.

    University officials at select campuses acknowledged plans to reduce costs this school year. They said they’ve opened additional course sections where there’s demand and remain committed to supporting students so that they’re on track to graduate, even as they reel in budgets to match shrinking student enrollment on some campuses.

    Cal State system officials said in July that the system could experience a $1 billion budget gap in the 2025-26 school year, a forecast driven by uncertain state funding, enrollment declines and rising costs. Trustees said they expect many campus leaders to reduce their overhead this year while also looking for creative ways to raise money going forward. 

    “It’s extremely difficult to get a hold of the classes that you want and/or need,” said Ashley Gregory, a Cal State LA student who works with the group Students for Quality Education through an internship program funded by the California Faculty Association. “It’s really disheartening.”

    Cal State LA

    California State University, Los Angeles, which has a $32.4 million deficit, is directing all divisions to cut their budgets by 12.4%.

    The university is budgeting with the assumption that enrollment will come in 5.3% below the target for in-state full-time equivalent students it receives from the Cal State system, the school’s interim chief financial officer, Claudio Lindow, wrote in a Thursday email to the campus. Lindlow said there are signs that actual enrollment will reduce that gap.

    Gregory said she’s already feeling the consequences of budget cuts on her major and minor fields — history, Pan-African studies and Latin American studies. 

    “I’m constantly having conversations with other students regarding, ‘Oh, this class is no longer available. This professor is no longer here,’” Gregory said.

    A university dashboard showing enrollments by course lists fewer total courses in each of Gregory’s three departments this fall compared with the same time last year. In the history department, enrollment was down from more than 1,800 students in fall 2023 to fewer than 1,700 students this semester.

    Juan Lamata, the faculty mentor to Students for Quality Education and a member of the California Faculty Association Los Angeles Executive Board, said he’s observed fewer electives in the English department, leaving a more narrow range of classes available to students.  

    “We’re changing what an English major means at Cal State LA, because now students will not have the opportunity to take classes in things they’re interested in or things that they don’t know they’re interested in,” he said. “We’re reducing what they can even be curious about.”

    Cal State LA spokesperson Erik Frost Hollins could not confirm whether the number of courses offered by the university has declined but said course sections are down almost 7% compared with last year. The university is not experiencing longer waitlists for fall courses as a result, according to Lindow’s email, but rather has lower waitlist numbers than in the past.  

    Cal State LA has gone from overenrolling students in excess of the target it receives from the Chancellor’s Office to experiencing an enrollment decline post-pandemic, President Berenecea Johnson Eanes wrote in a July letter to the campus. 

    Each condition strained the campus in different ways, Eanes wrote. When it was overenrolled, the university absorbed the costs of additional students without receiving additional state funding, she explained, which “had an adverse impact on the experience we can provide students.” But declining enrollment “feels like a budget reduction, because of the lost tuition, even though our funding per student is up,” she added. 

    “The greater risk lies in falling below enrollment targets, losing both tuition and state/system support,” Eames wrote. “This is why we need to focus on reversing enrollment declines and push to meet our enrollment target every year.”

    Cal State LA headcount enrollment in fall 2023 was 24,673, up 6% compared with a decade ago, but below a pre-pandemic peak of 28,253.

    Cal State East Bay

    Another Cal State campus is reckoning with how to make sure it offers the courses students need while adjusting to a yearslong slide in enrollment. 

    Cal State East Bay enrollment has fallen almost 26% from its peak in 2016 to fall 2023. Explaining a decision to cut staff and administrator positions last year, officials said the university had not fully adjusted its budget to match those declines and also anticipated that its health insurance, utilities and benefits costs would rise, contributing to a structural deficit. President Cathy Sandeen, in a July message to the campus, said the school “must continue to explore all means to further reduce our expenses.”

    A longtime faculty member said she worries that in trying to reduce overhead, the university is cutting instruction unnecessarily. Jennifer Eagan, a professor at the campus since 1999, said the university deferred dozens of eligible applicants to its Master of Public Administration degree program rather than expand the program to accommodate them this year.   

    “We have enrollments that we could be capturing, like classes we could be filling, cohorts of master’s programs that could be underway,” said Eagan, who served as the statewide president of the California Faculty Association from 2015 to 2019. “But the enrollments now are being artificially depressed, in my view.”

    Cal State East Bay’s instruction expenses fell 11% from 2021-22 into 2022-23, according to the university’s two most-recent financial statements, tracking a year-over-year decline in enrollment.

    Cal State East Bay spokesperson Kimberly Hawkins said in a statement that the university is “navigating a period of lower enrollment with a continued commitment to meeting students’ needs through strategic course offerings.” Hawkins said that, though there’s been a slight increase in waitlists to get into classes, the university has opened additional sections for certain courses. “Even as enrollment trends shift, our focus remains squarely on providing our students with timely offerings that fulfill their degree objectives,” she said.

    Rin Anderson, a Cal State East Bay student interning for Students for Quality Education, said they see signs of tight budgets outside of academics, too. They said the university’s Student Equity and Success Center, which provides counseling for students from historically underrepresented communities, is underfunded and understaffed.

    “The people that work for the university, who are in charge of these affinity programs, they’re overworked,” Anderson said. “They have so many different responsibilities and hats to wear.”

    CSU Monterey Bay students move into campus dorms in August 2021.
    Credit: Monterey Bay/Flickr

    Cal State Monterey Bay

    After a pandemic-era slump, Cal State Monterey Bay’s enrollment is showing signs of recovery.

    The Central Coast campus saw a 15.6% increase in enrollment this semester compared with fall 2023 — an increase so big that the Monterey Herald reported the school is moving students into staff housing and modifying some dorms to fit an extra student in an effort to whittle down its waitlist for housing.

    But Monterey Bay has also reduced its budget. A university official said in a statement the campus opted to trim costs at the beginning of this fiscal year to balance its budget and doesn’t anticipate any additional cuts later in 2024-25. 

    Meghan O’Donnell, a history lecturer at Cal State Monterey Bay and co-president of the school’s California Faculty Association chapter, said her department has lost seven faculty members; some departed through a voluntary separation program last spring, and others left because of frustration with lack of resources. She said the department hasn’t hired replacements.

    “There’s just a lot of challenges losing that level of faculty, while also being told we have to do all of the same work, if not more, because now we actually have more students than we were anticipating having this fall,” she said.

    O’Donnell is concerned that larger class sizes on her campus would make it harder for colleagues to incorporate experiential and one-on-one learning techniques into their courses — the kind of practices she said are especially effective for first generation students.

    In a statement, CSUMB Provost Andrew Lawson said the university has a lower student-faculty ratio than other CSU campuses and remains “committed to providing strong mentorship and experiential learning opportunities to our students.” He said the Monterey Bay campus has added additional course sections to accommodate incoming students, including in general education courses for first-year students. The university’s colleges of science and business experienced the steepest enrollment increases.

    Cal State Monterey Bay is also implementing what it calls an “incentive-based budget model,” which allocates funding to each of its colleges based partially on enrollment. Budget cuts last year impacted colleges with deeper enrollment declines more than those where enrollment was steady or dipped more modestly, Lawson said.

    O’Donnell said that model is starving the budgets of departments like Spanish, ethnic studies and history.

    Students “are being told that their desires don’t matter as much, basically, unless they’re in a major that’s actively growing based on market demand,” she said. 

    Cal Maritime is the smallest campus in the California State University system.
    Credit: Cal Maritime / Flickr

    Cal Maritime

    It’s not just faculty that are feeling the squeeze.

    Cal Maritime, the smallest Cal State campus, has laid off 10 staff members, a university spokesperson confirmed. Sianna Brito, the president of the university’s chapter of the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU), said the Aug. 20 layoffs affected eight CSUEU members and two managers. 

    Declining enrollment and financial pressure have set Cal Maritime on a path to a possible merger with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a much larger campus 250 miles south of the current campus in Vallejo. The Cal State board of trustees opened discussions on the proposal to combine the two schools at its July meeting. It will weigh additional updates in September before voting on the plan in November.

    Cal Maritime interim President Michael Dumont wrote in an Aug. 20 email to the campus that “enrollment challenges, state budget cuts, increased utility and insurance costs, and unfunded compensation costs” had left the university of 761 students with a combined $3.1 million deficit across its general operating and housing funds. He said the lack of funds “allowed us no other options” but to reduce staffing this year.

    “I ask that each member of our community remember that we are being forced to do less with less, and we will need to exhibit grace and practice patience with one another as we continue assessing our operations and as we approach the integration recommendation decision,” he wrote. “We need to be clear eyed and realize that what we have been able to support or accommodate in the past may not be able to occur this year.”

    Brito was among the staff who lost jobs. She said the layoff was unusually abrupt, blindsiding the managers to whom she reports and leaving no time to plan for colleagues to take over her responsibilities, which include the logistical and fiscal work behind the school’s faculty development and study abroad programs.

    “We immediately had to turn in our business cards, our keys. We were locked out of our emails. We had to turn in laptops, and we were escorted off campus immediately upon being notified that we were laid off,” she said.

    That was a shift from past layoffs, Brito said, in which departing employees continued working until their layoff date and were celebrated in campuswide emails. This time around, she said, Brito and her colleagues will be paid out until their official layoff date in October, but they ceased working the same day they were notified.

    There could also be implications for students. Part of Brito’s job had been the fiscal processing that allows Cal Maritime students who aren’t studying for a Coast Guard license to study abroad.

    “Now my job is parceled out to people who don’t have the institutional knowledge of the program,” she said. “So I personally feel like our students are not going to get the best experience with me not supporting that program.”

    This story has been updated to reflect that only Cal State Monterey Bay is using the incentive-based budget model.





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  • Without funding, 10-year-old plan to improve literacy for all is just a list of good ideas

    Without funding, 10-year-old plan to improve literacy for all is just a list of good ideas


    Credit: Ashley Hopkinson/EdSource

    In 2014, the California State Board of Education adopted the evidence-based and standards-driven English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework (ELA/ELD Framework) — nonbinding guidance that encourages the implementation of a research-informed, comprehensive literacy approach for all students.

    The framework was the first in the nation to integrate two sets of standards: English language arts (grade-level literacy for all students) and English language development (progress in learning English for students from different language backgrounds), with a focus on the needs of English learners.

    Amid ongoing discussions about how to best teach literacy to English learners, it is critically important to both demonstrate the significance of the ELA/ELD Framework and to renew calls to fully fund and implement this crucial guidance.

    We cannot overlook the fact that the framework has never received the necessary funding for district, school and classroom implementation. Lawmakers appropriated $85 million to provide professional learning and support family engagement in mathematics, science and computer science — recognizing the need for support to accompany mathematics and science framework implementation. Without similar funding for English instructional materials, professional development, coaching and support services, the framework will remain nothing more than a collection of good ideas.

    A few districts in the state have taken it upon themselves to focus on professional development and instruction on the tenets of the framework. Norma Carvajal Camacho, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Azusa Unified School District, said it has been transformative for their students: “By integrating primary language instruction and ensuring effective designated and integrated ELD, we have created a more inclusive and dynamic learning environment, resulting in significant improvements in language proficiency and overall achievement for our English learners.”

    Unfortunately, without funding to back its implementation, most districts have not been able to adopt the framework’s powerful strategies for improving literacy for all students. This lack of funding means many districts are not providing the necessary professional development for teachers, not investing in high-quality instructional materials, and not offering sufficient coaching and support services. As a result, the framework’s potential to improve literacy outcomes remains unrealized in most areas.

    The framework should be the cornerstone of any statewide strategy aimed at improving literacy and reading. It centers literacy and seeks to develop fluency, decoding, comprehension and vocabulary. It also takes into account that knowledge about the world, including the aforementioned skills, comes from reading and writing about meaningful and engaging content. 

    Imagine a classroom where the students don’t just learn reading and writing in isolation, but connect these skills with other content areas. An integrated approach promotes learning environments where students can read, write and discuss scientific experiments, historical events, or even create stories based on what they’ve learned in math. This is an approach in which students are also immersed in reading entire books. The framework uplifts this integrated approach to literacy and language instruction, delineating literacy expectations from transitional kindergarten to 12th grade. It emphasizes the five research-based cross-cutting themes that encompass all facets of the “science of reading”:

    • Foundational skills: Acknowledges the significance of phonics (the ability to recognize written letters from spoken language), phonemic awareness (the ability to identify individual sounds), and fluency as essential building blocks of literacy.
    • Meaning making: Encourages critical thinking and comprehension by emphasizing reading, writing, listening, language, motivation and vocabulary development.
    • Language development: Focuses on nurturing oral and written language skills to express information, ideas, perspectives and questions effectively.
    • Effective expression: Promotes various modes of communication, such as writing, discussions and presentations to showcase students’ understanding and knowledge.
    • Content knowledge: Highlights the interconnectedness of content, language and literacy, emphasizing the importance of knowledge about the natural and social world in enhancing text comprehension.

    No single element, on its own, makes for a sound approach to reading or literacy — they interdependently bolster one another. Integrating all of these elements, ensuring a coherent and aligned approach over time, and supporting instruction that is responsive to students’ needs will produce better results for English learners and all students.

    In California, where students speak more than 140 different languages at home, the framework recognizes the value of cultural diversity, multilingualism and biliteracy as assets to be nurtured and celebrated. The framework also includes a call for all educators to ensure English learners are provided with both integrated and designated English language development instruction.

    Without designated instruction for English learners that helps them understand how English works and provides extra practice in speaking and reading, most aspects of learning to read in English become especially challenging. It becomes a struggle to hear and isolate the sounds of English, a challenge to understand the syntax and structure of text, and it becomes increasingly difficult to comprehend and make meaning of vocabulary in a language they haven’t learned.

    Included in the framework is guidance for curriculum and instructional planning that is aligned with the standards for integrated English language development occurring throughout the school day in every subject area for every English learner. Our instruction should be responsive to the linguistic demands English learners are facing throughout the curriculum.

    There are other efforts underway that are aligned to the ELA/ELD Framework. The Literacy Roadmap, for instance, will help educators apply the framework to classroom instruction and navigate the resources and professional development opportunities available to implement effective literacy instruction. The Literacy Standard and Teaching Performance Expectations for Preliminary Multiple Subject and Single Subject Credentials for teacher candidates are also aligned to the ELA/ELD Framework. These efforts are essential for addressing equity and improving outcomes for all students. Both initiatives will require significant efforts to support teachers, parents and administrators to ensure high-quality literacy instruction.

    Our students and teachers need and deserve a significant investment to fully realize the potential of the ELA/ELD Framework. Doing so is necessary for improving literacy outcomes for California’s 1.1 million English learners and all of California’s students. We are ready to work with policymakers to prioritize funding and support its full implementation.

    •••

    Martha Hernandez is executive director of Californians Together, a statewide advocacy coalition seeking to better educate English learners by improving California’s schools and promoting equitable educational policy.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. We welcome guest commentaries with diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • 10 LAUSD schools get a chance to opt out of standardized testing, create alternative measurements

    10 LAUSD schools get a chance to opt out of standardized testing, create alternative measurements


    CREDIT: Flickr/Alberto-G

    Ten Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) community schools will be given an opportunity to pilot new approaches to assessments in the 2025-26 academic year. 

    And once the schools adopt alternative assessments, they won’t have to participate in standardized tests, other than those mandated by state and federal governments, the district school board decided in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday. 

    The policy, which comes as part of the Supporting Meaningful Teaching and Learning in the LAUSD Community Schools Initiative, was authored by LAUSD school board President Jackie Goldberg and board members Rocio Rivas and Kelly Gonez. 

    Goldberg said that over the past several decades, corporate entities have turned education’s focus away from cultivating a love for learning — and toward test taking, which she believes has become the “be-all and judge-all of schools.” 

    She emphasized that multiple choice, standardized assessments are not the only way to gauge students’ learning. 

    “I knew where my students were, what they could read, what they understood, what they didn’t — because that’s what you do when you teach,” Goldberg said, adding that class discussions and projects can also be used to observe progress. “You’re continuously assessing.”

    Once the 10 community schools establish new “innovative, authentic, rigorous and relevant” methods of assessment, they will not be required to administer the district’s iReady diagnostic tests, which teachers have criticized for taking up large chunks of instructional time. 

    Rivas said students would be relieved of some of the anxiety and stress that comes from ongoing standardized testing. She read several messages she had received from students in the district during Tuesday’s meeting.

    “If we already take five state tests … in the end of the year, why do we take the end of the year iReady?” one student wrote in a letter to Rivas. “They both are the same reason: to show you what we know.” 

    “I was really stressed out — worrying about all of these tests. I also gained a lot of anxiety since testing started, and I could not focus on my own life because I was so stressed.” 

    LAUSD board member George McKenna, however, opposed the measure, questioning how students are supposed to learn without being given tests to work toward. He added that the initiative has “promise” but that he did not trust the policy would be implemented properly. 

    Board members Tanya Ortiz Franklin and Nick Melvoin also voted against the resolution — which will require LAUSD to establish a Supporting Meaningful Teaching and Learning Initiative that community schools can apply to be part of. 

    Schools that are part of the initiative would have to select a community school “lead tacher” who is grant funded and would receive additional professional development from both Community School Coaches and UCLA Center for Community Schooling, among others. 

    The 10 schools in the cohort, according to the resolution, will also have to adapt their instructional programs to “integrate culturally relevant curriculum, community- and project-based learning, and civic engagement.”

    “This is just one step,” Gonez said during Tuesday’s meeting. “But I really look forward to the way this resolution will be implemented — to see what innovative ideas that I know our teachers have and see how we may be able to pilot a more joyful education, a transformative education, which really brings the community schools model to full fruition.” 





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  • A courtside view of school spirit’s enduring power

    A courtside view of school spirit’s enduring power


    The view from courtside at a Cal basketball game.

    Kelcie Liee / EdSuorce

    Give me a “C”: “C.” Give me an “A”: “A.” Give me an “L”: “L.” “What’s that spell?” “Cal!” “Who are we?” “Cal!” “And who’s gonna win?” “Cal!” “Gooo Bears!” 

    I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this same call and response within UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion. Similar to all avid Cal basketball fans, the chant echoes beyond the walls of the gym and remains stuck in our heads for longer than we’d like; except unlike Cal fans, I sit on the sideline every game with a lanyard hanging around my neck reading: “Court Access.” 

    I’m the official scorekeeper for Cal basketball. 

    Growing up with a dad who coached basketball meant that I was constantly surrounded by the sport. In middle school, I helped my dad keep the scorebook for his middle school basketball teams — marking backslashes, front slashes, numbers and circles, and keeping track of points and fouls. In high school, I continued to keep the scorebook for his high school basketball teams and eventually for Academy of Art University, a Division II school, where my dad would also keep score. When I got into UC Berkeley and lived in dorms just 10 minutes away from the pavilion, my dad decided to give me one of his gigs as the official scorekeeper for Cal basketball. 

    Thanks to him, I have the unique experience of getting to work for Cal Athletics, right alongside the athletes. 

    In some ways, this is an unlikely gig because I’m not all about college sports. My level of excitement doesn’t compare with that of many college sports fans who plan their days around games and loyally follow the team’s stats and schedule. I enjoy watching the games, and I enjoy sports fanatics’ commentary on games, but by no means am I absolutely engrossed in the sport, nor am I a big Cal fan. 

    But on game days, when I walk into Haas Pavilion, my mind clocks out of my other responsibilities and midterms, and clocks in to college basketball and school spirit for three hours — and I absolutely love it. My job requires me to remain unbiased — similar to that of a referee — so I often just slip behind the score table with a little smile, soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying every second of it. 

    Every game, tucked between the announcer and scoreboard operator, I watch for the referees’ signals while getting a front-row seat to Division I basketball. It’s pretty amazing; I get paid to watch future NBA and WNBA players, incredible athletes in their element, all from a sideline seat.

    But my favorite part of this job is that it pulls me away from the libraries and the books for three hours and plunges me into school spirit. Basking under the blue and gold beaming lights as the jumbotron flashes “GO BEARS” more times than I can count, the wall screams “THIS IS BEAR TERRITORY” with paint in a font size I didn’t know could exist, while the Cal Band plays the school anthem and a dancing Oski the Bear, our school’s mascot, peeks out among cheering fans — it’s an experience that will bring out your school spirit no matter how deeply suppressed. 

    My experience with school spirit at UC Berkeley is not an anomaly — many students are drawn to universities for their large and successful athletic programs, especially football and basketball. Educational consultancy Ivywise explains this connection through what is known as the Flutie effect, which originates from Boston College’s Doug Flutie who, after throwing a Hail Mary pass to score a game-winning touchdown, boosted the school’s popularity and number of applicants by 30%. 

    I always thought school spirit was just for the movies, but in reality, it drives the decisions students make when choosing a college of their own, and it detaches us from the academic rigor of universities. More importantly, it doesn’t leave when you graduate, as I see on bumper stickers, or a middle-aged alum saying “Go Bears!” to me as I walk past him in UC Berkeley merchandise. Oftentimes, I see more Cal fans who had attended UC Berkeley decades ago than current students — and I see them with their blue and gold pom poms, posters and jackets. The spirit undoubtedly brings a sense of belonging and togetherness, which stays with you wherever you go. 

    College athletics is for school spirit, and school spirit is for college athletics — the dressing up, parties, body paint spelling C-A-L, rowdy crowds — and both are integral to the college experience. 

    •••

    Kelcie Lee is a second-year history and sociology major at UC Berkeley and a member of EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps.

    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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  • ACLU says Cal State Long Beach sound amplification rules ‘unconstitutional’

    ACLU says Cal State Long Beach sound amplification rules ‘unconstitutional’


    A teach-in on Palestine at Cal State Long Beach on May 2, 2024.

    Credit: Courtesy of Ben Huff

    California State University, Long Beach is facing accusations that a policy limiting amplified sound on campus violates free speech rights and has been selectively enforced to single out faculty members who criticized the university. 

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California last Thursday sent a letter to campus leaders on behalf of two faculty members it said received notices warning that they violated the school’s sound amplification policies during a teach-in about Palestine last spring.

    Cal State Long Beach regulations for devices like megaphones and microphones “are unconstitutional as written, and there is good reason to suspect that warnings … may have been issued because of disagreement with the professors’ political speech,” ACLU attorney Jonathan Markovitz wrote.

    Cal State Long Beach spokesperson Jeff Cook said in a statement that the university respects “the perspectives expressed in the letter from the ACLU but (disagrees) with several of the characterizations made. As our review of the letter continues, we also reaffirm that campus policies related to ‘Time, Place and Manner’ are viewpoint-neutral.”

    The confrontation at Cal State Long Beach highlights the potential for backlash as universities around the country place a new emphasis on rules around how, where and when people can assemble on their campuses this fall, a reaction to a wave of pro-Palestinian protests last spring. University officials frame revamped guardrails as promoting the peaceful exchange of ideas in continuation of past practices, but critics argue the restrictions will chill free speech.

    The California State University Chancellor’s Office last month debuted a systemwide time, place and manner policy in response to legislation requiring schools in both the Cal State and University of California systems to notify students of free speech rules on their campuses at the start of the academic year.

    Cal State Chancellor Mildred García additionally notified campus presidents in an Aug. 27 letter that activities like forming encampments and occupying buildings “are also prohibited by law and by systemwide directive.” García’s letter has sparked pushback from the California Faculty Association, which argues the university system is imposing new standards of employee conduct unilaterally, failing to give the faculty union an opportunity to bargain.

    The ACLU letter was sent on behalf of professors Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson and Jake Alimahomed-Wilson, who in May co-wrote an article with four other Cal State Long Beach faculty members condemning the university’s ties to Boeing and other defense contractors. 

    “My understanding is that, while many faculty members used amplified sound while participating in the teach-in that provides the ostensible basis for the warning emails, the only faculty members who received these warnings (the Alimahomed-Wilsons, Araceli Esparza, Steven Osuna, Azza Basarudin) were the co-authors of the article,” Markovitz wrote. “I hope that this is mere coincidence, but the correlation is at least notable.” 

    The letter asks the university to stop enforcing its sound amplification restrictions and repeal them until they can be amended “to comport with constitutional requirements.”

    Looking back to the spring

    Both the university’s current sound amplification policy and the policy in effect last spring require advance permission to use any kind of amplification. University policy also sets a decibel limit and specifies times and places where amplification is permitted.

    The matter discussed in the ACLU letter stems from a May 2 teach-in held at the campus.

    The student-organized demonstration started with a march from the school’s upper campus to its lower campus, where a group of hundreds gathered for a teach-in outside an administration building, the five professors named in the ACLU letter said in a group interview. They recalled that roughly eight to 12 speakers shared remarks using a megaphone or a microphone.

    “The whole time, we had mic and megaphone problems,” Osuna said. “It wasn’t very loud. So that’s the part that’s really funny to me – we all kept on trying to tell people, ‘Can you hear us? Can you hear us?’”

    Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson, Esparza and Basarudin shared remarks about why Palestine is a feminist issue, while Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Osuna gave a talk describing the university’s connections to Boeing. The latter presentation became the basis for an opinion piece the five professors and a colleague published on May 20 in the website Mondoweiss, which argued that the university’s close relationship with Boeing makes it complicit in the violence in Gaza.

    The five professors said that on Aug. 19, the first day of the fall term, they each received emails notifying them that they had violated the time, place and manner policy and would risk formal written reprimand or other disciplinary action if they did not comply with it in the future. 

    “They waited all this time to send us this message on the first day of the semester,” Osuna said. “It’s kind of letting us know, ‘We have our eyes on you.’ That’s the feeling.”

    Osuna said that a similar warning email sent to a sixth person was rescinded because there wasn’t evidence to show they had used a microphone.

    A free speech argument

    Markovitz argued in the letter addressed to Associate Vice President Patricia A. Pérez last week that Cal State Long Beach’s amplified sound policy is unconstitutional because regulations affecting speech must be narrowly tailored. 

    While some limits on amplified sound may be legitimate, he wrote, it is “clearly impermissible to require advance permission for any use of amplification anywhere on campus.” He argued that the campus’ volume limitations could be used to prohibit shouting or chanting without amplification, even if that is not the university’s intention. And he said the time limitations are “poorly written and unclear,” making it difficult to decipher when and where amplification is allowed.

    “The policy’s lack of clarity is a serious problem in its own right, because it makes it impossible for members of the University community to know when they might be in violation of the policy, or when they will be denied permission for amplified sound,” Markovitz wrote. “The risk of arbitrary enforcement is especially pronounced because the policy provides no guidelines indicating when the required requests for advance permission will be granted or denied.”

    Markovitz’s letter also expressed concerns that the university has not enforced its sound amplification consistently, but rather is using the policy to discriminate against faculty members based on their political views. 

    “The inference of viewpoint discrimination or retaliation is bolstered by my understanding that faculty have regularly used amplified sound at union rallies without obtaining advance permission, and without receiving warnings of (time, place and manner) violations later on,” Markovitz wrote. “Again, I hope that the apparent inconsistent application of the university’s amplification has been merely an honest mistake, but I am concerned that hope may not be justified.”

    ‘A fabric of our university’

    Sabrina Alimahomed-Wilson said she and other faculty who received the emails have used megaphones at previous teach-ins and protests, including an event following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. 

    “Teach-ins have been a fabric of our university,” she said, “and have never been policed in these ways.”

    “Our students see this, too,” Alimahomed-Wilson added. “So what does it mean when all our students are like, ‘Oh, those professors have gotten doxed over this. Now, those professors are getting criminalized over this. They’re getting charged.’”? I think the impact is really chilling.”

    Alimahomed-Wilson and her colleagues said their support for student protesters is an extension of their duties as faculty members: research, teaching and service to students. 

    “We teach our students about justice, about the military-industrial complex, about settler-colonialism, and if we don’t speak out against what is happening right now, we’re not doing our job,” Basarudin said.





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  • Why the ACLU is suing UC Santa Cruz for banning students who participated in spring protests

    Why the ACLU is suing UC Santa Cruz for banning students who participated in spring protests


    Police and protesters faced off on May 31, 2024, at UC Santa Cruz.

    Credit: Photo by Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

    Civil rights groups representing two students and one professor are suing the University of California Santa Cruz, alleging that the campus unlawfully banned students and faculty from campus last spring after they participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

    By filing the lawsuit, the civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Northern California, are seeking an injunction to prevent the university from banning students again, if there are additional protests in the upcoming fall term, which begins later this month.

    The complaint, filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Monday, says that more than 110 students and faculty were banned from campus for up to 14 days after being arrested at a pro-Palestinian encampment on May 31. Campus officials at the time invoked section 626.4 of California’s penal code, which allows campus chancellors to ban individuals from campus for up to two weeks if they disrupt the orderly operation of the campus.

    The lawsuit, however, alleges that campus officials violated the law by not first providing the individuals with a hearing before banning them. The lawsuit cites precedent in a California Supreme Court case, Braxton v. Municipal Court, when the court ruled that campus officials can ban someone without a hearing only if their continued presence “constitutes a substantial and material threat of significant injury to persons or property.” According to the lawsuit, the campus didn’t provide the banned individuals with findings about how they presented such a threat. 

    The bans had consequences for students and faculty. One of the student plaintiffs, Laaila Irshad, ended up failing multiple classes required for her biology major because she wasn’t able to turn in assignments, meet with her professors or access her computer. Christine Hong, another plaintiff and a professor of critical race and ethnic studies, struggled to prepare for a summer class she would teach on the Korean War. 

    “Even though these were short-term bans, they had a significant impact on the students as well as faculty members who were instantly banished from campus,” said Rachel Lederman, senior counsel with the Center for Protest Law & Litigation. “And it’s blatantly illegal.”

    UC Santa Cruz officials were not available for an interview. In a statement, a campus spokesperson said “the decisions made in the spring were necessary and critical to preserve safety, access, and operations of the campus.”

    The lawsuit comes on the heels of UC President Michael Drake announcing that encampments would be banned across the 10-campus UC system this academic year. He asked each campus to come up with its own policy to enforce those rules.

    Fall classes at Santa Cruz begin on Sept. 26. If the plaintiffs are successful in getting an injunction before then, it would apply only to the Santa Cruz campus. But Lederman said she’s hopeful that such a decision would “send a message” to all UC campuses that they “can’t just summarily ban people from campus without a hearing and without finding that the individual poses a danger.”

    Irshad, now entering her third year at Santa Cruz, said she ended up changing her major as a result of being banned from campus for 12 days in the spring. She wasn’t able to turn in several assignments during that period, and she couldn’t go to her professors’ in-person office hours to ask for extensions. 

    She eventually got a hearing on June 11 and her ban was lifted the next day. But by then, it was too late, she said. She ended up failing a chemistry course required for her biology major, as well as a writing course she needed to fulfill one of her general education requirements.

    Irshad has since changed her major to critical race and ethnic studies. She previously hoped to pursue a career in environmental restoration, but has set aside that goal. 

    “I spent the past two years of my college education paying for classes within bio and now have to make up for lost time, I guess,” she said. 

    Ahead of the fall quarter, Irshad isn’t sure if she will participate in protests again. “I know I have a right to protest. I just am very scared about the impact or the ramifications of what might happen,” she said. 

    It wasn’t only students who were impacted by the bans. Hong, the faculty plaintiff, had planned to spend the final weeks of the spring term preparing to teach a summer class about the Korean War. 

    Hong needed to record lectures for the course, which was online and asynchronous. She said she had a “critical window of time” in late May and early June when she wanted to record them, but she didn’t have access to the campus recording studio nor to the tech staff who would have helped her edit the lectures. She also couldn’t use her office, where she keeps books and other course materials that would have helped her further prepare for the class. 

    Hong’s ban from campus was lifted after 11 days. She ended up offering the class anyway, which had about 75 students. But she said there’s “no question” the quality of the course suffered because of the time she wasn’t able to spend preparing to teach it.

    “Who gets impacted by this? It’s the students; the students get impacted by this,” she said. 





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  • How schools can go the extra mile to reduce absenteeism

    How schools can go the extra mile to reduce absenteeism


    A teacher’s aide sits with a kindergartner on the first day of school at George Washington Elementary School in Lodi Unified.

    Diana Lambert

    In today’s world, families have numerous school choices for their children and often rely on the experiences of neighbors, family and friends for advice. Families’ perceptions of the school — how they feel when they walk into the front office, their ability to provide feedback and feel heard and valued, and their access to school staff — are all crucial to improving student attendance, engagement and performance.

    This might sound a lot like customer service, and that’s precisely what it is.

    Just as in the business world, positive interactions between schools and their families directly influence satisfaction, loyalty and trust. According to the K12 Insight report on customer service in schools, these interactions can enhance student outcomes, enrollment, attendance and behavior.

    Children in poverty, children of color and children with disabilities are three times more likely to be chronically absent. A welcoming school that goes the extra mile to create a sense of belonging and build bonds with families can take proactive measures to address attendance challenges.

    This school year, schools should aim to create and nurture a sense of belonging and common purpose with families and the community. Here are some actionable suggestions:

    Create a family-friendly environment

    Families should feel comfortable touring and visiting the school. A welcoming environment includes convenient parking, clear signage, cleanliness, a friendly and helpful front office staff, a comfortable and inviting waiting area, translated materials, posted family engagement activities and events, and flyers informing families of enrichment opportunities available after school and in the community. When interacting with the school, families should find the staff knowledgeable, helpful and responsive to their concerns. To go the extra mile, schools can:

    • Advertise principal office hours when parents and students can stop by.
    • Promote networking among families during an open house by organizing grade-level meet-and-greet events and team-building activities.
    • Use student pickup and drop-off times as golden opportunities to make quick and friendly connections with families.
    • Post empowering messages for families on the school outdoor sign.
    • Actively recruit families to support decision-making and help identify the school’s vision and goals.

    Enhance family engagement with clear and honest communication

    Effective communication with families is clear, relevant and personalized. Go beyond good intentions and engage in meaningful conversations that can lead to improved student learning.

    Teachers can make a great first impression before school starts or at the beginning of the year by making a welcome phone call, sending a postcard, email, letter or any other form of communication that helps families get to know their child’s teachers.

    Encourage teachers to be relatable by sharing tidbits of their own lives; being a real person goes a long way in building relationships. Let families know the best way to contact their teacher for questions, guidance or updates on student learning progress.

    Transparent and honest communication builds trust. Prioritize communication linked to learning. Share student progress data promptly, inform families when and how students will be tested, and show parents specific activities and strategies for home support. Report cards and parent-teacher conferences are not enough; families need concrete and personalized information and guidance to support learning. To go the extra mile:

    • Implement quarterly listening circles with diverse groups of families to value parents’ perspectives and ideas and support school improvement.
    • Anticipate communication barriers by understanding each family’s preferred language and communication method.
    • Create school policies to allow teachers to regularly connect with families and build time into the schedule to make it possible.

    Expand engagement access for all families

    Traditionally, schools collect family engagement data based on family attendance at school events and activities. Often, this means counting the regulars — the ones who come time after time. This school year, challenge your team to count the families who were unable to attend the event, especially if the event is focused on student learning.

    Divide the number of absent families by grade level and ask teachers to reach out to their families to share the information they missed and build trust. Take this opportunity to learn more about the family, build trust, and open new lines of communication. Create space for teachers to share what they learn with their grade-level team. To go the extra mile:

    • Adjust engagement opportunities using family feedback and suggestions from prior years.
    • Leverage nonclassroom staff to facilitate mini-make-up sessions for families who were unable to attend the learning-focused events.

    Genuine family engagement happens away from school — it happens at the dinner table, in car rides and during everyday parent-child interactions and family dynamics. Strengthening relationships with families can enrich the way families support learning and provide valuable insights into the children you teach.

    There’s something incredibly heartwarming about reading parents’ social media posts expressing their appreciation for their child’s school. These parents highlight their favorite and trusted teachers, describe a sense of community and belonging, and invite new families to join in on school activities, volunteer opportunities, and decision-making committees. Their loyalty to the school is unmistakable.

    Efforts like those listed above can enable schools to build stronger, more supportive communities that foster student success and create a welcoming environment for everyone involved.

    Let’s make this school year the best one yet by going the extra mile for our families.

    •••

    Maria Paredes is a senior engagement manager on WestEd’s Family and Community Engagement team. A version of this post first appeared in the WestEd Bulletin in August and is reposted here with permission.

    The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. We welcome guest commentaries with diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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