The U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on the Oklahoma religious charter school issue. St. Isadore of Seville Catholic School applied for public funding to sponsor an online religious school. The tie decision means that the last decision–which ruled against the proposal–stands.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself because of a previous relationship with one of the school’s founders.
The decision was unsigned, but one of the Court’s conservative Justices voted with the three liberal Justices to produce a tie vote.
Remember, this is a Court whose conservative Justices claim to be originalists. Their decisions on matters of church and states indicate a flexible, if not hypocritical, application of “originalism.” Over more than two centuries, the U.S. Supreme Court has struggled to maintain separation of church and state. They have found exceptions to Thomas Jefferson’s “wall of separation, allowing public funds for textbooks and state-mandated services, but over the years the courts attempted to avoid the state paying for tuition or teachers’ salaries.
Yet this Court seems to laying the groundwork for tearing that Wall down completely. In previous decisions, the conservative majority has ruled that failure to fund religious schools was a denial of religious freedom.
Such a conclusion does not align with Originalism. No matter how hard Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Sam Alito scours the historical record, they are unable to build a case that the Founding Fathers or the Supreme Court want the public to subsidize the cost of religious or private schools.
The only thing “original” about their recent decisions requiring states to pay tuition at religious schools in Maine and Montana and capital costs at a religious school in Missouri is their conclusion. They invented a right out of whole cloth.
West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond.
Photo: Andrew Reed/EdSource
Most school districts across California have already approved budgets for the upcoming school year along with a required planning document that gives a road map on how funds should be spent. It’s a routine process that by state law must happen by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
But what happens when a board fails to approve both by the deadline?
After the West Contra Costa school board last month voted down the planning document, better known as the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), Contra Costa County Office of Education officials are stepping in to support the district as it works to secure approval. The board didn’t get to vote on the budget at the June 26 meeting because the LCAP must be approved first.
The accountability plan, which also includes district goals to improve student outcomes and how to achieve them, and the budget are linked; one cannot exist without the other. There’s $64.8 million of funding in the LCAP that can’t be used until the plan is approved by the board.
“You have to adopt the plan first before you can adopt the budget,” said Michael Fine, chief executive officer of the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT).
“The budget becomes subsidiary to the plan in that it just becomes a supporting role to the plan, it’s one of the mechanisms that facilitates getting the plan done and implemented.”
Although the West Contra Costa Unified School District doesn’t currently have an adopted accountability plan or budget, the district is using its $484 million 2024-25 proposed budget in the interim to pay salaries and general operating costs, said Marcus Walton, director of communication at the county office of education. Previously, district officials thought they would revert to using the 2023-24 budget, but that has since changed.
At the June 26 meeting, district officials and some board members had the same concern — that rejecting the 203-page LCAP and not voting on a budget would mean losing local control. At the time, district staff didn’t have all the answers about what would happen next because they had never dealt with this situation. One district consultant even asked the board to consider voting on the LCAP again because without one, it would put the district in an unprecedented situation.
West Contra Costa is not losing local control.
The county office of education isn’t taking control of the LCAP or budget, confirmed Lynn Mackey, the county superintendent of schools. Since the vote, Mackey said she’s spoken with district Superintendent Chris Hurst, and the county and district’s LCAP teams have met. But there are no plans to re-create the LCAP or budget for the district, she said.
This isn’t a scenario where a district would need to be taken over, Mackey said. That happens when a district goes insolvent and runs out of cash.
“The LCAP can be a very complex document, it’s a beast,” Mackey said. “They’re (district staff) doing a great job, and they have done a great job. We will be meeting with them and supporting them as it goes back to the district for a vote.”
The next board meeting is set for July 17, but it’s unlikely the accountability plan will be brought back for a vote then, Mackey said. Key West Contra Costa staffers who work on the plan have been on vacation and are just starting to return. There won’t be enough time to post the LCAP before the meeting, which is a requirement, Mackey said. Neither the budget nor LCAP are currently on the agenda to be discussed or voted on at that meeting.
What happens if the board rejects the LCAP again?
“Unfortunately, the California education code does not address what happens when an LCAP is not adopted by a school district,” Hurst said in his message to community members. “This is an unprecedented event in the state of California.”
Mackey said she would need to confer with state officials for next steps.
In a message to the community, district Superintendent Hurst said the county has advised the district to pass the accountability plan by Aug. 15, the county’s deadline to review LCAPs. After school boards pass them, the county must make sure the plans comply with the requirements, then give final approval.
The county then has until Aug. 30 to respond to districts if they have questions or need clarifications on the documents, Mackey said.
If the board approves the accountability plan and the budget by the Aug. 15 deadline, Mackey said, it signals to the county that major revisions aren’t necessary. However, the county still needs to impose that budget because it wasn’t passed before the June 30 deadline required in the state education code.
The county could bill the district for helping it get the LCAP and budget approved, Mackey said, but the county has no intention of doing that.
What happens if the board does not pass a budget?
Mackey said the county would review the proposed budget, and as long as it meets all requirements, that budget would be imposed by her office.
It would be “foolish” for the board not to approve a budget, Fine said. “They need to approve the budget because that would give the county superintendent information, plus, then the district owns its budget. And that’s important.”
Passing the LCAP
Between now and when the accountability plan will return for a vote, district officials are working to get it to a place where the board will approve it.
The two district board members who voted down the LCAP — Leslie Reckler and Mister Phillips — said a major problem for them was the lack of transparency in the document. Board President Jamela Smith-Folds was the only “yes” vote. Otheree Christian abstained, and Demetrio Gonzalez Hoy was absent.
Many parents and other community members addressed the board during the June 26 meeting, asking the board to reject the LCAP and the budget, saying community input wasn’t reflected in the document. Public commenters said there was a lack of transparency in both proposals, that neither met student needs, and that they disenfranchised low-income students, English learners and students of color. Some speakers questioned whether the accountability plan complied with the law.
It’s rare for districts to turn in an accountability plan that fully complies with the law, Mackey said. However, when a board approves it, the county can work with districts to bring the documents into compliance.
Trustee Phillips said community concerns and not having a balanced budget were other reasons he voted down the LCAP.
“I want to be very clear: The community needs to be heard,” Phillips said. “That’s not me saying everything the community wants should be put in there, but they are supposed to be heard, and I don’t feel like that happened.”
Some trustees have called the vote a failure of the board, but Phillips said that’s not accurate.
“It was an opportunity for me to put brakes on another unbalanced budget. That’s why I did what I did. But it was not a failure,” Phillips said. “It was a conscious decision, I did it on purpose.”
District officials are projecting a $31.8 million budget deficit over the next three school years, with about $11.5 million in shortfalls projected for the upcoming school year. The plan was to use reserve funds over three school years to make up the deficit, which is a typical move, Fine said.
West Contra Costa has been in “financial distress for quite a while,” Fine said. “They were deep in distress, and they are working their way out of that hole.”
In an emailed statement, Reckler said the district should now “retool their presentation to the board and public and re-present it, tailoring it to specific questions” raised by board members and the District Local Control Accountability Plan Committee (DLCAP), which consists of parents and members of community organizations.
The board can then give district staff comments and direct it to take any additional steps, Reckler said.
Christian also said he abstained from voting on the accountability plan because the document lacked transparency and failed to include parent feedback. He said the document should plainly state how money is being spent to meet district goals and how programs are benefiting students, which hasn’t happened.
“Those who get paid the big bucks should be the ones to make sure this stuff is done right,” Christian said. “Let’s do it right, let’s make it right, let’s not have hidden agendas, and let’s spell it out.”
If there are substantial changes to the LCAP, it could mean big changes to the budget. It’s too soon to know what kind of changes are being made, but Mackey said even if money needs to be shifted around, it doesn’t appear there will be major revisions.
“It’s challenging,” Mackey said. “As much work as you do on transparency, I do feel like there’s always going to be somebody who doesn’t feel the LCAP is very transparent.”
Even if the accountability plan meets all the state requirements, some boards want more or for staff to go “above and beyond, which is understandable,” Mackey said.
“My hope is that they (board members) don’t hold it hostage for things that you can’t go back and fix,” Mackey said. “If they want something different in the future, set that up now so as the LCAP writers are going forward, they know exactly what is expected so this doesn’t happen again.”
Do you (or someone you know) struggle with English? Did you drop out of school? Do you need help passing the citizenship test? Are you looking for a well-paying job that won’t require a bachelor’s degree?
California’s adult school system steps in to help adults who might have slipped through the cracks — or are newcomers to the country.
Many Californians can use the services of adult schools but are not taking advantage of the chance. Nearly 6 million Californians don’t speak English “very well” and over 4 million do not have a high school education, according to U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey data.
Nearly 3 out of 10 Californians struggle with basic English literacy. This can affect their ability to earn a good salary or navigate essential parts of American life, such as shopping, talking to a doctor or helping their children succeed in school.
This guide is aimed at adults in California who need to take classes that will help them improve their English, finish their high school education, become a citizen or get a better job.
Who can attend adult school?
Anyone 18 and over is eligible.
There are classes specifically aimed at adults who didn’t finish high school, immigrants, disabled adults, those who want to improve their parenting skills and adults who want to train for a career that doesn’t require a college education.
Where can I get an adult education?
There are three main places to get adult education in most communities: K-12 schools, community colleges and community libraries.
Most Californians looking for adult education attend classes offered by their K-12 school districts. These classes may be offered right on K-12 campuses and through parent programs — or they may be offered at stand-alone adult school campuses.
Community colleges also offer adult education. Adults who are interested in getting a degree or certificate sometimes find this an especially appealing option. English language and GED courses can help prepare students for college-level coursework. However, it is not a requirement to be on track for college to attend adult education classes at a community college.
Libraries have the added benefit of offering one-on-one tutoring with a trained volunteer for adult learners. This can be a good option for students who need help with a particular task. Adults who struggle with basic skills, such as writing, English or math, might sign up to get help so they can pass a driver’s test or write a business grant application. Libraries can also connect Californians with a virtual program, Career Online High School, that helps adults get their high school diploma. (More on that below.)
Some nonprofit organizations, employers or religious organizations also offer adult education. Organizations catering to adults who are immigrants, homeless or have a disability may offer adult education.
How can I find out what is available in my community?
The main types of classes offered by adult schools are adult basic education, adult secondary education, immigrant education, vocational education, education for adults with disabilities and education to help adults support their children in K-12 schools.
Adult secondary education helps adults get the equivalent of a high school education with courses that include math, science, social studies and language arts. This could be through a high school diploma (for more on that, see the next question) or taking GED or HiSET tests.
Adult basic education is essentially the foundation for high school. Adults who struggle with basic reading, math or digital literacy can take these courses, either on their own or to prepare for high school-level education.
Adult school students have a wide range of backgrounds, but in California, the vast majority are immigrants. Adult schools help immigrants improve their English skills, get their citizenship and learn more about how to navigate American society.
Vocational education at adult schools helps prepare Californians for a new career, typically with an emphasis on offerings that take much less time than a bachelor’s degree. Adult education — both at the K-12 and community college level — helps students by connecting them with apprenticeships or helping them pass industry certification and state licensing exams.
Some popular courses help prepare students for jobs in welding, heating and air conditioning technology, information technology support, court reporting and administrative assistant work. There are many programs for jobs in the health care fields, such as phlebotomy, vocational nursing, certified nursing assistant, pharmacy technician and medical coding.
Some classes offered can also help adults build key life skills, which can be especially important for immigrants and disabled adults. This could include financial literacy, parenting classes and digital literacy.
Can I get my high school diploma?
Yes. Even if it’s been decades since you set foot in a high school classroom and even if that classroom was not in California or the U.S., you can get a high school diploma. You may even be able to count some of your work experience for credit.
This can be a particularly useful option for adults who are just a few credits shy of graduation.
Just as with traditional high schools, the requirements for a diploma may vary. Both K-12 and community colleges offer classes that allow students to finish their high school diploma. Most community libraries also offer the opportunity to complete a high school diploma through a virtual program.
What other options are there to attain the equivalent of a high school credential in California?
The only authorized companies that can issue high school equivalency certificates in California are GED or HiSET.
There are many high school equivalency test preparation programs — including those offered through public adult education programs and libraries. However, the state of California cautions that certificates of completion for these programs are not official California high school equivalency credentials. Getting these types of credentials requires passing tests.
Can I get a GED in my native language?
Californians can get a GED in English or Spanish. There are no other languages available at this time. The certificate of high school equivalency does not specify what language the GED is in.
How much does adult education cost?
The vast majority of adult education classes are tuition-free. Students may face fees for the GED or HiSET tests or practice tests, assessment tests, textbooks and other materials used in the courses. On community college campuses, students may also pay campus fees. These fees vary widely by institution — particularly for vocational tech classes.
The program to become a vocational nurse at Bakersfield Adult School, for example, costs $7,000, while Downey Adult School estimates its whole program costs $16,999.
Can I attend school while I have a job?
One of the biggest hurdles for Californians who are interested in enrolling in adult school is simply finding the time to attend and study. There are classes held during the day, but many are offered in the evening and weekends as well, so classes are available to people who hold day jobs. There are also virtual classes.
What kind of virtual options are there?
Many institutions that offer adult education, such as local K-12 schools or community colleges, offer virtual options, which may include live teaching or asynchronous content.
Most public libraries in California also offer the opportunity to earn a high school diploma through the Career Online High School program. It is available to anyone 19 or older. Last year, the program was offered at 797 of the state’s 1,127 public libraries. The program offers not just a high school diploma, but career training, plus help with a resume and cover letter. Some of the career training offered includes child care, commercial driving, manufacturing, office management, customer service, hospitality and security professionals. Students are assigned an academic coach. You can either ask a librarian or take this survey online to see if this option is right for you.
Is child care or transportation offered?
This is not a common part of the offerings for adult schools, and it can be a big barrier to many potential adult school students. However, it is worth checking with your local schools. Some adult schools, colleges or nonprofits may offer child care, and some may offer transportation discounts or passes.
Mark Twain Union is a small rural elementary school district in Calaveras County serving some 700 students.
Credit: Louise Simson / Mark Twain Union Elementary School District
I believe in accountability and performance. My years in the private sector showed me a way of doing business that is accountable for funds spent and services delivered.
But one government accountability measure — the Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) review — is an exercise in compliance that places a disproportionate burden on small school districts and takes desperately needed resources away from our kids. It is set up for large districts that can devote a full-time staff person to manage the process, attend the trainings, and upload the tsunami of documents that are required, but it forces small districts like mine to invest thousands of dollars in consultants and software just to file the paperwork.
The intention of this process is to ensure that a local education agency is meeting statutory program and fiscal requirements for categorical funding — targeted for programs serving low-income and special needs students, among others. These funds can range from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars or more based on the size of the district. That’s all good in theory, but in reality, it has turned into a paper-pushing time suck for small school districts.
I recently assumed the helm of an impoverished small school district in the Calaveras foothills after rehabbing facilities in dire need in Mendocino County for another district. In my current district office, there are four staff members, two principals, plus me to serve 700 kids. There are no curriculum or special ed directors, no director of student services and no program managers. An $11 million budget for 700 kids doesn’t go very far with facilities that are 70 years old, and everyone wears multiple hats to make the system go.
When I arrived last July, I learned that we were in the monitoring review. I was grateful that California Department of Education (CDE) representatives who oversee the process agreed to push the review out to this September to allow me time to get situated.
However, the whole exercise needs to be examined through the lens of the resources of a small district. Here’s what we faced:
First, there is a week of webinars in August that district coordinators — or in the case of small districts, superintendents — are supposed to attend. Let’s get real. My first priority in August is getting school open for kids, not sitting in front of a webcam. When I raise this concern, I’m told, “Can’t you have someone else watch them?”
My response: “Who? The two principals, one of whom is brand new, who are getting their school sites ready for the fall term? The person in my office who does purchasing and has curriculum orders flowing in? The personnel assistant coordinating critical hires and also managing payroll, or the executive assistant who is also the food service director? Which person won’t be able to do their job because of a multiday seminar ill-timed for August?
I understand that this is a federal requirement. But I also know CDE has influence over the review requirement process. It is time for CDE to start advocating on behalf of small under-resourced districts with the federal government.
The department should know that the monitoring process for small districts diverts money from their limited, cash-strapped budgets to pay for part-time consultants or expensive software, because no small district office can manage the requirements alone.
Let’s also be realistic about the number of areas of reporting required in the review. I acknowledge my new district is in need of improvement in a couple of important areas. I would be happy to explore those two items. But it is not realistic to expect a district with a small staff to report on a smorgasbord of “indicators” that the review committee has determined require examination.
CDE staff, many of them who are still enjoying the luxury of working at home two or three days a week, need to come out into the field, walk my walk, and start making regulations and reports that reflect the best interest of all involved, not just the accountants and program reviewers.
Here’s how we can improve:
Record and post all FPM audit seminars. Asking district staff to attend a solid week of webinars the week before school opens proves that Sacramento is out of touch with life in the field. (As of mid-July, some session recordings were posted, but it wasn’t an option that was offered when I asked.)
Limit the number of areas of scope for small school districts proportionate to the staff ratio in the district office.
Provide funding directly to districts, not the county office, for a consultant to support the process. CDE has invented another industry with the review process. Just look online and see all the different software and consultants who make money off of assisting districts, taking money away from kids. Instead, just apportion each district $50,000 for the review so that we can staff it appropriately.
Work with school sites on the dates and areas of review before you assign them. Reach out the year in advance and ask for some potential windows for the audit and self-identified areas of reflection. Work as a partner, not as a dictator. A small school district (or any district) notified in May of a September review (which means all documents must be submitted by August), where the program instruments are not ready until July, training is not held until August, and the place you upload documents is not ready until July …is ridiculous. Avoid August-October reviews for small districts — or, if there is no alternative — notify them earlier and have the resources ready to go in a timely manner. Move up the CDE deadlines to make more sense for schools.
The federal review is not intended to be a gotcha exercise. But small, rural districts don’t have the workforce to devote to the process. The bureaucracy of one size fits all is strangling us. It’s time for a change.
•••
Louise Simson is the superintendent of Mark Twain Union Elementary School District and former superintendent of Anderson Valley Unified School District.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Bullard High School senior Isabell Coronado works with Gibson Elementary first grader Mayson Lydon on March 15, 2024, as part of Fresno Unified’s Teacher Academy Program.
Credit: Lasherica Thornton / EdSource
In mid-March, Bullard High School students Merrick Crowley and Craig Coleman taught an interactive science lesson for a fifth-grade class at Gibson Elementary in Fresno.
At the front of the classroom, Coleman held an egg above one of three containers filled with liquids, such as saltwater. He and Crowley asked students to predict what would happen to each egg: Will it sink or float? The fifth graders, wide-eyed and smiling, raised their hands to share their predictions.
“You said if we took a field trip (to the Red Sea), we would float,” said one fifth grader to explain why she thought the egg would float in the saltwater.
Once Coleman dropped the egg in the water, the students expressed joy or disappointment, depending on whether their predictions were accurate or not. “Can anyone tell me why it’s floating?” Crowley asked as Coleman hinted that the answer was related to density.
The high schoolers were in Fresno Unified’s Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway course, one of the district’s three Teacher Academy programs that has the potential to increase the number of educators entering the K-12 system.
According to educators and leaders in the school district and across the state, introducing and preparing students for the teaching field, starting at the high-school level, will be key to addressing the teacher shortage — a problem affecting schools across the nation.
Teachers are retiring in greater numbers than in years past, and many, burned out or stressed by student behavior, have quit. Fewer teacher candidates are enrolling in preparation programs, worsening the shortage.
Since 2016, California has invested $1.2 billion to address the state’s enduring teacher shortage.
Despite the efforts, school districts continue to struggle to recruit teachers, especially for hard-to-fill jobs in special education, science, math and bilingual education.
As a result, districts and county education offices have been creating and expanding high school educator pathway programs under “grow-our-own” models intended to strengthen and diversify the teacher pipeline and workforce. High school educator programs expose students to the career early on by “tapping into (students’) love of helping others” and “keeping them engaged,” creating a more diverse teacher workforce and putting well-trained teachers in the classroom, said Girlie Hale, president of the Teachers College of San Joaquin, which partners with a grade 9-12 educator pathway program.
“The high school educator pipeline is one of the long-term solutions that we can incorporate,” Hale said. “Through the early exposure and interest of these (high school) educator pathways, it’s going to have a positive effect on increasing enrollment into teaching preparation programs.”
Growing their own
Fueled by the expansion of programs, increased participation and positive outcomes, “education-based CTE programs over the past decade have increased in high schools,” said James F. Lane, a former assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education and CEO of PDK International, a professional nonprofit that supports aspiring educators through programs such as Educators Rising.
Educators Rising, a community-based organization with chapters in high schools in each state, teaches students the skills needed to become educators. Lane said the organization has seen 20% growth in the last two years, including the creation of a California chapter.
“District leaders are seeing the benefits of supporting future teachers in their own community due to the fact that 60% of teachers end up teaching within 20 miles of where they went to high school,” he said.
That isn’t the only benefit districts see.
Fresno Unified, the state’s third-largest school district, enrolls higher percentages of Hispanic, African American, Asian, Pacific Islander and American Indian students than other districts across Fresno County and California, according to California Department of Education data from 2022-23. The district’s current high schoolers resemble the demographics of the elementary students and the next generation of learners.
Fresno Unified’s Teacher Academy Program can feed those high schoolers into one of the district’s teacher pipeline programs and back into schools, said Maiv Thao, manager of the district’s teacher development department.
“We know how important that is, to have someone that understands them, someone that looks like them and is able to be that model of, ‘If they can do it, then I can do it as well,’” Thao said. “We know that teachers of color make a huge impact on our students; they’re the ones who can make that connection with our students.”
In San Joaquin County, there are at least a dozen teacher preparation academies across five school districts, including a program launched in 2021 through a partnership with the county education office, a charter school, higher education institutions and nonprofit grant funding.
Students interested in pursuing a career in education can enter Teacher Education and Early College High (TEACH), an educator pathway program offered at the charter school Venture Academy to support students from freshman year of high school to the classroom as a teacher.
Through the early college high school model, students simultaneously take their high school classes and college courses and will graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree in elementary education from San Joaquin Delta College. Further, a relationship with Humphreys University allows students, who’d be entering as college juniors, to graduate debt free with their bachelor’s degrees. Then, students can complete the teacher credential program at the Teachers College of San Joaquin.
“The idea was to grow students within our community to become teachers and, then, have them return and serve as teachers in the communities that grew them,” said Joni Hellstrom, division director of Venture Academy.
But first, schools must get students enthusiastic about teaching.
Split model of learning: Time in the class as students
Students in TEACH in Stockton and the Teacher Academy in Fresno experience a cohort learning model and fieldwork opportunities. The teacher preparation is done over four years of high school in TEACH.
Because the entire program is meant to prepare them to be classroom teachers, core subject areas are taught so that students can evaluate the effectiveness of teaching styles on their own learning, Hellstrom said. For example, as students learn math, the teacher points out the strategies he or she is using in the lessons, preparing those students to “become teachers of math, not just learners of math,” she said.
Students also take classes each year to learn different teaching approaches, and they’re encouraged to incorporate the methods into class projects and lessons they’ll develop for elementary classes.
As freshmen, students visit elementary classes as a group to be reading buddies to the kids. Sophomores partner with the elementary teachers to design activities, such as a science experiment.
Three Teacher Academy options in Fresno Unified
Fresno Unified has expanded its program to offer various opportunities at its high schools, including the Teacher Academy Saturday Program, Summer Program and CTE course.
The Saturday program, requiring a commitment of four Saturdays in a semester,is a paid opportunity for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to develop and teach STEM lessons.
The Summer Program, a paid internship also for grades 10-12, allows participants to work with students in summer school.
As juniors, students do field work in a class or subject area they’re interested in. For example, a student who enjoyed sports worked with a PE teacher this past year and taught lessons she designed, then reflected on what she learned from the experience and how the elementary school kids responded.
“It’s a really powerful learning opportunity for them,” Hellstrom said.
This upcoming school year, the first cohort of students, now seniors, will participate in internships in school districts across the county.
Under the umbrella of Fresno Unified’s Teacher Academy Program, students learn, then apply skills at an elementary school through embedded workplace learning.
The CTE course is designed for juniors and seniors to develop their communication, professionalism and leadership skills as well as learn teaching styles, lesson planning, class instruction, cultural proficiency and engagement techniques while gaining hands-on experience in elementary classes.
In Marisol Sevel’s mid-March CTE class, Edison High students answered “How would you define classroom management to a friend?” as Sevel went one-by-one to each high schooler, performing a handshake and patting them on their backs — modeling for them how to engage students.
Key components of the lesson were: building relationships and trust; providing positive reinforcement; exhibiting fair, consistent discipline; and other strategies to create a welcoming classroom environment.
“These are things that should not be new to you,” Sevel said about concepts the students have seen in the classroom and experienced, “but what is going to be new to you is how do you handle it as a teacher?”
Time as teachers
Fresno Unified’s literacy team trained high school students in the district’s Teacher Academy Program on the science of reading teaching method, which the high schoolers use to help elementary students during small group or individual sessions. Pictured is Bullard High School student Alondra Pineda Martinez with Gibson Elementary first graders Sara Her and Rowan Bettencourt. Credit: Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource
With schools within walking distance, Fresno high schoolers walk to the neighboring elementary school, where they apply the lessons they’ve learned in class.
At Gibson Elementary, first-grade teacher Hayley Caeton helped a group of her students with an assignment as others worked independently. In one corner of the room, two first graders created a small circle around Bullard High student Alondra Pineda Martinez while another first grader sat next to Bullard High student Marianna Fernandez. “What sound does it make?” the high schoolers asked as they pointed to ABC graphics.
Each week, Pineda Martinez and Fernandez covered specific concepts with the first graders in their groups based on the lesson plans that Caeton prepared.
The first graders, guided by the high schooler in front or beside them, moved from one activity to the next — from identifying words with oo vowel sounds to reading a book with many of those words.
“Good job,” Fernandez told first grader Tabias Abell.
More of Caeton’s students get academic support, as do other Gibson Elementary students across campus, because the high school students can pull them into small groups or individual sessions.
For instance, in Renae Pendola’s second-grade classroom, high schoolers provided math support as the teacher went around the class answering questions about an assignment.
Isabell Coronado and a second grader used fake coins to explore different ways to come up with 80 cents while Rebecca Lima helped three students with an imaginary transaction.
“Wouldn’t you make it just $1.24?” a student asked Lima, who reminded the group that they only had one dollar to spare at the ice cream shop, per the assignment.
Learning the reality of teaching
From the professional development to the hands-on involvement with elementary students, high schoolers in Fresno are experiencing the “daily struggle” and “joyous moments” of being a teacher, students attending Bullard, Edison and Hoover high schools told EdSource.
“It’s preparing you for what’s coming,” Edison High student Alyssa Ortiz Ramirez said. “We’re not romanticizing teachers in here; we’re being real.”
A Gibson Elementary first grader drew a picture of Bullard High School student Marianna Fernandez. Photo courtesy of Marianna Fernandez
The high school students spoke about how difficult it is to engage and educate a class full of diverse learners.
“I was confused,” Edison’s Issac Garcia Diaz said about the first time he saw different learning styles among King Elementary students. “I thought everyone learned the same.”
The high schoolers aren’t the only ones learning from the experience; elementary students are more often engaged and supported.
“It’s not just academics. They’re connecting,” Gibson Elementary’s first-grade teacher Caeton said about the teacher academy. “With an older kid, (the elementary students) just come out of their shell a little bit more.”
Hoover High junior Saraih Reyes Baltazar was able to help the diverse learners at Wolters Elementary. Baltazar, who spoke only Spanish when she emigrated from Mexico, explained science concepts to Spanish-speaking students. She narrated parts in English and parts in Spanish, hoping to make the students more comfortable to open up and use more English.
Hoover High graduating seniors Vanessa Melendrez and Johnathon Jones also provided individualized support for Wolters Elementary first graders. Melendrez usually slowed down a lesson to help kids struggling to read at grade level, and Jones most often helped students with comprehending the material.
“There’s only one teacher in the room, and there’s over 20 students,” Melendrez said. “A teacher can’t answer every question while they’re up, teaching.”
Gaining skills
Crowley, the graduating senior who worked in the Gibson Elementary fifth-grade class, said leading whole-class presentations and small-group lessons taught him public speaking and effective communication skills.
“It got me ready for the real world,” he said.
Teachers and students said the Teacher Academy Program in Fresno develops and builds skills that can be used in the teaching profession or any career, including life skills of communication, soft skills such as punctuality and personal skills of confidence.
“It’s broken me out of my shy shell,” said Bullard High’s Fernandez. “It’s taught me how to connect with people — classmates, teachers, students, everyone. It’s made me communicate in ways that I haven’t been comfortable with.”
Fernandez, a graduating senior, was able to talk with substitute teachers about what students were struggling with.
Her mom is a day care provider, and she has always enjoyed working with kids. She joined the Teacher Academy Program to test whether she’d consider majoring in education once in college.
She decided to pursue teaching as a backup plan, she said.
Hoover High School junior Kyrie Green wants to be a math teacher for high school freshmen.
Green, who is shy, viewed stepping out of her comfort zone and leading a classroom as her greatest challenge in becoming an educator.
But her time in the program has helped her speak up, she said. Now she’s looking forward to the next steps in becoming a teacher: graduating and earning a teaching certification.
Making an impact
There isn’t yet a system to track the students who go from a high school pathway into a teacher credentialing program after college, then into the education career, partly because of the number of years between high school graduation and teacher certification.
Students who’ve participated in high school educator pathway programs, such as those in Fresno, have gone on to become teachers, including Thao, the department manager. She worked at an elementary school while in high school, obtained a teaching credential and started teaching at the same elementary school.
“I did what these kids did; I know it works,” she said. “Little by little … we are making an impact.”
Still, only 18% of Americans would encourage young people to become a K-12 teacher, according to a 2022 survey by NORC, previously the National Opinion Research Center, at the University of Chicago.
With the programs in Fresno and San Joaquin County, “We have a whole group of students that are excited to go into a profession that is waning right now,” Hellstrom, Venture Academy’s division director, said.
Whether reaffirming a plan to pursue education or weighing it as an option, students told EdSource that the program has changed their perspective about teaching and has empowered them even more to become educators or to make an impact in another way.
“If I can be a teacher who gives students what they need, like attention, love or anything,” Ortiz Ramirez said, “then that’s why I want to be a teacher.”
Parents line up to take photos of their children on the first day of school Tuesday at George Washington Elementary School in Lodi.
Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
Children wearing colorful new backpacks, parents in tow, hugged and high-fived Principal Gina Lopez and other school staff as they streamed under an arch of multicolored balloons, accompanied by pulsating music, on the first day of school at George Washington Elementary School in Lodi on Tuesday.
Lodi Unified in San Joaquin County was among the first California school districts to return to school this year, beginning just after Sweetwater Union High School District in San Diego, which reopened on July 24. Some districts, many with year-round schedules, started even earlier.
California school districts have moved away from the September return to school that was common in California and other states until the 1990s. School districts sometimes made the change to allow students to complete their semester studies and take their final exams before the winter break. It also gives students more time to prepare for state standardized tests.
Sweetwater Union decided to complete its first semester by December to maximize instruction days before Advanced Placement testing, according to a statement from the district.
“Key educational benefits to an earlier start date include reducing summer learning loss, alleviating overcrowding in schools, and aligning the calendar with four feeder districts — Chula Vista Elementary, San Ysidro, National School District, and South Bay — allowing families to coordinate vacations and child care more effectively,” according to the district statement.
An EdSource survey of California’s 30 largest school districts this year found that all are returning to school before the Labor Day holiday in September and 21 of those are returning by Aug. 15. In 2014, seven of the 30 largest school districts were still starting school after Labor Day, according to an EdSource survey that year.
Some districts that instituted earlier start dates have opted to end the school year earlier, but others have shortened the summer break and added days off during the school year.
California isn’t the only state returning to school early. About 70% of U.S. students had returned to school by Aug. 25 last school year, according to the Pew Research Center.
Summer shortened decades ago
The students at George Washington Elementary and other Lodi Unified schools are used to returning to school in late July or early August — the district has been doing it for about two decades. Sweetwater Union High School District has been returning to school in late July for more than a decade.
Lodi Unified moved its schools to a year-round schedule in the late 1980s because of overcrowding. It changed course in the early 1990s, after high schools struggled with the schedule, and began to move schools to a modified traditional schedule as they built more schools, said Superintendent Neil Young. Today, all of its schools are on a schedule that divides the year into quarters with a two-week break after each one.
Priscilla Spagnola, an intervention teacher at George Washington Elementary, high-fives a student as she arrives at the Lodi school on Tuesday.Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
Kindergarten students at George Washington Elementary in Lodi listen to teacher Kristen McDaniel read “Your Teachers Pet Creature” on the first day of school on July 30, 2024. Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
Madeline Casey walks her daughter Sophia to her first day of first grade at George Washington Elementary School in Lodi on July 30, 2024. Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
George Washington Elementary School Principal Gina Lopez welcomes students on the first day of school on July 30.Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
Parents and students look at a board containing classroom assignments by teacher on July 30, 2024. Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
Most parents and teachers have been in favor of the calendar and there has been no interest in changing it, Young said.
“I know for our teachers to be able to do a reset at the end of each quarter and begin the new quarter refreshed has been a positive,” he said. “And I have heard teachers say they appreciate that.”
George Washington Elementary teachers Jenny Hampton and Natalie Smalley agree. They both prefer the regular breaks to a longer summer.
“Those two weeks every nine to 10 weeks, like the kids are ready for a break, we’re ready for a break and so we just, we like that better,” Hampton said.
Students excited for new year
Sisters Karina Barron and Maria Barron remember starting school in July when they were students in Lodi Unified schools. On Tuesday they were dropping their children off at school. Their families like the school calendar, they said.
“They kept asking when school started,” said Karina Barron of the children.
The kindergarten through sixth-grade students streaming through the doors of George Washington Elementary seemed excited to be back in school.
“It’s better to be learning, so in the future I can have more life skills,” said Emmanuel, a sixth-grade student. His favorite subject is math.
It’s all new to kindergartners
Kindergartners in Kristen McDaniel’s class have no recollection of a time when school started in September. On Tuesday they each sat on a square on a rug in the middle of the classroom, much like decades of students before them. On a stool in the corner, one little girl wept, reluctant to join the group.
McDaniel, who has taught kindergarten in the same classroom at George Washington Elementary for 25 years, knows the first day can be tough for her students. Everything takes longer on the first day of school, she said.
The first day of school can be difficult for kindergartners not accustomed to being away from their parents. Shortly after this picture was taken, this little girl calmed down and had a great day, reported her teacher at George Washington Elementary in Lodi.Credit: Diana Lambert / EdSource
“They don’t know where their cubbies are,” McDaniel said. “They don’t know how to walk in, where to go. So, it took a little bit of extra time today in order to get them to the carpet to circle time.”
The first day can also be tough for teachers. McDaniel repeatedly told one boy to sit and not to lie on the rug, and twice had to gently remove the hand of a girl who grabbed at the book she was reading to the class.
“This first day is so hard, and if it stayed this way, no one would ever, ever do it,” McDaniel said. “You couldn’t pay me enough to do this every single day. But the growth that you get at kindergarten versus other grade levels, it’s just incredible. And that’s why I do it, because I remind myself of this day and how they didn’t even know how to sit or just wanted to lay down on the carpet instead.”
By the end of kindergarten, the students will be reading, adding and subtracting and focusing on literature, she said.
McDaniel started the day by reading “Your Teacher’s Pet Creature,” which reinforces positive classroom behavior and introduces students to the stuffed class pet. During circle time, each child passed the class pet to the child sitting beside them, after reciting their name and receiving a welcome from the class in return.
“The point of that first circle time is to build community, to get them to feel like they’re a part of the class and to learn about each other,” McDaniel said.
Kristen McDaniel, who has taught kindergarten in the same classroom for 25 years, started the first day at George Washington Elementary in Lodi Unified with an opening circle to help the student acclimate to being in school, and to develop a sense of community in the classroom. Each child passed around the class pet, a stuffed creature, after reciting their name and receiving a welcome in return.
With introductions made and cubbies squared away, McDaniel dived into instruction, holding up a flash card with an apple to introduce the letter A. Shortly after, the little girl in the corner wiped away her tears and joined the group.
“She actually had a great rest of the day, reported McDaniel.
The kindergartner wasn’t the only one overcome emotionally at the start of school. Principal Lopez said she became emotional when she visited classrooms the day before school, especially when she saw that the old mismatched desks and chairs had been replaced with new furniture.
“This is like my 24th year, but you know, every beginning is always special,” said Lopez. “Right? Because this is my heart.”
EdSource reporters Mallika Sheshadri, Lasherica Thornton, Emma Gallegos, Zaidee Stavely and Betty Márquez Rosales contributed to this report.
“I’m kind of a dork, and I feel like it took me a long time to get my undergraduate degree,” said Romano, who is taking multicultural psychology and sociological theory. “Now that I’ve got some momentum, I just don’t want to stop learning. I just want to keep going.”
Although Romano was able to find her academic mojo, it wasn’t easy. It took her 10 years to get that undergraduate degree.
“It was a really difficult journey for me. Stopping and going and dropping out. Having financial things and self-doubt,” Romano said. “In my late 20s, I was finally able to really want it. It was all intrinsic, you know, for me to better myself and the community.”
Romano is now using that momentum to complete her master’s degree. She also plans to pursue a second master’s degree to become a marriage and family therapist for people of color.
“I think with Latinx and people of color getting mental (health care), it’s so cultural and historical,” Romano said. “There’s so much nuance to (providing appropriate care) that unless you really study it, how can anyone make a difference?”
Romano feels there are pros and cons to taking summer classes. She looks forward to learning and doing the work. On the other hand, the summer heat is something she would rather do without.
“It’s really hot right now,” Romano said. “Both of my classes are online, so it’s easy for me to log in, but I’m on campus right now because I need to get out of my apartment.”
Students are heading back to school or starting school for the first time in districts across California. Parent involvement is key to student success, and many get involved by volunteering in the classroom, tutoring or chaperoning field trips. But there are also other ways for parents to get involved. State law requires that schools and districts establish several committees to ensure parent voices are heard when making policy and funding decisions.
This is a quick guide to the different committees parents can join to have a say in school governance.
School Site Council
All schools must establish a School Site Council if they receive “categorical funding” from the federal or state government for programs like Title I (designated for low-income students), Title III (for English learners and immigrant students) and others. This council is made up of parents, teachers, staff members and the principal. High schools also include students on their site councils.
The School Site Council assesses needs in the school, including analyzing student test scores, and decides on goals to meet those needs. They also develop the School Plan for Student Achievement, which includes how funding will be spent to meet the goals. A school site council might decide, for example, to hire a reading intervention teacher, if they notice that reading scores are particularly low, or they might decide to focus on professional development for teachers, or instructional aides for English learners. These plans are ultimately submitted for approval by the school district.
The council meets regularly throughout the school year to ensure the plan is being carried out and evaluates the progress made toward goals.
English Learner Advisory Committee
All schools with 21 or more English learners must establish an English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC). This committee is made up of parents, staff and community members, but parents or guardians of English learners must make up at least the same percentage of the committee as English learners represent within the student body. This committee advises the principal and staff, helps develop a school plan for English learners and reviews how well the school is serving English learners.
Parents and guardians may also be elected at their school-level ELACs to join the District English Learner Advisory Committee (DELAC) in every district with at least 51 English learners. Parents or guardians must make up at least half of the members of the DELAC. This committee helps develop a district master plan for serving English learners and ensures the district is complying with laws regarding English learners. This committee also reviews and comments on the district’s policies for deciding when students are proficient enough in English to no longer be classified as English learners.
LCAP Parent Advisory Committee
California’s local control funding formula directs money to schools based on the number of students enrolled who are low-income, English learners, foster youth or homeless. Under state law, all districts that receive local control funding from the state must get input and advice from the Parent Advisory Committee on how to spend the money for these groups. The committee reviews and gives feedback on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, which details how the district plans to spend the funding.
Community Advisory Committee (for special education)
Every Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) — which could be one district, a group of districts, or include a county office of education — must have a Community Advisory Committee. They are made up of parents, teachers, students and adults with disabilities, as well as representatives from agencies that work with people with disabilities. These committees are focused on making recommendations and giving feedback on how districts are serving children with disabilities.
Migrant Parent Advisory Council
All districts that receive funding for migrant education programs must also establish a Migrant Parent Advisory Council, to plan and evaluate migrant education programs. Migrant education programs serve children whose parents or guardians are migratory workers in agricultural, dairy, lumber, or fishing industries and whose family has moved during the past three years. The goal is to reduce problems caused by repeated moves.
The council members are elected by parents of children enrolled in the migrant education program, and two thirds of the members must be parents of migrant children.
In addition, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction also has a State Parent Advisory Council to evaluate the statewide migrant education program. Two thirds of this statewide council must also be made up by parents of migrant children.
Parent Teacher Association or Organization
Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs) and Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) are organizations based at schools that help organize volunteers for classrooms or for school events, raise funds for school supplies, field trips and extracurricular activities, and even help with communication between schools and families. PTAs and PTSAs are affiliated with the state and national PTA. PTOs are the same type of group but not affiliated with the larger organization.
Voters in November will decide whether to give the Los Angeles Unified School District $9 billion in bond money to upgrade and improve school facilities, the school board decided unanimously Wednesday.
The bond is the largest ever put on the ballot by Los Angeles Unified and is just shy of a statewide school bond measure for $10 billion that will also be on the November ballot. For LAUSD’s bond measure to pass, at least 55% of voters will need to vote in favor — which would lead to an uptick in property taxes by roughly $25.04 for every $100,000 of assessed value, according to a district estimate.
District officials stated that the money is critical, and its schools’ needs urgent.
“We have seen schools that are built as Taj Mahals, with the latest and greatest technology, with beautiful green spaces, with outdoor classrooms, with stunning athletic facilities,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said Wednesday. “Then you drive down the road one mile, and you see a completely different world that I cannot explain, and frankly, I cannot accept.”
More than 60% of LAUSD campuses are at least a half-century old, according to a board report. And schools across the district have more than $80 billion “of unfunded school facility and technology needs.”
Meanwhile, the costs of construction continue to grow — and have soared by 36% in the past four years, according to the report.
If passed, the $9 billion in bond money would help with efforts, including:
Ensuring schools have adequate safety features and are seismically sound
Modernizing campuses in-keeping with “21st century learning”
Improving disability access
Reducing discrepancies across older and newer schools
Expanding outdoor spaces, transitioning to a new food service model and improving energy efficiency
According to district materials, roughly “525 school buildings may need to be retrofitted, modernized, or replaced for earthquake safety.”
Amid widespread support at Wednesday’s meeting, Michael Hamner, the chair of LAUSD’s Bond Oversight Committee, said the district did not involve his committee enough in the bond’s development.
“While we understand the district’s infrastructure needs are greater than the pool of resources currently available to fund them, the process by which this bond measure was developed and put forward, without consultation of key stakeholders groups such as ourselves — and therefore outside public view — prevents us from providing any meaningful comment,” he said Wednesday.
In response, Carvalho stated that while the process of moving forward with this bond was condensed, the district will “not spare any opportunity” to consider the views of various stakeholders.
Amidst a declining district enrollment, some have also claimed the district should wait to move forward with a bond measure until they have a better understanding of their needs — especially as LAUSD is relying on taxpayers’ money.
Carvalho doubled down, however, on the project’s urgency.
He said that regardless of potential changes to enrollment and square footage, the district’s “critical need for facilities improvement will still be by far an excess of what we currently have and what we will have in the near future.”
According to school board member Rocio Rivas, improved facilities are associated with better academic outcomes, improved attendance and better mental health among students.
“Kids know when they have not the best — they don’t have it as good,” Board President Jackie Goldberg said Wednesday. “And they do feel, somehow or another, that maybe [they’re] just not worth as much.”
Kindergarten students in San Jose Unified School District. (EdSource File photo.)
Credit: Liv Ames / EdSource
Over the next several months, high-profile political races will command the public’s attention. But one set of races at the local level might be just as consequential: local school board elections.
Too many of us are flying blind when making school board ballot decisions. Few of us can say we regularly attend our local school board meetings (and those that do rarely represent the larger community). There is little research about school boards and limited public understanding of what the role of a school board entails. Although it seems like there are more news stories about school boards than ever before, those accounts unfortunately focus on disruption and dissension. Tales about recent recallvotes, a fight about which books to teach, or a board meeting turning violent reveal that many school boards have become battlegrounds for political issues beyond K-12 education.
Now is an opportune time to build greater awareness of what school boards do and the positive impact of effective governance. Fortunately, there are strong examples from which we can learn. The California Collaborative on District Reform released a case study of two California school districts — Napa Valley and San José Unified School Districts — with strong reputations among peer superintendents as having highly functional superintendent–school board relations. The case study illuminates the kinds of practices governing teams in other districts can adopt and the general public can reward in their voting.
Commit to shared priorities. The pressures facing school districts — including fromthepandemic, educatorshortages, a daunting fiscal outlook, and others — are more intense than at any time in recent memory. These pressures often lead districts to fragment their work or, in an attempt to address every concern, do none of them well. In San José Unified and Napa Valley Unified, the governing teams orient their work around a shared mission, vision and values that help create focus and coherence in what could otherwise be an overwhelming environment. Both districts illustrate that school boards and their communities can work toward a shared vision more effectively with clearly defined priorities.
Establish and embrace norms for behavior. Just as important as what a governing team does is how it does its work. Napa Valley Unified and San José Unified both commit to shared norms for working together that keep them accountable for acting in the best interests of their communities. These norms include treating each other with respect, clearly defining what their role does and does not entail, and embracing a commitment to sharing information transparently. The norms help them maintain focus, navigate disagreement in healthy ways, and model behavior that districts seek to develop in their students.
Invest in early and recurring onboarding experiences. November elections will shift the composition of the governing teams in many districts, which can potentially undermine the commitment to both priorities and norms. To avoid this,newly elected trustees in San José Unified and Napa Valley Unified undergo district-specific onboarding processes that include one-on-one meetings with the superintendent and members of the central office and a California School Boards Association (CSBA)-facilitated Good Beginnings workshop to form relationships with one another and co-develop norms for how they will work together. A strong onboarding experience fosters role clarity, establishes a foundation for the governing team to work collaboratively, and communicates to constituents what the school board role involves and how it can best serve the community.
Lean on internal commitments to navigate challenges. The two districts’ strong sense of role clarity and their commitment to priorities and norms allow them to better navigate periods of struggle. Representatives from Napa Valley Unified described the painful decision to close schools in 2019 and 2021; San José Unified governing team members recalled an intense series of votes about police presence on school campuses. These difficult experiences tested the governing teams’ norms and values, but board members reported they would have been much harder without the practices, processes and commitments they had made prior.
This fall, voters will determine who represents them in crafting local school policy.
Now is the time for district leaders, trustees and voters to ask themselves some critical questions: Do members of my community understand what the work of the school board entails? Do they understand what a commitment to problem-solving enables the district to do? And will their voting reflect those kinds of behaviors and commitments?
By building awareness, fostering understanding, and equipping voters to make informed decisions on behalf of their communities, we can help cultivate governing bodies that will prioritize problem-solving over dysfunction, compromise over grandstanding, and student needs above all.
•••
Joel Knudson is a principal researcher at American Institutes for Research and the chair of the California Collaborative on District Reform, a learning community of researchers, practitioners, policymakers and funders dedicated to improving instruction and student learning for California’s school systems.
Marina Castro is a research analyst at American Institutes for Research, a nonpartisan and not-for-profit social science research organization, and a staff member of the California Collaborative on District Reform.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the authors. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
