The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned. 

鈥娾�淭his board鈥檚 decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait鈥檚 leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,鈥� said board President Scott Schmerelson.

The board met privately to discuss the district鈥檚 top job three days after . Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving 鈥渂ecause I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.鈥� 

The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.

Who is Andres Chait?

Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district鈥檚 office of emergency management.

Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. 鈥溾�奍 was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,鈥� Chait said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.鈥�

What is the superintendent responsible for? 

LAUSD is the country鈥檚 second-largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent , the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment 鈥� which is tied to state funding 鈥� and federal investigations  designed to .

罢丑颈蝉听聽was originally published on聽.

With Alberto Carvalho鈥檚 resignation now official, Los Angeles Unified faces a new challenge: finding a superintendent to lead the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district through mounting budget deficits, declining enrollment and political uncertainty. 

Acting Superintendent Andr茅s Chait will continue leading the district in the interim, but board members have not yet outlined a timeline or process for selecting a permanent replacement.  

The board said it remains committed to 鈥渆nsuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership.鈥� Its focus, according to a , 鈥渞emains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve.鈥�

Carvalho  Sunday night that he would formally step down amid an ongoing FBI investigation that appears to concern his relations with AllHere, a now-defunct company that developed the district鈥檚 AI chatbot with which LAUSD entered a $6.2 million professional services contract. 

In February, two days after the FBI  Carvalho鈥檚 home and LAUSD headquarters and searched a residence in Florida, the school board placed him on  administrative leave. He continued to receive his annual  of $440,000 and other benefits. It remains unclear whether his departure will include a negotiated settlement with the district. 

Around that time, Carvalho  any wrongdoing, and his attorneys at Holland & Knight LLP said they hoped he would be reinstated. 

Now, Carvalho says he鈥檚 stepping down to avoid further disruption to the district and allow LAUSD to focus on serving students.  

In a letter released through his attorneys, Carvalho thanked students, families, educators and community members for their support during his tenure.  

鈥淭he successes we have achieved belong to you. I will miss all of you and will continue to pray for the success, health, and wellbeing of every student and family in our District,鈥� he said. 

Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed details of the investigation, and it remains unclear when additional information may become available. 

What happens now?

Chait will continue to serve as acting superintendent while the school board determines its next steps. 

But John Rogers, the associate dean for research and public scholarship in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, said he wishes the announcement of Carvalho鈥檚 resignation had come earlier to give the school board more time to conduct a search to find a new, permanent superintendent before the start of the next academic year. 

Community groups and education advocates say the district cannot afford prolonged instability. 

鈥淎t a time when the district is dealing with federal attacks on public education, declining enrollment, budget pressures, attacks on our most marginalized communities, and persistent inequities, prolonged uncertainty in its leadership has only made it harder to work towards real solutions,鈥� read a statement from Reclaim Our Schools LA, a coalition that works to improve access to Los Angeles public education. 

From fiscal challenges to community and political concerns, the next superintendent will have a lot to navigate. Stability, experts and community members agree, is essential. 

This year, the district is also  two of its academic chiefs: Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Karla Estrada and Chief Academic Officer Frances Baez. 

鈥淩esearch shows that when you have these turnovers, the biggest issue is around organizational instability, when someone new might come in and shift priorities or stop reforms,鈥� said Julie Marsh, a professor of education policy at USC. 鈥淭hat can lead to lower staff morale and challenges to sustaining programs and policies, and that becomes quite disruptive.鈥� 

Rogers said he hopes the district casts a broader net and conducts a nationwide search for the next superintendent. Marsh and other community members feel the board should look within first. 

鈥淥ne of the things we know about new leaders is often they want to make their mark, and be able to put their stamp on an organization,鈥� Marsh said. 鈥淎nd that may not be the time for it right now for us to see someone new come in with all new ideas.鈥�

Nicolle Fefferman, a longtime LAUSD educator and co-founder of the Facebook advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers, stressed the importance of transparency in a future leader, and said Chait鈥檚 leadership appears to be encouraging 鈥� noting LAUSD doesn鈥檛 鈥渘eed a racehorse. What we need is a workhorse.鈥� 

Finding a superintendent who listens to parent and student voices is also key, said Elena Price, who has two children in district elementary schools. 

鈥淟eadership comes and goes. Our students remain,鈥� Price said. 鈥淎nd my hope is that L.A. Unified uses this transition as an opportunity to strengthen its partnership with parents and stay focused on what matters most: student success.鈥� 

Carvalho鈥檚 report card 

Carvalho became LAUSD鈥檚 superintendent in 2022 after leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools for 14 years. 

Assuming the role as schools were emerging from pandemic-era disruptions, he made recovering learning loss and reducing chronic absenteeism central priorities. 

During his tenure, student test scores  to pre-pandemic levels. Attendance numbers improved and the share of students completing A-G coursework required for admission to the University of California and California State University systems increased, according to district data. 

鈥淚 reflect on Carvalho鈥檚 tenure as a time when there were some improvements laid out across the district, and I credit the entirety of the district for those improvements 鈥� and have to acknowledge that Carvalho was a leader during that time,鈥� said Rogers.

Carvalho also earned praise from many advocates for immigrant students and families, particularly as he publicly challenged policies and actions of the Trump administration that he viewed as harmful to immigrant communities.  

鈥淗e understood the immigrant experience,鈥� said Evelyn Aleman, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit parent group Our Voice/Nuestra Voz, which previously called for Carvalho to be . 

鈥淏eing an advocate at L.A. Unified for four decades now, I have never seen a superintendent take on the cause of immigrant families and vulnerable children. 鈥� He was really trying to raise the bar in terms of the quality education that these children received.鈥� 

As much as LAUSD gained under Carvalho鈥檚 leadership, his tenure was marked by controversy. Critics questioned the  of arts education money, the  of the district鈥檚 former Primary Promise intervention program, several  and data breaches, and aspects of its response to the 2025 L.A. wildfires. 

鈥淭here have been numerous occasions over his tenure where we witnessed what we thought were grave derelictions of responsibility to our children and to our schools,鈥� said Fefferman of Parents Supporting Teachers, which was early to call for Carvalho鈥檚 . 

鈥淔inally we can be done with this part of the LAUSD story, and hopefully move on to something better.鈥�

Rogers added he wasn鈥檛 鈥渟ure that Carvalho always created the most supportive environment for educators in the system.鈥� 

Carvalho鈥檚 fall 

Ultimately, Carvalho鈥檚 downfall came 鈥� at least, in part 鈥� from dealings with AllHere Education. 

The district entered into a $6.2 million contract with AllHere on July 1, 2023, and unveiled a chatbot, Ed, as a virtual assistant designed to help students navigate school resources and services the following year.

The project quickly unraveled. The company鈥檚 founder and CEO, Joanna Smith-Griffin, left and was arrested in November 2024 and charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Most employees were furloughed. 

Carvalho announced a task force to examine what went wrong, but no progress or outcomes have been publicly disclosed. 

During the raids, the FBI also searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida, in Broward County. The residence is reportedly linked to Debra Kerr, an AllHere contractor with ties to Carvalho from when he was superintendent in Miami-Dade. Kerr鈥檚 son, a former AllHere employee, told 社区黑料 that he had pitched the company to LAUSD.

鈥淢ost district leaders around California and around the nation are at a little bit of a loss trying to figure out how to navigate this new AI landscape,鈥� said Rogers. 

鈥淭his is not to take responsibility away from Carvalho for the decisions he made, but I do think many educational leaders don鈥檛 have sufficient information and are trying to figure out in a context of rapid change and insufficient information how to move forward.鈥� 

Last week, leaders of the largest LAUSD unions 鈥� United Teachers Los Angeles and SEIU Local 99 鈥� expressed a desire for Carvalho to be replaced, according to the Los Angeles Times.

鈥淎fter months of uncertainty around district leadership, the news of Superintendent Carvalho鈥檚 resignation does not come as a surprise,鈥� UTLA said in a statement. 

鈥淭he next superintendent must ensure that district resources are invested where they matter most: in our schools and classrooms, not in billions of dollars鈥� worth of outside contracts.鈥�

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At Pinedale Elementary in Fresno, there鈥檚 almost no classroom aides, after-school tutors or behavioral counselors. Literacy activities and parent workshops are scarce. Field trips? Almost non-existent. The school survives on one of the lowest per-pupil expenditures in the state: $16,700 a year, nearly $5,000 below the state average.

Less than two miles away, it鈥檚 a different story at Kratt Elementary, which is in a different school district. Kratt has almost identical demographics 鈥� predominantly low-income and Latino 鈥斅� but gets $25,000 per student and has the amenities to show for it.

And a few hours west in the Bay Area, you鈥檒l find Portola Valley Elementary, which spends almost $46,000 per student annually. It offers music and art classes, mental health counselors, small class sizes and state-of-the-art facilities.

The way California鈥檚 school funding works, schools with large numbers of students who are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care get extra funding. Schools in wealthy areas get less state funding but make up for it in local property taxes and parent donations. But those in the middle? They get much less money overall.

鈥淲hen I saw what other schools provide, I was like, what?鈥� said Tania Galeana-King, a mother of three and parent volunteer at Pinedale. 鈥淎s a parent, it鈥檚 really frustrating. I鈥檝e heard of No Child Left Behind, but this is like half the kids left behind.鈥�

Low funding, low test scores

When California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula a little more than , the idea was to bring equity to school funding and ensure students with the most needs got more support. But soaring costs, declining enrollment and inflation have led to gaping disparities in school funding.

Those in the wealthiest areas, such as Portola Valley, Menlo Park and other Silicon Valley enclaves, are typically 鈥渂asic aid鈥� districts, meaning they get most of their funding through local property taxes. Parents chip in the rest, often millions of dollars a year.

School districts that are not basic aid get their money through the state鈥檚 Local Control Funding Formula, which includes a base grant plus extra money depending how many students are low-income, English learners, homeless or in foster care. If more than 55% fall into that category, districts get even more money.

That鈥檚 why Fresno Unified, where Kratt Elementary is located, gets significantly more money than Pinedale Elementary, which is located in Clovis Unified. Clovis, where just under half the students are considered high-needs, receives little extra funding.

The consequences of the funding disparities are reflected in students鈥� test scores. At Pinedale, fewer than 30% of students met the state鈥檚 English language arts standard last year. Only 23.5% met the math standard. Kratt students scored 5 to 10 percentage points higher on both tests. At Portola Valley, about 85% of students met the standard on both tests.

鈥淚鈥檇 say the problem is urgent,鈥� said Michael Johnston, associate superintendent at Clovis Unified, noting the impact on student learning at schools with less funding. 鈥淔or many, many years, these kids have not gotten the same resources, and every year that goes by, it gets worse. It鈥檚 a group of students we are not treating fairly, and there needs to be a solution.鈥�

Solutions in Sacramento

A seeks to fix the problem. Authored by Sen. , a Democrat from San Jose, Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 would create a reserve account funded by surplus tax revenues in economically flush years. After the state doles out its Proposition 98 money 鈥� California鈥檚 primary vehicle for funding schools 鈥� every year, it would give extra funding to schools that aren鈥檛 in basic aid districts. The money would come from the interest generated on the reserve account. As the account grows, the extra funding would grow.

鈥淥ver time, we think this bill can certainly stop the bleeding,鈥� said Cortese, whose district includes a dozen basic aid districts. 鈥淚f we do nothing, the problem is just going to get worse and worse.鈥�

Cortese鈥檚 bill would amend the state constitution. If it passes the Legislature, the proposal would appear on the fall ballot.

Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 also attempts to address the problem, providing almost $1 billion more toward school base grants.

That鈥檚 good news to the Association of California School Administrators. Although the money isn鈥檛 enough, it鈥檚 a start, said Naj Alikhan, the organization鈥檚 spokesman.

鈥�(We) strongly support efforts to raise the base grant,鈥� Alikhan said. 鈥淭he LCFF base grant is the foundation of school funding in California, and increasing it is one of the most effective ways to provide schools with greater stability, flexibility, and capacity to meet local needs.鈥�

Another bill, put forth by Assemblymember , a Democrat from Chula Vista, would expand school , but some worry that it would actually make funding shortfalls worse for some districts. Instead of raising the base grant, the bill would redirect more money to schools with large numbers of high-needs students.

Cutting the basics

David Roth, superintendent of Buckeye Union Elementary School District in El Dorado County, has gathered a cadre of school administrators to oppose Alvarez鈥檚 bill and fight for an increase in the base grant.

He鈥檚 created a database called , which calculates school districts鈥� funding disparities over the past 15 years. About 25 parent organizations and 60 small and mid-sized school districts have signed on to support Roth鈥檚 campaign. Among the largest: Clovis Unified, Fremont Unified, San Ramon Valley Unified and Murrieta Valley Unified.

鈥淲e support the idea that some student populations need more resources. At the end of the day, we鈥檙e all underfunded,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淏ut the base grant has not kept up with escalating costs, and districts are falling further and further behind.鈥�

Buckeye, a K-12 district in the Sierra foothills, receives only $15,100 per student, far below the state average of $21,000. The district has pockets of wealth, but also areas of poverty. Because of low per-pupil funding the district is in jeopardy of losing long-standing programs that serve all students, Roth said.

If base funding doesn鈥檛 improve, Roth anticipates cuts to P.E., libraries, counselors and music in the next few years.

鈥淚n my mind, these are the basics,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e patching things together now with bubblegum and shoestrings, but that can鈥檛 last forever. Soon we鈥檒l be unable to fund a reasonable education program.鈥�

‘There’s such a demand’

Pinedale Elementary is in a working-class neighborhood in north Fresno with no sidewalks and a smattering of crime and homelessness. Galeana-King described the area as tough but close-knit. 鈥淓veryone looks after each other,鈥� she said.

Galeana-King has been a parent at Pinedale for 15 years 鈥� all three of her children attended the school. She volunteers in the classroom and is active in the parent club, which raises a few thousand dollars a year through after-school snack sales, a salsa festival, jog-a-thon and other events.

But it鈥檚 not easy raising money in a community where most parents work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

鈥淲e have to be understanding,鈥� Galeana-King said. 鈥淲e want families to participate, but we need to be reasonable. People are struggling.鈥�

Teachers often pay for classroom supplies out of their own pockets, while the parent club pays for things like new chess boards for the chess club and the second-grade field trip to Monterey. But the needs are endless. If the parent club could raise more money, they鈥檇 like to provide snacks for the classrooms, new sports equipment, backpacks for students and other amenities.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud to send my kids to Pinedale. It might not always have the most financial resources, but it has a school full of people who deeply care about and love the kids,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat said, our students and staff urgently need more support.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

A from Leanlab Education, a nonprofit research organization, examined publicly available LAUSD assessment data over several years.

found that schools using IM Math grew faster than similar schools that did not, even as math outcomes improved across LAUSD overall. The difference was equivalent to roughly three to four additional months of math learning each year. It also found that schools receiving curriculum-aligned implementation support saw math scores improve after that support began, with gains increasing over time.

What drove these results was not a single program, but an instructional vision that connected curriculum, professional learning and implementation support.

IM Math provided the instructional foundation, with lessons designed to build on one another from day to day and year to year. But adopting the curriculum was not the end of the story. The PartnershipLA worked alongside teachers and leaders in bringing that design into day-to-day practice through professional learning, planning support, coaching and classroom observations.  A coach-the-coaches model strengthened the partnership鈥檚 capacity to support schools over time.

Building on that foundation and with an investment from the Gates Foundation, the PartnershipLA and LAUSD worked together to roll out these practices across the district. LAUSD led the expansion, establishing the guidance, funding and leadership structures to bring high-quality math materials to schools systemwide, while the PartnershipLA contributed tools, lessons and coaching capacity to the district at large.

That combination mattered because teachers are the ones who bring the curriculum to life. With strong materials and aligned support, teachers guided students to reason, explain, question, practice and revise their thinking. That helped build understanding and fluency over time instead of memorizing disconnected steps. As lessons built on one another, students could connect what they learned yesterday to the work in front of them today.

Even well-designed materials lose impact when the rest of the system points in different directions. Professional learning drifts if it is not anchored to the curriculum that students use every day. Tutoring and intervention can give students more time without giving them a clearer path. None of this happens because educators or district leaders lack commitment. It happens because aligning a large system is hard, especially when leaders are being asked to show progress quickly.

Educators are already doing the hard work. The challenge for district leaders is to ensure the many supports around teachers work together in ways that are easier to sustain and more likely to reach students. If approved, California鈥檚 next round of investments will give districts a chance to turn this lesson into action.

Students who have been denied strong math instruction cannot afford further fragmentation in reform. They deserve access to grade-level mathematics that helps them see patterns, solve problems, and develop confidence in their own ability to do math. Educators deserve materials, time, and support that are all working toward the same goal.

The new findings offer a playbook, but not a shortcut: Start with a shared instructional vision, choose strong materials, align professional learning and implementation support around them and keep improving over time.

That is hard work. It is also how districts turn smart investments into lasting gains in student learning.

Disclosure: Gates Foundation provides financial support to 社区黑料.

Marking the start of two weeks of intensive negotiations, the Legislature Monday with higher revenue projections than those proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, providing several billion dollars in additional spending for TK-12 and community colleges in 2026-27.

Several other significant issues remain unresolved. Chief among them is the $3.9 billion in education funding that Newsom would withhold until revenue projections 鈥� mainly tax receipts from taxpayers鈥� investments in AI stocks 鈥� come true. Education groups are threatening to sue over the delay.

June 15 was the constitutional deadline for legislators to pass a balanced budget or risk losing their pay for every day they鈥檙e late. They can amend the budget, as they usually do, before the next fiscal year starts on July 1, based on agreements with the governor.

In its current version, the Legislature鈥檚 budget adopted nearly all of what Newsom included in his May budget revision, with a record $127 billion for schools and community colleges. Legislators include a larger-than-required cost-of-living adjustment for most programs, $1 billion more for community schools, a $2.4 billion boost to ongoing special education funding and a $5 billion one-time block grant that districts and charter schools can spend however they want.

Barrett Snider, a founding partner of Capitol Advisors Group, a Sacramento-based school consulting firm, characterized Newsom鈥檚 budget as 鈥渁 great budget for schools,鈥� overall; most education advocates agree.

But the Legislature鈥檚 budget projects about $5 billion more in revenue than Newsom forecast just a month ago. That would translate to $2 billion more for schools and community colleges under Proposition 98, the formula that guarantees that 40% of general fund money goes to community colleges and schools. Combined with contributing $800 million less to the rainy day fund, freeing up that money for spending, the Legislature would mitigate some of the $3.9 billion that Newsom would withhold.

Here鈥檚 how the Legislature would spend most of the money:

• $700 million for districts to upgrade or add school kitchens 鈥� in line with the state鈥檚 priority that schools prepare fresh and nutritious meals. Family food pantries would be another use.
• $300 million one-time for career/technical education.
• $450 million on top of Newsom鈥檚 proposed $250 million to pay student teachers a stipend to teach in priority areas, including STEM and special education.
• $350 million more for the California newcomer鈥檚 program to assist refugees through 2032.
• $300 million more in assistance for homeless students, through 2032.

Contrary to what they have previously said, legislative leaders appear to be acquiescing to Newsom鈥檚 plan to withhold the $3.9 billion of forecasted Prop. 98 funding 鈥� only they want a clear repayment timetable. The joint Senate-Assembly budget summary says they commit 鈥渢o a reliable schedule to pay districts the $3.9 billion omitted from the May Revision.鈥�

Education groups, including the California Teachers Association and the California School Boards Association, view the withholding as a manipulation of the Prop. 98 minimum funding guarantee. They see it as a bad precedent 鈥� a tactic that has the effect of loaning money to meet the immediate expenses of other areas of the budget most affected by federal budget cuts, including Medi-Cal.

鈥淭his bill shortchanges our districts $3.9 billion they need right now, not in future budget years,鈥� said Assemblywoman Laurie Davis, R-Laguna Niguel, in voting against the budget Monday night.

Some education groups are also unhappy about another financial and structural shift suggested by the Legislature, to move all funding for the California State Preschool Program into Prop. 98.

The preschool program, which provides free preschool for 3- and 4-year-old children from families who earn up to the state median income, is provided by school districts, private nonprofits and community colleges. Currently, only the funding for school district preschools (about $2 billion) is under Prop. 98, while funding for nonprofit and community college preschools (about $800 million) comes from the general fund.

This is not a novel idea, early education experts said. Before 2011, all state preschool and childcare funding was under Prop 98. The Legislature shifted the responsibility then to lighten the financial burden on schools, which were facing massive cuts as a result of the Great Recession. Now it鈥檚 the nonProp. 98 programs that are facing the most severe financial pressure, precluding additional funding for early education.

The proposal drew ire from the school boards association, which said it would hurt funding for TK-12 graders over time.

鈥淭he result would be simple and devastating: the same funding guarantee would be stretched across more students and programs, reducing per-pupil resources for school districts and county offices of education,鈥� reads the statement from CSBA. 鈥淓arly learning is essential and deserves strong, stable and dedicated funding. No one disputes that. Yet, Sacramento cannot fund one essential priority by weakening another.鈥�

Scott Moore, the CEO of Kidango, one of the largest providers of state-subsidized preschools, said that, as an educational program, preschool deserves to be under Prop. 98.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a protected funding source that ensures that to the fullest extent possible, these programs get funded. It shouldn鈥檛 matter who the provider of state preschool is鈥� 鈥� whether a district or a nonprofit, Moore said. 鈥淲hat matters is the program itself.鈥� 

The Legislature is also proposing to add about $270 million in funding to pay for subsidized childcare for 22,770 additional children from low-income families. That funding would remain in the general fund.

With the heavily Democratic Legislature behind it, the Senate approved the budget bill 28 to 9, with the Assembly following late Monday, after three hours of discussion, by a margin of 59 to 18.

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In the midst of all the noise, one thing is clear: Americans, across party lines, want in public education. But most do not want it dismantled. Their top priorities are straightforward: teach students real-world skills, keep schools safe and make learning more engaging. Parents want more say in their children’s education, and they want schools to prepare young people to be active, participating citizens.

Anaheim Union High School District in California offers a for changing districts and communities, not just individual schools: reimagining what counts as knowledge, redesigning how educators are utilized and rethinking the boundaries of learning in high school, college and the workplace. The district serves 26,000 students in 20 junior and senior high schools, more than 80% of them high-needs. Its journey shows the pedagogical and political power of building shared purpose around deeper, more personalized learning tied to real-world skills.

The district made three big moves. It built the Anaheim Collaborative, a partnership that brings together colleges, social and health agencies, businesses and local organizations. It invested in community schooling that brings parent and student voice into teaching and learning. And it placed a premium on learning academic content through the 5Cs: collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication and compassion.

Anaheim began by loosening the grip of test-based curriculum and investing in teachers, many in hybrid roles, to lead bold innovations with their students. For example, biology teacher Sabina Giakoumis led the development of the Magnolia Agriculture Community Center, which fueled interdisciplinary teaching and service learning as students applied math and science to address Anaheim’s food deserts and develop entrepreneurial skills. Jason Collar, a social studies teacher, leveraged a Minecraft elective to engage students in solving neighborhood problems and soon established an e-sports career pathway in partnership with Fullerton College.

With the , the district offers an early glimpse of how AI can customize learning with whole-child supports, such as an AI-driven tutor that can help guide students’ thinking, and measure academic and so-called soft skills. Its Cambridge Virtual Academy has broken from the factory model of schooling by organizing teachers into interdisciplinary teams, blending live instruction with flexible independent study, and using peer mentoring and AI tools to strengthen relationships among teachers and students. Since the school opened in 2021, full-time enrollment has grown from 100 to 315 students.

District graduation rates have significantly since 2016, from 86% to 94%, and Anaheim Orange County counterparts serving fewer high-needs students in college admission and persistence rates. It is also California鈥檚 first Democracy District, integrating civic learning across schools and disciplines.

But Anaheim also teaches a humbling lesson: What got the district this far will not get it all the way to system transformation. Too many of its middle and high schools still operate with traditional bell schedules and isolated classrooms. Too few teachers have the time to learn from colleagues. The district’s collective bargaining agreement and salary schedule remain rooted in an archaic, one-teacher/one-classroom model that discourages educators from pushing one another to improve and sharing responsibility for student success. And the district office still needs a clearer mechanism to identify and spread teaching talent across schools.

These are not criticisms. They are mile markers on the roadmap to transformation. Drawing on the lessons learned, three major steps stand out.

First, build a community infrastructure for deeper, purposeful, real-world learning. Districts should formalize partnerships among colleges, health and social service agencies, nonprofits, business and industry into advisory boards and learning exchanges. They should establish a shared data system that combines traditional metrics with measures of student voice and parent engagement, civic participation and readiness for careers in the age of AI.

Second, redesign time, staffing and the job of teaching around shared accountability for results. Teaching teams, not isolated educators, must become the default unit of secondary school redesign. These teams should include academic teachers, career and technical educators, counselors, community school staff, college faculty and industry or community mentors who share responsibility for a common group of students. This will require new ways of thinking about human capital, including joint appointments and boundary-spanning roles for educators who work across schools, colleges, workplaces and community organizations.

Third, leverage AI to spur human-connected learning. Used poorly, AI will deepen the factory model: more screen time and more depersonalization. Used well, it can help teachers and students see what traditional schooling and current metrics miss: how young people are thinking, collaborating and creating. Districts should focus AI investments on helping students and teachers apply and reflect on what they are learning.

Not possible?

It is already happening across the country, albeit in bits and pieces. A window for transformation is opening. Growing in career education, apprenticeships and credentials suggests the field is ready to transcend political divides. The is leading a national effort in red and blue states to rethink the high school experience, coupled with efforts to overhaul what counts for college and career readiness. and the are working with innovative school districts to develop talent pipelines at scale.

Public education has a good future if educators, parents, students and business leaders work together locally to make the big changes Americans, Democrats and Republicans alike, say they want 鈥� and that every student deserves in this rapidly changing world.

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On a recent Friday morning, Fresno Unified high school students learned about the rise and fall of major companies in the stock market 鈥� from Walmart鈥檚 longevity to Apple鈥檚 surge past oil companies and Amazon鈥檚 emergence as a $1 trillion company.

Earlier that week, students at the Farber Educational Center, an alternative learning campus, had finished a competitive project for their personal finance class. Using $100,000 in pretend money, they invested in the stock market and tracked their strategy鈥檚 success.

The state鈥檚 third-largest school district, a pioneer in developing these personal finance courses, offers a preview of how educators will meet California鈥檚 new high school graduation requirement, teaching students life skills such as banking, managing debt and building wealth.

California will require all high schools to offer a personal finance course starting in 2027-28, and all students must take the class beginning with the graduating class of 2031. By adding the course at most of its high schools before the legislation, Fresno Unified emerged as an early adopter 鈥� so much so that the state tapped one of the district鈥檚 educators to help guide the statewide rollout.

Since the 2023-24 school year, Jeff Allen has led the creation and implementation of personal finance courses across Fresno Unified, helping turn them into some of the district鈥檚 .

The California Department of Education selected Allen to lead the statewide rollout because of his hands-on approach in implementing Fresno Unified鈥檚 program. Already, Allen has authored a curriculum guide for the state鈥檚 educators.

鈥淗e demonstrated a combination of subject-matter expertise and direct, district-level implementation experience, along with a strong understanding of scheduling, credentialing and classroom realities,鈥� said Scott Roark, a spokesperson for the state department of education.

鈥業 wish I had that鈥�

In 2024, the state Legislature . Assembly Bill 2927 made California the 26th state to require a stand-alone personal finance course for all public high school students.

Making personal finance a graduation requirement has received little resistance because adults recognize its value, Allen said.

鈥淵ou say personal finance, and it鈥檚 like a universal, 鈥極h, I wish I had that,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou do not see that physical reaction (to other subjects) from parents and community members the same way that you see it with personal finance because, as an adult, you understand what you didn鈥檛 know and how you paid the consequences for it.鈥�

That sentiment resonates with students too, including 18-year-old Daniel Tecomulapa at the Farber Educational Center.

鈥淚 wanted to be better with my finances,鈥� Daniel said.

The practical benefits students receive from learning personal finance has motivated many educators to teach the course. KongMia Her, who teaches the class at Farber, said he wants students entering adulthood to avoid the financial mistakes he made.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have any education,鈥� Her said. 鈥淣o one taught me at school or at home.鈥�

Fresno Unified personal finance classes

Following a class project, teacher KongMia Her reviewed the different strategies that students used to invest in stocks on May 22, 2026. The project-based learning is an instructional approach that Jeff Allen, the district鈥檚 teacher on special assignment for personal finance, has coached teachers to do. Credit: Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource

Her is among 17 Fresno Unified teachers this year who are instructing 730 students in the course.

Most Fresno Unified high schools offer personal finance as a yearlong course, though state law will only require one semester. Regardless of length, the district鈥檚 personal finance classes already cover the 13 topics mandated under AB 2927.

The lessons on retirement plans, savings, investments and credit scores have been some of the most meaningful for students in Her鈥檚 class at Farber.

The teens learned why they didn鈥檛 yet have credit scores, for example. During a call to Experian, Daniel discovered he had not owned his credit card long enough to develop a credit profile.

Students also learned how to build and maintain strong credit, including by making payments on time.

鈥�(The class) teaches you to manage money correctly,鈥� 16-year-old Autumn Walker said.

鈥淚 grew up and I was fortunate enough to have parents that told me the value of putting money into a bank, but that鈥檚 where it started and stopped. To see that that鈥檚 not even a standard baseline was both discouraging and encouraging,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淒iscouraging that that鈥檚 where we were, but encouraging that we could bring that information so easily.鈥�

Over the past three years, Allen has supported and coached teachers, reviewed lessons and organized professional development.

Because the classes are already aligned with state standards, and most educators are in their second year of teaching the course, Allen is now helping teachers enrich the personal finance classes through community partnerships and programs.

So, teachers are going beyond the classroom, bringing in speakers from local credit unions, Rotary clubs and businesses.

During a financial literacy event at Farber, community organizations presented students with real-life scenarios about how food, housing and transportation costs affect budgets. At McLane High, students use the on-campus bank as part of the course. At Edison High, students pitched business ideas in a 鈥渢hat required them to calculate startup costs, needed investments and profit margins.

The qualifications required to teach personal finance in Fresno Unified will change under the state mandate. Right now, any teacher with a single-subject credential can teach the course in the district. Beginning 2027-28, however, only teachers credentialed in four subject areas will be eligible to teach the class.

Other school districts aren鈥檛 waiting for the state mandate to begin teaching personal finance. Pasadena Unified, Yosemite Unified in Oakhurst and San Luis Coastal Unified have launched courses at multiple high schools.

Elk Grove Unified in Sacramento County has offered a course since 2021, with enrollment growing each year.

Supporting teachers and schools

Staffing is often a challenge when schools must add new graduation requirements, but the state鈥檚 personal finance law gives districts several years to train teachers before the requirement takes effect.

Allen, who led the rollout in Fresno Unified, wrote the state鈥檚 personal finance curriculum guide to help districts create their own courses. He said he authored the guide to make the implementation of the new mandate less daunting for rank-and-file teachers.

He intentionally organized the curriculum guide around three questions: why personal finance education matters, what students should learn and how schools can put the course into practice.

And Allen continues to support districts as the state rolls out the requirement. Nearly 700 educators registered for a late May webinar he led on legislative requirements, implementation challenges and professional learning opportunities.

Allen highlighted ready-made resources districts can use, including the Next Gen Personal Finance platform, so teachers don鈥檛 have to build courses from scratch. Teachers statewide can access hours of professional development on topics ranging from car buying to 鈥渂uy now, pay later鈥� plans 鈥� lessons to pass down to their students.

Allen said personal finance classes generate some of the highest student engagement he has seen. Students enter class eager to pick up where the conversation left off the day before, he said.

鈥淭his is clearly seen by families, by students as one of the most, if not the most, relevant topics that they can be exposed to right now.鈥�

That assumption is not always true. Until very recently, it was not required to be.

On August 29, 2023, 12-year-old Yahushua Robinson went to Canyon Lake Middle School in Lake Elsinore. The high temperature that day reached 107 degrees. According to accounts from the day, Yahushua and other students were sent outside during physical education class and ordered to run laps as punishment for not suiting up in time. Yahushua told the school staff he was not feeling well, said he could not breathe and asked for water.

He was made to keep running.

Yahushua never came home from school that day. The Riverside County Coroner determined his cause of death was a heart defect, with extreme heat and physical exertion listed as contributing factors. His mother, Janee Robinson, is herself a P.E. teacher in the same district. That same afternoon, she kept her own students inside because of the heat. She later said, 鈥淭hese students should not have been outside, and to think that my child died while my students were in.鈥�

That sentence should stop every parent in their tracks.

What Yahushua鈥檚 death exposed was a gap most families had no reason to know existed. In California and across the country, most heat safety policies were written specifically for organized high school athletics: football practice, cross-country and track. A high school football coach may be legally required to follow heat protocols. A middle school P.E. teacher had no comparable legal requirement.

Yahushua was not a high school athlete. He was a 12-year-old in P.E. class, and the system had no uniform standard designed to protect him.

That is what I set out to change.

Less than two weeks after Yahushua鈥檚 death, I prepared a formal advocacy brief on behalf of his family and began building the case for legislation. As a parent and family advocate, I understood that what was missing was not medical knowledge or parental love. What was missing was a legal standard that did not leave child safety to individual judgment during dangerous heat.

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Central Valley Democrat, championed the cause and introduced Senate Bill 1248, with Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a doctor and Democrat representing the San Diego area, as principal co-author. The bill passed unanimously, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in September 2024.

That law is known as Yahushua鈥檚 Law.

Here is what it does, and why every California parent needs to know about it before this summer.

聽now requires every school district, county office of education, and charter school in the state to develop, adopt and implement a weather safety policy. The compliance deadline is July 1 鈥� weeks away.

This is not guidance. It is the law.

Every policy must include clear criteria for modifying or suspending outdoor physical activities when conditions become dangerous, procedures for monitoring weather forecasts and alerts, communication plans for staff, students, and parents, access to indoor alternative activities, and staff training to recognize weather-related distress. These policies must be reviewed and updated annually, and the California Department of Education must identify schools that are not in compliance and provide technical assistance.

California now has one of the strongest and broadest student heat safety laws in the country because it covers all students across all grades in school-supervised physical activities, including P.E. class, recess and field trips.

This matters for your child specifically if they have asthma, a heart condition, sickle cell trait, obesity or a medication that affects heat tolerance. It matters if your child has an IEP or a 504 plan. It鈥檚 important because many children are too young, too scared or too overwhelmed to explain clearly and quickly when something is physically wrong.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has  that exertional heat illness in children is preventable when evidence-based protocols are followed by supervising adults. The science behind heat safety laws is not disputed. What has been missing is a requirement to act on medical guidance.

Now, California has that requirement.

But parents still have to ask whether their school is ready. If you live in California, call your district and ask: What is your weather safety policy under SB 1248, and when will staff be trained? If you do not get a clear answer, keep asking. The law says your child鈥檚 school must have this in place, and you have every right to know whether it does.

If you live elsewhere, connect with your own state lawmakers about passing similar legislation. The California law can serve as a model for other states.

Yahushua used to say, 鈥淚 AM HIM.鈥� His family carried those words into legislative hearings, conversations with lawmakers, and every act of advocacy that turned grief into law.

Every child who walks onto a school campus is someone鈥檚 Yahushua. This summer, the adults in California responsible for your children are required to follow a standard designed to bring every student home.

Make sure your school is ready to keep that promise.

In this conservative telling, America grows stronger when it is monocultural, wealthier when it goes it alone, and better when it has fewer immigrants. To make America once again 鈥済reat,鈥� we鈥檝e been told, the country must shelter itself from the world鈥檚 economy and diverse cultures.

Many have noted that this flies in the face of the entirety of American history; our extraordinary national story is, in fact, a tale of a community reliably made stronger, richer and more dynamic through increased diversity. But if the state of present U.S. politics makes this well-established fact seem like the province of soft-hearted left-wingers, that business leaders still know that diversity 鈥� particularly linguistic and cultural 鈥� is key to their bottom line.

In 2025, California nonprofit surveyed 56 Southern California businesses across a range of sizes and sectors to gauge their views on multilingualism at work. Fully 93% of them said they have bilingual staff 鈥� and 32% said that the majority of their staff are bilingual.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that bilingual staff allow them 鈥渢o reach more customers,鈥� and 70% responded that it helped them satisfy 鈥� and keep 鈥� the customers they have.

鈥淚n today鈥檚 global economy, language is not just a cultural asset 鈥� it is essential to doing business,鈥� the report states.

Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed conduct business in Latin America, with an additional 12% calling out Mexico specifically. One-fifth said they did business in Europe and the same share reported commerce in Oceania, the area that includes Australia, New Zealand and smaller Pacific islands.

Lead author A.J. Lucas published the results as last month.

鈥淟anguage, for the majority of our existence, has been seen as additional, as something that comes with who a person is, and how they represent ethnically or by place of origin,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been seen as surplus to someone鈥檚 identity, rather than being assessed, considered, and compensated 鈥� we should make it clear that if you have this added skill, you鈥檙e worth a lot more than someone who hasn鈥檛 gotten to this level of skill in learning a language.鈥�

UNITE-LA, Lucas explained, acts as an intermediary between schools and the business world to better prepare the future workforce and 鈥渃reate economic opportunities for underserved youth across California.鈥�

Those in-demand multilingual workers of the future exist in California schools today, the report notes, where 40% of the state’s K-12 students speak a non-English language at home and, among children younger than 6, that number grows to 60%.

But, as I鈥檝e noted recently, the Trump administration is determined to force the country along an English-only path as a way of punishing immigrants and their children. This is a path that can only make the United States smaller, weaker, less prosperous and less dynamic.

It鈥檚 also a path that sets the administration at odds with the preferences of American families, regardless of their proximity to the U.S. immigration experience and/or the languages they speak at home. That is, both English-dominant families and families who speak a non-English language at home are enthusiastic about giving their children opportunities to become multilingual. 

Demand for multilingual schooling has, with dual language immersion programs growing by the thousands across states like Texas, Utah, North Carolina, California, Georgia, Delaware, New York and others. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched their own versions of the, a credential that recognizes students who can demonstrate proficiency in at least two languages. But efforts to grow these programs are hamstrung by the United States鈥� . 

We should replace the administration鈥檚 current, sustained assault on linguistic and cultural diversity on K鈥�12 campuses with a serious effort to train enough linguistically diverse teachers to be able to meet families鈥� demand for multilingual learning and businesses鈥� need for multilingual workers. 

There are many ways for local, state and federal education leaders to do this. For instance, as the report notes, the Seal of Biliteracy is off to a good start, but is presently 鈥渕ore symbolic than functional in the labor market.鈥� Employers, colleges and universities don鈥檛 yet understand its value. By contrast, has led the way in linking the seal to 鈥� and corresponding cost savings for students. Business leaders and public officials should follow their lead.聽

Unlike so much else in education policy, this isn鈥檛 especially complicated. Businesses want multilingual workers. Families want their children to have access to multilingual schools. As Lucas put it in our recent conversation, 鈥淭here鈥檚 this connection between our education system and what our workforce currently needs 鈥� yet it feels like that gap is persisting for some reason.鈥� 

The views expressed here are Conor P. Williams鈥檚 alone, and do not reflect those of his employer or any other affiliated organizations.

Top Takeaways

• The top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
• Millions of mail-in ballots have yet to be counted.
• The next governor will face major decisions about school funding and oversight.

With millions of ballots still to be counted in California, Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw has a clear lead in the state superintendent of public instruction primary with 24.9% of the vote, followed by San Diego Unified school board President Richard Barrera with 18.9% of the vote. 

None of the other candidates have more than 10% of the vote at this point.

Although all the polling places have reported, it鈥檚 not over yet. The top two candidates moving on to the Nov. 3 general election won鈥檛 be decided until all the mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are counted. In a state with 23 million registered voters, the process could take up to 30 days, according to the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office.

The late votes are likely to lean Democrat, as they have historically made up the majority of the mail-in voters in the state. This year, that might be even more true, as many Democrats held on to their ballots until a clear Democratic leader emerged in the governor鈥檚 race.

The two candidates at the front of the pack for the state superintendent of public instruction position agree that student test scores are too low and that the proposed restructuring of the California Department of Education , but they disagree about almost everything else.

, who notoriously had state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond ejected from a Chino Valley Unified , wants to end California policies prohibiting school staff from disclosing a student鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity. She also wants to prohibit transgender students from participating in girls鈥� sports.

support and to help districts recruit and retain teachers. 

There wasn鈥檛 much excitement around the superintendent鈥檚 race until late April when outside organizations to support their preferred candidates. 

A released in early April found that none of the 10 candidates for had more than 10% of support among likely voters. About a third of the voters surveyed said they didn鈥檛 know who they would vote for in the race.

When education unions began to spend in the race, they did not coalesce behind one candidate. The California Teachers Association鈥檚 independent expenditure committee spent $5 million on the Barrera campaign. The California Federation of Teachers committee spent $200,000, and a political action committee for the California School Employees Association spent $175,000 on the campaign; while a political action committee for the Service Employees International Union spent $250,000 on the campaign. 

Hilton, Becerra lead in governor鈥檚 race

Although education has in the gubernatorial race, the next governor will face major decisions about school funding and may have to execute a plan to move oversight of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new , if the plan is approved by the Legislature.

Republican , a political commentator, and Democrat , the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, are leading the with 27.8% and 25.4% of the votes, respectively.

The front-runners are followed by Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor, with 19.6% of the vote, and Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff, with 11.3% of the vote.

The four top vote-getters emerged from a crowded field of 61 candidates all vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out after eight years.

Hilton has said he would change state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender and that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls鈥� sports. He also said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst. 

During the campaign, Becerra highlighted his efforts to expand early childhood education when he was U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. He has also said he would ensure all California communities and that college is more .

investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher pay to help recruit and retain them. He would like free education from universal preschool at age 3 to community college. He proposes paying for it by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.

Bianco would like to expand career technical education and high-performing charter schools. His other ideas include increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science, increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment, promoting mental health supports and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.

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When Celestina Castillo filled out the ethnicity forms at her children鈥檚 school, she鈥檇 always check Latino and Native American. After all, the family is proud of both its heritages.

But because of a loophole in the state鈥檚 data collection system, checking Latino or Hispanic meant that her children鈥檚 Native American identity was not counted at all, and they would not receive the extra services they鈥檙e entitled to. When Castillo learned of this, she stopped checking the Latino box altogether

According to the arcane way California counts its 5.8 million students, students who say they are Hispanic and Native American get counted as solely Hispanic. Native American students who also identify as another race, such as Black, white or Asian, are counted as 鈥渢wo or more races,鈥� not Native American.

The problem affects all multiracial students, but it鈥檚 especially pronounced among Native Americans because the majority are multiracial. It鈥檚 resulted in an undercount of Native American students by as much as 90%, advocates said.

鈥淚f someone is Black, or Asian, or white, they鈥檙e counted that way,鈥� said Castillo, a director of a college learning center who lives in Los Angeles. 鈥淲hy does it not count if someone is Native American? That鈥檚 not OK. It feels like erasure.鈥�

More services, fewer stereotypes

Last year California schools said they had 24,822 Native American students, but the actual number may be as high as 156,000, according to an Assembly report on a new measure, , that seeks to fix the problem. If those students were identified, they鈥檇 be entitled to cultural services and other programs that could help them succeed in school.

A more accurate count could also change the public perception of Native Americans generally, according to Assemblymember James Ramos, the San Bernardino Democrat who authored the bill. Instead of being thought of as rare or even extinct, the public could see that Native Americans are everywhere, Ramos said.

鈥淲e鈥檒l start to see the true picture of Native Americans in California,鈥� said Ramos, a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe. 鈥淣ative American students should be able to stand up in the classroom and say who they are and be proud of it.鈥�

Changes in the U.S. Census

There鈥檚 a long history of the government marginalizing Native Americans in California, particularly in schools. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, not long after , the federal government forced thousands of Native American children in California into , where they were forced to speak English and abandon their cultures.

Things started to change in 1970 when the U.S. Census Bureau started improving the way it counted Native Americans. Now, Native Americans can write in their tribal affiliation or list themselves as multiracial, and still be counted as Native American. Although Native Americans are more than any other ethnic group, the census changes resulted in a tenfold increase in the official number of Native Americans in the U.S. In 1960, Native Americans only made up .3% of the population. In 2020 they were almost 3%.

The improved census data also revealed that California has more Native Americans than any other state. More than 760,000 people in California identify as Native American, with most living in urban areas like Los Angeles.

Ramos鈥� bill would allow Native American students to write in the name of their tribe on school forms and identify as Native American plus another race, if applicable. The hope is to give a more comprehensive, more nuanced view of California鈥檚 Native American student population, allowing them to get extra services regardless of their biracial identity. So far, the bill has no opposition.

鈥榃e鈥檙e in the modern world, too鈥�

Shannon Rivers, who works on education issues for the Los Angeles-based California Native Vote Project, said an accurate count of Native Americans is essential to dispel stereotypes and bring public awareness to issues affecting Native American communities.

鈥淚n the eyes of many Americans, there鈥檚 still this image of Native American people from the past, from the 1800s,鈥� said Rivers, who is a member of the Akimel O始odham tribe in Arizona. 鈥淭hat history is important, but we鈥檙e in the modern world, too. We鈥檙e doctors, lawyers, scientists, artists, educators.鈥�

He鈥檚 hopeful that Ramos鈥� bill will improve conditions generally for Native American students in California schools. With more accurate student counts, schools could get more to provide extra services, such as tutoring, to Native American children. More schools could host events and curriculum centered on Native American history and culture.

When Ramos was growing up in San Bernardino, he remembers staring at the ethnicity form at school and not knowing what bubble to fill. His mother was Native American but she was labeled 鈥渨hite鈥� on her birth certificate. His father, also Native American, was labeled 鈥淗ispanic.鈥�

鈥淲ere we white or Latino? I didn鈥檛 know. We had to accept whatever the school told us we were,鈥� Ramos said. 鈥淚鈥檇 go home and ask, 鈥楢re we Caucasian?鈥� That started a whole other conversation. It was confusing.鈥�

Castillo, a descendent of the Tohono O’odham tribe in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, said that as a child, she thought everyone was Native American. But when she started school she realized that very few people identified as she did, and worse, it was stigmatized.

Years later, she saw her own children singled out as oddities. One day her son, who had long hair, was dressed for a Native American dance and another child pointed and said, 鈥淟ook, mom, it鈥檚 an Indian!鈥�

鈥淢y son felt like a dinosaur or a unicorn, like we didn鈥檛 exist,鈥� Castillo said.

By leaving the ethnicity question blank on school forms, Castillo knew it meant her children would not receive extra services they鈥檙e entitled to, either at the charter school they attend or through Los Angeles Unified.

鈥淭hat angered me,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that this bill will help make Native students visible to local and state education policy makers.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

When a patient at Los Angeles General Medical Center experienced a medical emergency, Brandon Maldonado grabbed an intercom and called a 鈥渃ode blue鈥� to bring immediate help from emergency hospital staff. 

The Bravo Medical Magnet High School senior had trained for such emergencies through Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 patient care pathway 鈥� one of several career education programs a new study found improves students鈥� college readiness.

鈥淭hat experience stuck with me because it taught me how to stay calm under pressure, and I didn鈥檛 panic,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚 knew what to do.鈥�

A new聽聽from research institute SRI International found promising results for students in Los Angeles Unified who completed career and technical education pathways 鈥� especially those that combine academics with workplace experience. These students not only graduated at higher rates, but were also more likely to complete college preparatory curriculum and enroll in college than their peers.聽

California has significantly expanded career and technical education in recent years, with a combined  in funding each year and an additional  approved for new CTE school facilities in 2025. 

Miya Warner, lead author of the report, said the findings puncture the longstanding perception that career and technical education is mostly geared toward students who have no plans to go to college. 

鈥淭he findings combat some of those lingering stereotypes around CTE and who it鈥檚 for,鈥� Warner said.

In the state鈥檚 largest school district, with more than 165,000 LAUSD high school students as of the 2021-2022 school year, the investments in career tech programs appear to provide students a leg up after they graduate from high school. These programs include 265 traditional CTE pathways and 72 Linked Learning pathways 鈥� which combine technical training with college preparatory coursework 鈥� across 15 industry sectors. 

Nearly two-thirds of students took at least one CTE course, but the report found higher positive outcomes among about a fifth of all students who completed a full CTE or Linked Learning pathway. 

鈥淭he more the word can get out about the value of completion versus just a one-off course, the more that all the staff at the school can support students in meeting that goal,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淚 visited schools where counselors are putting seniors into the first year of a CTE sequence, and they can鈥檛 complete it.鈥�

At Bravo Medical Magnet High, students begin taking medical prerequisite courses as sophomores before choosing a pathway in sports medicine or patient care. Brandon, now a senior, has gained hands-on experience in the ophthalmology department, the volunteer center and the infusion clinic at Los Angeles General Medical Center, which partners with the magnet school. 

鈥淚 wanted to get real-world experience and get an overview of different departments; that way I can know which field I want to go into,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥溾�橳he value of getting the early exposure stage is you鈥檙e not just thrown out there. The (program) gives you the basic skill of how to respond.鈥� 

Ben Gertner, director of Linked Learning at LAUSD, said the district has raised CTE pathway completion rates from about 18% to nearly 25% between 2022 and 2025 and increased the number of Linked Learning pathways from 43 to 100. 

鈥淲e want to ensure that we focus on developing school-site capacity,鈥� Gertner said. 鈥淲e also help schools to balance competing priorities, increase graduation rate and college and career readiness.鈥�

Access is a key hurdle for students trying to start and complete CTE pathways. The report found that students with the highest and lowest academic performance took fewer CTE courses than students in the middle, suggesting that AP classes or credit recovery can create scheduling conflicts. Although incoming freshmen had access to an average of nine pathways, many did not learn about them early enough to enroll. 

Warner emphasized that starting a CTE program early helps students build transferable skills, professional networks and gain hands-on experience.

One theater pathway student interested in becoming a lawyer, she said, gained confidence in communication and collaboration skills. Another student in patient care realized a healthcare career was not the right fit for him.

鈥淗ow much better to figure that out in high school than wait, going into debt in a program that turns out is not actually a good fit for you,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better to have those experiences early.鈥�

Linked Learning shows better outcomes

The report found stronger outcomes for students in Linked Learning pathways, which combine work-based training and academic instruction, than in traditional CTE pathways, which offer standalone technical skills courses. 

High school graduates who completed a certified Linked Learning pathway were about 16% more likely to finish college preparatory courses and 24% more likely to enroll in college than those who did not take any CTE courses. 

鈥淚n the Linked Learning pathways, we saw a little bit more integration of those work-based learning experiences into the curriculum,鈥� Warner said, adding that students are also more engaged with experiences in real workplaces. 

Karen Benavides, a senior in the patient care pathway at Bravo Medical Magnet High, recalled stepping in to help in the surgical intensive care unit during a hospital staff shortage. 

鈥淚 got to help a patient, help the nurses. I took phone calls, and it was just a very immersive experience,鈥� Karen said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 stop for a second, and I really liked the rush.鈥�

Karen, who plans to become a physician assistant, said she has become more confident communicating with peers, teachers and patients, especially with those who may be uncooperative. 

鈥淚 also feel like it鈥檚 helped improve my teamwork and being able to think critically, go through situations and see what the best course of action is,鈥� Karen said. 

About half of the students in certified Linked Learning pathways completed their programs, while about a quarter completed traditional CTE pathways, according to the report. Students at a 鈥渉igher-need鈥� middle school also had greater access to Linked Learning pathways but fewer traditional CTE options than students at 鈥渓ower-need鈥� schools.

Suzanne Bogue, a teacher in the patient care pathway at Bravo Medical Magnet High, said strong teacher collaboration distinguishes Linked Learning from traditional CTE.  

鈥淭he junior year teachers and the senior year teachers, we all work together and help each other target the students that might need a little more support,鈥� Bogue said. 

Schools can opt into Linked Learning with a 75% faculty vote in favor of onboarding at LAUSD, which has 鈥渓ed to more of a sense of commitment to the Linked Learning approach,鈥� Gertner said. 

Brandon said he plans to attend UC Riverside to study biology and hopes to become an anesthesiologist after shadowing one through the program.  

鈥淥ne of the valuable skills I鈥檝e learned is teamwork,鈥� Brandon said. 鈥淚t just gives you that exposure to being able to talk to people you鈥檝e never really talked to before.鈥�

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Students attending Compton Unified School District and Modesto City Schools are improving in reading faster than students in demographically similar districts amid what a team of researchers has identified as a national 鈥渞eading recession.鈥� District leaders and researchers credit years of sustained academic reforms and data-driven intervention systems.

鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling really comfortable with what we鈥檝e built for literacy development. Now we鈥檙e like, 鈥極kay, now what can we learn from that experience to make gains in mathematics as well?鈥� 鈥� said Vanessa Buitrago, Modesto City superintendent.

The findings come from the , a database released Wednesday by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth that compares reading and math test scores across more than 5,000 school districts in 38 states, including more than 500 districts in California.

Researchers said the project is intended to make 鈥渓ocal recovery efforts 鈥� both successful and unsuccessful 鈥� more visible,鈥� highlighting both successful and struggling districts. To allow comparisons across states, the team aligned state test scores with results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationwide exam given every two years.

The nationwide reading recession began around 2013, according to researchers, and worsened in many school districts following the pandemic. But some districts, including Modesto City Schools and Compton Unified School District in California, have bucked the trend and were among the 鈥渄istricts on the rise鈥� identified by the Education Scorecard team.

Both districts implemented reforms before the pandemic and, importantly, maintained them through the uncertainty of school closures in the peak pandemic years. They also both rely on data from internal assessments to identify struggling students and provide targeted support quickly.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see us as a district, so to speak, recovering from the pandemic,鈥� said Darin Brawley, 13-year superintendent of Compton Unified. 鈥淚 see us as a district that really used that moment to strengthen and build stronger systems to create stronger instruction, to create stronger accountability, and ultimately, to produce better outcomes for the students that we serve.鈥�

The Education Scorecard team found that 33% of California students attended districts where math scores exceeded 2019 levels 鈥� up two percentage points from . The share of students in districts surpassing pre-pandemic reading levels also rose, from about 18% to 22%.

鈥淚 think you鈥檒l see in that list of districts on the rise, a lot of districts that don鈥檛 normally get mentioned in this national discussion of who鈥檚 making a difference, but we鈥檙e trying to put a spotlight on local leaders that are making a difference,鈥� said Stanford professor Sean Reardon, who helped create the Education Scorecard.

Data-driven collaboration

Modesto City did not have a professional development department until Sara Noguchi, superintendent from 2018 to 2025, joined the district.

Today, principals, assistant principals and intervention specialists from every Modesto City elementary school meet quarterly for 90 minutes to two hours to review and evaluate student performance data, said Vanessa Buitrago, current superintendent.

Schools facing similar challenges 鈥� such as chronic absences or high rates of special education assessments 鈥� are paired together to share strategies for improvement. During Graduation Rate Intervention Team meetings, school teams develop specific action steps that they revisit at the next quarterly check-in.

鈥淲e need to create those strategic pairings so that they can learn from each other,鈥� said Buitrago.

The GRIT meetings also include discussions about classroom walk-throughs and what professional development teachers may need based on what school leaders observe in the classroom.

Teachers also meet weekly in their Professional Learning Communities to identify students who need additional support and collaborate on intervention strategies.

鈥淚n my experience, there are two things that are really sacred to teachers: the classroom space, in other words what they teach and how they teach, and grading,鈥� Buitrago said. 鈥淚 would say that this is probably the most challenging part of our work, 鈥� finding that balance between culture and all this other technical work that is very data driven.鈥�

Some of that work has included a revamp of reading instruction during the pandemic, and of math a couple of years earlier. The district created a new department to help students who are still learning English. Schools also ramped up teacher training, paying educators $5,000 to complete an extensive 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� program called LETRS, or Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. Teachers can opt in to meeting with math coaches who can provide feedback on their teaching, or they can request a substitute so they can observe other math teachers鈥� classrooms.

鈥淚 really think it comes down to creating the conditions for the teacher to be successful,鈥� said Noguchi, the former Modesto City superintendent. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really about building a relationship with that third grade teacher, fifth grade teacher, what have you, because everyone has different needs.鈥�

While initially establishing the systems now in place, Noguchi said districtwide buy-in was critical. This meant consulting with leaders across the district, including those reluctant to change.

鈥淚f you bring them in on the forefront and really listen to their issues and those concerns, that will help counterbalance others within the system,鈥� said Noguchi. 鈥淚t worked and we got complete buy-in.鈥�

The latest Education Scorecard data shows that Modesto鈥檚 test scores grew enough to represent an extra 18 weeks of learning in math and 13 weeks in reading. Nevertheless, the district still has a way to go: Overall scores remain far below grade level.

鈥楽ustained focus and aligned instruction鈥� are critical

According to the Education Scorecard, reading and math scores in Compton Unified District have increased since before the Covid-19 pandemic 鈥� with the only setback being a slight decline in math scores between 2019 and 2022.

Compton Unified is one of 108 districts identified by researchers as improving faster in both reading and math than demographically similar districts.

The district鈥檚 strategies for improvement include data meetings every four to six weeks, where groups of principals review student performance and discuss interventions. Like Modesto City Schools, Compton Unified expects principals to closely track which students are receiving additional instructional support and whether that intervention is effective.

鈥淥ur belief is pretty simple: the earlier you identify learning gaps, the faster you can intervene,鈥� said Brawley, district superintendent.

Other ways Compton Unified seeks to identify and intervene on academic gaps, he said, include:

• Weekly quizzes where students answer seven questions each in English language arts and math.
• In-class, small group tutoring for students who are not reaching the district鈥檚 threshold of 71% or above on internal assessments.
• A 鈥渉eavy, districtwide focus鈥� on the standards and vocabulary students are likely to encounter in the CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress), the state鈥檚 annual assessment.
• Teams consisting of Brawley, directors and principals who do walkthroughs of school sites throughout the year

鈥淲e believe that students must be able to explain their thinking, justify their responses, communicate their reasoning and engage in analytical discourse, and if they don鈥檛 have the academic language that is necessary for that, then that creates a bigger problem,鈥� said Brawley.

Some district teachers have raised over whether the district might be emphasizing too much test prep with the internal assessment calendar teachers are expected to follow.

鈥淲e basically believe that assessment should not be viewed as an event,鈥� Brawley said. 鈥淚t should be embedded within the instructional cycle.鈥�

EdSource鈥檚 data visualization specialist, Yuxuan Xie, contributed to this report. Sharon Lurye and Jocelyn Gecker of The Associated Press, Lily Altavena of Chalkbeat and Ruth Serven Smith of AL.com also contributed to this report.

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The primary for the state鈥檚 top K-12 schools job is in less than a month, but judging from the polls, it鈥檚 debatable whether anyone is paying attention.

A whopping 32% of voters are undecided with just a few weeks until the for state superintendent of public instruction, according to by the Public Policy Institute of California. In the past, it鈥檚 been one of the state鈥檚 hottest races, with millions of dollars in spending.

Among the dozen or so candidates, none had more than 10% of voters鈥� support, meaning that the race is essentially a 10-way tie.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no lack of qualified candidates, but previous elections had an urgency and a sense that who won really mattered,鈥� said Morgan Polikoff, an education professor at USC. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have that this time.鈥�

A job with few duties?

One reason for the malaise, observers said, may be that voters are more focused on education policy unfolding in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration is in the process of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, which could potentially upend funding and student rights. Another reason might be that most of the candidates agree on the major issues, so there鈥檚 not much to distinguish them.

Regardless, the position might be nearly irrelevant by the time the new superintendent takes office. The state is poised to . Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in January that the superintendent no longer run the California Department of Education. Instead, it would fall under the control of the State Board of Education, which is appointed by the governor. The idea was introduced in his January budget proposal and is expected to pass the Legislature.

That would shift power over the state鈥檚 10,000 public schools to the governor鈥檚 office. The superintendent would have few responsibilities except championing various education-related causes. The governor鈥檚 race would carry more relevance to school funding, policies and other issues than the superintendent鈥檚 race.

Teachers union weighs in

The California Teachers Association, one of the biggest players in education politics, has been far more involved in the governor鈥檚 race than the superintendent race. After Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the governor鈥檚 race, the union endorsed billionaire Tom Steyer for governor, citing his alignment with the union鈥檚 priorities.

For superintendent, the union endorsed Richard Barrera, a San Diego Unified school board member who was little known outside San Diego before winning the union鈥檚 backing.

鈥淭he superintendent race is off the radar because the governor鈥檚 race has taken up so much bandwidth,鈥� said David Goldberg, president of the union. 鈥淎lthough the superintendent鈥檚 impact is deeply felt by those who work in public education, it鈥檚 not widely known outside public education.鈥�

The next superintendent will replace Tony Thurmond, who is termed out and is running for governor. The superintendent position is nonpartisan and pays . The top two candidates in June鈥檚 primary will advance to the November general election.

So far, the leading candidates in the superintendent鈥檚 race include a host of education policy veterans. Among them: Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, former head of the Assembly education committee; Josh Newman, former head of the Senate education committee; Anthony Rendon, former speaker of the Assembly and a longtime early education program administrator; and Nichelle Henderson, a Los Angeles Community College District board member.

鈥楢 lightning rod鈥�

Sonja Shaw, a school board member in Chino Valley, is also running and has gained traction on the right. In the most recent poll, she had support from 7% of voters, the same as Barrera. Lance Christensen, who ran against Thurmond in 2022, predicted that Shaw will advance to the November election because Democrats鈥� votes will split among the other candidates.

Shaw is best known for her fiery positions on transgender student rights. She was propelled to the limelight in 2023 when she presided over a Chino Valley school board meeting where out when he spoke over his time limit defending transgender students鈥� right to privacy. She鈥檚 been an outspoken advocate for schools to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender, and for students to participate on teams that align with their gender at birth.

鈥淭hey can say anything they want about her, but she鈥檚 such a lightning rod that now everyone knows who she is,鈥� said Christensen, who鈥檚 now a vice president at the anti-union California Policy Center. 鈥淚 think this issue will take her all the way to Sacramento.鈥�

Why no one鈥檚 talking about charter schools

One issue that鈥檚 been glaringly absent in the superintendent race is charter schools. In years past, charter schools were the No. 1 topic in the race. Candidates were deemed to be either 鈥減ro-charter鈥� or 鈥渁nti-charter,鈥� with donations and rhetoric following suit. 鈥淧ro-charter鈥� was often interpreted to mean anti-union, leading to an avalanche of rancor from both sides.

But the public, and even the unions, seem to have grown tired of arguing about the independent public schools. One reason is that many charter schools now have unions. Another reason is that because of declining enrollment, charter schools are no longer expanding; they appear to have plateaued at about 10% of overall enrollment.

A more likely reason is that voters see that charter schools and traditional public schools grapple with the same issues, said Marshall Tuck, a former chief executive of the Green Dot charter school network who ran for superintendent in 2018 and 2014. The 2018 election in which he lost to Thurmond was one of the most costly superintendent races ever, with contributions topping $50 million. By comparison, no candidate in the current election has raised more than $1 million so far.

Most schools 鈥� regardless of their governance structure 鈥� are facing , and lackluster student engagement since the pandemic ended.

鈥淣ow that we鈥檝e removed the charter vitriol, we can focus on bigger issues,鈥� said Tuck, who is now chief executive at EdVoice, a policy advocacy organization. 鈥淭he core issues are the same everywhere.鈥�

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It may come as a surprise to Californians who know the state has consistently ranked low in how much it spends on students compared to other states: California鈥檚 ranking has soared to the 13th-highest in the nation for how much it funds education per student.

03That鈥檚 not all. California鈥檚 equity ranking 鈥� comparing how fairly it distributes money to districts in high-poverty communities 鈥� rose to the second-highest in the nation, capturing the impact of the state鈥檚 equity-focused funding formula for schools, known statewide as the Local Control Funding Formula.

These are just some of the findings of , a report from the Education Law Center, a national education advocacy organization that has been ranking states since 2019.

Many Californians have long complained about the state鈥檚 dismal ranking in public education funding. But it turns out that some of what is repeated is outdated. The report鈥檚 findings led EdSource to take a closer look at its data and what they can tell us about whether decisions California voters and policymakers have made are leading to better outcomes for all students.

California鈥檚 rise in student funding

California鈥檚 average per-student funding is $19,894, as of 2022-23. That California rose from 28th in per-student funding in 2021-22 to 13th in 2022-23, the latest year for which comparisons are available, reflects a unique set of circumstances: California rebounded quickly from a short Covid-19 recession, producing higher revenues led by high-tech stocks, while education spending in many states, still mired in the recession, declined.

Other factors helped boost California鈥檚 ranking. The state responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with about $30 billion in one-time funding over four years. That included billions of dollars for summer school, learning-loss recovery, the phase-in of transitional kindergarten, as well as money to hold districts financially harmless from chronic absences.

Yes, California is the most populous state and has vast riches. Still, no other state provided funding on this scale in the aftermath of Covid-19; it roughly matched California鈥檚 share of record-level federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief aid.

Even before the Covid-19 education funding bump, California鈥檚 per-student funding had been steadily increasing over the past dozen years, from when its ranking was near the bottom of states amid the Great Recession.

How bad was it then? In 2010-11, the Golden State ranked 50th, behind only Utah in spending, according to , which preceded the law center鈥檚 reporting using similar metrics.

Then, in 2012, threatened with further cuts to education, state voters approved a temporary income tax increase on the wealthiest Californians and renewed it in 2016. (In November, state voters will be asked to make the tax permanent.) California began to climb the per-student funding ranking: By 2017, it rose to 37th, just behind Kentucky, putting it close to Texas and Mississippi and lagging far behind Northeastern states, according to ELC鈥檚 first report in 2019.

Study shows California distributes its funding equitably

Comparing public school funding among states is complex. States鈥� tax structures, per-capita economic output and poverty rates differ, as do their funding formulas for assisting higher-poverty school districts.

A state鈥檚 average per-pupil funding tells only part of the story, particularly in California, where a district鈥檚 funding is tied, through the Local Control Funding Formula, to the proportion of low-income students, English learners and foster and homeless children. Districts in the bottom quintile receive nearly $6,000 less per enrolled student than the highest-funded districts in California in 2024-25.

In its report, in addition to looking at funding levels per student across states, the law center has looked at two other factors:

• Equity: how well funding is redistributed to low-income and high-needs districts
• Effort: how much a state makes education funding a priority relative to its capacity, measured by the percentage of state gross domestic product (GDP) spent on public education

Benefiting from rising overall per-pupil funding, California has moved to the forefront in efforts to distribute funds to districts where they are most needed. On the law center鈥檚 measurement of funding equity, California rose from 6th place to 2nd, behind only Utah. In 2017, it ranked 9th.

The funding distribution measure, said Education Law Center researcher Danielle Farrie, 鈥渋s meant to show 鈥� if states provide greater funding in higher-poverty districts versus lower-poverty ones.鈥�

California鈥檚 equity ranking increased steadily as it phased in the Local Control Funding Formula, enacted in 2013.

A greater funding advantage for lower-income districts yields a greater score. The law center鈥檚 report shows high-poverty school districts in California receiving 42% more funding than districts with the least poverty received an A ranking. In contrast, its neighbor to the north, Oregon, earned an F: its higher-poverty districts received 18% less funding than higher-income ones.

Some states have comparatively high funding, but are rated poorly on funding distribution. Illinois, for example, gets an 鈥淎鈥� on per-pupil funding, ranking 8th among states, but a 鈥淒鈥� on distribution, ranking 35th. Connecticut is the sharpest example of this pattern, near the top in per-pupil funding 鈥� but at the very bottom in funding equity, because districts鈥� funding relies on local property taxes, favoring high-property-value suburbs over poorer urban districts.

鈥淭wo things can be true: You can have an equitable funding formula on the books, but have inequitable funding,鈥� said Farrie. Having a big investment in education 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 mean that it鈥檚 distributed equally.鈥�

Not a top state priority by 鈥榚ffort鈥� metric

Let鈥檚 look at 鈥渆ffort.鈥�

California鈥檚 rise in the ranks for funding effort (the percentage of the state鈥檚 GDP going toward public school spending) is partly attributable to other states鈥� decline. Many states, according to Farrie, have 鈥渄ecided to cut income taxes and corporate taxes,鈥� so that 鈥渆ffort is down because they鈥檙e not capitalizing on new economic activity.鈥�

As California鈥檚 rank rose in 鈥渆ffort鈥� from 35th nationally in 2016-17 to 20th in 2022-23, the percentage of GDP spent on public education in the state only increased from 3.08% to 3.23% during that time.

And unlike most states, California鈥檚 tax receipts soared from the boom in high-tech profits following the pandemic, and K-12 benefited.

Nonetheless, in the latest report, California ranks lower in per-student funding than some other states viewed as its peers, including those with large urban areas and a high cost of living. New York, for example, spent 4.4%, and Illinois spent 4.3% of their GDP on education. The Golden State did not rank as low as states toward the bottom, however, such as Texas with 2.6% and Florida with 2.1%, both getting an 鈥淔鈥� grade, compared with California鈥檚 鈥淐.鈥�

As a relatively high-cost, , California鈥檚 20th-place ranking in effort indicates a capacity to increase funding for K-12 education either by raising revenue or shifting spending priorities. Two key contrasting measures of education funding 鈥� teacher pay and the average number of students per teacher 鈥� underscore the limits of California鈥檚 funding.

Tops in teacher pay, but also tops in cost of living

During the past decade, as its per-student funding rose, California surpassed New York in paying teachers the highest salary: $101,084 in 2023-24 compared with New York鈥檚 $95,615 (unadjusted for inflation). California鈥檚 average starting teacher pay of $58,409 was the second-highest, according to the . The numbers exclude benefits, including state and local contributions to retirement and medical coverage, which add about a third to the average salary.

But higher educator salaries have been undermined by a spiraling cost of living in California that erodes the value of those pay increases. Adjusting teacher pay for the state鈥檚 cost of living, using a formula that factors in housing costs, shows an erosion of more than $10,000, larger than any other state, including New York.

Class sizes in California remain among the largest

Class sizes historically have been large in California. Although the ratio has improved in the past five years, California鈥檚 class size remains among the highest in the nation. Its teacher-student ratio is similar to states with much lower education spending 鈥� only Nevada, Utah and Arizona have a higher ratio 鈥� and California鈥檚 2025 rate of 21 students per teacher is almost double New York鈥檚 teacher-student ratio of 11.

Paying teachers well to attract and retain them is a challenge in a high-cost state. Reducing class sizes to the national average in California would require a substantial increase in funding. New York manages to do both by spending $29,440 per student in 2022-23, the most in the nation and $10,000 more per student than California.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is looking to focus on teacher-led, high-dosage tutoring to meet the requirements of a settlement that requires LAUSD to provide 10 million hours of tutoring to 100,000 students over three years. 

Shaw et al. v. LAUSD et al. was filed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and  that only 60% of the district鈥檚 students participated in virtual instruction during the spring 2020 semester, and that virtual learning practices discriminated against Black and Latino students, as well as those from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Per the settlement, LAUSD seeks to provide 45 hours of high-dosage tutoring each year to eligible students in small groups of three to five, who would receive intensive subject support. 

In keeping with the recent bargaining agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles, the district will first look to teachers to provide tutoring, relying on outside contractors as a backup. Currently, LAUSD works with 25 vendors to provide tutoring, according to the presentation. 

The district plans to spend $74 million in ELO-P (Expanded Learning Opportunities Program) funds in fiscal year 2027 to provide tutoring, according to a presentation from Tuesday鈥檚 Committee of the Whole meeting. 

鈥淲e know that teachers know their students best,鈥� said board member Kelly Gonez at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting. 鈥淎nd so it would seem that this is a shared priority to ensure that there鈥檚 a high level of take up on the teacher-led model, and that we have enough teachers who volunteer to be able to implement it without needing additional vendor support.鈥�

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School closures are an incendiary issue in nearly every corner of California, as enrollment declines and expenses climb. The topic has sparked parent revolts, teacher strikes and school boards鈥� desperate attempts to keep districts financially afloat.

And then there鈥檚 Orick.

The picturesque town in northern Humboldt County has a historic school with five classrooms, a gym, a vegetable garden and an expansive play field. Its current enrollment: nine. Its expenses: $118,000 per student per year, more than five times the state average. 

California has dozens of school districts with enrollments under 100 and higher-than-average expenses. Most of these districts are in remote areas miles from the next nearest school. But as urban districts grapple with the threat of school closures and the inevitable backlash from families and staff, rural schools face an even more heart-wrenching scenario: close the school and decimate the town.

鈥淐lose the school? It comes up all the time,鈥� said Orick Elementary School District Superintendent Justin Wallace. 鈥淏ut I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 an equity issue. We have families who can鈥檛 afford a lot, and this school provides the most consistent setting for our kids. They鈥檙e safe, they鈥檙e well fed, they鈥檙e learning.鈥�

Most of these rural towns once had booming local economies. Logging, ranching, farming, mining and other industries employed generations of families. In the 1960s Orick had 3,000 people and nearly 300 students in its school. There were seven lumber mills, grocery stores, restaurants, churches, even a movie theater. 

But as California鈥檚 economy changed and jobs in these towns vanished, many communities struggled to find a new purpose. In Orick, the lumber mills gradually closed, the National Park Service claimed much of the surrounding land and residents moved elsewhere. Now, Orick has about 300 people and an average household income that鈥檚 just under $39,000 a year 鈥� a third of the state average. According to Orick School鈥檚 , Orick residents 鈥渆xperience high rates of poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, domestic violence, substance abuse, and run-ins with the criminal justice system due to limited resources and high community rates of intergenerational trauma.鈥�

鈥楾errified鈥� of closure

In towns like Orick, the school serves as a savior, of sorts. It鈥檚 a community hub, one of the few sources of decent-paying jobs and a symbol of hope for the future. It鈥檚 a central part of the town鈥檚 identity. The school in Orick operates as a food pantry for the community, gives away clothes to families in need, hosts Narcotics Anonymous meetings and runs a toddler playgroup. The district bought a washer and dryer so residents have a place to do laundry.

Kimberly Frick is the fifth generation in her family to attend Orick School. She remembers when the classrooms were full, students won trophies and the town was like a close-knit family. Now she鈥檚 president of the school board and fights to keep the school open. Saving the school, she said, is tantamount to saving the town. 

She and Wallace scour the area to find new students for the school. Every time a new family moves to town, they visit and try to persuade them to enroll their children. Other community members chip in, as well, by fixing up homes, keeping the town clean and participating in the volunteer fire department, water district and other local services.

鈥淚 feel terrified about the possibility of the school closing. I鈥檇 hate to see it happen on my watch,鈥� Frick said. 鈥淭he facility is clean, safe, well maintained. We provide a high-quality, individualized education for each child.鈥�

Orick, whose name originates from the language of the nearby Yurok tribe, sits in a lush valley along Redwood Creek, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Ranges. A herd of about 60 elk roam through the town and are frequent visitors to the school play field. There鈥檚 a pizza truck, a small convenience store and a newly refurbished hotel. A rodeo draws crowds every July.

But much of the town is abandoned or dilapidated. A trailer park near the school is strewn with trash and broken furniture. Many of the buildings are boarded up. There鈥檚 no gas station. The post office is only open a few hours a day.

Budget breakdown

California funds its schools based on how many students show up every day. But small districts get most of their money in grants, in order to protect them from wild fluctuations in revenue. Last year Orick received $774,000 from the state and federal governments. The school gets extra money because so many of its students have high needs: all are low-income and more than half receive special education services. Some years, numerous students are homeless or in foster care.

Most of the budget goes toward salaries. The school has four full-time staff: two teachers, an administrative assistant and Wallace鈥檚 position, which includes serving as superintendent, principal, literacy coach and special education director. A janitor, cook, counselor, special education teacher and after-school teacher all work part time. Maintaining the school buildings is expensive: heating bills can cost $1,100 a month. So is transportation, because everything is far away. When the students take swim lessons, for example, a driver transports them 30 miles south to McKinleyville. Whatever funds are left over go toward student supplies and enrichment activities like field trips.

An obvious way for the state to save money would be to merge Orick School District with its neighbor, Big Lagoon Union Elementary District, 15 miles south. But the merged district would only save money on facility costs and one superintendent鈥檚 salary, totaling less than $200,000 a year, because the new merged school would have higher expenses, such as the cost of transporting students 30 miles round-trip every day. 

A merger would also alienate one of the communities, Wallace said. Both communities are highly invested in their schools and prize their independence and local control, he said. 

How to close a district

In the early 20th century, California had more than 3,500 school districts, each with its own school board, superintendent and unique traditions. To save money, the state gradually winnowed the number down to the 1,000 that exist today. But there are holdouts. Sonoma County, for example, has 40 school districts, some with only a handful of students.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most common questions we get: Why do we have 40 school districts?鈥� said Eric Wittmershaus, spokesman for the Sonoma County Office of Education. 鈥淓veryone in the community agrees it鈥檚 too many. The problem is that no one wants to close their school.鈥�

California has a lax attitude toward closing under-enrolled schools. The state lets a district鈥檚 average daily attendance slip below six before it intervenes. In those cases, the county can request a temporary waiver, in hopes that enrollment increases, or start the process of consolidating the district with one of its neighbors. But consolidation rarely happens because local officials and voters have the ultimate say.

In 2011, the Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office the minimum district size to 100, but the recommendation was never implemented. In fact, Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 current budget includes a 20% boost in funding for schools that the state deems to be 鈥�,鈥� which are elementary schools with fewer than 97 students 鈥� or high schools with fewer than 287 students 鈥� at least 10 miles from the nearest other school. 

Grand juries in and counties have recommended consolidating small districts to save money, but neither of those reports led to changes. 

Still, some experts say that financial realities may force the issue. Enrollment is declining nearly everywhere and it might not be the best use of taxpayer money to pay for half-empty classrooms and deserted playgrounds.

鈥淒o we need to provide a school in every community? A post office? What if that community barely exists?鈥� said Carrie Hahnel, senior associate partner at Bellwether, an education research nonprofit. 鈥淲e guarantee a free public education to every child, but do we guarantee a school in every community?鈥�

Now and then, districts will shutter. Last year, Green Point Elementary District, deep in the Klamath mountains, consolidated with a neighboring district when its enrollment fell to three (its per-pupil spending was $108,000 a year). In Sonoma County, Kashia Elementary District, with eight students last year, is at risk of closing next year.

Schools reclaimed by nature

Enrollment in Humboldt County has been declining steadily since at least the 1990s, and isn鈥檛 expected to rebound any time soon. A century ago the county had about 100 school districts, essentially one in every mill town, but as the mills closed the districts gradually closed, too.

Some of those towns 鈥� and their schools 鈥� have been swallowed up by the redwood forests. The old logging town of Falk, for example, had a school, mill, post office, dance hall and about 400 residents. After the mill closed, the town gradually emptied out and the Sierra Pacific lumber company, which owned the land, tore down whatever buildings were left in 1979. 鈥淎side from the rose bushes and English ivy, the town of Falk has literally disappeared,鈥� according to the county鈥檚 visitor guide. 

Michael Davies-Hughes, the county superintendent of schools, encourages small districts to plan ahead to avoid abrupt mid-year closures, which are disruptive to students, families and staff. 

鈥淲e want districts to be proactive, so they have options,鈥� Davies-Hughes said. 鈥淔or some, the current model may be increasingly difficult to maintain.鈥�

Outdoor ed and Native traditions

In Orick, older students take a bus 40 minutes every day to attend high school in McKinleyville. Wallace and Frick said it鈥檚 unrealistic to put younger children on a bus for long distances, especially in bad weather. Humboldt County has long, dark, rainy winters, with roads often blocked by fallen trees, floods or mudslides.

Besides, Frick and Wallace said, Orick School does a great job educating its students, which is reason enough to keep it open. It has an exemplary outdoor education program, with students going on regular excursions into the nearby wilderness, learning about the local flora and fauna, the seasons and forest ecosystem. They raise trout and steelhead to be released in local waterways, test water quality in the creek and watch pollywogs turn into frogs in classroom terrariums. 

Wildlife is all around them. In addition to the elk, students can observe condors and falcons soaring overhead, deer and coyotes hanging around the field and even the occasional bear. Students learn to fish, camp, raft and surf.

About half the students are Native American, and the school offers a robust education in Native traditions and history. A Yurok volunteer comes regularly to teach Yurok culture through activities such collecting acorns and making mash, and extracting pine nuts from pinecones to make beads.

鈥淚 mean, come on, how many other schools are in such an incredible setting?鈥� Frick said. 鈥淥rick is a great place to go to school.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

Enrollment in California K-12 schools, and in schools across the country, is declining rapidly as birth rates drop and immigration rates fall. This school year, California had the largest decline in enrollment rates since 2021-22, after schools returned from the pandemic.

Enrollment in public schools declined by 1.3%, or by 74,961 students, according to data released Thursday by the California Department of Education. State public school enrollment is now at 5.7 million students.

The biggest declines were in private schools, with a 6.6% drop in enrollment, and home schools, with a 3.7% decline, according to state officials. Traditional public school enrollment dropped 1.4% and charter public school enrollment fell by 0.3%.

State officials attribute the enrollment dip to an ongoing decline in birth rates and immigration losses.

The California Department of Finance, which makes demographic projections for the state, estimated last October that enrollment would decline by only 10,000 students, or about 0.2%.

Districts are shoring up enrollment losses with cuts

California funds schools based on average daily attendance. The new enrollment figures may not surprise district leaders, who have the staff to track births, housing projections and other factors, but smaller districts may have to redo attendance-based revenue projections for the coming years, said Kenneth Kapphahn, principal fiscal analyst for the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office. 

The impact on schools is real and immediate, said Kindra Britt, communications director for California County Superintendents. 

鈥淭hat translates directly into budget deficits, staff layoffs, program cuts, and in some cases, school closures,鈥� Britt said.

The continuing trend of declining enrollment is a new reality the state must adapt to, said Troy Flint, chief information officer for the California School Boards Association. Even when enrollment declines, costs to operate the school remain the same, he said. 

The decline in enrollment statewide will not affect overall TK-12 state funding, which will continue to be about 40% of the state鈥檚 general fund, and is projected to rise significantly in 2025-26.

Declining enrollment is a national problem

Nationwide K-12 school enrollment has declined by 2.3% or 1.18 million students over the past five years, according to the . National projections predict that the country will lose another 2.7 million students by 2031.

All 39 states that released enrollment data for this school year have experienced a decline, said Elizabeth Sanders, director of communications and public relations for the CDE. About half of the states had larger enrollment losses than California.

Half the enrollment loss in the state is in L.A. County

Los Angeles County lost 32,953 students, more than half from the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 2.6% decline in county enrollment accounted for 43% of the state鈥檚 loss.  

The number of LAUSD has dropped over the past two years after reaching a peak of 5% of the student population in 2023-24. Newcomer students are generally defined as students with limited English proficiency who have attended a U.S. school for three years or less.

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who is on administrative leave, has blamed the decline on 鈥渁 climate of fear and instability created by the ongoing immigration crackdowns,鈥� according to the  

Declining enrollment was one of the main reasons for the budget deficits that led Los Angeles Unified to issue 3,200 layoff notices in February, according to district officials. The layoffs are expected to actually result in 650 job losses.

The number of Hispanic students has dropped

Hispanic students, who make up 56% of California鈥檚 student population, had the biggest loss in student enrollment, but not the largest percentage. The number of Hispanic students dropped by 48,064 or 1.48%, while the number of white students dropped by 31,076, or 2.68%.

The number of English learners also dropped by 8.2%, although the decline could be attributed, in part, to students being reclassified as proficient in English.

鈥淲e surmise that a portion of the enrollment loss is driven by current immigration enforcement activities; how long and to what extent that will continue is the crux of that question,鈥� said H.D. Palmer, deputy director of external affairs for the California Department of Finance.

Immigrant families have been afraid to send their students to school, said Martha Hernandez, executive director of  a coalition of 40 organizations focused on the educational success of English learners.

School staff have tried to assure families that it is safe for their children to go to school, but some families have opted to self-deport or simply leave the state or region for a safer place, she said. 

Immigration losses are likely to have continued to have an impact on school enrollment. Immigration to the state declined from 312,761 to 109,278 between 2024 and 2025, according to the .

Charter school skews Sacramento numbers

Sacramento County had a 9,744 drop in enrollment in its schools overall, a decline of 3.8%; while Orange County had 7,518, Santa Clara 4,198, San Diego 4,190, San Bernardino 2,543 and Ventura County 2,345 fewer students than last year.

Despite Sacramento鈥檚 ranking as the county with the second-largest loss in enrollment, two of its districts were listed as having some of the highest enrollment gains. Elk Grove Unified grew by 1,097 students, or 1.7% 鈥� making it the district with the largest enrollment gain in the state. Folsom Cordova Unified gained 537 students, an increase of 2.5%. 

The disparity in Sacramento County seems to be the result of a large enrollment dip in Twin Rivers Unified, which lost 12,300 students the same year  and Technical Schools laid off teachers and staff following a state audit that found it did not have enough teachers with the proper credentials.  

Regions with lower costs grew

The counties with the largest gains in enrollment this year are in Northern California and the Central Valley.

鈥淭here are counties and regions in California where there鈥檚 actually a sharp increase in school enrollment, and we鈥檙e seeing a direct correlation there between economies that are livable for families and where students are enrolling in school,鈥� Sanders said. 鈥淎nd then of the students who remain, those families are moving to areas that are more affordable for them to live.鈥�

The seven counties with the largest increases in enrollment are San Joaquin County, 842; Placer County, 841; Sutter County, 802; Butte County, 200; San Benito County, 146; Glenn County, 82; and Yuba County, 58.

More kids are attending transitional kindergarten

The drop in enrollment was offset somewhat by a 20.1% increase in students attending transitional kindergarten, after the state fully implemented enrollment for all 4-year-old students this school year. An additional 36,000 children were enrolled in transitional kindergarten this year, bringing the total to 213,313.

There was a 16% increase in the percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged families that enrolled their children in the state鈥檚 transitional kindergarten program. There were also almost 20% more students with disabilities and almost 11% more homeless students in transitional kindergarten this year than last year.

There were fewer English learners listed in transitional kindergarten as a result of , which exempted transitional kindergarten students from taking the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC).

EdSource reporter Betty M谩rquez Rosales contributed to this report.

After taking a break from social media, Orange County student Elise Choi helped write a bill that would mandate California schools teach digital wellness 鈥� a response to growing concerns about how technology is affecting students鈥� mental health.

Assembly Bill 2071 would require California schools to include digital wellness in health classes, teaching students how social media and AI affect their mental health and behavior. Supporters say the bill focuses not on limiting access, but on teaching students how to use technology responsibly. 

Elise, a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts and a member of the student coalition, GenUp, said a bill that serves students 鈥� not simply alleviates parent anxieties 鈥� has been long overdue. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 powerful to have students at the center of policy change when it comes to education legislation,鈥� Elise said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important because we are the ultimate stakeholders, and these issues affect us and our future.鈥�

The bill follows landmark court verdicts that found social media companies Meta and Google liable for designing 鈥渁ddictive鈥� features and endangering children online. Elise said it also responds to what experts describe as a growing , fueled in part by  about social media use. 

If the bill is passed, the California Department of Education must develop by January 2028 a plan to teach students about topics such as healthy screen habits, algorithms and AI and safe interactions on social media. The proposal passed a committee hearing last week and is expected to pass in the Legislature with bipartisan support. 

State Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, who introduced the bill in the Legislature, said the idea of digital wellness instruction was born out of student pushback against the Phone Free Schools Act, which would require all public school districts to create policies to ban or prohibit mobile phone use starting in July. 

鈥淣ow, students are realizing how much the screen time and the social media use really does impact their well-being,鈥� Hoover said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e actually getting excited about making changes and helping their peers actually improve their health as well.鈥�

Where cellphone bans fall short

For many digital wellness advocates like Kelly Mendoza, a senior education leader at Media Education Lab who served as an expert consultant on the bill, digital wellness education picks up where California schools鈥� cellphone bans fall short. 

鈥淧hone-free schools can reduce screen time or potentially reduce behavioral issues that can happen at school, but that doesn鈥檛 teach students healthy media use, decision-making and self-regulation,鈥� Mendoza said. 鈥淪tudents are still not offered the opportunity to learn these skills in school in a structured and valuable way.鈥�

Mendoza said she regularly sees students who are cyberbullied, experience depression and suicidal thoughts, are unhealthily attached to social media or struggle with loneliness in her work at a phone-free high school. A digital wellness course, she said, would teach students that they have control over their relationship to their phones.

Students would learn practical skills such as adjusting account settings, disabling notifications and managing algorithms to limit harmful or addictive content. They would also work through scenarios such as cyberbullying, body image pressure and misinformation to develop healthier behaviors online.   

Elise said she would like the curriculum to include families, particularly those from low-income and under-resourced communities. She recently attended a digital wellness workshop at a private school in San Diego, where parents and students learned to create a screen time agreement.

鈥淒igital wellness instruction is very inconsistent, and it depends a lot on the resources of the school,鈥� Elise said. 鈥淚 also envision digital wellness to be an equitable subject that hopefully all students can have access to.鈥�

Social media can be 鈥榞ood鈥� but 鈥榠nescapable鈥� 

Elise said social media also served as an essential 鈥渢ool鈥� for building connections after she switched to a different high school. She met students online who had launched social impact clubs and helped her sister recruit volunteers to teach dance classes for people with disabilities. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e not anti-tech,鈥� Elise said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e for education, and we have to be balanced with technology, because it can be good and also inescapable.鈥�

Elise said she met with representatives from Google last week, who she said generally supported 鈥渢he course of safety (for) children and youth online鈥� and expressed support for the bill. 

Hoover, however, emphasized that the bill is not meant to shield social media companies from regulation.  

鈥淲e cannot count on these companies to police themselves when it comes to child safety, so it鈥檚 important that we鈥檙e educating students, but also putting the right rules and regulations in place,鈥� he said.

Hoover has introduced additional bills to regulate children鈥檚 use of social media, including one that would prohibit children under 16 from creating social media accounts 鈥� similar to Australia鈥檚 blanket ban 鈥� and another that would establish an e-safety commission to enforce age compliance. 

鈥淭ech companies have a responsibility to be regulated to make sure that they鈥檙e not entrapping kids into a very addictive technology,鈥� Hoover said.

Mendoza, a parent of a teenager, said her daughter uses social media to share and receive feedback on her art, where she has connected with a community of artists. She said the course could also teach students how to reap the 鈥渞ewards and opportunities鈥� of social media. 

The course would examine 鈥淲hat are the healthy communities that you connect to that are really fostering your growth and your development as a person? And how can you change your algorithm to connect more with those things?鈥� Mendoza said. 

Before she got her first phone, Elise said she spent her time solving Rubik鈥檚 cubes, baking and reading. She said she is now spending time on those hobbies when she gets home from school. 

鈥淭he cellphone ban only gets us halfway 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 change our relationship with our devices,鈥� Elise said. 鈥淲e need to teach kids and give us skills for what happens when we get our phones back at the end of the day.鈥�

This story was originally published by . for their newsletters.

A nonprofit organization created by the California State Library to improve childhood literacy has spent more than $1 million in taxpayer money but has yet to put a single book in the hands of a child.

Lawmakers grilled State Librarian Greg Lucas and other officials about the organization鈥檚 spending in , with one lawmaker saying it raises 鈥渟erious questions.鈥�

Lucas, however, blamed the shortcomings on the fact that legislators themselves pulled the organization’s funding prematurely. After the hearing, he told CalMatters in a statement that 鈥渆very taxpayer dollar spent on this program is fully accounted for.鈥�

In total, lawmakers allocated $70 million in 2022 to improve children鈥檚 love of reading with the intent of giving some of the money to Dolly Parton鈥檚 Imagination Library and some of it to a local organization.

The California-based Strong Reader Partnership was formed by the state library as the local partner, and it was originally set to receive $19 million. But in 2024, with very little of the money spent, lawmakers redirected the money to the Dollywood Foundation, which oversees Parton鈥檚 Imagination Library. Ultimately, the project has been able to meet many of its goals, the Dollywood Foundation this year. In all, it has served more than聽160,000 children in California and distributed聽 nearly 3 million books. The foundation is administering the program but not donating any money toward the project.

Although the $1 million spent by the Strong Reader Partnership is small, relative to the total project budget, Sen. , a Pasadena Democrat, and Sen. , a Bakersfield Republican, said in the hearing that it鈥檚 their job to ensure it was still spent correctly, especially since the money was designated for children.

In the hearing, P茅rez and Grove questioned the Strong Reader Partnership鈥檚 finances, repeatedly stating that its accounting practices and business activities were ineffective, negligent or potentially in violation of its state contract. Grove pressed Lucas about why he created a separate nonprofit instead of giving the money directly to the Dollywood Foundation, even though she herself required the state library to do so.

In 2022 Grove authored that created the program. The bill required 鈥渢he State Librarian to coordinate with a nonprofit entity, as specified, that is organized solely to promote and encourage reading by the children of the state.鈥� The Dollywood Foundation, which is national and based in Tennessee, was not eligible to be that nonprofit entity.

When CalMatters asked Grove why she is criticizing the state library鈥檚 formation of a nonprofit when her bill required it, she responded by email but didn鈥檛 answer the question. Instead, she reiterated her criticisms of the Strong Reader Partnership, saying that its money was 鈥渟quandered away without putting books in kids鈥� hands.鈥�

Letters to lawmakers

State lawmakers first questioned the Imagination Library project in 2024, when budget officials, faced with closing a nearly $50 billion , told lawmakers that most of the money for the program remained unspent nearly two years after its launch. That year, the governor keeping the money intact but requiring 90% of it go directly to the Dollywood Foundation instead of the Strong Reader Partnership or any local nonprofit. The foundation did not respond to CalMatters鈥� questions about its relationship with the Strong Reader Partnership.

Sonya Harris, executive director of the Strong Reader Partnership at the time, that 2024 bill and said she sent letters to legislators opposing it.

Lawmakers said speaking about the bill was a violation of her contract. 鈥淵ou’re attempting to influence legislation when it’s explicitly stated that you are not supposed to use state taxpayer dollars to do so. Do you agree?鈥� asked P茅rez during the April 7 hearing. Harris didn鈥檛 answer the question.

Also during the hearing, P茅rez repeatedly questioned the organization鈥檚 financial management, referencing instances when checks bounced, reports were not completed or documents arrived months after lawmakers had requested them. 鈥淎s far as I can see here, there (were) no local partnerships that you all established in order to facilitate this program over a two-year period,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are not able to understand what you did with these dollars and that鈥檚 the whole purpose of this hearing.鈥�

Contracting with nonprofits comes with risks

The roughly $1 million in state funds that went to the Strong Reader Partnership is聽 less than a thousandth of 1% of the state鈥檚聽 total spending, but that鈥檚 not the point, P茅rez said

鈥淐omments have been made about the amount of money that this is, and that it might be small relative to the budget,鈥� she said before closing out the hearing. 鈥淏ut for me, as a public servant, I take this very seriously. We need to ensure that when we’re making a commitment to provide something as simple as books to children, that we’re actually delivering on that commitment.鈥�

State and local lawmakers routinely sign contracts and grant money to businesses, including many nonprofit organizations, to enact public services or programs. In the process, taxpayers 鈥渓ose transparency,鈥� said Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, a group that opposes higher taxes. 鈥淲hy is the state government or the local government turning them over to nonprofits instead of having their massive bureaucracies handle these things where someone is accountable?鈥�

Shelley said the responsibility lies both with the nonprofits and the Legislature, especially in this instance, because Grove鈥檚 bill required the California State Library to work with a local nonprofit.

Normally, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association is strongly aligned with Grove. Last year, the organization gave her based on her voting record on tax-related issues.

This article was and was republished under the license.

Sergio Garcia is quick to the scene. He puts on a scuffed firefighter jacket, grabs an oxygen mask and crouches down on hot concrete to start chest compressions on a dummy body. 

At the Los Angeles Unified School District鈥檚 career technical education showcase, under an outdoor canopy in blistering Southern California heat, the fire academy student demonstrates CPR to other students who might also be interested in joining. 

Sergio represents one of 23 high schools and six middle schools that showcased a range of career technical education at L.A. Unified, including 15 comprehensive three- or four-year programs that prepare students for industries through real-world experience. The showcase, held last month at the , a private health equity foundation, featured student projects, live demonstrations and skill-based challenges, is part of the district鈥檚 鈥淒ream It, Achieve It!鈥� initiative that pairs students with local industry leaders.

鈥淲ith my degree, I鈥檇 rather know I鈥檓 going to help people,鈥� said Sergio, a senior and fourth-year deputy chief at the fire academy at Banning High School who is on track to earn a fire science degree at a technical college. 鈥淎lthough it is very physically demanding, the fact that you鈥檙e doing good in this world is a bigger gift than anyone could ever ask for.鈥�

Building technical and team-building skills 

At another canopy at the showcase, students cheered a remote-controlled battle of two robots, vying for the prize of a 3D-printed bot, while Madelynne Arevalo helped set up a mini flight simulator. Madelynne, a senior at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, is in the robotics program and is designing a rocket launch for her aerospace engineering project.

鈥淲e also compete with other high schools, and the competitions are really fun,鈥� Madelynne said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of all the models (we made), even if they鈥檙e not the final ones we end up using.鈥�

Madelynne remembers designing an elevator system in a robot she worked on for a competition. Although she and her team chose a more time-efficient robot for the event, she said she learned how to develop new technical and team-building skills in a high-stakes environment. 

鈥淚t was a lot of our own ideas and a lot of collaboration,鈥� Madelynne said, 鈥渁nd I thought that even if it doesn鈥檛 work, at least the process was nice.鈥�

In recent years, L.A. Unified has significantly expanded career technical education to about 435 pathways, from engineering and technology to business and construction, serving nearly 40,000 students. About 1,000 students completed internships in the 2024-2025 school year, and CTE programs have about a 97% graduation rate. 

鈥淐TE careers are the fastest growing careers in the United States, more than students going to a four-year university,鈥� said Jaime Medina, a firefighter and teacher in L.A. Unified鈥檚 firefighting program. 

Israel Urbina, a junior at Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, is a third-year student in the photojournalism program. At the showcase, he displayed a photo in which he manipulated light to create different designs, objects and shapes, including one that spelled out his name. 

鈥淩ight now, my thing in photography is light painting,鈥� Israel said. 鈥淚 did a video about it in my photography class, and it鈥檚 about all my light paintings and the different ones I鈥檝e done and the different people I鈥檝e done it with.鈥�

Ken Kerbs, a photojournalism teacher at the school, described Israel as nearly an 鈥渆xpert鈥� on light painting. Through years of honing techniques related to perspective, reflections, texture, light and shadow, Kerbs said most of his students leave the program with greater curiosity about the world and a sharper eye for detail. 

鈥淲hat that says to me is that teaching them the basics is to be sensitive and have a different sensibility about their environment,鈥� Kerbs said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what makes me come to school in the morning.鈥�

Blessed Thomas-Hill, a senior at Washington Prep, worked with Israel on a film about light painting and wrote poetry for the film鈥檚 narrative. She said she chose the photojournalism program because of Kerbs, who helped teach her to be more comfortable expressing herself.  

鈥淚鈥檓 an introvert, and talking with people, I really struggle with that a lot,鈥� Blessed said. 鈥淚 got to know a lot of great friends this year. I鈥檝e got to get closer to more people. It鈥檚 made me more sociable.鈥� 

Students 鈥榬ise to the occasion鈥� 

Blessed said she wants to be an artist and plans to incorporate photography in her personal art. She remembers a field trip to Cal State Northridge, where she learned about a photographer鈥檚 protest of immigration raids through his photos of L.A. communities, which inspired her to commit to art. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 really inspiring in a way because it shows that you鈥檙e not just alone in your community,鈥� Blessed said. 

Madelynne said she plans to continue studying robotics and will pursue a college degree in biomedical engineering. Because she had not committed to robotics until her senior year, she felt she was behind many students who had started coding in middle school. 

鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 believe in myself. I didn鈥檛 think I was smart enough to do something as complicated as engineering,鈥� Madelynne said, adding that the robotics program led her to Girls Build, a club where girls learn to code and build machines together. 

鈥淪preading the positivity around has helped me believe more in myself,鈥� she said. 

Sergio, the Banning High fire academy student, said he initially struggled with how physically demanding his training was, but that he learned to build speed and strength with each simulated fire alarm drill. 

鈥淚鈥檝e also learned that when it comes to rising to an occasion, I rise to that occasion. Whether it be someone鈥檚 in trouble, I help protect people,鈥�  he said. 鈥淭his academy has brought out leadership in me, the discipline, the social skills that I wouldn鈥檛 have learned any other way.鈥� 

Sergio said he also plans to become certified as a diesel mechanic, because the firefighting program has allowed him to combine two of his interests.  

鈥淚 love the whole firefighting part, but I鈥檝e also always loved working on cars. I figured if I鈥檓 going to be a mechanic, I might as well do it for a better cause,鈥� Sergio said. 鈥淲orking on fire engines, so when those firefighters go out and save those lives, I can say I helped with that.鈥�

This story was originally published on EdSource.

Sacramento City Unified and La Mesa-Spring Valley school districts and Taft College in California are among six educational institutions in the U.S. that had civil rights settlements terminated by the U.S. Department of Education on Monday, according to the 

The agreements, negotiated by previous administrations, were meant to uphold protections for transgender students. Now that they have been terminated, the colleges and school districts are no longer obligated to continue measures such as faculty training or allowing students to use the bathrooms, names or pronouns that align with their gender identity, the Associated Press reported.

The termination of the agreements is an effort to enforce President Donald Trump鈥檚 executive order that the government recognize only a person鈥檚 sex assigned at birth. 

In Sacramento City Unified, that means the district will no longer have to abide by a 2024 settlement that requires it to provide training on Title IX policies to school administrators, teachers guidance counselors and school resource officers, according to the  

The settlement stems from a 2022 complaint by a transgender student who said a teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns and that an administrator also referred to him incorrectly. The Office for Civil Rights, under the Biden administration, agreed with the student and directed the school district to take corrective measures, according to The Bee.

Sacramento City Unified said Monday it 鈥渞emains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.鈥�

The district won鈥檛 decide whether to rescind the policies until it learns whether it will impact its federal funding, according to The Bee. The district faces a $170 million budget deficit and threats of state takeover.

La Mesa-Spring Valley Unified Superintendent David Feliciano told the  that the decision would have no effect on district policies and procedures.

鈥淲e remain committed to ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment for all students,鈥� he said.

Embarking on a treasure hunt for the art and artifacts held by the Los Angeles Unified School District is no small feat. 

The nation鈥檚 second-largest school district is home to 389,000 students and roughly 100,000 pieces of art, including paintings, sculptures, maps and murals.

The art can be found in schools and district buildings across the district鈥檚 over 700-square-mile terrain. It is part of its Art & Artifact Collection, which began sometime in the 1850s and morphed into a multi-million-dollar collection today.

Sure, the collection holds school records 鈥� classroom materials, photos, yearbooks. But it also has ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets dating back to 2100 BCE. Sculptures of 鈥淒on Quixote鈥� by Salvador Dal铆 from 1979. A 1931 鈥淏ugs Bunny & Friends鈥� by the animator Chuck Jones shows Bugs Bunny, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and The Road Runner reading a book entitled 鈥淗istory of the 9th St. School.鈥�

The collection predates the official formation of LAUSD in 1961. The city was served by the Los Angeles City School District and the Los Angeles City High School District, which later . Most of LAUSD鈥檚 notable pieces are donations from alumni, former administrators and members of the larger Los Angeles community. A 2008 appraisal estimated the value was more than $12 million, according to a 2022 district document obtained by EdSource.

鈥淟AUSD history is Los Angeles history,鈥� said Cintia Romero, the archive and museum鈥檚 curator and archivist. 鈥淲e have all the people here; we have all kinds of buildings; we have all kinds of architecture; we have all kinds of cultures.鈥� 

It is rare for school districts to hold on to such artifacts, says Brenda Gunn, the president-elect of the Society of American Archivists.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 very common at all,鈥� Gunn said. 鈥淚 think what typically happens is that the school districts don鈥檛 really invest in any sort of preservation. It鈥檚 not often that a school district has an archivist, and if they do have any preservation efforts, it鈥檚 usually by a nonprofessional.鈥� 

Treasures at school sites 

School officials also collect items unearthed at school sites during renovations 鈥� such as old fire alarms 鈥� as well as yearbooks and photographs that document LAUSD history. Los Angeles Unified says it maintains 鈥減rofessional standards for archival care and are intended to ensure that important pieces of the district鈥檚 history are maintained for future generations.鈥� 

鈥淪chool district records are like a continuous public diary of shifts in neighborhoods, how the school district has approached its curriculum, how did it manage desegregation or any big social and cultural events,鈥� Gunn said. She added that some might also be interested in viewing them for something more personal, like understanding family genealogy. 

There鈥檚 little the LAUSD archive turns down. The main criteria is whether the art can serve in an educational capacity or as a teaching aide, Romero said. While LAUSD does sometimes loan pieces out to other institutions, it is 鈥渘ot in the business of buying or selling artwork.鈥� And sometimes, she said, selling wouldn鈥檛 be in the 鈥渟pirit of the donors,鈥� some of whom were the original artists. 

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to be valuable to be accepted. It can be a teaching aid,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淪o, everything kind of has value, really. Everything can be somewhere.鈥�

And it is. 

The 鈥淴鈥� on LAUSD鈥檚 treasure map sits in a warehouse at the school police headquarters in rows of boxes that house a large portion of the collection. That includes the district鈥檚  collection donated by Venice High School鈥檚 historic Latin Museum, which operated from 1932 to 1997, and is now defunct.

In a small museum at the LAUSD headquarters on S. 鈥嬧�婤oundary Avenue, there is a display mimicking a late 19th-century classroom. 

In the 鈥渃lassroom鈥� are wooden phonics teaching tools with scrolling letters, antique maps and silver-colored vessels once used during home economics classes. 

The classroom has a list of 鈥淩ules for Teachers 1872鈥� that sits on the front desk: bring 鈥渁 bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day鈥檚 session,鈥� take 鈥渙ne evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they attend church regularly.鈥� 

Preservation at schools 

But it is among the modern-day classrooms with digital tablets and smart boards where the rest of the treasure lies:

Typically, in most school districts, items just end up sitting idly by for years, succumbing to what archivists call 鈥渂enign neglect,鈥� Gunn said.   

鈥淭here are all kinds of places that this archival material will end up,鈥� Gunn said. 鈥淎nd staff are like, 鈥極h, I don鈥檛 want to throw this away, but it can鈥檛 be in my office, so I鈥檓 going to store it somewhere,鈥� and then it stays there until the next person.鈥�

For Gunn, the hope is that school officials may take the extra step to preserve art, documents and history. Leaving something in a storage closet or in a box and walking away is not enough, she says.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e not hurting anything. You鈥檙e certainly not throwing things away, but you鈥檙e not helping this; you鈥檙e not improving the situation of the records,鈥� Gunn said. 鈥淏ut, what you hope is that someone down the road will see them, open that door and say, 鈥極h, these are valuable. And, if we can鈥檛 keep them here, then maybe there is another archive that will take them.鈥欌��

In the case of the LAUSD archive, there have been several thefts, including a painting at Dorsey High School. Romero said that while there aren鈥檛 many details of the painting, the president of the school鈥檚 alumni association has since found it, and traded $25,000 worth of posters and plans to leave it to LAUSD. 

Today, the district maintains that school security procedures, including key access, protect the pieces. 

Ensuring public access

While LAUSD students might enjoy little treasures displayed on their school walls and in hallway display cases, it鈥檚 more challenging for members of the public to view items in the collection. 

In the 1980s, a formal inventory of art was curated. And in 2004, the collection was digitized, Romero said.

So, since 2018, Romero and her small staff 鈥� made up of a volunteer and a small cohort of interns from Cal State Northridge and LAUSD鈥檚 Downtown Business Magnet school 鈥� continued to digitize items and add them to a public , which can be viewed for free. 

This process of digitizing the archive is largely made possible by donations and grants, though Romero鈥檚 position is funded through LAUSD鈥檚 general fund, according to the district. 

But curating the collection isn鈥檛 just about LAUSD鈥檚 or Los Angeles鈥檚 past. It鈥檚 also about the future. 

Romero and her team also keep tabs on ongoing renovation projects at school sites that could reveal new additions. 

鈥淲e have so many schools, and each school has something,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淓very school has some kind of history.鈥�

This story was originally published by . for their newsletters.

A Southern California school district agreed to sweeping reforms Friday in settling a state attorney general investigation into how it handled allegations staff sexually abused students.

The with the El Monte Union High School District draws to a close an 18-month investigation, which found 鈥渟ystemic shortfalls in the district鈥檚 response to allegations and complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of students.鈥� The investigation was spurred by a 2023 article in Business Insider, , which documented decades of sexual misconduct by teachers, coaches and other staff at one of the district鈥檚 schools, Rosemead High, ranging from sexual harassment and groping to statutory rape.

鈥淓very child deserves to learn and grow in a safe and supportive school environment. Unfortunately, our investigation found that this has not always been the case for students enrolled in El Monte Union High School District,鈥� Attorney General Rob Bonta said. District administrators, he added, 鈥渃onsistently mishandled students鈥� complaints of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse by District employees and others. In doing so, it jeopardized the safety and well-being of its students and violated the community鈥檚 trust. Today鈥檚 settlement marks a beginning, not an end. I am hopeful that the District will move swiftly to implement the reforms required by this settlement, and my office will be monitoring closely to ensure its compliance.鈥�

In an emailed statement, El Monte Superintendent Edward Zuniga said that 鈥渟tudent safety and well-being remain our highest priorities. This agreement reflects our continued commitment to strengthening systems that support safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environments.鈥�

Reforms mandated after investigation

Among other changes, the stipulated judgment requires the district to designate a compliance coordinator to investigate complaints of sexual harassment or abuse and creates a centralized system to store documents related to investigations. It also requires the district to maintain a list of substitute teachers found to have violated the district鈥檚 employee policy on appropriate boundaries with students. The agreement requires the district to establish an advisory committee to study its compliance with the reforms and make additional recommendations, and to provide students and parents with training for how to recognize the signs of grooming 鈥� curriculum that Rosemead students have fought to have implemented for the past four years.

The agreement is a rare instance of state law enforcement taking an active role in a K-12 school district鈥檚 compliance with California education code and mandated reporting laws. The only other agreement like it was with the Redlands Unified School District, following sexual abuse and misconduct allegations that in legal settlements. In El Monte鈥檚 case, announced Friday by Bonta at a press conference in Los Angeles, the judgment requires four years of court-supervised oversight, and includes sweeping reforms in how the district handles serious misconduct allegations.

In an interview with CalMatters, Bonta said that his office was focused on trying to establish best practices for school districts across the state in how to address sexual misconduct allegations when they surface. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this will be the last case of this type, unfortunately,鈥� Bonta said, adding that his staff would conduct unannounced site visits of the district in the months ahead to ensure compliance with the settlement. 鈥淲e think we鈥檝e arrived at a model that can really help districts that have failed systemically, transform.鈥�

Attorneys in the justice department鈥檚 Bureau of Children’s Justice conducted the investigation, which focused on the district鈥檚 handling of sexual misconduct allegations against school staff since 2018. It included a review of more than 100 complaints, thousands of pages of documents, and interviews with more than two dozen employees, former students and others. The investigation found that district officials had failed to properly respond to complaints, provide adequate reporting procedures and adequately maintain records of misconduct allegations.

The findings mirror those first identified by Business Insider, which sued the school district for not releasing records under the California Public Records Act. , with district administrators agreeing to conduct new searches for records and pay $125,000 in legal fees. The district’s head of human resources, Robin Torres, said in a deposition that her office had discarded disciplinary records it was legally obligated to keep. She acknowledged that her predecessors had failed to properly investigate allegations that staff had sexually harassed students or had sex with former students soon after they graduated.

Years of sex abuse allegations

The stipulated judgment is the latest fallout from generations of Rosemead High students coming forward to share their stories of being preyed upon and groomed for sexual relationships at school. The LA Sheriff鈥檚 Department into at least three former staffers, while students and several teachers resigned following district investigations. At least five civil lawsuits .聽 Many were represented by attorneys Dominique Boubion and Michael Carrillo, who previously brought a case against the district that resulted in a $5 million verdict in favor of a former student who said she was abused by a teacher after he was accused of fondling children.

鈥�The attorney general鈥檚 intervention confirms what survivors have been saying for years: EMUHSD failed its students,鈥� Boubion told CalMatters. 鈥淭his was not an isolated breakdown. It was a longstanding failure to protect children, and it stretches back decades. The district should stop resisting and start complying. Students have the right to be safe at school.鈥�

A new state law, the , took effect earlier this year and gives school officials more tools to identify suspected misconduct. State Sen. Sasha Ren茅e P茅rez, a Democrat from Alhambra whose district includes Rosemead High, authored .

Among other reforms, the law establishes the creation of a non-public database of alleged staff misconduct that administrators are required to consult before hiring new employees. Similar databases already exist in other states as part of a growing nationwide effort to prohibit instances of 鈥減ass the trash,鈥� where educators accused of sexual misconduct leave a school district only to return to the classroom elsewhere. This happened numerous times in the El Monte district.

Perez called the settlement a 鈥渟ignificant step toward ending the pervasive sexual misconduct that has harmed so many students in the El Monte Unified School District. Today鈥檚 agreement stems from the work of former Rosemead High School students who bravely shared their stories of harassment, assault, and abuse.鈥�

This article was and was republished under the license.

Unacceptably high numbers of students are testing below state standards, 50% in reading and more than 60% in math, according to state assessment data from the California Department of Education. Chronic absenteeism, while improving from pandemic peaks, remains well above pre-2020 levels in many districts. At the same time, school systems continue to teacher shortages and high early-career attrition.

Federal relief funds temporarily expanded tutoring and student support programs. But those dollars have largely expired. District leaders are now tasked with advancing academic recovery while operating in a far more constrained fiscal environment.

The question facing policymakers and superintendents is not whether students need more support. It is how to provide that support sustainably, without further overburdening teachers and budgets.

One statewide model offers an effective answer: the .

The network is a coalition of 14 AmeriCorps programs operating in more than 30 communities, from Sacramento to San Diego and Fresno to El Centro, with a presence at more than 200 schools and youth programs. The network recruits, trains and places full- and part-time student success coaches directly in K鈥�12 public schools.

These coaches are near-peer mentors and tutors. They鈥檙e typically recent high school or college graduates between the ages of 18 and 25 exploring careers in education and youth development or simply looking for what鈥檚 next in their lives.

Applicants are recruited locally and through higher education collaborations such as California Community Colleges. They undergo screening, interviews and background checks consistent with AmeriCorps requirements. Before entering schools, they receive training in tutoring strategies, relationship-building and student engagement.

Unlike short-term volunteers, the coaches are embedded on campus to become a part of the school community, not just a periodic guest. During their time of service, typically a full school year, they provide targeted, evidence-based support aligned with school priorities directly in the classroom. That can include one-on-one and small-group tutoring,. attendance support and family communication support, academic mentoring and goal setting and social-emotional skill reinforcement.

Coaches can be directed to provide priority support to students who are identified by school staff based on academic performance, attendance patterns or other indicators.

This model is built upon a strong body of research demonstrating that high-impact tutoring and consistent mentoring relationships can improve engagement and accelerate academic gains. A landmark meta-analysis of found that tutoring is one of the 鈥渕ost versatile and potentially transformative educational tools鈥� for substantial learning gains across grade levels.

Of course, coaches do not replace teachers, but they vitally extend classroom capacity, augment the learning environment and allow teachers to focus on core instruction. 

While AmeriCorps programs like this have existed for decades, the Student Success Coach Learning Network was created with intent to make a larger impact through the power of collaboration, information and resource sharing, and advocacy. The metrics support the efficacy of the efforts.

Across participating SSCLN programs in the 2023 and 2024 school years:

• 73% of students supported by Student Success Coaches improved their semester grades.
• 77% improved their grades over the full academic year.
• 95% of students served graduated from high school, compared with California鈥檚 statewide graduation rate of 87%.

Additionally, organizations within the network reported positive improvements in strengthening attendance efforts including reduced absenteeism and increased days attended, with two specific organizations showing an average 56% improvement in attendance-related measures. 

These results are consistent with national findings. A nationally representative survey of K鈥�12 principals conducted by the at Johns Hopkins University found that schools providing people-powered, evidence-based supports such as tutoring report measurable improvements in attendance and academic engagement.

For district leaders, the takeaway is straightforward: Additional trained adults embedded daily in schools help students stay on track.

Roughly 36% of student success coaches through this network pursue careers in education following their service year. A year spent working alongside teachers, students and families provides hands-on experience, professional mentorship and a bridge into teaching with a realistic view of classroom life.

This matters in a state where teacher shortages remain particularly acute in some communities.

The workforce implications extend beyond education. Research from , analyzing millions of job postings, found that seven of the 10 most in-demand skills are 鈥渄urable skills,鈥� including communication, teamwork, empathy and adaptability. Coaches practice these competencies daily as they collaborate with educators, communicate with families, and navigate complex student needs. In that sense, the model addresses two policy priorities simultaneously: student recovery and American workforce development overall.

Because AmeriCorps members receive a living allowance and a help paying off student loans or graduate school tuition through state and federal investment, districts can expand student support capacity with modest local contributions.

This structure offers flexibility as districts add educator capacity without committing to permanent staff positions that may be difficult to sustain during budget downturns. That can extend classroom capacity for students and strengthen a pipeline of future educators.

The impact is people helping people. Young adults are choosing to serve in support of students who might have looked a lot like them just a few short years earlier. They are supporting a teacher who may just need that extra hand and energy they gain through teamwork. And students gain access to a personal mentor whose support may just change their education trajectory. 

As California looks ahead to future budget cycles and leadership transitions, the question is not whether the state can afford to invest in coordinated, people-powered student supports.

It is whether it can afford not to.