BY ELI WOLFE CalMatters Earlier this year, the California State Teachers Retirement System issued an ominous statement: teacher retirements in California are projected to hit nearly record-breaking heights in 2021. The statement, which came in the form of a February blog post, said that the numbers will be almost as...
Fresno Area Schools Hold Steady Amid California’s ‘Sharp Decline’ in Enrollment
SAN FRANCISCO — California public schools have experienced a sharp decline in enrollment this year as the pandemic forced millions into online school, according to data made public Thursday. The drop came as the state's school districts dawdled in bringing children back to the classroom, making California one of the...
Gov. Newsom Pushes School Reopenings as Many Districts Resist
SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday urged all California schools to reopen, emphasizing that there are no state or health barriers to getting children back into classrooms and ending distance learning. His frustration was evident: “Money is not an object now. It’s an excuse," he said. “I want...
Abolishing School Police Should be Part of Reopening Plans
School districts, teachers and policymakers across California are determining how to get more students back to in-person learning as safely as possible. While these conversations are important, the continued decriminalization of Black and Brown students, and the abolition of school police, must be central to any plan for reopening schools....
Opinion: Newsom, Legislature Must Urgently Prioritize Kids and Reopen Schools
We are in a crisis. Not just a health crisis, but a kid crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on nearly every aspect of our daily lives, the economy and our health system. But the most overlooked and forgotten are our kids, who have sadly been the collateral damage...
Calls to Reopen Classrooms Grow as Teachers Get Vaccinated
State leaders around the U.S. are increasingly pushing for schools to reopen this winter — pressuring them, even — as teachers begin to gain access to the vaccine against the raging pandemic. Ohio's governor offered to give vaccinations to teachers at the start of February, provided their school districts agree...
Opinion: Will Gov. Newsom Patch up the Local Control Funding Formula for Schools?
One of my 6th graders struggled with everything. Her notebook pages were often blank and, when she did write, it was incoherent. The 12-year-old was reading at a pre-kindergarten level. Then mid-year, she began working with our school’s new full-time school psychologist. The results were immediate. Diagnosed with a learning...
Newsom Surprises Local Educators With ‘Safe Schools for All Plan’ for In-Person Instruction
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday unveiled the state's plan to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic that includes allocating $2 billion in January to provide regular COVID-19 testing for students and staff, improve school ventilation, and acquire face masks and other personal protection equipment. The Safe Schools for All Plan...
Opinion: Blame Our Elected Officials, Not Our Teachers, for Schools Being Closed
Schooling has been an ongoing challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures harm families and students. Remote learning is less effective than in-person, especially for younger students. School closures require many parents to reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely. Other than addressing the pandemic itself, the government’s top focus...
With COVID-19 Surging, Schools Suspend in-Person Education
With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state spiking to record levels, bus drivers and teachers in quarantine, students getting sick and the holidays looming, Schools Superintendent Scott Hanback in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, made a tough decision this week. The school system, he decreed, would switch to remote learning until...