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  • Federal grant cuts hit California universities hard, putting research in limbo

    Federal grant cuts hit California universities hard, putting research in limbo


    Noé C. Crespo, a professor of Health Promotion & Behavioral Science, poses outside the School of Public Health at San Diego State University.

    EdSource

    Noé Crespo, a professor of public health at San Diego State University, was on the verge of cracking a question he had spent years trying to answer. 

    In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Crespo and his colleagues applied for a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study ways to boost vaccination rates among Latinos. They designed a community outreach plan, paid a team to implement it, and collected results. All that remained this spring was to analyze their hard-earned data.  

    But in April, Crespo’s grant was terminated by the Trump administration as part of a controversial pullback on research funding in both the sciences and humanities nationwide.

    Crespo has all the data he could want, but no money to pay a statistician to analyze it. 

    “We invest so much — time, energy, resources — to implement a project that is meant to help the public,” he said, “and so it does feel discouraging that we’re put in a position where we can’t continue that work.”

    Around the country this spring, many faculty members who rely on federal funding for research have received similarly abrupt termination notices. The moment is particularly poignant for Crespo’s institution, San Diego State, which this year accomplished the long-awaited goal of joining a prestigious club of top-tier research universities known as R1s. 

    While a dip in federal support is unlikely to jeopardize that coveted recognition, it has disrupted research at San Diego State into subjects like mental health care and HIV/AIDS. The university’s research and development spending hit $158 million in the year ending June 2023, much of it fueled by federal dollars. 

    The cancellations are part of efforts under President Donald Trump to cut federal funding and align it more closely with the president’s political objectives. The White House has targeted grants related to a wide range of areas, from climate change to gender and sexuality. Critically for Crespo, Trump’s NIH has also axed research related to racial inequities in health, vaccine hesitancy and Covid.

    California’s colleges and universities have much at stake when it comes to federal research funding. The state’s higher education institutions notched $7.2 billion in federal research and development (R&D) spending in 2023, according to the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. 

    That figure includes more than $250 million spent at California State University campuses like San Diego State and more than $4.6 billion across the University of California system. The state’s private universities, including Stanford University and the University of Southern California, spent a combined $2.3 billion in federal R&D.

    Fear of ‘losing a whole generation of scientists’

    Putting an exact figure on grant cancellations nationwide has proven elusive, in part because the federal spending databases that track such spending sometimes contradict each other. 

    One recent analysis by researchers at Harvard, Yale and associated teaching hospitals estimated that $1.8 billion in NIH grants were terminated in a one-month period. Meanwhile, as selected grants get reinstated — and as attempts to block terminations advance through the courts — the number of canceled grants has become a moving target. 

    The impact on California could be substantial, even counting terminations at NIH alone. Grant Watch, a project tracking the cancellation of federal scientific research grants since Trump returned to office in 2025, estimates that California researchers have lost $273 million in NIH grants, counting funding that was not paid out because of terminations.

    At San Diego State, Hala Madanat, the university’s vice president for research and innovation, estimates that the university typically receives about 70% of its research funding from the federal government, though that can vary from year to year. The university has so far identified 50 terminated federal grants with about $26 million remaining to be spent, she said, many of them related to climate change, LGBTQ communities and workforce pipeline programs.

    “If we halt doctoral education because there’s no funding for three to four years, you are losing a whole generation of scientists,” Madanat said.

    San Diego State has appealed virtually every grant termination, Madanat said. So far, none have been restored, though two subcontracts were reinstated outside the formal appeal process.

    With appeals still pending, two federal grant recipients reached while reporting this story declined to comment, saying they are worried speaking out could endanger their chance of having funding reinstated. That potential risk is on Crespo’s mind, too.

    “Do I have concerns? Yes,” he said. “At the same time, I was trained in public health to speak the truth, and that’s what scientists do.”

    A poster on the campus of San Diego State University advertises the university’s new status as an R1 research institution.
    EdSource

    A ‘soul-crushing’ loss of federal funding

    As Trump took office in January, San Diego State was capping off an ambitious campaign to become an R1, a distinction requiring it to spend at least $50 million on R&D and confer at least 70 doctoral research degrees. 

    The university saw research funding rise 64% in just three years. It conferred 123 doctoral degrees in 2022-23. And to cement its R1 bona fides, it plans to invest in a multiuse “innovation district” with technology and research facilities.

    But funding for some of the university’s vaunted research projects is starting to vanish as the White House slashes selected grants and contracts.

    In 2023, for example, the university celebrated the establishment of the SDSU Center for Community Energy and Environmental Justice. Equipped with $10 million in federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), San Diego State would guide historically underserved communities to apply for grants that could help them weather environmental threats like droughts and pollution. 

    “What we were doing was sort of the ‘teaching to fish,’” said Rebecca Lewison, a professor of biology at San Diego State who led the center, one of more than a dozen EPA Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers nationwide.

    But then came some bad news. In February, EPA terminated the center’s funding, citing an obligation to ensure its grants do not support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The center is likely to lose an estimated $8 million it left unspent.

    The funding reversal came as the White House has moved to roll back environmental justice-related initiatives. An EPA spokesperson said in an email that the San Diego State grant had given “radical [non-governmental organizations] millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars” and that those groups were “forcing their agenda of wasteful DEI programs and ‘environmental justice’ preferencing on the EPA’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”

    For Lewison, the loss of federal support for San Diego State’s center has been “soul-crushing.” She said such technical assistance is “really a bipartisan initiative” and that the EPA statement appears to misunderstand the nature of the center’s work.

    “I appreciate that we were in the environmental justice sort of program umbrella and that that’s become a word that is associated with something negative,” Lewison said. “But honestly, ‘Thriving Communities’ is really what it sounds like: it’s wanting communities all over to thrive.”

    Lewison is now exploring options to keep the center alive. San Diego State has set aside $1 million to sunset certain projects, Madanat said, and is also turning to private philanthropy. 

    ‘I would love to know that answer’

    At the time that Crespo filed a project summary for his vaccine grant, Covid had taken a dire toll on Latinos in California. UCLA researchers would later confirm that Latinos had experienced a disproportionate rate of Covid cases and deaths during the pandemic’s first year.

    “If there’s a wildfire in a particular part of town, we would want to send the firefighters over there to put out that fire,” Crespo said. “And that’s what we do also in public health and in research: we identify where there are problems, and in some cases, there are subgroups of people that are disproportionately affected.”

    NIH awarded Crespo and his colleagues a grant of $1.8 million in 2022, as highly transmissible subvariants of the Covid virus circulated. The team finally could put in motion the study they had planned at 10 San Diego-area health clinics.

    There was still $314,690 remaining in the grant at the time it was canceled, according to data on grant terminations published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Without the ability to use those funds, the team will have to seek other ways to pay collaborators with data analysis expertise. 

    In the meantime, Crespo is left wondering: What worked and what didn’t?

    “The data are there,” he said, “so I would love to know that answer.” 





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  • Gov. Newsom’s twists and tricks to spare cuts to schools and community colleges in state budget

    Gov. Newsom’s twists and tricks to spare cuts to schools and community colleges in state budget


    Gov. Gavin Newsom answers a reporter’s question about his revised 2024-25 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento on May 10, 2024.

    Credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

    True to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise, the 2024-25 budget compromise that the Legislature announced Saturday and will pass this week will spare TK-12 and community colleges from cuts that other state operations will bear.

    TK-12 funding will be flat and will continue Newsom’s major commitments to multiyear, multibillion-dollar programs, including community schools and before- and after-school expansion.

    Update: State Budget Signed

    On June 26, Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 107, the main budget bill, and Senate Bill 154, the Proposition 98 suspension bill. On June 28, Newsom signed SB 153, the education trailer bill.

    The budget will even throw in a couple of billion in new revenue that Newsom didn’t call for in January or in his May budget revisions. Newsom and legislators, meanwhile, struggled to squeeze an additional $28 billion out of a $211 billion general fund spending.

    But protection for schools and community colleges will carry risk. To balance the budget, Newsom and legislative leaders rely on budget maneuvers that would give a button-down accountant acid reflux.

    They include creating a $6 billion debt that won’t be fully repaid to the state treasury for a dozen years, and draining the $8.4 billion education rainy day fund.

    The deal also requires delaying payments to schools and community colleges and suspending — for only the third time in its 36-year history — Proposition 98 obligations for the current school year, on the assumption the money will be repaid quickly. Proposition 98, a constitutional amendment voters passed in 1988, established a formula for determining the minimum level of general fund spending on transitional kindergarten through grade 12 and community colleges — generally about 40%.

    Rather than punish schools for money already spent, the budget bill creates a $6.2 billion debt that the general fund, not schools and community colleges, will repay the state treasury over a decade, starting in 2026-27. The remaining $2.6 billion will be a Proposition 98 obligation pushed ahead to 2023-24; that unfunded amount is called a deferral.

    The California State University and the University of California won’t fare as well in the budget deal, although better than Newsom had proposed in January, even with a drop in state revenues since then. Both will get a 5% budget increase in 2024-25 that Newsom had proposed delaying, equal to $227.8 million for UC and $240.2 million for CSU, to support enrollment growth of California residents this fall. 

    Another promised 5% budget increase for both systems in 2025-26, however, will be put off a year. UC and CSU also face one-time cuts in 2024-25 of $125 million and $75 million, respectively, which will be restored in 2025-26.

    Both CSU and UC will also face a 7.95% cut in their administrative expenses in 2025-26.

    There will be no reforming the Cal Grant program in 2024-25, but, at the Legislature’s insistence, the $637 million ongoing funding for middle-class scholarships will continue, with a $289 million one-time increase.

    Late spending changes

    The final budget will also restore some TK-12 and child-care cuts that Newsom had proposed in his May budget revision while maintaining others. They include:

    • Restoring $60 million for the Golden State Teachers Program, which provides $20,000 in scholarships to teacher candidates, although a new means test may pare back $10 million in eligibility.  
    • Restoring $100 million in funding to help preschools prepare classrooms and train teachers in order to enroll more children with disabilities, while withdrawing larger plans to expand the program.
    • Continuing the existing agreement to serve 200,000 more children in the state-subsidized child care system but pushing back the timetable for full compliance to 2028.
    • Rescinding $895 million in one-time spending on electric-powered school buses that Newsom had made a priority. Instead, the money will be used to reduce some of the late payments in state funding for schools.

    School districts receive the bulk of their funding through the Local Control Funding Formula, which is based on daily student attendance and a yearly cost-of-living adjustment. So, even though overall state funding won’t be cut, many districts with declining enrollments and high absenteeism rates will face financial challenges.

    The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is based on a federal formula tied to the cost of goods and services but does not factor in regional costs, including housing, will be only 1.07% for 2024-25, forcing further belt-tightening. One option for school districts, giving layoff notices to staff, will be off the table. State law allows an additional round of layoffs in August in years when the COLA is less than 2%, but, at the urging of public employee unions, Newsom and legislative leaders included a clause prohibiting late summer layoffs. They have done the same statutory override before.

    The initial reaction from two veteran TK-12 budget watchers was mixed. “This budget remarkably insulates K-14 funding from cuts, abides by constitutional requirements to restore funding in the future, and even provides a modest cost-of-living increase, all amid a record budget shortfall. Pretty amazing,” wrote Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, a school consultancy firm.

    Rob Manwaring, senior policy and fiscal adviser with the nonprofit advocacy organization Children Now, was cautious. “While the final budget is perhaps the best schools could anticipate given the budget challenges, we worry about the size of the suspension for schools, $8.3 billion,” he wrote. “Schools will eventually get paid back those funds in future years on top of the minimum guarantee, but these payments will result in increased school funding volatility and uncertainty until they are paid back.”

    And if revenues falter next year, schools and community colleges will no longer have a rainy day fund to turn to; it will be depleted by the end of 2023-24, with the possibility of replenishing it by $1.1 billion in 2024-25.

    Proposition 98 juggling act

    The proposed 2024-25 budget for schools and community colleges will be balanced, if revenue projections hold true, by juggling three years of Proposition 98 shortfalls, with one year’s solution creating the next year’s dilemma.

    The big drop was in 2022-23 when the Legislature “over-appropriated” the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee by $8.8 billion, while state revenue from the post-Covid stock market and the tech sector plummeted. Legislators didn’t see the warning signals because winter storms had pushed back the tax filing deadline from April to November.

    Under the mechanics of Proposition 98, the funding level for 2022-23 becomes the base level for 2023-24, even though the state still lacks the revenue to pick up the tab. So all but $1 billion of the $8.4 billion in the education rainy day fund will be drained to cover some of the 2023-24 deficit and the $2.6 billion deferral from the year before.

    On top of that, the budget deal calls for suspending $8.3 billion of the Proposition 98 funding for 2023-24. That has the effect of lowering the minimum guaranteed funding by that amount, while freeing up money to avoid deeper cuts in other state operations. That’s how the Legislature can restore cuts in 2024-25 for child care and preschool that Newsom had planned.

    The architects of Proposition 98 wanted to discourage the Legislature from suspending the law. So it requires the Legislature to declare a fiscal emergency and to make the suspended funding a priority for repayment as soon as there is new revenue. The 2024-25 budget assumes the state will have enough new revenue to pay back at least $4 billion of the suspended $8 billion, maybe more. But if revenues falter, districts won’t get what they’re entitled to, with no set date for repayment.

    That’s why the deal is also a gamble for schools and community colleges.

    There’s one more wrinkle. To raise revenue quickly, the Legislature has accelerated the temporary, three-year suspension of two tax benefits for large and medium-sized businesses: net operating loss deductions and tax credits. The period will start in 2024-25, one year ahead of schedule. It will yield a projected $5 billion, with $2 billion going to Proposition 98 — funding that will be used to pay down deferrals.

    Between this new money and the $4 billion payback for suspended funding, the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee is expected to rise to a record $115.3 billion in 2024-25.

    As with all deadline negotiations, legislators will have at most three days to review hundreds of pages of budget details spread over 16 separate bills. Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, are expecting that legislators will demand some changes when they return from vacation in August.  





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  • How Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Small Colleges—and the Towns That Depend on Them – Edu Alliance Journal

    How Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Small Colleges—and the Towns That Depend on Them – Edu Alliance Journal


    May 19, 2025, by Dean Hoke: In my recent blog series and podcast, Small College America, I’ve highlighted the essential role small colleges play in the fabric of U.S. higher education. These institutions serve as academic homes to students who often desire alternatives to larger universities, and as cultural and economic anchors, especially in rural and small-town America, where, according to IPEDS, 324 private nonprofit colleges operate. Many are deeply embedded in the towns they serve, providing jobs, educational access, cultural life, and long-term economic opportunity.

    Unfortunately, a wave of proposed federal budget cuts may further severely compromise these institutions’ ability to function—and in some cases, survive. Without intervention, the ripple effects could devastate entire communities.

    Understanding the DOE and USDA Budget Cuts

    The proposed reductions to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budgets present a two-pronged threat to small colleges, particularly those in rural areas or serving low-income student populations.

    Department of Education (DOE)

    The most significant concerns center on proposed changes to Pell Grants, a vital financial resource for low-income students. One House proposal would redefine full-time enrollment from 12 to 15 credit hours per semester. If enacted, this change would reduce the average Pell Grant by approximately $1,479 for students taking 12 credits. Students enrolled less than half-time could become ineligible entirely.

    Additionally, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) programs face serious threats. The House Appropriations Subcommittee has proposed eliminating both programs, which together provide over $2 billion annually in aid to low-income students.

    Programs like TRIO and GEAR UP, which support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students, have been targeted in previous proposals; however, current budget drafts maintain level funding. Nonetheless, their future remains uncertain as negotiations continue.

    The Title III Strengthening Institutions Program, which funds academic support services, infrastructure, and student retention efforts at under-resourced colleges, received a proposed funding increase in the FY 2024 President’s Budget, though congressional appropriations may differ.

    Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    The USDA’s impact on small colleges, while less direct, is nonetheless critical. Discretionary funding was reduced by more than $380 million in FY 2024, reflecting a general pullback in rural investment.

    Programs like the Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program, which supports broadband access, healthcare facilities, and community infrastructure, were level-funded at $2.8 billion. These investments often benefit rural colleges directly or indirectly by enhancing the communities in which they operate.

    While some funding has been maintained, the broader trend suggests tighter resources for rural development in the years ahead. For small colleges embedded in these communities, the consequences could be substantial: delayed infrastructure upgrades, reduced student access to services, and weakened town-gown partnerships.

    Why Small Colleges Are Particularly Vulnerable

    Small private nonprofit colleges—typically enrolling fewer than 3,000 students—operate on thin margins. Many are tuition-dependent, with over 80% of their operating revenue derived from tuition and fees. They lack the substantial endowments or large alumni donor bases that buoy more prominent institutions during hard times.

    What exacerbates their vulnerability is the student profile they serve. Small colleges disproportionately enroll Pell-eligible, first-generation, and minority students. Reductions in federal financial aid and student support programs have a direct impact on student enrollment and retention. If students can’t afford to enroll—or stay enrolled—colleges see revenue declines, leading to cuts in academic offerings, faculty, and student services.

    Additionally, small colleges are often located in areas experiencing population decline. The so-called “demographic cliff”—a projected 13% drop in the number of high school graduates from 2025 to 2041 will affect 38 states and is expected to hit rural and non-urban regions the hardest. This compounds the enrollment challenges many small colleges are already facing.

    Economic and Social Impact on Rural Towns

    The closure of a small college doesn’t just mean the loss of a school; it signifies a seismic shift in a community’s economic and social structure. Colleges often rank among the top employers in their towns. When a college closes, hundreds of jobs disappear—faculty, staff, groundskeepers, maintenance, food services, IT professionals, and more.

    Consider Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University in 2023 cost the local economy an estimated $55 million annually. Businesses that relied on student and faculty patronage—restaurants, barbershops, bookstores, and even landlords—felt the immediate impact. Community organizations lost vital volunteers. Town officials were left scrambling to figure out what to do with a sprawling, empty campus in the heart of their city.

    Colleges also provide cultural enrichment that is often otherwise absent in small towns. Lectures, concerts, art exhibitions, and sporting events bring together diverse groups and add vibrancy to the local culture. Many offer healthcare clinics, counseling centers, or continuing education for adults—services that disappear with a campus closure.

    USDA investments in these communities are often tied to colleges, whether in the form of shared infrastructure, grant-funded development projects, or broadband expansions to support online learning. As these federal investments diminish, so too does a town’s ability to attract and retain both residents and employers.

    Real-Life Implications and Stories

    The headlines tell one story, but the real impact is felt in the lives of students, faculty, and the surrounding communities.

    Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, ceased operations on October 31, 2023, after citing unsustainable financial and enrollment challenges. Hundreds of students, many drawn to its affordability, rural location, and nursing programs, were forced to reconsider their futures. The college quickly arranged teach-out agreements with over 30 institutions, including Northern State University and St. Ambrose University, which offered pathways for students to complete their degrees. The Presentation Sisters, the founding order, are now seeking a buyer for the campus aligned with their values, while local officials explore transforming the site into a technical education hub to continue serving the community.

    Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, a 168-year-old institution, closed its doors on May 31, 2024, after a $30 million state-backed loan request was ultimately rejected despite initial legislative support. The college had a $128 million annual economic impact on Birmingham and maintained partnerships with K–12 schools, correctional institutions, and nonprofits. The closure triggered the transfer of over 150 students to nearby colleges like Samford University, but left faculty, staff, and the broader community facing economic and cultural losses. A proposed sale of the campus to Miles College fell through, leaving the site’s future in limbo.

    Even college leaders who have weathered the past decade worry they’re nearing a breaking point. Rachel Burns of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) has tracked dozens of recent closures and warns that many institutions remain at serious risk, despite their best efforts. “They just can’t rebound enrollment,” she says, noting that pandemic aid only temporarily masked deeper structural vulnerabilities.

    Potential Closures and Projections

    College closures are accelerating across the United States. According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), 467 institutions closed between 2004 and 2020—over 20% of them private, nonprofit four-year colleges. Since 2020, at least 75 more nonprofit colleges have shut down, and many experts believe this pace is quickening.

    A 2023 analysis by EY-Parthenon warned that 1 in 10 four-year institutions—roughly 200 to 230 colleges—are currently in financial jeopardy. These schools are often small, private, rural, and tuition-dependent, serving large numbers of first-generation and Pell-eligible students. Even a modest drop of 5–10% in tuition revenue can be catastrophic for colleges already operating on razor-thin margins.

    Compounding the challenge, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a 2024 predictive model forecasting that as many as 80 additional colleges could close by 2034 under sustained enrollment decline driven by demographic shifts. This figure accounts for closures only—not mergers—and spans public, private nonprofit, and for-profit sectors.

    Layered onto these economic and demographic vulnerabilities are the potential impacts of proposed federal education funding cuts. The Trump administration’s FY 2026 budget blueprint once again targets student aid programs, proposing the elimination or severe reduction of subsidized student loans, TRIO, GEAR UP, Federal Work-Study, and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG). Although similar proposals from Trump’s first term (FY 2018–2021) were rejected by Congress, the renewed push signals ongoing political pressure to curtail support for low-income and first-generation students.

    To assess the potential impact of these policy shifts, a policy stress test was applied to both the Philadelphia Fed model and the historical closure trend. The analysis suggests that if these cuts were enacted, an additional 50 to 70 closures could occur by 2034.

    • Philadelphia Fed model baseline: 80 projected closures
    • With policy cuts: Up to 130 closures
    • Historical average trend (2020–2024): ~14 closures/year
    • 10-year projection (status quo): ~140 closures
    • With policy cuts: Up to 210 closures

    In short, depending on the scenario, anywhere from 130 to 210 additional college closures may occur by 2034. Institutions most at risk are those that serve the very populations these federal programs are designed to support. Without intervention—through policy, partnerships, or funding—the number of closures could rise sharply in the years ahead.

    These scenario-based projections are summarized in the chart below.

    Why Should Congress Care

    According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), a private, nonprofit college or university is located in 395 of the 435 congressional districts. These institutions are not only centers of learning but also powerful economic engines that generate:

    1. $591.5 billion in national economic impact
    2. $77.6 billion in combined local, state, and federal tax revenue
    3. 3.4 million jobs supported or sustained
    4. 1.1 million people are directly employed in private nonprofit higher education
    5. 1.1 million graduates are entering the workforce each year

    As such, the fate of small private colleges is not just a higher education issue—it is a national economic and workforce development issue that should command bipartisan attention.

    Strategies for Resilience and Policy Recommendations

    There are clear, actionable strategies to reduce the risk of widespread college closures:

    • Consortium and shared governance models: Small colleges can boost efficiency and sustainability by sharing administrative functions, faculty, academic programs, technology infrastructure, and enrollment services. This allows institutions to reduce operational costs while maintaining their distinct missions and brands. In some cases, these arrangements evolve into formal mergers. An emerging example is the Coalition for the Common Good, a new model of mission-aligned institutions that maintain individual identities but operate under shared governance. This structure offers long-term financial stability without sacrificing institutional purpose or community impact.
    • Strategic partnerships: Collaborations with community colleges, online education providers, regional employers, and nonprofit organizations can expand reach, enhance curricular offerings, and improve student outcomes. These partnerships can support 2+2 transfer pipelines, workforce-aligned certificate programs, and hybrid learning models that meet the needs of adult learners and working professionals, often underserved by traditional residential colleges.
    • State action: States should establish stabilization grant programs and offer targeted incentive funding to support mergers, consortium participation, and regional collaboration. Policies that protect institutional access in rural and underserved areas are especially urgent, as closures can leave entire regions without viable higher education options. States can also play a role in convening institutions to plan for shared services and long-term viability.
    • Federal investment: Continued and expanded funding for Pell Grants, TRIO, SEOG, Title III and V, and USDA rural development programs is essential to sustaining the institutions that serve low-income, first-generation, and rural students. These investments should be treated as critical infrastructure, not discretionary spending, given their role in expanding educational equity, enhancing workforce readiness, and promoting rural economic development. Consistent federal support can help stabilize small colleges and enable long-term planning.

    College leaders, local governments, and community groups must advocate in unison. The conversation should move beyond institutional survival to one of community survival. As the saying goes, when a college dies, the town begins to die with it.

    Conclusion

    Small colleges are not expendable. They are vital threads in the educational, economic, and cultural fabric of America, especially in rural and underserved communities. The proposed federal budget cuts across the Departments of Education and Agriculture represent a direct threat not only to these institutions but to the communities that depend on them.

    If policymakers fail to act, the consequences will be widespread and enduring. The domino effect is real: reduced funding leads to fewer students, tighter budgets, staff layoffs, program cuts, and eventually, campus closures. And when those campuses close, entire towns are left to absorb the fallout—economically, socially, and spiritually.

    We have a choice. We can invest in the future of small colleges and the communities they anchor, or we can stand by as they vanish—along with the promise they hold for millions of students and the towns they call home.

    References

    • U.S. Department of Education, FY 2025 Budget Summary and Justifications
    • National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), Analysis of Proposed Pell Grant and Campus-Based Aid Reductions
    • State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) and Higher Ed Dive, Data on College Closures and Institutional Viability Trends
    • Fitch Ratings, Reports on Financial Pressures in U.S. Higher Education Institutions
    • Iowa Public Radio and The Hechinger Report, Case Studies on Rural College Closures and Community Impact
    • Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), Statements and Data on TRIO Program Reach and Effectiveness
    • Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Predictive Modeling of U.S. College Closures (2024)
    • EY-Parthenon, 2023 Report on Financial Vulnerability Among Four-Year Institutions
    • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development and Community Facilities Loan & Grant Program Summaries
    • Interviews and commentary from institutional leaders, TRIO program directors, and SHEEO policy staff
    • Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Data on Enrollment, Institution Type, and Geographic Distribution

    Dean Hoke is Managing Partner of Edu Alliance Group, a higher education consultancy. He formerly served as President/CEO of the American Association of University Administrators (AAUA). With decades of experience in higher education leadership, consulting, and institutional strategy, he brings a wealth of knowledge on small colleges’ challenges and opportunities. Dean is the Executive Producer and co-host for the podcast series Small College America. 



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  • No cuts for schools, more funding for early literacy, in Newsom’s revised budget

    No cuts for schools, more funding for early literacy, in Newsom’s revised budget


    Gov. Gavin Newsom presents his revised 2025-26 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento on May 14, 2025.

    Credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

    TK-12 schools and community colleges can expect the same funding in 2025-26 that they received this year, plus a small cost-of-living adjustment, and there will be a big boost for early literacy, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed Wednesday in the revision to his January state budget plan.

    Schools and community colleges will be shielded from the pain facing other state services because of the revised forecast of a $12 billion drop in state revenues that Newsom blamed on the “Trump slump” — the president’s erratic tariff and other economic policies that are affecting California.

    For the University of California and California State University, the news was better than anticipated. The systems would face a 3% cut for 2025-26, notably less than the nearly 8% reduction Newsom proposed in January. The smaller cut may provide some relief at a time when higher education in California and across the nation is worried about losses in federal research grants and other funding under Trump administration policies. 

    The 2.3% cost-of-living adjustment in 2025-26 for most TK-12 programs is determined by a federal formula that does not factor in the cost of housing, the biggest expense facing teachers and other employees.

    In his May budget revision, Newsom keeps significant money for TK-12 programs that he proposed in January for fully rolling out transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds, along with additional funding to reduce class sizes, and for expanding summer school and after-school learning to more districts.

    And Newsom would add $200 million to his earlier $543 million proposal for early literacy instruction, with money to buy instructional materials, hire literacy coaches and train teachers in “evidence-based literacy instruction,” which is code for teaching phonics and word decoding as well as other fundamental reading skills.

    That funding would take a significant step toward creating and funding a comprehensive early literacy strategy and coincides with compromise legislation, pushed by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, on spelling out what the instruction and reading materials should look like.

    “We’re thrilled. We’re excited,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, which pushed early literacy legislation. “In a really tight budget year, prioritizing reading for California kids and investing $200 million is real leadership.”

    Newsom would also add to past efforts to recruit teachers by including $64.2 million in one-time funding for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program, under which teachers receive college tuition in exchange for agreeing to teach in underserved districts and in subjects facing critical shortages, and $100 million to pay stipends to student teachers. Unpaid student teaching has been cited as one of the primary reasons teacher candidates fail to complete their credentials. 

    The Legislature has a month to reshape Newsom’s budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a budget for the fiscal year that starts on July 1.

    What the budget doesn’t include, however, is any funding to backfill for the potential loss of billions of federal dollars in Medi-Cal funding for school physical and mental health services, cuts for Head Start programs, training grants for new teachers and research grants for the University of California and California State University, and the dismantling of the AmeriCorps program, which supplies teachers aides and tutors in hundreds of low-income schools.

    “Our ability to backfill all these federal cuts — no, we’re not going to be in a position to do that, we just are not in that position,” Newsom said. “It’s the old adage, you can’t do everything but you can do anything. There may be areas where we can make adjustments.”

    “I think we should be cautious about eliminating consideration of x, y, and z until we see the totality of the challenges as they present themselves.”

    In one cost-cutting measure, Gov. Newsom is proposing to roll back California’s health insurance program for undocumented immigrant adults, by charging premiums and freezing new enrollment, a move that advocates said will affect their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens. One in 10 California children are estimated to have an undocumented parent.

    “When a parent or family member is sick and unable to work or provide care, kids suffer as a result,” said Mayra Alvarez, president of the nonprofit organization The Children’s Partnership.  “Ripping away these family members’ access to health care, while they are also under threat of cruel immigration enforcement and other anti-immigrant policies, in turn puts the well-being of our children at risk.”

    Higher education

    State funding for the state’s system of 116 community colleges would change little from last year, receiving 0.6% less, at $8.9 billion. However, some of its important funding — $531.6 million from Proposition 98 revenues — would be deferred for a year under the proposal.  

    UC would have its funding cut by $129.7 million, while CSU would lose $143.8 million. In January, Newsom’s administration had proposed deeper cuts of $396.6 million and $375.2 million, respectively. 

    The revised budget maintains a proposal to defer previously promised 5% budget increases until 2027-28 for both systems. Those deferrals, which were part of Newsom’s multiyear compact agreements with the systems, were also included in Newsom’s January budget proposal. 

    The compacts, originally agreed to in 2022, promised annual budget increases for UC and CSU in exchange for the systems working toward goals such as increasing graduation rates and enrolling more California residents. 

    “We were able to hold strong to that over a two-year period. And we’re struggling now with some challenges,” Newsom said during a news conference Wednesday, though he added that the compacts are “sacrosanct” and that the systems would get their deferred dollars in 2027-28.

    By reducing the proposed cut to UC’s budget for 2025-26, the 10-campus system will be able to minimize cuts to student support services and preserve “critical investments like affordable student housing construction,” President Michael V. Drake said Wednesday in a statement.

    CSU Chancellor Mildred García in January warned that a nearly 8% state budget reduction would result in larger class sizes and fewer course offerings for the system’s more than 460,000 students, hampering their prospects for graduating on time. With those cuts now dialed back to 3%, García praised the May revision as a “thoughtful and measured approach to addressing the state’s fiscal challenges.”

    Proposition 98 maneuvers

    In total, the May revision proposes $45.7 billion for the state’s higher education institutions and the California Student Aid Commission.

    The minimum funding for 2025-26 for Proposition 98, the formula that determines the portion of the general fund that must go to TK-12 and community colleges, would be $114.6 billion, down from $118.9 billion in 2024-25 because of shrinking state revenues.

    Newsom proposes to make up the difference by shifting numbers around, depleting what was left in the Proposition 98 rainy day fund. Among other maneuvers, he would:

    • Drain the remaining $540 million from a fund that was $8.4 billion only two years ago, when the state faced a fiscal crisis.
    • Defer $1.8 billion that would be due to schools in June 2026 by a month, to July 2026. Schools should notice little difference, although the maneuver does create a state obligation that must be repaid.
    • Withhold $1.3 billion due to schools and community colleges in 2024-25 in anticipation that the revenues for the rest of the year might come up short because of the further decline in state revenues.

    This last maneuver grabbed the attention of the California School Boards Association, which filed a lawsuit over a similar effort last year and is threatening to do so again.

    “Even in lean times, investing in public schools is California’s best economic strategy, so we cannot sidestep constitutional protections for public education nor underfund Prop 98 to offset shortfalls in other sections of the budget,” association President Bettye Lusk said in a statement.

    The immediate reaction to the budget proposal was positive, with some caveats.

    “The bottom line is that amid a budget crisis, the governor is protecting every major investment in education,” said Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors, a consultant for school districts. “We want to make sure Prop 98 funding is accounted for. As long as that’s the case, there’s not much to complain about.”

    Scott Moore, head of Kidango, a nonprofit that runs many Bay Area child care centers, praised the commitment to universal transitional kindergarten (TK) while criticizing Newsom’s decision to suspend a cost-of-living adjustment for child care providers for low-income children and freeze funding for emergency child care services for foster and homeless children. 

    “We know that small class sizes and highly qualified teachers are two of the most important quality standards to ensure children benefit from pre-K. This budget invests wisely in TK,” he said. “The proposed cut to the COLA (cost of living increase) for child care providers must be restored. Now is the worst time to eliminate a small, but very much needed and deserved COLA for those who take care of our youngest and most vulnerable children.”





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  • Head Start allies wait, worry about possible funding cuts

    Head Start allies wait, worry about possible funding cuts


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8R0jbd3Xb4

    Video: Parents and a Head Start teacher express concern about potential budget cuts to the program.

    Head Start supporters were relieved when President Donald Trump did not include funding cuts to the early education program in his proposed 2026 budget, released May 2. But that does not mean Head Start will emerge from budget negotiations unscathed. 

    Saving head start

    This is Part I of a two-part package examining the challenges facing Head Start. Watch for Part II tomorrow.

    The program, run locally by schools and nonprofit organizations, serves more than 750,000 children nationwide from low-income families, from birth to 5 years old. It also offers dental screenings and free school meals for children, and child care and job support for parents.

    Head Start has been targeted by Trump since his first term, when he tried to cut its funding by 25%. Earlier this year, the administration indicated it wanted to eliminate all funding — $12.3 billion — for the 60-year-old program. Supporters fear cuts could still come.

    “There is still significant concern around Head Start funding,” said Melanee Cottrill, executive director of Head Start California. “While the president’s skinny budget does not eliminate the Head Start program, it also does not propose an actual funding level. We have a long way to go in the budget process, and Head Start funding could still be reduced.”

    Cuts would impact child care, jobs

    California Head Start programs expect to receive $1.5 billion in federal funding for the 2025 fiscal year. That funds services for 73,476 children at 2,219 sites, according to an EdSource analysis of Head Start data.

    “Ultimately, if Head Start were to be defunded, we would have 80,000 kiddos without care and 26,000 employees without jobs,” Cottrill said. “Of course, those 80,000 parents who just lost their child care would potentially also lose their jobs, their ability to go to school, to do all the things that they’re doing to try and become more productive members of the society.”

    Mia Barajas plays outside at the Sharon Neese Early Learning Center in Sacramento on April 23, 2025.
    Credit: Randall Benton / EdSource

    According to the U.S. Department of Labor, full-day child care costs between $6,552 and $15,600 a year, which is prohibitive for many families.

    The current lack of access to child care costs California about $17 billion in lost productivity and economic output each year, according to state legislators in a letter to California members of Congress last month urging them to protect Head Start.

    “Cuts to Head Start would exacerbate that loss,” the letter stated.

    Lifting families out of poverty

    Job opportunities for parents could also be lost if counseling and job training provided by Head Start go away. 

    Many teachers in the Head Start program operated by the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA), for example, started their careers in the program’s apprenticeship program, while earning required early childhood education credits and a college degree.

    Timeisha Seymore credits Head Start for helping her attain an associate degree and a full-time job as a registered behavioral technician at a local elementary school. Seymore took classes, provided by SETA, in the same building that houses the Sharon Neese Early Learning Center that her two children attend.

    If the Head Start program closes, Seymore said she would lose her child care and might have to pay for child care, cut her work hours or quit her job to care for her children. 

    Funding is problematic

    Uncertainty over continued funding of the program — including a temporary freeze of federal funding in February — resulted in some California staffers receiving notices warning them they could lose their jobs, Cottrill said. 

    The program employs 26,000 people in California and 250,823 people nationally.

    Unreliable funding is particularly concerning for Head Start programs, which receive five-year grants that must be renewed annually. Programs work on a reimbursement model that requires them to submit receipts and invoices. Programs can only draw down three days of funding at a time, Cottrill said. 

    Ra’Mir Cooks plays with plastic bowls at the Sharon Neese Early Learning Center in Sacramento.
    Credit: Randall Benton / EdSource

    “So that’s where these programs —  if those draws are delayed — are having challenges,” Cottrill said. “And these draws have been delayed for some folks because there is a new requirement that they add additional justification to the draw-down request, but there hasn’t been any guidance.”

    At least four Head Start programs have closed because of funding uncertainty, including programs in Washington, Wisconsin, New York and Florida, said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association.

    Shuttering regional offices

    Head Start programs were affected again in April when the Trump administration closed five regional offices of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which administers the program, and laid off its staff. Program leaders had no one to answer questions about their grants or how to fill out new required forms. 

    California programs are still seeing the detrimental effects of regional office closures, especially when processing specialized supplemental grants, Cottrill said.

    Two California Head Start programs with grants up for renewal on May 1 didn’t receive their grant letters until April 30, Cottrill said. One program director was on her way to fire her staff when the letter arrived.

    The uncertainty is making Head Start employees nervous.

    “I think we have a very dedicated staff, who put their heart and soul into working in this program,” said Karen Griffith, deputy director at SETA. “So, I don’t think people want to leave, but I hear the anxiety in their voices and in their questions.”

    Head Start has its critics

    Support for Head Start has been strong over the years, but recently, it has been criticized by some who say the program isn’t effective and that some programs do not appropriately supervise children. The conservative Heritage Foundation has called for its elimination as part of its Project 2025. 

    Going Deeper

    May 2017 – President Trump proposes cutting Head Start funding by 25% for fiscal year 2018, but Congress increases it by $610 million instead. 

    January 2025 – The Trump administration freezes Head Start funding temporarily.

    February – A federal website temporarily malfunctions, locking some centers out of funding.

    April- The Trump administration indicates it wants to eliminate all federal funding for Head Start.

    April – Mass layoffs in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which administers Head Start, results in the closure of five regional offices.

    May 2 – President Trump’s proposed budget does not include cuts to Head Start.

    – Associated Press 

    The Head Start Impact Study, published in 2019, and often cited by critics, found that the academic gains of Head Start diminished by third grade. The findings have been disputed by other researchers, however.

    The initial research didn’t consider the impact of Head Start on children being cared for in a suboptimal environment, said Ariel Khalil, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, nor did it take into account research that shows that positive effects can emerge beyond third grade.

    The value of Head Start depends largely on the needs of the student and their family, Khalil said.

    “If you come into the Head Start program, and you have a very rich home environment and your parent has already taught you many of the things you’re going to learn in Head Start, maybe Head Start doesn’t have the biggest added value,” she said. “ But, as you can imagine, there’s lots of variation in the home environments of children who participate in Head Start.”

    Research shows that the positive Intergenerational impacts of the program include higher educational attainment, lower participation in crime and higher employment, she said.

    “If you don’t account for these long-term impacts, you’re really undervaluing the value of this program.” Khalil said.

    Supporters fight back

    Allies lined up in support of the program last month, after a leaked early draft of the president’s proposed budget showed the elimination of Head Start. 

    National Head Start leaders rallied alumni, parents and program staff, asking them to email members of Congress to urge them to protect the program. About 300,000 heeded the call, Sheridan said.

    On April 28, parents and Head Start providers teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services. The suit asked the court to stop the defunding of Head Start and to set aside department actions that could contribute to the program’s demise, including the layoff of Health and Human Services staff and the closure of regional offices.

    Last week, after the release of the final proposed budget, Sheridan said he is optimistic that Congress will prioritize Head Start, given its historical bipartisan support and its impact on children and their families. 

    Patricia Marshal-Lopez reads to 4-year-olds Judah Sohal, right, and Lavania Hardin at the Sharon Neese Early Learning Center.
    Credit: Randall Benton / EdSource

    Regardless, Head Start leaders continue to lobby legislators and to encourage supporters to send emails urging their support. The National Head Start Association hopes to collect 100,000 signatures on a letter to Trump urging him to protect and invest in Head Start. The letter had more than 50,000 signatures last week, according to Sheridan.

    California Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, D-Sunnyvale, was among a bipartisan group of state legislators that sent a letter to California members of Congress last month, asking them to protect the program. Three-quarters of the state’s legislators signed the letter.

    “I think we are very much on guard,” said Ahrens, who had his first taste of fresh fruit and visited a doctor for the first time as a Head Start kid in San Jose.

    Last week, Ahrens suggested lawmakers work together to make state and federal budgets more efficient, instead of targeting programs aiding the poor.

    “We’re not going to be able to balance the national debt on the backs of poor children, on the backs of working families,” he said.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.





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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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  • Trump Plans Deep Cuts to Interior Department, National Parks Service

    Trump Plans Deep Cuts to Interior Department, National Parks Service


    Government Executive describes the deep cuts that the Trump administration and the DOGE team intend to impose on the Interior Department, with the collaboration of Secretary of the Interior Douglas Burghum, former Governor of North Dakota.

    The Interior Department is finalizing reduction-in-force plans expected to target thousands of employees, including 1,500 at the National Park Service, with notices going out to employees within 10 days. 

    The anticipated layoffs follow the departure of thousands of Interior employees leaving the department under various incentives. Interior earlier in May initiated a consolidation of several functions currently conducted by each bureau individually by rolling them up into the department’s headquarters, where they will report directly to Secretary Doug Burgum. Some of the employees who were part of that consolidation—such as those in IT, communications, finance, human resources and contracting—are eventually expected to feel the impacts of workforce downsizing. 

    NPS is expected to issue around 1,500 RIFs, while the U.S. Geological Survey will lay off around 1,000 employees—focused on its Ecosystems Mission Area, according to a person familiar with the plans—and the Bureau of Reclamation will target around 100 to 150 employees, according to another employee there briefed on the details. Other components, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, are also expected to experience layoffs. Four sources confirmed the first round of RIFs are expected on or around May 15.  

    Reclamation already lost about one-quarter of its 5,800 employees through incentivized departures, according to an employee briefed on the details, so it is expecting a smaller RIF of 100 to 150 employees. At NPS, meanwhile, just 5% of employees have so far opted into the “deferred resignation program”—which has enabled them to take paid leave through September, at which point they must leave government service—leading to a more significant expected RIF for the agency. 

    In addition to NPS headquarters and regional offices, NPS’ Cultural Resources Stewardship, Partnerships, and Science Directorate and Natural Resource Stewardship and Science directorates are expected to be heavily impacted, with the vast majority of staff being laid off. Those divisions are made up of hundreds of biologists, archaeologists, geologists, historians and other scientists and specialists who help preserve and understand resources within the parks. 

    While NPS staff were originally told the RIFs would focus on Washington and regional staff, wiping out those directorates would mean individual parks would also see direct impacts. Some of the functions of those offices are statutorily required, said Kriten Brengel, the National Parks Conservation Association’s senior vice president for government affairs, who added groups like hers would sue Interior if it follows through on its plans….

    Government Executive first reported on Interior’s plan to consolidate functions across the department earlier this month, which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum subsequently confirmed in a memorandum. Burgum tapped the assistant secretary for policy, management budget—a role currently being filled by Tyler Hassenm—to lead the effort. Hassen previously served in the Department of Government Efficiency….

    The cuts come on top of a significant exodus across Interior as employees have flocked to the deferred resignation, buyouts and early retirements all while a hiring freeze is in place. NPS has already lost around 13% of its workforce, according to NPCA, complicating Burgum’s order to keep parks open without reducing hours. 

    The mandate—park superintendents will need a sign off from agency leadership to close even a trail or visitor center—already raised concerns with agency stakeholders even before the layoff plans were made clear. NPCA’s Brengel suggested Burgum was “setting up the Park Service for failure” as it aims to carry out the same level of operations without the requisite staff to do so. 

    She added the expansion of NPS RIFs to the science teams means the cuts are “larger and more directly attacking the Park Service.” 

    A USGS employee in the Ecosystems Mission Area said the cuts will likely spell the end of fish survey work, in which agency staff go out on ships to inform states of fish stocking and harvest rates. 

    “The states do not have the funds or staff to take over,” the employee said. “There are few people in the US with these skills.” 

    Mary Jo Rugwell, a long time BLM executive who now leads the Public Lands Foundation, said her former agency has lost more than 1,000 employees since President Trump took office, or about 10% of the workforce. The agency has long suffered from understaffing, Rugwell said, an issue exacerbated in Trump’s first term when he moved the agency’s headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado. Now, she said, as employees head for the exits and more RIFs are expected, BLM will struggle to carry out the Trump administration’s priorities to approve oil and gas leasing, grazing permits, drilling and timber sales, work that requires significant experience. 

    “The very people you need to get this work done, they’re sending them packing,” Rugwell said. “And it doesn’t make any sense….”

    “Morale is at an all time low,” one employee said. “People are worried about RIFs, contracts being cut and so many changes coming at once. Consolidation at the department is seen as a hostile takeover of bureau level functions, and a way to group people to make RIFs easier.”  



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  • California schools chief pledges to resist cuts in funding if Trump axes U.S. Dept. of Education

    California schools chief pledges to resist cuts in funding if Trump axes U.S. Dept. of Education


    Surrounded by education leaders from around the state, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond reacts to President-elect Donald Trump’s education agenda at a news conference in Sacramento on Nov. 8, 2024.

    Credit: California Department of Education

    California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond vowed on Friday to fight President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, which he said represented a “clear threat to what our students need to have a good education and a great life.”

    “We cannot be caught flatfooted,” Thurmond said, during a news conference.

    Thurmond made his pronouncement in Sacramento on Friday while flanked by legislators and education and labor leaders holding up signs saying “Education Is For Everyone” and “Protect All Students.”

    Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has vowed to abolish the department, a long-standing and so far unfulfilled pledge made by Republican leaders dating back to former President Ronald Reagan.

    Thurmond said there are concerns that abolishing the department would put at risk some $8 billion that California receives in federal funds for programs serving students with disabilities and those attending low-income schools, both public and private.

    “We will not allow that to happen,” he said. “The law will not allow that to happen.”

    He observed, for example, that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, guarantees students in special education programs a “free and appropriate education,” and to receive a range of special education services in an individualized education program drawn up for every special education student.

    Thurmond said Trump’s plan to defund the Department of Education would also harm students whose civil rights are violated and investigated through the Office of Civil Rights, including victims of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate and bias toward LGBTQ students.

    “To tear down and abolish an organization that provides protections for our students is a threat to the well-being of our students and our families and of Americans,” Thurmond said.

    It was also not clear what would happen to student financial aid that the department administers, Thurmond said.

    The first line of defense in the fight against Trump’s education plan is the Congress, Thurmond said. He said his department is reaching out to legislators to affirm their commitment to public education — an issue that he says surpasses partisan labels.

    “Let me be clear,” Thurmond said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of continuing to assure that students have access to the resources that they are entitled to under the law. And we will continue to do that, and we will work with the members of Congress to ask them to stand and support our students.”

    But Thurmond said that the California Department of Education is also preparing for a worst-case scenario: large-scale cuts to federal funding. In that case, he said, he is working with the California Legislature on a backup plan.

    “If it comes to it, as a contingency, we are prepared to introduce legislation that would backfill funding for special education programs, Title I programs and programs that are similar in its scope,” Thurmond said. Title I money supplements state and local education funding for low-income students.

    Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said that the state is prepared to stand up for all the students who are targeted by Trump’s policy proposals and rhetoric. He pointed to the threat of deportations of undocumented immigrants that would hurt large numbers of children of immigrants, as well as threats to other student populations.

    “It is the job of every teacher, every school board member, every principal, every elected representative in the state of California who believes in public education, it is time for us to stand up to protect all of these kids,” he said. “When we are facing a bully who is targeting our most vulnerable students, we all need to stand up.”

    “We need to get ready now for what is going to start on Jan. 20,” Muratsuchi said, referring to Trump’s second inauguration.

    In 2017, California enshrined into state law some federal laws or court decisions to protect the education rights of immigrant students, said Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, deputy director of Californians Together, a statewide coalition that advocates for immigrants and multilingual learners.

    In the wake of Trump’s attacks on immigrants, Cruz-Gonzalez said it is important to remind school staff of those protections so that students and families will continue to feel safe and protected when they attend school.

    “It’s not enough to know that we have laws on the books,” Cruz-Gonzalez said. “We have to work together in coalition and ensure our superintendents, our school board members and our teachers know what to do to protect these rights.”

    The right to public education is the “cornerstone of democracy,” said Chinua Rhodes, school board member at Sacramento City Unified School District.

    “This is not just a political battle, it is a moral one,” Rhodes said. “Our schools should not abandon the most needy.”

    Louis Freedberg contributed to this report.





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  • AmeriCorps cuts slash support services, programs for vulnerable communities

    AmeriCorps cuts slash support services, programs for vulnerable communities


    During small group reading instruction, AmeriCorps member Valerie Caballero reminds third graders in Porterville Unified to use their fingers to follow along as they read a passage.

    Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource

    Twenty-three-year-old Valerie Caballero worked with seven third-graders, guiding numerous activities on decoding words, on Thursday at Roche Elementary in Portersville. In another small group of three students, teacher Shelly Noble focused on building reading comprehension. The rest of the class, also in small groups, read independently or completed literacy assignments online, until it was time for the groups to change stations – to go to Caballero or Noble.

    Caballero is one of 85 community members trained as AmeriCorps volunteers to tutor and support over 2,000 students at 10 elementary schools in Porterville Unified. 

    The AmeriCorps program deployed her and others to third to fifth grade classrooms to provide students with additional time for reading and math intervention that they wouldn’t get elsewhere. 

    “Families rely on programs like AmeriCorps to give their child one-on-one support and attention that they need,” Caballero said. 

    Fifth grader Jizelle Alvarado, who has benefited from the AmeriCorps program since her third grade year, said volunteer Stephanie Rector has helped her read at a better pace and to multiply three-digit numbers. Without hesitation, the fifth grader said she and other students would still be struggling with reading and math if not for Rector’s daily support. 

    Last Friday, the program was one of many whose survival became uncertain because of the reduction of federal AmeriCorps grants by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the Trump administration. 

    Nearly $400 million in AmeriCorps funding was cut, jeopardizing more than 1,000 programs and the jobs of tens of thousands of employees, tutors, mentors and volunteers, the national volunteer service organization reported. 

    Attorney General Rob Bonta announced in a statement earlier this week that California has “taken action to hold the Trump Administration and DOGE accountable to the law.” Two dozen states, including California, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration for “dismantling AmeriCorps.” 

    Unless the lawsuit prevails, the AmeriCorps funding cuts – estimated at $60 million for educational, economic, environmental, health and disaster response services in the state – will impact 87 programs and over 5,600 positions, according to Cassandra González-Kester, communications manager for California Volunteers, the state service organization that receives most AmeriCorps grant funding and disperses it to schools, nonprofit organizations and other entities to address critical community needs. 

    “These cuts affect service members who responded to the LA Fires, the tutors and mentors for our young students, as well as those who care for seniors,” she said. “School districts and non-profit organizations throughout the state are already feeling these severe impacts.” 

    But the nearly 14,000-student Porterville Unified has decided to use its own funds to continue the program until May 30, the last day of school — something not all schools and organizations will be able to do, so many communities will be left without critical services. 

    Thousands of students receiving support through AmeriCorps may have those services upended or interrupted – if they haven’t already – by the sudden cancellation of grants by the Trump administration.

    The cuts are hurting the most vulnerable: kids in need of reading and math intervention; students struggling with chronic absenteeism; families experiencing housing instability; and communities recovering from natural disasters. The end of services could exacerbate existing inequalities and worsen future prospects.

    “If we aren’t able to continue this work (beyond this school year),” Warren said, “it’s going to leave a huge void, and our students are definitely going to feel the effects of that.” 

    People supporting their community 

    AmeriCorps, an independent agency of the U.S. government, supports volunteer and service efforts in California and across the country by providing opportunities for community members to meet local needs and address pressing issues, including academic support and intervention for students, youth mentoring as well as homelessness, food insecurity, health and other key areas in communities.

    Due to the range of programs that AmeriCorps supports, thousands of families in California alone will lose services, if they haven’t already. 

    “We recognize the impact this has across all programs and staff, not just in our state but nationwide,” said Monica Ramirez, the executive director of First 5 Madera, which operates the Madera Family Resource Center in the Central San Joaquin Valley.  

    The Madera Family Resource Center, a comprehensive hub for families with children aged 0 to 5, is partially funded by federal AmeriCorps money. The center provides weekly playgroups, preschool readiness programs, developmental screenings and resource referrals to support early childhood development. After getting notice about the AmeriCorps funding cuts, which had, in part, made services possible, the resource center, which extends services to Chowchilla, Eastern Madera County, and the Madera Ranchos, closed its doors this week. 

    Porterville Unified’s ‘Building Communities, Changing Lives’ is largely funded by AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps awarded the district more than $1.6 million in federal funds and the district matched those funds with about $1.2 million this school year. 

    Most of that funding goes toward living stipends for AmeriCorps members, community members and college students who may be tutors, mentors or in other roles. 

    Covering the operating costs for 85 AmeriCorps members who provide 35 hours of weekly student intervention and support is approximately $210,000 for May, an expense the district likely won’t be able to foot without the AmeriCorps funds. 

    “I don’t see another way to move forward without the AmeriCorps funding,” Warren said. 

    State agencies, such as California Volunteers, are trying to fill the void for impacted groups, Fresno State College Corps director Mellissa Jessen-Hiser said. The state, she said, will fund the college corps members’ continued work at places such as the food bank, Poverello House, a homeless shelter in Fresno, and Fresno Unified schools for the rest of the semester. 

    The federal government has provided more than half of the funding for some of California’s AmeriCorps programming, with the agency’s members supporting 17,000 foster youth with education and employment, and tutoring or mentoring 73,833 students in 2023-24, according to California Volunteers. 

    Volunteers play a ‘vital role’ in student progress

    Of the more than 2,000 students that Porterville Unified AmeriCorps members provide one-on-one and small-group instruction, tutoring and intervention to, 1,657 are in need of academic support, based on this year’s district assessments. 

    Members work with at least 25 students each day over 10 months of the school year; they focus on reading and literacy, helping struggling students get to grade level. 

    “It’s going to create a larger learning gap if they’re not receiving this extra support,” said Caballero, the tutor. 

    Based on mid-year data from this school year, 44% of students served by AmeriCorps members have improved by at least one proficiency level on their reading assessment, demonstrating meaningful academic progress, Warren, the program director, reported. 

    Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource
    Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource
    Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource
    Roche Elementary third grade teacher Shelly Noble said students receive at least three rounds of daily reading intervention from their time with her, with AmeriCorps volunteer Valerie Caballero and from the school’s intervention specialist. Through Valerie Porterville Unified’s ‘Building Communities, Changing Lives’ AmeriCorps program, Cabellero not only provides small group instruction but also supports students individually.

    And with an extra person in the classroom working alongside them, teachers gain the ability to focus on the academic struggles of students who need it most.

    Without AmeriCorps, “we will not see the growth in reading and writing that we see because the majority (of the work) will be put on myself,” said Noble, the third grade teacher. 

    The AmeriCorps members also build meaningful connections with students, extending their support beyond academics and making students feel valued, thereby creating an engaging and supportive learning environment. 

    “We’re able to really see the effects of having those members work with those students and the impacts that they’re making,” Warren said. 

    Federal funding cuts trickle down to schools

    The California Reading Corps and Math Corps, or Ampact Educational Programs, across Fresno, San Mateo, San Joaquin, Merced, Tulare, Santa Barbara and Riverside counties have supported thousands of students with academic intervention, including over 6,000 students last school year. AmeriCorps members prepare students for kindergarten, get elementary students on track to grade-level proficiency by third grade and have seventh graders algebra-ready by eighth grade, according to program information for this school year. Its more than $3.1 million in federal funding is one of California’s 87 impacted programs. 

    Thomas Elementary in Fresno Unified, which has used the AmeriCorps reading support program, doesn’t plan to use the Reading Corps next school year due to the possible federal cuts, the district confirmed. 

    Under the 30-year-old Kern Community Mentoring program, three dozen AmeriCorps members have mentored over 700 high-needs students in the urban and rural communities of Kern County each year, according to Robert Meszaros, communications director with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools that administers the program. 

    By providing encouragement, guidance and support, they address the “whole child”, a philosophy that is evident in several AmeriCorps programs, specifically those focused on mentorship. 

    Each year, mentors help at least 20 students improve their academics, attendance, behavior and engagement, and based on data from the program, more than half of the mentees improve their attendance and reduce suspensions. 

    With the cuts to AmeriCorps, Meszaros said, it may mean the loss of the program. 

    Alternative funding, other options

    Programs impacted by the federal funding cuts are exploring options to continue serving the community. Some are seeking support from their state representatives, who can advocate on their behalf at the state and possibly national level. 

    “Not sure what the next steps are,” Warren said. Porterville Unified is looking for alternative funding sources, such as state grants. 

    So is the Kern County education office for the AmeriCorps mentoring program it runs. 

    “Ultimately if that funding can’t be sourced from other resources,” Warren said, ”then it goes away and we’re left with a big void.”

    While it’s unclear at the moment whether the multimillion-dollar cuts will stand, the people working in AmeriCorps programs urged decision-makers to realize the people affected. 

    In the words of Caballero, the Porterville Unified tutor: “think about students’ needs.” 





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  • Federal cuts throw a curveball into my young Dodger fan’s tutoring journey

    Federal cuts throw a curveball into my young Dodger fan’s tutoring journey


    Credit: Mary Taylor / Pexels

    “Bye, Jose, I’ll see you Monday. Have a good weekend. Go Dodgers.”

    That’s my standard weekly sign-off to Jose Hernandez, the third grader I tutor at Jackson Elementary in Altadena, a Title I school near where I live.

    To say he’s a huge Dodgers fan doesn’t quite capture it, and, like most of the world, he loves Shohei Ohtani. In fact, he made it to the recent Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger stadium and was pretty excited to show up to school the next day with his new Dodgers cap with Ohtani’s name emblazoned across it.

    He’s not always the chattiest, but I’ve learned if I happen to say the right thing, all kinds of information comes pouring out. So I learned he’d been to the game because we happened to be reading a book about Robinson in one of our sessions. It was part of the 10 minutes of read-aloud I do at the beginning of our 45 minutes together. 

    “Ohhhhh,” I said, “that’s why your usual Dodger cap suddenly upgraded to this special Ohtani one.” 

    “Yeah,” he explained, “it was Jackie Robinson Day, and he was playing. And that was cool.”

    I’ve been doing two reading sessions with Jose a week — Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons — since October, before I started this job as CEO of EdSource. The synchronicity wasn’t deliberate, but it has turned out to be a really helpful window into what’s happening on the ground in California’s public schools. And what it takes to help a kid who’s at least a grade level behind make a dent in the gap. 

    It took me a while to get the hang of tutoring. My kids are now 16 and 20, and teaching them to read is but a distant memory. I’m not sure where I’d even start, but luckily I haven’t had to figure it out myself. I’ve been volunteering through Reading Partners. They use an evidence-based curriculum, based on the science of how children learn to read. 

    It’s very structured — I write an agenda on a small white board, we start with 10 minutes of me reading while he follows along, then it’s his turn. We work our way lesson by lesson, Jose reading and filling out the worksheets that reinforce his comprehension. 

    Sometimes we work on breaking unfamiliar words into identifiable parts, which quite frankly often makes me think about how illogical English is. 

    “Well, so this time -ch sounds like sh, but yeah, you’re right, in that other word it was ch”.  

    Other times we advance through comprehension skills, like how to pull out the author’s main point or how to identify main characters. Some come more easily than others to Jose, but he hangs in there, and I’m often surprised at how much he understands from a story he seems to be struggling through.

    Six months in, I felt like we were both getting in a groove and couldn’t believe the school year was coming to an end. Then came the email, a surprise this past Sunday at 8:30 pm.

    No warning.  

    I suppose we should have seen it coming — in mid-April, the Trump administration targeted some 400 million dollars worth of federal AmeriCorps grants for elimination, but it wasn’t clear how that might affect Reading Partners, one of their programs. When we talked about it at tutoring that week, my amazing coordinator, Kaiya, seemed to think we were OK for the present. Now, a dozen states have filed lawsuits to block the overall AmeriCorps cuts, but confusion reigns. 

    The writing, as they say, is on the wall.

    Reading Partners targets kids up to fourth grade who are reading anywhere from six months to 2.5 years behind their grade level. The research shows what a difference one-on-one help with reading can make in closing the gap. So what of Jose and the 54 other kids getting help with their reading at Jackson Elementary? Or of the nearly 800 kids across Los Angeles? 

    These kids from Jackson have already had more than their share of challenges this year. Jackson was one of the schools closed for several weeks after the Eaton fire in Altadena — the structure was fine, but had to be cleaned top to bottom to get rid of smoke damage. Jose’s family was displaced for even longer, so he was arriving at school late for several weeks, presumably while his parents navigated a new morning commute from the hotel in which they were staying. But the fire also meant most of the kids at Jackson also lost the midyear assessment that Reading Partners does to track whether the tutoring has been making a difference. End-of-year assessments were supposed to start this week, so with the hit to AmeriCorps, that all gets a lot more complicated. 

    As of this writing, it looks like some of the Reading Partners coordinators will be coming back, but not as AmeriCorps, and we will get a few more tutoring sessions after all. Whiplash. I can’t help but wonder how much the kids know about all of this.

    I hope Jose improved in the months we worked together. I don’t think I was the greatest tutor, but I tried my best. I’d like to think it made a difference. 

    The books we were reading got harder. He kept advancing in the lessons. He got better and better at sounding out unfamiliar words with less prompting from me. 

    But I know reading was a struggle for him, and I can’t say I imparted a love of reading in him. He seemed to enjoy our time together, and once, when I picked him up at the after-school program at the school, a couple of his buddies asked how they could get tutors. I’ll take that as a sign of something.

    Meantime, he and I were a few chapters into “James and the Giant Peach” at our last session. We may never get to the happy ending at the book’s conclusion, but now, with the reprieve, perhaps we can get far enough to at least see the hideous aunts perish.

    •••

    Deborah Clark is CEO of EdSource.

    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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