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  • Number of California teaching credentials increases after two-year slump

    Number of California teaching credentials increases after two-year slump


    A teacher reviews students’ project notes on a computer.

    Credit: Allison Shelley for EDUimages

    TOp takeaways
    • California issued 17,328 new teaching credentials during the 2023-24 school year, an 18% increase.
    • At the beginning of this school year, district officials estimated they needed about 25,000 new teachers to fill their classrooms.
    • Enrollment in teacher candidate programs dropped by more than 3,000 teacher candidates between 2019-20 and last school year.

    California issued 18% more teaching credentials last school year, compared with the previous year, but education experts remain only cautiously optimistic. The uptick comes after two years of declines, a drop in enrollment in teacher preparation programs and apprehension about federal and state funding.

    During the 2023-24 school year, 17,328 teachers earned a preliminary or clear credential — 2,666 more than the previous year. This was the first increase in new credentialed teachers since 2020-21, when the pandemic shuttered schools, according to the recently released “Teacher Supply in California” report to the Legislature. 

    The increase offers a glimmer of hope amid an enduring teacher shortage. However, the new teachers may not be enough to fill the classrooms vacated by retiring teachers and to replace teachers with emergency permits and waivers. New threats to teacher preparation funding could also hurt program enrollment, erasing last year’s gains.

    “At a time when schools across the nation are facing teacher shortages, the growth in California’s newly credentialed teachers indicates that state investments in teacher recruitment are beginning to pay off,” said Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “While these findings are a bright spot for California’s education system, we recognize the significant shortage of qualified teachers that still exists and encourage those interested in positively impacting our state’s youth to consider teaching as a profession.”

    California has spent $1 billion since 2018 to recruit and retain teachers to end the state’s teacher shortage. State leaders directed the funding to financial support for teacher candidates, to grants for residency programs, and to make it easier for school support staff to earn a degree and a teaching credential.

    Some teachers aren’t properly credentialed

    Without enough fully credentialed teachers to fill all the classrooms, school districts have had to hire teachers on intern credentials and emergency-style permits and waivers. Last school year, 5% of the state’s teachers were not qualified to teach the classes they taught, according to state data. 

    California’s teacher supply has been in a constant state of flux since the Great Recession, which began in 2007, caused large-scale teacher layoffs. The number of new California teaching credentials was 14,810 in 2013, before beginning a seven-year climb to 19,673 in 2020-21. The Covid pandemic interrupted that ascent, resulting in two years of decreases that ended last school year.

    Although the numbers have increased, there still aren’t enough fully credentialed teachers to fill all of California’s classrooms. Before the beginning of this school year, district officials estimated they would have to collectively hire nearly 25,000 new teachers — 169 more than in the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education data. 

    Declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs could further impact the number of fully credentialed teachers in the classroom. Enrollment dropped from 41,978 in 2019-20 to 38,596 last school year. While new enrollment increased by 1,166 students between 2022-23 and last school year, there were 3,309 fewer continuing students.

    Federal, state funding in question

    Marvin Lopez, executive director of the California Center on Teaching Careers, expressed concern that both the recent freeze of federal teacher preparation grants and budgetary problems at California State University and the University of California could further reduce the number of teachers entering the field.

    The California Center on Teaching Careers had a full cohort of teacher candidates in its program at the beginning of the school year, but that number has dwindled in the last several months as federal funding became questionable, Lopez said. He suspects the students left when the financial incentives dried up, or after finding other, more affordable pathways.

    “Grant programs are designed to make high-quality preparation more affordable,” said Dana Grayson, teacher workforce director at WestEd. “If there are disruptions in access to that funding, I think we might expect that could impact the number of teachers that are able to get those credentials and complete their certification.

    “I think similarly, the programs themselves, if they have uncertainty in their funding landscape, it could lead to hesitancy, or an inability to be able to scale or sustain programming,” she said.

    Schools still in need of teachers

    The increased number of credentials will bring some relief to school districts that have struggled to fill teaching jobs in subjects like math, science and special education.

    More teachers also earned new credentials in shortage areas, such as math, science and special education, according to a presentation at the April meeting of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

    The number of math credentials has increased over the last four years, with 1,247 new credentials issued last school year — a 15% increase over the prior year. The number of science credentials rose 7%, or 74 credentials, last school year — but only after four consecutive years of declines. 

    Nearly 3,500 teachers earned education specialist credentials last school year, compared with 3,051 the year before. Even with the increase, however, fewer new special education credentials were issued last school year than in any of the previous four years, except 2022-23. 

    Most emergency-style permits still going up

    But this year’s report on teaching credentials is not all good. Despite a decrease in some emergency-style waivers and permits, there have been increases in others, as well as in intern credentials, between 2022-23 and last school year:

    “I do think these (credential) numbers represent a promising uptick in getting more fully credentialed teachers in the state,” Grayson said. “But, I think sustainability planning is going to be really important to make sure we can support preparation programs, maintaining that affordability and access toward getting those full credentials.”





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  • In teaching, language quirks can be an asset

    In teaching, language quirks can be an asset


    Courtesy Jenine Catudio

    In 2016, 21 special education teachers from the Philippines were hired at a school district in the Bay Area. I was among the Filipino newcomers. The orientation took place in an oversize room, where echoes of Visayan and Tagalog dialects filled the space. As the session neared its end, the administrator asked, “Are there any questions?” The room fell silent, suggesting a collective no. Once he left, we eagerly exchanged queries and sought clarification from one another — in our native language.

    What just happened?

    There’s much to consider in that scenario. While no single explanation suffices, cultural norms likely played a significant role. Filipinos, often indirect communicators, favor subtlety over directness. In the Philippines, questioning authority can be seen as disrespectful. This potentially explains our reluctance to respond to the administrator. Additionally, the fear of speaking, driven by concerns about grammatical errors, mispronunciations and accents, can inhibit us from speaking up.

    While communication is integral to our roles as educators, navigating the nuances of language and cultural expectations has presented unforeseen challenges. For instance, during one of my initial meetings with the principal, I described my class as “an amalgam of different abilities.” He asked me to repeat myself, highlighting the cultural gap in our communication styles.

    After I administered a spelling test to a student who was about to exit special education, the student remarked, “Oh, I got a low score because you were saying each word differently,” referring to my accent. I explained that each word was used in a sentence, so understanding the context was key. Feeling self-conscious, I consulted the school speech-language pathologist about my accent potentially affecting the student’s test score. She responded, “I don’t think so, Jenine. You don’t have a strong accent. What you have, though, is pronoun confusion.” I laughed since I knew exactly what she was talking about. The English use of “he,” “she” and “him,” “her,” in place of the catchall “siya” in Filipino, often confuses me.

    In another class, a student laughed at me when I put the stress on the first syllable instead of the second — the word was “adult.”

    Clearly, there is a language barrier, and Filipinos are well aware of it. Despite English being a medium of instruction in the Philippines, we rarely use it in daily conversations. Vocabulary training encompassed terms like “amalgam” without addressing conversational nuances. Pronunciation differences, such as using the British /a.dult/ instead of the American /uh.dult/, went unclarified. Moreover, mastering gender pronouns demands continuous effort, contrasting with our natural usage in Filipino.

    The following year, the recruitment agency that hired Filipino teachers in another district required English language classes for new hires. While teaching grammar rules enhances understanding of the language according to studies, applying these rules during spontaneous speech is much more challenging. It has less to do with understanding grammar and more to do with the process of language acquisition. For many years, recruiting teachers from the Philippines has been an answer to the worsening teacher shortage in California, resulting in a more diverse teaching workforce.

    Reflecting on my journey, I realize that the benefits of speaking up outweigh my culturally rooted fears. As an educator in an underserved community in California, I needed my voice to advocate for my students. I realized that my colleagues didn’t mind my accent or minor grammar mistakes. It was encouraging. Although it took time, I eventually discovered a newfound confidence in expressing myself authentically. I learned that as long as I could get my point across, the specifics didn’t matter.

    Does this imply that we are not holding Filipino teachers to the same standard as our students? Absolutely not. However, it’s crucial to remember that language proficiency does not correlate with overall cognitive abilities and intelligence. This understanding applies equally to our students.

    Filipinos, as English learners themselves, can empathize deeply with minority students facing similar challenges. Drawing from these shared cultural experiences, they can offer invaluable contributions to culturally responsive classrooms. When students ask why I speak a certain way, I take the chance to share insights about my culture and heritage. It’s important to recognize our perceived weaknesses while harnessing our strengths to our students’ advantage. Rooted in our collective experiences of hardships, our heightened cultural sensitivity cultivates inclusivity and mutual understanding within the classroom. We understand firsthand the challenges, whether in language or culture, and use this empathy to create a culturally responsive learning environment.

    •••

    Jenine Catudio is a special education teacher and autism advocate from the Philippines who taught students with mild to moderate disabilities in West Contra Costa Unified in Richmond.

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





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  • Our failure in teaching early math shortchanges children for life

    Our failure in teaching early math shortchanges children for life


    Credit: Zaidee Stavely / EdSource

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    •••

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

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





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  • Why you shouldn’t let the controversy around AP African American Studies deter you from teaching it

    Why you shouldn’t let the controversy around AP African American Studies deter you from teaching it


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    I was hesitant when first approached to help develop a course for AP African American Studies. Not because of the content, but rather the broader societal debates and media attention surrounding the curriculum. The noise around it felt overwhelming.

    However, as I began to review the materials, I realized how groundbreaking this course could be for students. It became clear that it was a worthwhile challenge.

    Now, nearly six months into teaching this course online to high school students around the state, I’m further convinced of its value. My students applauded the use of music to bridge the past and present and immersed themselves in research to complete their final projects. One student said the final project “felt culturally enriching,” while another said it gave them “a profound understanding of history as a whole.” The course also challenges us as educators and sparks vital conversations among students.

    It’s understandable that the debate around AP African American Studies has made teachers reluctant to offer to teach the course. But California is at the forefront of introducing more inclusive coursework into its high schools, including the 2021 mandate that all students complete an ethnic studies course as a part of graduation requirements, a requirement that AP African American Studies would satisfy. This curriculum is essential, but it also raises the question: How do we prepare teachers — especially those who aren’t history specialists — to deliver it effectively?

    Teaching any new course comes with its own learning curve, but this one presents unique demands. Unlike established courses where lesson plans are well-worn, this one is brand new.

    The interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum invites teachers across subject areas to lean into their own expertise while exploring new subject areas. It also allows for a diversity of perspectives, enriching the learning experience for both teachers and students. As an English teacher, I found the course’s focus on argumentation, critical reading and writing skills familiar, even as I navigated less familiar topics like African empires and diaspora.

    When I developed the course with UC Scout, a University of California program hosted at UC Santa Cruz that provides free online A-G and AP curriculum to California public school teachers, we had the advantage of a methodical course development process that included collaboration with subject-matter experts, instructional designers and visual media experts. Together, we crafted video lessons and learning materials that brought this interdisciplinary course to life. But many brick-and-mortar teachers are navigating this course in real time without the support I had.

    Fortunately, the College Board has provided a robust set of materials, and there’s also a vibrant community of educators online sharing resources and strategies as well as offering additional support for one another on social media and on the AP Community forum. These spaces are invaluable for exchanging ideas and troubleshooting.

    Still, this course demands more than typical preparation. Its sensitive and complex material — including slavery, segregation, war and migration, among others — requires a level of intentionality that goes beyond the basics. For example, we knew some images included in the course, especially from the Reconstruction era, should be handled with greater sensitivity. We included content warnings, alternatives (transcriptions) and image blurring to ensure our students felt as much comfort as possible while learning history that can be uncomfortable and upsetting. For considerations like this, and others that may arise while teaching this course, teachers need not only resources, but also ongoing professional development and support from their schools to succeed.

    For teachers diving into this course — or those considering it for next year — here are a few lessons I’ve learned:

    • Leverage existing resources: There are free resources, like the course offered by UC Scout, that can assist program development and provide a strong foundation that can save teachers time as they build out lesson plans.
    • Collaborate and connect: Engaging with other teachers, whether through formal AP communities such as AP Summer Institutes or Pre-AP Community or informal networks, like the AP African American Studies Facebook group, is critical. Becoming an AP reader is also a great opportunity to engage with other teachers of the course. These conversations often yield insights that can make teaching this course more effective.
    • Seek administrative support: School leaders play a key role in supporting teachers by providing training, allocating resources and fostering a culture that embraces new courses like this one.

    Much like my first semester students found, the course content can be life-changing in its potential to recast and dispel cultural and racial misconceptions. It strengthens their sense of identity. What an amazing privilege to lead students in this endeavor.

    Teaching AP African American Studies has reminded me of an essential truth about education: It requires continuous reflection and growth. While this is my first time teaching this course, I already see areas to strengthen for next year. That’s the nature of teaching — constant evolution to better meet the needs of our students.

    •••

    Karsten Barnes is a high school English teacher at UC Scout. He teaches AP African American Studies, a course he helped develop, online to California students whose schools don’t currently offer the class.

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





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  • Teaching Nursing Students to Think Clinically with Realistic Instructional Tools

    Teaching Nursing Students to Think Clinically with Realistic Instructional Tools


    Jan 30
    2024

    Teaching Nursing Students to Think Clinically with Realistic Instructional Tools

    Tim Bristol

    By Tim Bristol, director of strategic planning, NurseThink, Wolters Kluwer Health.

    The ever-worsening nursing shortage is taking the United States by storm, with nearly 800,000 nurses planning to leave their roles or retire by 2027. Unfortunately, nursing education is not immune to this crisis.

    The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reports that 8.8% of faculty positions are vacant at U.S. nursing schools and additional positions would need to be created to meet student demand. Without enough faculty, this has a serious impact on the capacity and effectiveness of nursing education programs as nursing schools are already being forced to turn away qualified applicants. Fortunately, while faculty shortages won’t be solved overnight, advancements in instructional technology can help fill the gap.

    One key challenge facing nursing education is that the curriculum is not set up to teach students in a way that mirrors real-world practice. While new nurses today will often face greater challenges – and often higher caseloads – than ever before, nursing students are not being adequately trained to face this reality. In many ways, today’s nursing classrooms look no different than the classrooms students may have encountered in 1993. But a lecture hall looks very different than the chaotic hospital setting new nurses will actually experience. To help ensure students build skills and engage in clinical judgement, even if faculty numbers are limited, incorporating electronic health records and virtual simulation into their daily education can make a major difference.

    Electronic health records are not optional

    While electronic health record (EHR) systems are a highly discussed technology across the healthcare landscape, they have been shown to reduce errors and lower medical costs. Needless to say, EHRs are here to stay across healthcare and something that care teams need to use, every day. However, they can only positively impact healthcare as a whole if nurses are trained to use them effectively and efficiently before they encounter them in clinical practice.

    It’s important for faculty to understand how easy it is to implement EHRs into the daily classroom experience. Students could simply login to a basic, blank EHR and enter data based on a case study or challenge given by their instructor. For example, students could be tasked with entering a blood pressure reading that would indicate that they should hold (not give) a patient medication to lower their blood pressure. When faculty allow students to experience this type of activity, they are learning in the same way in which they will be using EHRs in practice. This is something that could easily be incorporated into nursing classrooms, even in a lecture hall of 100+ students.

    The virtual world makes simulation accessible

    Virtual simulations are increasingly demonstrating value for nursing education, helping students feel engaged and better retain what they’ve learned. By incorporating simulation on a weekly or daily basis into the curriculum, this lets learners dive deep into patient scenarios, allowing them to truly learn about nursing in a way not easily replicated with most other learning strategies. Up until recently, one major challenge was that many simulation tools are inaccessible to aspiring nurses, due to the cost and complexities involved.

    The virtual simulation (vSim) world is now comprised of technology that is easily understood and usable by faculty in all environments. Computer requirements for vSim tools that resemble realistic patient scenarios are such that nursing students can easily use these programs on even the most basic of computers. While the technologies available and their complexities differ, these vSim programs are very realistic and allow students to practice high-level decision making in scenarios they wouldn’t likely encounter as part of their clinicals.

    Within the virtual world, the realism of simulation is now accessible to all students. The next step is to make sure nursing faculty realize how critical these tools are. While an instructor might struggle to fit vSim into class time, the reality is that students can often learn more in 30 minutes of simulation than they could in a 2-hour lecture.

    Bringing the nursing classroom into the future

    The future of the nursing profession and healthcare really is in the hands of all nursing programs. Overall, what’s paramount here is that nursing students learn in the same way in which they will use that information at the bedside. This requires getting them comfortable with entering information into EHRs and practicing with realistic patient simulations on a weekly if not daily basis. Thanks to technological advancements in recent years, these tools are increasingly accessible, and we must prioritize training educators on how these tools can be easily adopted in their classrooms to ensure the next generation of nurses are practice ready.



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  • How Covid changed teaching in California: fewer pencils, more technology

    How Covid changed teaching in California: fewer pencils, more technology


    The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed how students and teachers spend their time in the classroom. Now, instead of writing with paper and pencil, students use computers for most assignments.

    Teachers lecture less and spend more time on individualized instruction, social-emotional learning and relationship building.

    The last five years have not been easy. Students returned to campuses in the spring of 2021, after spending more than a year learning alone from home on computers. They had knowledge gaps, and many felt isolated and unsure, often resulting in chronic absenteeism and bad behavior. 

    Thousands of California teachers, discouraged by disciplinary problems, quit the profession.

    But others doubled down on individualized instruction and social-emotional support, spending a good portion of class time reacquainting their students with how to behave in the classroom and encouraging them to socialize with their peers.

    Now, five years after Covid closed schools, student scores on the state’s standardized Smarter Balanced tests have improved slightly, although achievement is still not back to pre-Covid levels. 

    California teachers interviewed by EdSource are optimistic, reporting that interventions are working and that student discipline is improving.

    “They don’t miss their houses,”  said Erika Cedeno, who teaches Spanish at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita. “They don’t miss anything related to Covid. They want to be at school, and they are enjoying sports. They are playing tennis and swimming. It’s very different. I think we are probably getting to the point that we were before Covid.”

    More personalized learning

    Teachers report placing a greater emphasis on small-group instruction and personalized learning to accommodate students who returned from school closures with diverse learning needs, according to “Rewiring the classroom: How the Covid-19 pandemic transformed K-12 education,” released in August by the Brookings Institution. 

    The spring 2023 survey of 1,000 K-12 teachers and administrators across the country revealed that students now spend less time in lectures and more time working on educational software tailored to their needs. The increased use of technology by students, teachers and parents is the biggest change in the classroom since Covid-19 closures, said Brian Jacob, who co-authored the Brookings report. 

    After months of working on educational software during pandemic school closures, teachers are now more likely to incorporate it into their classrooms, according to the report. In early 2023, 70% of all students and 80% of all middle and high school students in the United States had a personal computing device.

    “I use technology more freely in the classroom now, and it’s an expected part of the day,” Todd Shadbourne, a sixth grade teacher at Foulks Ranch Elementary School in Elk Grove, told EdSource. 

    “We used to do a research project and everybody had to go to the library and get a book, and hope they could get a book,” Shadbourne said. “And we couldn’t study biographies when my neighboring class was doing biographies because there’s only so many books. … Now you have other resources because you have a computer in front of you.”

    Too much technology isn’t good

    There are some drawbacks to the increased use of technology in schools, however. Research shows that reading comprehension is better when students read printed texts instead of online materials, Jacob said. Students also struggle with writing and spelling because all their school work is done on computers equipped with programs that correct spelling and grammar, he said.

    “School officials and researchers really need to look at that carefully and determine how much time students are spending on devices, and how is that going?” Jacob said.

    Some California teachers try to limit their students’ screen time and require them to spend more time reading text, writing with pencil and paper and collaborating with their classmates.

    San Diego special education teacher Carly Bresee says the use of technology by students outside the classroom has also increased, prompting her to use less technology in class than before the pandemic.

    “I know that general ed teachers are kind of facing that question,” Bresee said. “How much computer use is healthy and positive for the students? They are having difficulty with that balance, knowing what the best formula is for learning.”

    Back to classroom carts at some schools

    School officials at James Lick Middle School have decided to go back to classroom computer carts because the school, in financially strapped San Francisco Unified, could no longer afford to maintain and replace student computers that are broken, lost or outdated.

    “Kids have broken them on purpose,” said Keith Carames, who teaches theater arts and English at the school. “Kids have lost them. Kids have dropped them.”

    That move away from technology is a big disappointment to Carames, who became a convert after spending three months learning how to use Zoom, Google Classroom and other online education programs. 

    “I saw the light,” Carames said. “I can edit stuff online with them (the students). I can post videos. I have resources that are accessible. If they are absent, they can get work. There are letters that you can send to the family and newsletters and interactive things. It changed my practice as an educator. ”

    Carames calls the transition back to paper and pen “a nightmare.”

    “There are some kids who don’t even know how to spell their own first name,” he said.

    Changing views on school attendance

    The biggest change for Elk Grove’s Shadbourne since Covid is the perception among some students and parents that attending school is optional. Students go on vacation during the school year or decide to work from home on a given day because they think they can get assignments on Google Classroom and email them to the teacher.

    “And the social benefits of school, and the problem-solving that we do as a group, and the common culture we hope to create, it’s hard to do that when people are gone,” Shadbourne said. 

    The impact of absences is amplified in special education, where a student might make progress one day, miss a day of school, and lose that progress, Bresee said.

    Students need social-emotional support

    Since schools reopened in 2020, California teachers have been spending more time greeting their students at the door, sending them notes and planning activities that encourage communication and help build relationships. Making these connections helps students develop social-emotional skills and encourages them to come to school.

    “In special education, we saw a huge increase in maladaptive behaviors, and that was really difficult both for the students, the support staff and for teachers,” said Bresee, a TK-1 special education teacher at Perkins K-8 School. “… It was hard to maintain a regular routine because it felt like we were more frequently in crisis mode.”

    Students, especially younger ones, had to learn how to play and communicate effectively with others. That meant more time was set aside for adult-facilitated playtime than before the pandemic, Bresee said.

    “It became, in my eyes, an even more important part of the day, right up there with our literacy and math lessons,” Breese said.

    The effort seems to be paying off. This year, student behavior has improved, and the class routine is back on track, according to Bresee.

    Social-emotional support and building connections between students and their teachers and classmates are equally important for older students.

    Cedeno greets her Spanish students at the door every day and then spends roughly seven minutes at the beginning of each class asking questions to draw students into conversations meant to help them connect with her and their classmates.

    “Cuál es tu color favorito (What is your favorite color)?” she asks one day. “Cuál es tu dulce favorito (What is your favorite candy)?” she asks on another day.

    Cedeno also invites students to have lunch in her classroom if they need a safe space to relax and a microwave to heat their food.

    “We are trying to rebuild this step by step,” Cedeno said. “We are not there yet. But I think we are going to get there if we put in a lot of effort, a lot of compassion and empathy, because these kids, they need this.”





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