DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. — Imam Mohammad Qazwini's deep understanding of Islam and his formal training at a seminary in the holy city of Qom, Iran, draws students to this suburban Detroit classroom just off the large prayer room of a mosque. But there's another attraction. The Quran, Islam's holy book,...
Walters: Will Spending More Fix Our Schools?
Former state legislator Ted Lempert is personally and professionally committed to improving the wellbeing of California’s children. Lempert, the president of Children Now, has tirelessly advocated to improve children’s futures and last week released a lengthy report comparing California to other states and concluding that we are woefully underspending on education. “Since...
Student Performance Lags on Nation’s Report Card
ATLANTA — America's eighth graders are falling behind in math and reading, while fourth graders are doing slightly better in reading, according to the latest results from the Nation's Report Card. But there were some exceptions to the findings, which also showed declines among fourth graders in math. Mississippi and the...
Affordable Housing Among Striking Chicago Teachers' Demands
CHICAGO — Striking Chicago teachers who are seeking smaller class sizes and higher pay also are demanding that the nation's third-largest city do more to lower housing costs and put more resources into helping homeless students. The demand for affordable housing citywide — for students and their financially-strapped families as well as...
Walters: Holding Schools Accountable
Educational accountability is attracting a lot of political attention — or perhaps lip service — these days in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two bills touted as bringing more accountability to education. One, Assembly Bill 1505, applies new controls on charter schools that receive public funds but are independently managed...
US Universities See Decline in Students From China
BURLINGTON, Vt. — After a decade of booming enrollment by students from China, American universities are starting to see steep declines as political tensions between the two countries cut into a major source of tuition revenue. Several universities have reported drops of one-fifth or more this fall in the number...
4 Ways to Cover College Costs if Financial Aid Isn't Enough
For 61% of students, college costs more than they expected, according to a recent survey from College Ave Student Loans conducted by Barnes & Noble College Insights. Yoselin Guzman, an 18-year-old UCLA freshman from Compton, California, can see why. "There's like little costs you don't even see," says Guzman, noting...
UC President Janet Napolitano Announces Plans to Step Down
SAN FRANCISCO — University of California President Janet Napolitano announced Wednesday she will step down in August 2020. Napolitano made the announcement at a meeting of the university's Board of Regents in Los Angeles. "My time at UC has been deeply gratifying and rewarding. I have been honored and inspired...
CA College Students Shell Out $2K a Month for Housing, Books, Food Alone
The price of college has become a hot-button issue at both the state and national level, but data has been scarce about how much, beyond tuition, California students actually spend on the housing, food, textbooks and other non-tuition items that they also need to earn a degree. On Thursday, a state survey offered some...
Kaiser Permanente Grants Help Local Schoolkids Get Fit, Stay Hydrated
There's a whole lot less sitting around in after-school programs at Fresno Unified School District these days after a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanent Fresno helped buy new equipment and hire staffers to help kids get fit — and stay there. Earlier this month students at Jefferson Elementary got to...