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  • A first for California’s incarcerated students: Now they can earn master’s degrees

    A first for California’s incarcerated students: Now they can earn master’s degrees


    Credit: Julie Leopo-Bermudez / EdSource

    Achieving a college degree in prison is rare, but now a select 33 incarcerated people in California can earn their master’s degrees. 

    California State University, Dominguez Hills, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced a partnership Thursday to launch the state’s first master’s degree program for incarcerated people. Corrections Secretary Jeff Macomber said the partnership furthers the state’s prison system’s goal to expand “grade school to grad school” opportunities. 

    “These efforts are vital, as education serves as a powerful rehabilitative tool,” Macomber said. 

    Research shows that prison programs reduce recidivism rates and help formerly incarcerated people find jobs and improve their families’ lives once they are released. Those studies show that incarcerated people are 48% less likely to return to prison within three years than those who didn’t attend a college program in prison. 

    All 33 of the state’s adult prisons offer the ability for the system’s 95,600 incarcerated people to earn community college degrees; about 13.5% are enrolled in a college course. The state has been expanding its offerings of college in prisons. Eight partnerships with state universities have begun since 2016 to offer bachelor’s degrees to incarcerated people. About 230 are enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program for the current semester.

    The new Dominguez Hills program will allow all people in all 33 prisons who have already earned a bachelor’s degree and have at least a 2.5 GPA, to earn a Master of Arts in humanities. The students will participate in two years of courses, including urban development, religion, morality and spirituality. The classes will take place over Zoom or through written correspondence. 

    Tuition for the program is about $10,500 and students or their families will be responsible for covering the costs. However, the corrections department said that it may provide some assistance. The university is also accepting donations to go toward incarcerated students’ tuition. Because these are post-bachelor’s degree courses, the incarcerated students do not qualify for the state’s Cal Grant or federal Pell Grant programs.

    “Our mission is firmly anchored in social justice,” said Thomas Parham, president of Cal State Dominguez Hills. “This historic partnership between California State University and CDCR benefits students — and ultimately their families and communities — by distinguishing between what people did and who they are at the core of their being, and recognizing their potential, cultivating their talents and preparing them to thrive in their paths moving forward.”

    Parham said it was important for the university to provide advanced learning opportunities in prisons because the campus is focused on “transforming lives.” 

    The 33 students in the new master’s program reside in 11 different state prisons across the state including Avenal, Chuckawalla Valley and San Quentin state prisons and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.  





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  • How English learners can benefit from college classes in high school

    How English learners can benefit from college classes in high school


    Students at Rudsdale Continuation High School in Oakland, California.

    Credit: Anne Wernikoff for Edsource

    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    High school senior Martha Hernandez was born in Baja California, Mexico, and came to the U.S. when she was 10 years old, in fifth grade. She was still considered an English learner when she entered high school, based on California’s test of English proficiency.

    When students are classified as English learners, they must take English language development classes to improve their language skills, in addition to English language arts and all other academic classes.

    But at Hernandez’s high school, Mountain Empire High School in the mountains of rural San Diego County, English learners enroll in English as a second language classes through the local community college. They earn college credit while learning English.

    Researchers and advocates say that dual enrollment — taking college courses during high school — can increase rates of graduation, college enrollment and college success. Yet students who are still learning English in high school often face barriers to dual enrollment courses.

    According to one study by Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research at UC Davis, 10% of English learners had taken at least one community college class while in high school, compared with 18% of all students.

    English learners are less likely than many other groups to finish the required courses for entering UC and CSU — known as A-G requirements — and to attend college in the first year after graduating from high school. Only 16.8% of students not proficient in English were marked as “prepared” for college and career on the California School Dashboard in 2019, compared with 44.1% of all students.

    Hernandez was surprised to get college credit for her English language classes and she says it inspired her to do well in the courses.

    “It benefits me more, because if I’m going to learn something, I should gain something, too,” Hernandez said. “I guess that’s a good strategy to make people motivated.”

    She says the class helped her learn how to compose a paragraph, structure an essay and give a presentation in English.

    After sophomore year, Hernandez tested out of the program. No longer considered an English learner, she enrolled in both AP English and AP U.S. history her junior year. She’s now a senior, and she plans to go to a four-year college after graduation to study to become a doctor.





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  • How our district moved the needle on early literacy (and you can too)

    How our district moved the needle on early literacy (and you can too)


    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    Palo Alto Unified sorely needed to improve.

    Despite ample resources and a reputation as one of California’s top districts, we were dramatically failing high-need students in education’s most fundamental subject: reading. For me, as a school board member, that was a tough pill to swallow.

    But we have started to turn around our long-term problem as borne out by the results for our district on the state’s CAASPP/Smarter Balanced tests. Our students and teachers raised third grade reading scores for underserved groups from among the worst in the state to one of the best.

    Even better, any district can follow the approach we used; it did not rely on big spending or complicated new programs. Early literacy is a “solvable crisis” for California’s schools.

    Like most districts in California, we were struggling to teach reading to low-income and historically marginalized students. For low-income Latino third graders, 80% were below grade level, which ranked us near the bottom of all California districts.

    This was a shocking realization for a district that thinks of itself as No. 1. It almost certainly meant that we were failing many other students, too, though some were being saved by a safety net of well-educated parents and out-of-school support.

    The superintendent and his team decided to go “all-in” on improving early literacy. Instead of piecemeal changes, they put together a comprehensive reworking of our approach to early literacy, called the Every Student Reads Initiative.

    Starting in 2021, this initiative has impacted almost every aspect of Palo Alto’s early literacy program, from teacher development and instructional materials to district administration and leadership:

    Teacher training

    • The district uses the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) training, a leading method for teaching reading foundational skills, for all K-three teachers, reading specialists, and all elementary principals.
    • Reading-focused optional after-school workshops are available for TK-five teachers and elementary specialists.
    • Teachers receive curriculum and assessment-specific training.

    Coaching and on-the-job support

    • The district provides ongoing support to teachers with implementation of the new curriculum.
    • There is now a repository of high-quality resources for teachers on reading instruction including instructional materials and videos.
    • The team leading the initiative has weekly communication with elementary educators.

    Reading curriculum and interventions

    • The Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study, criticized for lack of foundational skills, has been replaced by the widely used Benchmark Advance/Adelante plus O-G foundational skills and “decodable” texts.
    • Schools offer targeted interventions for students who need additional support focused on phonemic awareness and phonics.

    Reading assessment

    • The Fountas & Pinnell BAS, a teacher-administered “running records” assessment, has been replaced by the computer-based and nationally normed iReady Reading Assessment.
    • Staff conduct continued universal dyslexia screening in grades K-three using the iReady assessment.

    District leadership

    • The district appointed our first-ever literacy director, a respected elementary principal with expertise in reading.
    • School administrators participate in monthly Elementary Principal Learning Collaborative meetings dedicated to pre-K-to-five reading instruction and supporting teachers with the implementation of curricular and assessment changes.

    School board

    • The school board has established multiyear improvement goals for third-grade student achievement, specifically focused on lower-performing student groups, to be included in the superintendent’s annual review.
    • District staff provides updates to the school board at least three times per year.

    While phonics was an important part of the initiative, our Every Student Reads Initiative is not a “phonics first” or “phonics only” approach — far from it. In every grade, it includes all the major pillars of reading from the National Reading Panel (comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonics and phonemic awareness).

    District leaders made implementation of the Every Student Reads program a top priority; this was key. Early literacy was one of just five major district goals, called the Palo Alto Promise, and the only goal explicitly focused on student achievement. It has remained one of our top goals for the last three years.

    Equally important was our superintendent’s outspoken personal leadership on the issue. He constantly talked about the initiative with parents, teachers and his own leadership team. His community messages included frequent updates throughout the year. And our school board was given formal updates three times a year, including a detailed readout of annual results versus goals. There was no doubt: Every Student Reads was a big deal for Palo Alto Unified.

    The results so far have been impressive. Over two years, we’ve seen significant improvement on the state’s CAASPP/Smarter Balanced assessments across all the targeted groups compared with 2019, despite the headwinds from the pandemic. The bellwether low-income Latino third-graders have gone from 20% reading at or above grade level to 47% — one of the top results in the state.

    Credit: Todd Collins

    Percent of third grade students meeting or exceeding standards on the state’s CAASPP/Smarter Balanced assessments. Statewide results for 2022-23 have not yet been released.

    In fact, nearly all groups saw double-digit growth last year. The share of third-grade English learners reclassified to English proficient reached its highest level in at least the last 10 years. And last year’s third graders have held onto their gains in fourth grade.

    Credit: Todd Collins

    Percent of third-grade students meeting or exceeding standards on the state’s CAASPP / Smarter Balanced assessments. Statewide results for 2022-23 have not yet been released.

    Palo Alto is an outlier in some ways, with above average funding and relatively few high-need students (about 17%). But the Every Student Reads approach isn’t just for outliers; it did not rely on big spending or complicated new programs.

    Instead, it focused on doing the fundamentals well: an “all-in” commitment, strongly backed by senior leadership, coupled with an array of supports to help teachers build their knowledge and refine their practice in teaching reading. Any district can do what we did.

    California faces an early literacy crisis. Just 42% of all third-graders are at grade level for reading. For low-income Black and Latino students, the number plummets to 25%. Our history of struggle in Palo Alto mirrors a broader failure across the state to recognize and address this crisis. While some schools have managed to buck the trend, most face challenges similar to ours.

    But we can change this. School boards, superintendents, and district leaders have the power to address this “solvable crisis.” By going “all-in” on early literacy, districts all over California can move the needle for students who rely on school the most. Every Student Reads should be at the top of every California district’s priority list.

    •••

    Todd Collins is a member of the Palo Alto Unified School District Board. 

    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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  • AI, other education technology can infringe on rights of disabled, LGBTQ students, report warns

    AI, other education technology can infringe on rights of disabled, LGBTQ students, report warns


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    The use of education technology in schools, such as artificial intelligence, digital surveillance and content filters, poses a threat to the civil rights of students with disabilities, LGBTQ students and students of color, a new report released Wednesday warns.

    Some technology used in schools to block explicit adult content and flag students at risk of self-harm or harming others have also created serious problems for already vulnerable students, cautions the report by the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for civil rights in the digital world.

    The report is based on a wide-ranging online national survey about the technology used by schools, students and teachers. This summer, the Center for Democracy and Technology polled 1,029 ninth- through 12th-grade students, 1,018 parents of sixth through 12th grade students and 1,005 teachers of sixth through 12th grade students in a sample the organization said was weighted to be “nationally representative.”

    According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, the surveys also indicate widespread confusion about the role of artificial intelligence in the classroom, with a majority of parents, students and teachers saying they want more information and training about how to properly use it.

    Report outlines education technology’s risks to students

    The report outlines how school technology can, often inadvertently, harm students. The Center for Democracy and Technology says these harms are felt most acutely by vulnerable students.

    Students reported incidents of LGBTQ classmates being outed by digital surveillance, a potentially traumatizing event of sharing their sexual identity or orientation without their consent.

    Students with disabilities said they were most likely to use artificial intelligence — and they were more likely to report facing disciplinary action for using it.

    One-third of teachers said content related to race or the LGBTQ community is more likely to be restricted by filters. The center said this “amounts to a digital book ban.”

    Some schools have faced pushback for the way they deployed technology. After the American Civil Liberties Union sued a school district in Texas, the district loosened a filter that had blocked the website of the Trevor Project, a website aimed at LGBTQ youth.

    “There are certain groups of students who should already be protected by existing civil rights laws, and yet they are still experiencing disproportionate and negative consequences because of the use of this education data and technology,” said Elizabeth Laird, director of equity in civic technology for the Center for Democracy and Technology.

    Although schools often have dedicated staff and other practices set up to ensure that students’ civil rights are being protected, Laird said its survey indicates that schools have not fully wrestled with how education technology is affecting the promise of an equitable education, resulting in civil rights and technology being treated as separate issues.

    “I think they’ve been kept separate, and the time is now to bring those together,” Laird said.

    Civil rights groups call for more federal guidance

    While schools have been conducting more outreach than in previous years, the survey shows an increase in student and parent concerns about data and privacy over the past year. Survey data collected in previous years shows both parents and students need more outreach and engagement on how schools are selecting and using technology.

    Last October, the White House released a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, but civil rights groups — including the ACLU, the American Association of School Librarians, American Library Association, Disability Rights in Education Defense Fund and the Electronic Frontier Foundation — signed a letter accompanying the Center for Democracy and Technology’s report, petitioning the federal Department of Education for more guidance.

    “In the year since the release of the Blueprint, the need for education-related protections remains and, if anything, is even more urgent with the explosive emergence of generative AI,” according to the letter.

    Fifty-seven percent of teachers in the survey stated they haven’t had any substantive training in AI, while 24% say they have received training in how to detect inappropriate use of AI.

    The survey also found that 58% of students have used ChatGPT or other generative AI programs, and 19% said they have submitted a paper written using AI. Students report using AI both for school assignments and for dealing with mental health issues or personal problems with family and friends.

    Students with disabilities are more likely to use generative AI: 72% said they’ve used the technology. Parents of students with disabilities are more likely to say that their students have been disciplined for their use of artificial intelligence. The report calls higher rates of discipline among vulnerable communities “particularly worrisome.”

    These students and their parents — 71% of students with disabilities and 79% of their parents — express more concern than others about the privacy and security of the data collected and stored by the school.

    Licensed special education teachers are more likely to have conversations with students and their parents about student privacy and equity issues in technology, a “promising practice that could be extended to the rest of the school population,” the Center for Democracy and Technology recommends.

    School surveillance’s long arm

    The civil rights issues can go beyond the walls of the school. Some students, particularly students of color and those from lower-income communities are more likely to rely on school-issued devices when they are at home. Monitoring and tracking can therefore follow them home.

    “Their learning environment for those students is quite different than those who can essentially opt out of some of this tracking,” Laird said.

    Students who use technology devices to charge their personal phones may also find that this technology will scan and monitor these personal devices as well. Among students who have used their school device for charging, 51% said school software began syncing with and downloading content from their personal device.

    Monitoring technology became prevalent in the pandemic-era remote learning, but it has persisted, with 88% of teachers reporting their schools use the technology. The White House named preventing the unchecked monitoring of students a priority in its blueprint. The Center for Democracy and Technology says that the use of surveillance technology can cause a host of problems for students.

    Students with disabilities and LGBTQ students are more likely to report being disciplined as a result of technology that monitors them. Laird said that sometimes students are disciplined for something the technology flagged, but other times, they are disciplined because of their reaction to being flagged.

    Schools sometimes share data directly with law enforcement — even after school hours. Fifty-three percent of special education teachers and 46% of teachers in Title I schools said data was shared with law enforcement after hours. During an interview with the Center for Democracy and Technology, the parent of a ninth grader said that law enforcement was contacted even before she was notified when something on her child’s device was flagged by the school’s monitoring technology. Her son was questioned for an hour without her consent.

    “All of those things can result in students being removed from the classroom and losing instructional time,” said Laird. “And so if those students are being disproportionately flagged and being intervened in a disproportionate way, this could also be a potential violation of [a student’s right to a free and appropriate public education], which is specific to preventing discrimination on the basis of disability.”





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  • 2024 state ballot battle to determine if voters can pass school parcel taxes by majority vote

    2024 state ballot battle to determine if voters can pass school parcel taxes by majority vote


    Sacramento westlake Neighborhood

    Credit: Aiden Frazier / UnSplash

    A late-session strategy by Democrats in the California Legislature to sabotage a tax-limitation initiative may determine whether citizen groups can propose a school parcel tax requiring only a majority of voters to pass.

    The anti-tax initiative, called the Tax Protection and Government Accountability Act and organized by the California Business Roundtable and the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, has already qualified for the November 2024 election ballot. Among its provisions would be an expanded definition of taxes to include some revenue sources that state and local governments consider fees, thus making them harder to impose. And it would require all local special taxes — those passed to fund specific purposes, as opposed to general taxes, like sales and income taxes — to require a two-thirds majority to pass.

    The initiative is partly aimed at school parcel taxes which, under a 1996 state ballot proposition, are considered special taxes, subject to the two-thirds vote majority. That’s a high threshold, which is why only about 1 in 8 school districts have passed a parcel tax, and only about 60% of the parcel taxes proposed historically have passed, according to Ed-Data. Many districts looked at the barrier and decided the odds of failure were too big to try.

    Over the past two decades, two Bay Area state senators proposed lowering the threshold for passing a parcel tax to 55%, the same requirement for passing school construction bonds. But they couldn’t come up with the two-thirds majority in the Legislature needed to place a constitutional amendment on a state ballot. An analysis in 2019 by Michael Coleman, the creator of California Local Government Finance Almanac, found that historically 91% of parcel tax ballot measures would have passed, had the 55% threshold been in effect.

    But two years ago, in a decision on a San Francisco ballot measure, a three-judge panel on the San Francisco-based California Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that a parcel tax initiated by citizens — and not put on the ballot by school boards and other government bodies — requires only a simple majority of 50% plus one vote for passage. The state Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the appeals court ruling as the guiding decision.

    “The two-thirds majority requirement only benefited wealthy communities that could afford well-funded campaigns,” said Carol Kocivar, a former president of the California State PTA and a frequent contributor to the parent education website Ed-100. “It’s a question of equity, to let voters speak by a majority vote on initiatives brought by the people, not by government.”

    However, the victory in court could be short-lived if the Howard Jarvis-Business Roundtable initiative passes in 2024. It would overrule the court decision and require a two-thirds vote for special taxes without exception.

    Enter the Democratic lawmakers. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13, passed in the last week of the legislative session, is written to make the Tax Protection and Government Accountability Act harder to pass. It says that any state ballot measure put on the ballot after Jan. 1, 2024, that would raise the voter threshold for passing taxes would require the same proportion of voters to enact it.

    In other words, an initiative raising all special taxes to a two-thirds threshold would need the authorization of two-thirds of voters. That could be hard to get in a tax-liberal state like California. Dozens of labor unions, including the California Teachers Association, and city and county governments supported the legislation.

    Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis group, called ACA 13 “a dagger at the heart” of the initiative and a “cynical attack” on the initiative process that is “too clever by half.”

    Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-San Diego, called it a “common sense measure” to counter a system that allowed a simple majority of voters to impose on future voters a higher threshold to raise revenue.

    But Coupal responded that every ballot measure changing the California Constitution has required only a majority vote, including the landmark Proposition 13 in 1978, which requires two-thirds approval of the Legislature for future state tax increases.

    Supporters of ACA 13 assert that its provision would take priority, though Coupal disputes that. It’s possible that if both ballot measures pass, the one with the most votes would govern the outcome; based on its polling, Coupal said he is confident that his initiative would prevail.

    For cash-strapped districts, a parcel tax subject to a majority vote could be a major boon. With state revenues projected to fall in districts with declining enrollments and an end by Jan. 1, 2025, of the availability of federal Covid assistance, Kocivar expects more districts will take advantage of the option. And the proposed uses for the extra funding might change to better reflect what parents and the community view as priorities. Proponents would still need to gather enough signatures to place an initiative on the ballot — a significant challenge — but qualifying would signal popular support, she said.

    Another challenge is the nature of a parcel tax. Because of the provisions of the 1978 anti-tax initiative Proposition 13,  the amount of a parcel tax must be uniform and cannot be based on a property’s value. The owner of a mobile home and a 10-bedroom mansion both pay the same amount, from about $100 per year in many districts to upwards of $1,000 annually in wealthy communities. Some recent parcel taxes charge by the square footage of a home or building, generally making it less regressive.

    For now, local teachers and parent groups should keep plans for lower threshold parcel taxes in their back pockets until it’s clear that the 2021 Court of Appeal’s decision will prevail.





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  • Teachers can advance educational equity through clear, high expectations

    Teachers can advance educational equity through clear, high expectations


    Lauren Brown teaches seventh grade science at Madison Park Business and Arts Academy in Oakland.

    Credit: Carolyn Jones/EdSource

    More often than not, people perform up to what’s expected of them. It’s why goal setting is such an effective way to self-motivate as well as motivate others. It’s widely called the Pygmalion effect, and it’s been proven in education repeatedly. A Center for American Progress study run from 2002-2012, following students throughout their learning journeys, found that 10th grade students faced with higher goals and expectations from their teachers were three times more likely to graduate from college than peers who had not been challenged with the same expectations.

    In order to set students and classrooms up for success, teachers must empower students by not only showing them what’s possible, but even more important, showing them the steps needed to get there. This second part is essential when creating positive, inclusive learning environments and advancing educational equity.

    GoGuardian’s 2022-2023 State of Engagement Report, which was conducted in collaboration with the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education Center EDGE, found that 94.2% of teachers reported using high expectation setting as an engagement strategy often or very often, laying out stretch goals and holding students to a high classroom standard. Setting high expectations can improve educational equity by showing students what is possible.

    Unfortunately, in the same Center for American Progress study, researchers found that secondary school teachers often had lower expectations of students of disadvantaged backgrounds. In fact, teachers predicted high-poverty students to be 53% less likely to graduate from college, which, when combined with the data proving students’ success is closely tied to the expectations teachers set for them, likely contributes to a cyclical problem.

    Education can be a great equalizer. But it’s common for students who have experienced poverty or who have faced other institutional academic (or non-academic) challenges to have never been told they can achieve great things. Setting clear and high expectations for students can change that. If students haven’t been introduced to the idea of a growth mindset, it can be challenging to suddenly place goals in front of them, But doing so is fundamental to helping students learn to set their own academic goals. If we zoom out, it’s also the first step in building an equitable and inclusive classroom environment.

    Research has shown personalized goal setting — where students track their own goals and determine their own progress — is a huge step in “self-regulated learning.” Setting personalized goals results in students having significant investment in their own learning and personalized goals. A recent study of 5 million K-eight students across the country found students who entered a school year “behind” grade level were more likely to catch up when set up with “aggressive” or “stretch” goals.

    The challenge lies in ensuring students see their goals as growth-oriented rather than unreachable or even punitive. Especially when working with students who come from lower socio-economic environments, it’s essential that educators proactively articulate (and remind) students that what they’re asking is possible. Students also need to understand the why and the how behind the goals. Setting a goal and walking away without providing a road map is not a strong strategy, and will prove especially confusing for students who aren’t used to facing high expectations.

    Humanizing expectations is extremely impactful. Students won’t achieve a goal if they don’t understand why they’re doing something. We must push students to do things that they may not even know they’re capable of, even as we keep in mind the ultimate goal of equipping them to go into the world, enabling them to compete and make the world a better place. That comes by expanding your world, being curious, and being in an environment where intellectual curiosity is supported. That originates with teachers showing each of their students that they are capable, and building equitable environments where all students can thrive.

    Ultimately, teachers, educators and other education professionals need to walk the walk when it comes to goal setting and improving equity. Implicit bias is real and cannot be ignored. Teachers and administrators need to be actively aware of their own biases and actively work to mitigate them on an ongoing basis.

    Setting high expectations also requires that teachers really understand their students, have established and nurtured relationships with them, and have demonstrated they care about all students and the unique challenges they face. Knowing what is going on with students outside of school is a key ingredient to effective goal setting. What do they have going on that may impact their ability to be all-in academically? This is perhaps the most essential step in building an inclusive learning environment.

    Education technology, especially tools built with participation or collaboration at the heart, can aid in this process by helping teachers not only personalize learning, but also help streamline data analysis that can assist in setting goals that make sense, that are achievable, but that also stretch students outside their comfort zones and move learning outcomes forward. Meeting every student’s needs is required for building educational equity. Educational technologies are often developed to do just that, supporting teachers as they work to individualize learning in a time when they are underpaid, overworked and still motivated to meet students where they are.

    Telling students you believe in them is wonderful. But showing them you believe in them — through high expectations and accountability — means you are preparing them for greatness.

    •••

    Dionna Smith is the chief diversity and public affairs officer at GoGuardian, an educational technology company that aims to help all learners feel ready and inspired to solve the world’s greatest challenges by combining the best in learning and science technology across every part of the learning journey.

    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 we can harness the power of debate in the classroom

    How we can harness the power of debate in the classroom


    We have all witnessed the turmoil that can occur in the comments sections of our social media platforms. Close-minded remarks, hurtful rhetoric and disgraceful carnage happen between strangers, friends and even co-workers.

    But, as an educator, I refuse to simply shake my head and put the blame on society. Instead, I have made it my focus to teach my students to listen with intent, reply with relevant facts and discern biases. As an overwhelmed educator, this task seemed daunting at first. I teach biology; how would I bring debate into the classroom?

    First, I looked at my science standards. Where did I see a spot for something with a little controversy? In my case, I decided to look at the issue of the wolf population at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. At face value, we see a typical story about wolves and their dwindling population. I showed students the videos, we discussed the progression of the issues, and they read several articles about what had happened (MLive, APnews, MTU). The students indicated that they understood the content. They were feeling a connection to the animals and were starting to form an opinion. I knew I could stop there and move on to the next content. However, I wanted to spark a little debate to further the connection.

    I wanted students to dig in deeper and choose a stance. So, I posed the question: Are humans responsible for fixing the wolf population issue? Should taxpayer money be spent rehabilitating the wolf population on Isle Royale? This divided the class almost in half. Half the students thought that nature should take its course. Half thought it was up to humans to protect the animals.  At this point, I could have let the students debate/duke it out over their stances. However, that wouldn’t be focusing on my goal of promoting constructive debate. To keep behavior standards high, I set the expectations beforehand. This included raising our hand, voice level that was loud enough for the class to hear, and sentence frames on how to disagree respectfully (I appreciate your viewpoint; I see it like ____. According to the text, _____. Thank you for sharing; my view is that ____). Keeping behavior structures and expectations high, I opened the floor to discussion, questions and statements. Students pulled information from their notes. Students listened with intent. The primal need to be correct was coursing through them. They were connecting to content in a way I hadn’t seen before.

    This shift from simply reading and moving on to being passionate sparked something new in my educator soul. I saw how students could make a point without being disrespectful. They could listen with intent. They could see different sides and even change their stance. Kids can possess these skills, even though some adults behind their screens do not. As educators, we know that life skills are necessary. Given the social and political climate of our world, we now need to make sure that the ability to have healthy and meaningful conversations is taught as a skill.

    So, dear educator, how can you make a topic you teach into a healthy debate? Do you dive right in and look at the social and racial injustices happening worldwide? Do you start small and look at something local? Or maybe you just try to look at perspectives in the book you’re reading in class? However you choose, make an effort to teach the skills that we may not have been taught. Make an effort to show students it’s OK to have different opinions. It’s OK to feel passionate about something. Most importantly, it’s not OK to belittle or diminish others’ ideas when they’re not aligned with your own.

    Hopefully, with a shift in this mindset, they can be the future we all need.

    •••

    Kati Begen is a high school biology educator and credential coach in Fresno. She has earned a multiple-subject credential, a single-subject credential and a master’s degree in teaching. She is currently working on her doctorate in curriculum and assessment at Southern Wesleyan University. 

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





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  • Community college students can take classes in their native language under a new law

    Community college students can take classes in their native language under a new law


    Tina Chen, who is taking computer science courses taught in Mandarin at East Los Angeles College, speaks at a recent press conference for Assembly Bill 1096.

    Courtesy of Ludwig Rodriguez

    Hoping to entice more non-English speakers to enroll in community college, California is making it easier for those students to take courses in their native language.

    Currently, students in California can take community college classes taught in languages other than English only if they simultaneously enroll in English as a Second Language courses. 

    That’s about to change, thanks to Assembly Bill 1096, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and is set to take effect Jan. 1. The law will allow community colleges to offer courses in languages other than English without requiring students to enroll in ESL. 

    Community college officials think the bill could be a game-changer for potential students who might otherwise have been discouraged from enrolling or staying in college because of the ESL requirement. Some students have called that requirement a burden because of the extra time commitment.

    “We hope that this will create a pipeline for individuals to engage in community college,” said Gabriel Buelna, a member of the Los Angeles Community College District’s board of trustees and supporter of the bill. 

    “In a world of lower enrollment, do you want more Californians at your community college? Or do you not want more Californians at your community college?” he said, referring to enrollment declines that community colleges suffered during the pandemic. 

    There’s already some evidence that the new landscape will make a difference. The Los Angeles college district launched a pilot program this year offering courses in non-English languages and gave students the ability to opt out of enrolling in ESL. The program offered 60 classes this spring in four languages — Spanish, Mandarin, Russian and Korean. More than 1,000 students enrolled, almost half of them first-time community college students.

    This fall, the district is expanding the program to 86 classes, including child development, business and computer literacy.

    Before the pilot launched, the district surveyed students and found that 25% cited English proficiency as a barrier to their educational goals.  

    “We’ve uncovered that there’s this hidden group of individuals that have missed out on higher education opportunities,” said Nicole Albo-Lopez, the district’s vice chancellor for educational programs and institutional effectiveness.

    It’s unclear how many colleges across the state will begin offering more classes in non-English languages when the law goes into effect next year. But several community college districts endorsed the bill, including Foothill-De Anza, Long Beach and San Diego. And in a state where 44% of households speak a primary language other than English, officials expect there will be interest among prospective students across California.

    In the Los Angeles pilot, almost all the courses offered were in noncredit classes focused on job training, including in automotive repair, child care and health care services. The new law, however, will apply to both noncredit and credit courses.

    For Tina Chen, taking computer science classes at East Los Angeles College in her native language of Mandarin has made a challenging subject more accessible.

    Chen’s goal is to eventually transfer to UCLA and enter into a career in artificial intelligence, but computers are new for her, and the course material can be challenging. Being able to learn in her native language, though, has provided a solid foundation.

    “It makes it easier. I can understand my teacher who speaks to me and my classmates,” she said.

    Carmen Ramirez has also taken advantage of the classes offered at East LA College and enrolled in basic skills courses this year that are taught in Spanish. 

    Ramirez is from Guadalajara, Mexico, where she previously took college courses while pursuing a degree in psychology. She didn’t finish that degree because of economic reasons, she said, and later moved to Los Angeles.

    Taking classes in Spanish “is a great way to be able to come back and renew my studies,” she said through a translator. “It’s more comfortable and lets me learn better.” Ramirez added that native language courses may also be more welcoming to undocumented students and make it more likely that they enroll.

    After she’s completed her basic skills courses, Ramirez wants to start taking classes toward a credential or certification. She’s not sure yet what career she wants to pursue, but knows she wants to enter a field that allows her to help other people. 

    Even though the law won’t require it, Ramirez still plans to eventually take ESL courses because she sees learning English as an important skill that will benefit her career. Research backs up that premise: A 2022 report by the Public Policy Institute noted a link between English proficiency and access to high-wage jobs. 

    Buelna, the Los Angeles trustee, said he expects many students to follow a path similar to Ramirez’s and enroll in ESL even though they won’t be forced to do so. 

    “I think this law will actually increase English acquisition,” he said. “Once you get folks in an institution, and you get that curiosity going, they’re going to say, ‘Well, I do need to learn English.’”

    Buelna added that the most important factor is that more students get an education and develop new skills — regardless of whether they’re learning English.

    “Why does it matter so much that someone learn about caring for the elderly or phlebotomy in a specific language?” he said. “Do you want them to have the skill or not? What’s more important?”





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  • How veteran teachers can support new ones and keep them in the profession

    How veteran teachers can support new ones and keep them in the profession


    Middle school history teachers discuss their lesson plans for teaching about the Great Depression.

    Credit: Allison Shelley / American Education

    My first year of teaching was the worst year of my life. 

    I remember preparing for the new school year, prepping my classroom and making lesson plans. If you know the Central Valley of California, you know the summer heat and heavy lifting in a classroom are not the most desirable combination. However, I had hope in my heart, and I was so excited for my career to finally begin! 

    Then I made the grave mistake of going into the copy room packed with veteran teachers. I was eager to learn from them; they had the experience I lacked. One gave me a tip to “not smile until October” so the kids would know I was a tough teacher. One advised me to stick to worksheets so that I didn’t burn out. 

    While these bits of advice were well-intentioned, they were not what a budding teacher needed. Teaching is an extremely difficult profession, but it is also incredibly rewarding. There is an extreme learning curve for new teachers. Despite the credential program and a mentor teacher’s best efforts, nothing can thoroughly prepare you for your first classroom. 

    It’s no secret that there is a mass exodus of teachers leaving the profession. To keep people in the profession, we need to support them throughout. If the support is consistent and starts when a teacher first enters the school, there can be a shift in the number of people leaving and the school’s overall culture. 

    As I said, the copy room was a hot spot for negative talk. At every school I have worked in, this has reigned true. Instead of continuing to let the negative talk fester, I propose making the copy room a hub for ideas to be shared and support to be given. Dedicating a space on the wall where teachers can “shout out” each other can quickly change the room’s vibe. Having funny memes posted by the printer about how it’s always “jammin’.” A designated space where teachers can drop off or pick up extra supplies. Best yet, make every first Monday a little treat day. Each department takes turns bringing small treats. These little things can help build a culture and safe place for teachers, especially the newer ones, to feel supported. 

     Another method to support new teachers is to create a partnership between them and a veteran teacher. This veteran does not even need to be in the same content area. Instead, an experienced teacher that matches a new teacher in personality or classroom management style can be extremely beneficial. I distinctly remember the veteran teachers who guided me through my first few years, and I’m eternally grateful for them.

    One important aspect, however, is that veteran teachers must volunteer for this. Pushing this vital role on somebody who doesn’t want it would not work. This partnership can look like once a week, 30-minute check-in meetings. It can be regular, short observations. Maybe the two teachers team-teach a lesson while an administrator covers one of their classes. This partnership, however it is laid out, can be rich in growth for the veteran and new teacher. 

    Teachers of all ranks need to continue to grow and update their methods. This can be done by creating a culture of observation without the “gotcha!” feeling. Administrators can simply pop in, offer compliments, support, and notes in general, and then leave. Teachers working on the same content can observe others, offer feedback, and see new methods. The frequency of observations can help spot any areas of growth and strengths. As new teachers learn their individual teaching styles, it’s important that they be observed constructively, and it should be done often. 

    Inundating new teachers with supplemental training, resource books and websites can be overwhelming and exhausting. The goal is to support new teachers so they stay in the profession and feel appreciated. They do not need to hear horror stories constantly, receive unhelpful criticism or feel isolated. This will only increase the number of teachers leaving the profession.

    Teachers, administrators and support staff can all make an effort to openly welcome and support new teachers. Inviting a teacher to the staff outing, getting them the school shirt, helping them staple borders on the walls and supporting them however they need will make a difference in their career.

    •••

    Kati Begen is a high school biology educator and credential coach in Fresno and has earned a multiple-subject credential, a single-subject credential and a master’s degree in teaching.

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





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  • Substitute teachers can serve as mentors; we need more of them

    Substitute teachers can serve as mentors; we need more of them


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    When most people think of a substitute teacher, they think of a temporary fill-in for a job that is difficult to secure and difficult to do. They might think that a substitute is simply there to monitor a classroom or, worse yet, put on a video for the class and then sit at their desk.

    I know substitutes are so much more.

    The best substitutes are passionate mentors who play a role in student success. As a substitute teacher with 14 years of experience in public and private schools in Oakland, I believe my commitment to students and my experience outside of teaching enable me to be a valuable guide in the lives of the K-12 students I have the privilege of working with, and I want more school leaders to recognize that role.

    Before I started teaching, I served in the Air Force, went to law school, became a paralegal, and launched my own clothing line. I bring every aspect of these experiences — the ups and the downs — with me to the classroom to provide a fresh perspective to students. When I substitute in math classes, I can talk about how interpreting numbers helps entrepreneurs understand their profit margin in the future. In language arts classes, I can talk about how persuasive arguments are the basis of a strong legal case. And, in all my classes, I’m always quick to discuss the importance of critical thinking, adaptability, and a strong work ethic, no matter where a student’s life will take them.

    Each time I bring my personal experience into the classroom, I know I’m showing students more about the world around them and helping them connect what they’re learning to their future. It’s something so many mentors did for me. I was fortunate to be surrounded by caring adults when I was growing up. When I needed great life advice, I knew I could turn to them. Their support is part of the reason I started teaching. Sharing knowledge is contagious. When I share knowledge with a student or show them how to do something, then they have the knowledge I have and can share it with someone else.

    Even though I know the value of sharing knowledge, students aren’t always ready to accept it. Especially from a substitute teacher. I have to earn their trust first. That means the role of a substitute is more than simply managing a classroom in the absence of a regular teacher. Students have to be able to trust that a substitute is emphatically inclined to believe in them and their purpose. I’ve found that starting with a joke, posing a tough question, or asking students to say one fun thing about themselves during introductions can break the ice and form a strong mentor-mentee relationship.

    It is true that it can be difficult to navigate the paperwork needed to become a sub, but for me, it is important to take these steps to be a mentor to students because of the impact it can have on them. A survey found that 95% of teachers say mentorship benefits students, with a majority noting that supportive relationships boost academic outcomes and help students develop critical skills. It’s why great substitutes know teaching class is about more than just following the lesson plan. We actively listen to students, help them access knowledge, and encourage their curiosity — just as great permanent teachers do.

    Consider becoming a substitute teacher in California schools despite any preconceptions you may harbor that the job is difficult or unrewarding. The job is sometimes difficult, but it is never unrewarding. Students need caring adults in their lives, especially in a world where young people face new heights of academic and social pressures. Passionate substitute teachers have the opportunity to make a difference. Leading school districts, where I’ve been fortunate to serve, already recognize the value of exceptional substitute teachers, and the process is easing a bit. There are groups out there that help navigate the paperwork or that make it easier to find and sign up for substitute positions.

    I hope many more people will soon realize this transformative potential and embrace the positive influence we can bring to the lives of our students.

    •••

    Thelonious Brooks is a substitute teacher in Oakland.

    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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