public schools

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K-12 Education

Understanding the debate behind California’s new math framework

In the push to help more students thrive in science, tech, engineering and math, California is working to change the way its schools teach math. But the suggested new framework has sparked widespread criticism.

By

Joe Hong

• November 19, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, received a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot from California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly at Asian Health Services in Oakland on Oct. 27, 2021. Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo

WhatMatters

California prepares to vaccinate kids, give more boosters

Welcome to California’s vaccine rollout, part two: the booster and kids edition. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday received a booster shot of the Moderna vaccine, about seven months after getting the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The move reflects the “mix-and-match” strategy approved late last week by federal regulators and a group of Western public […]

By

Emily Hoeven

• October 28, 2021

Laurel Elementary serves as a hub for five Oakland schools during summer classes with 120 in-person students ranging from incoming first-graders to incoming fifth-graders on June 11, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

WhatMatters

California schools are running out of money

California school districts have two choices: Bite the bullet and make budget cuts now, or delay them and face even more painful decisions.

By

Emily Hoeven

• October 19, 2021

Commentary

California needs COVID response teams in every school

Educators have been forced to become health care workers. California must create pandemic response teams and deploy them at public schools to manage the medical workload that is being left to teachers, principals, librarians and social workers.

By

Guest Commentary

• October 18, 2021

WhatMatters

Why many California students keep missing school

While Gov. Newsom brags about students returning to classrooms, an EdSource report found many districts are experiencing a massive uptick in chronic absenteeism.

By

Emily Hoeven

• September 28, 2021

Commentary

Decline in substitute teachers challenges school districts

California needs to reexamine policies that prevent retired teachers from returning as substitutes within their first six months of retirement.

By

Guest Commentary

• September 24, 2021

Politics

Is this the year the California Legislature closes the digital divide?

Lawmakers have more money and political will, but the telecommunications industry could still stand in the way of broadband for all Californians.

By

Ben Christopher

• April 29, 2021

Mario Ramírez Garcia, 10, listen as his teacher addresses the class during distance learning in the bedroom he shares with his sister on April 23, 2021. According to their father, the internet connection at their Oakland home cuts out about twice a week, which is especially frustrating to the kids when they are taking tests. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

California Divide

The wires may be there, but the dollars aren’t: Analysis shows why millions of California students lack broadband

As millions of Californians finish a frustrating “virtual” school year plagued by tech glitches, a CalMatters data analysis exposes affordability as a key barrier to broadband access, for rural and urban students.

By

Jackie Botts

and

Ricardo Cano

• April 28, 2021