children-and-youth

The back of a student with long black hair as they sit on a green carpet alongside other students while they listen to a teacher read a book.

Education

Head Start programs begin closing in California due to shutdown

As funding deadlines approach, one Head Start program has closed and three others are about to. More closures are expected in the coming weeks.

By

Carolyn Jones

• October 31, 2025

Preschool students sit on a green and blue rug as adults surrounded while they read a book.

Education

How the tiniest domestic violence survivors heal with the help of a San Diego preschool

A preschool in San Diego focuses on children who've experienced trauma, the "little guys". Mi Escuelita now has a long record of helping kids and families move forward.

By

Adriana Heldiz

• October 16, 2025

Young students, wearing blue graduation cap and gowns, cheer and jump as they perform a song during a graduation ceremony on the lawn of a field.

Education

This preschool serves kids with traumatic backgrounds. Here’s what researchers learned from them

Children with traumatic experiences who attend Mi Escuelita preschool in San Diego graduate ready for kindergarten and continue to do well in school for years.

By

Adriana Heldiz

and

Adam Ashton

• October 16, 2025

A teacher — wearing a leopard-print dress and a black puffy vest — leans down to comfort a student while they cry during a school activity.

Education

How to get help if you know a California child who experienced serious trauma

Know a young child who experienced serious trauma? Californians can find resources through their doctors, preschools and First 5. Here's how to get started.

By

Adriana Heldiz

and

Adam Ashton

• October 16, 2025

A child wearing a red hoodie walks alone down a brightly lit school hallway with colorful tiles, surrounded by walls covered in student artwork and classroom projects.

Mental Health

‘Can I just be a kid?’ Students shaken by immigration raids seek help from school counselors

Kindergartners repeat worries heard at home. Older kids text to check on parents during class. Therapists say mental health is at risk now and in the long term.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• October 3, 2025

In a colorful classroom, two children dressed in playful outfits stand beside an adult who is seated and holding an open picture book titled Quick as a Cricket. The children look at the book with interest as the adult reads to them. Behind them, classroom decorations include a poster showing the life cycle of a frog, tanks with small animals or classroom pets, and various educational materials on the walls. In the foreground, blurred wooden play items sit on a table.

K-12 Education

Considering TK for your child? Take a peek inside one ideal classroom scenario

This fall at least 200,000 California students are expected to enroll in transitional kindergarten, which serves as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten.

By

Carolyn Jones

• August 18, 2025

The burnt remaining structure of a high school building that was destroyed during a wildfire. Student desks are left among the ruins.

Commentary

‘I’ve noticed changes in all of us’: The LA fires put what really matters most into focus

A former Palisades high schooler reflects on a tumultuous year and the way many teens have gained a whole new perspective, rethinking what's important.

By Lauren Ades • July 16, 2025

A student wearing a pink backpack walks down a hallway lined with several rows of orange lockers at a high school. Several colorful portrait paintings are displayed on the walls.

Mental Health

California promised to boost mental health in schools. Why one key program is behind schedule

Only 14 school districts and county offices of education have begun billing for behavioral health services under the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Fee Schedule Program, according to state health officials.

By

Ana B. Ibarra

• May 8, 2025

A group of young children gather around a table under a canopy, learning how to plant seeds. Two children wearing matching pink unicorn shirts and sunglasses watch closely as an adult hands out small pots. Another child in a purple outfit handles planting materials, while a woman leans in to guide them. Soil and seed packets are scattered across the table.

Education

Head Start gets a reprieve from Trump budget cuts, but the fight isn’t over

Head Start staff and advocates launched a nationwide campaign to save the program, which Trump eliminated in his budget draft.

By

Carolyn Jones

• May 8, 2025

A student uses her cell phone while walking outside on a school campus with other students.

Commentary

If social media can flip fitness tips into an eating disorder, California law needs to intervene

A San Jose parent shares how her daughter's use of social media uncovering fitness tips led to an eating disorder. It's the sort of tragically common story that she argues makes a proposed social media liability bill worth passing.

By Neveen Radwan • May 7, 2025

Children-and-youth