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Gulf Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Has California turned the page on its reading crisis?
Molly Gibbs, Tribune News Service For years California has faced a literacy crisis, with less than half of third- and fourth-graders reading at grade level in the 2023-24 school year and the state often trailing national reading achievement. Even before the coronavirus pandemic stalled learning, California students struggled to meet reading expectations. Recent state and national testing data shows they have been slow to regain ground lost during the pandemic. The gap between socioeconomically disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers is wider than ever, and the second largest in the nation. Now, though, with Gov. Gavin Newsom pledging to include $200 million in funding for evidence-based literacy instruction in the state budget and California schools preparing for the first time this year to screen every student in kindergarten through second grade for reading challenges, educators and literacy advocates are hopeful the state will finally turn a page in the decades-long struggle. But how did we get here? And why does California struggle more than most states with getting students up to reading standards? The best way to teach kids how to read has been widely debated in the Golden State, and educators and literacy advocates have said some students are capable of masking their reading struggles because of the way schools have taught reading for decades — a technique referred to as 'balanced' literacy. Using a blend of whole language and phonics, balanced literacy focuses on teaching students to memorize sight words and use context and picture cues to understand a word's meaning. Kim Tran, a K-5th-grade reading specialist and partner with the UC Berkeley California and Literature Reading Project, called it a 'guessing game' where students look at the first letter and last letter of a word they don't know and try to guess the rest. 'That's just kind of muddling through it and hoping there's enough pictures or context for you to understand what's happening,' she said. But decades of growing research — referred to as the science of reading — has revealed that balanced literacy isn't the most effective way to teach students to read. Also known as structured literacy or evidence-based reading, the science of reading uses cognitive research, focusing on phonics, comprehension and fluency. Most states have adopted this approach, but California has not amid pushback from teachers unions and English-learner advocates. 'The whole point is that you don't teach them to get proficient in reading by teaching them guessing and teaching them to pretend to read,' said Rachel Hurd, a San Ramon Valley Unified school board member. 'You teach them to read and they practice reading and in the meantime you read to them a ton so that they're interested.' The National Council on Teacher Quality found that California is behind most other states in implementing the science of reading and ranks among the worst in the nation for the quality of its reading programs. But a new bill — AB 1454 — is moving through the state Legislature and would provide state-approved training and textbooks to all teachers on evidence-based reading. Marshall Tuck, CEO of the educational advocacy nonprofit EdVoice — a key supporter of the bill — said one of the biggest reasons California has been slow to implement evidence-based reading curriculum is because of the state's emphasis on local control, especially in schools, meaning it's up to districts to decide curriculum and funding priorities. 'A lot of districts that maybe had been teaching kids to read a certain way for a long period of time without that very focused engagement from the state, it's quite hard for them to change,' Tuck said. New curriculum is expensive, school board member Hurd pointed out, and many Bay Area districts are already cash-strapped and short-staffed. The $200 million included in the budget for evidence-based reading instruction is one-time funding, so districts would need to pay for future training and instruction. Unlike oral language, reading is not a natural ability we're born with, explained Kristen Koeller, a San Jose-based reading specialist with more than 22 years of experience teaching California students. It's a skill that needs to be taught at a young age, usually by the end of 3rd grade. After that, it's much harder to rewire the brain, Koeller said. After third grade, California switches from an emphasis on learning to read to 'reading to learn,' said Chris Norwood, founder of the Bay Area Tutoring Association and president of the Milpitas Unified School Board. 'So if the skills aren't developed, then all of a sudden you start to see an increase in the skill gaps of individuals because now they're not able to read and comprehend and execute what the teacher may be asking,' Norwood said. Many students who spent their early education in distance-based or virtual learning — referred to as the 'COVID kindergarteners' — continue to face additional challenges. Tran, the reading specialist, said it was hard to teach students to read on a computer screen where you couldn't hear all of the kids, many were dealing with technology issues and students struggled to focus. But educators said it wasn't until those COVID kindergarteners hit fourth grade last year that the significant impact the pandemic had on their education was really clear — and shocking. Michelle Robell, a first-grade teacher in Palo Alto, said even kids who appeared to be reading weren't always understanding the material. 'They can be a super strong reader that can read super fast and super accurate, but they have no idea what they're reading,' Robell said. Technology has also had an impact. Robell said students are used to slouching in chairs and staring at tablets, so she has to spend more time teaching kids to sit up and look up from the ground before she teaches them to read. Kids are used to instant gratification from their devices and have shorter attention spans, Koeller added. And kids imitate their parents, Koeller pointed out. She sees parents drop off their kids at school while scrolling on their phones instead of engaging with their child. 'You learn to read in part through talking. ... Any verbal skills that are lacking have to be made up for in school before you can really start to learn how to read,' Koeller said. But even when parents promote a love for literacy, success isn't guaranteed. Karla Galvez-Lima, a parent of two young children in West Contra Costa County, said she exposed her 7-year-old daughter, Camilla, to reading at a young age, prioritizing story time and taking her to the library every week. But Camilla began to pull away from her love for reading after first grade, and she was no longer reading at grade level. Galvez-Lima said she doesn't know why, but thinks there is a disconnect between what students learn in school and what they practice at home. She wishes there were 'a bridge between the two' to support students. Still, educators say while it might be harder to teach students how to read in a post-pandemic and technologically advancing world, and California has trailed many states in reading, they're hopeful. 'I do feel like we've turned a corner in California,' Koeller said. 'The question is, will state leaders and district leaders recognize that this crisis needs immediate attention? This isn't something that we're going to work on for the next five to eight years. We need to get busy, and we need to get busy now because it's kids in the crosshairs. ... It's a crisis, but it's a solvable crisis.'
Miami Herald
02-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Miami-Dade schools to lose millions after federal grant cancellations
The U.S. Department of Education has halted funding to several longstanding grant programs that serve low-income and vulnerable students, a move that could cost Miami-Dade County Public Schools more than $45 million in the coming school year. The funding, which was approved by Congress in March and expected to be distributed starting July 1, would have supported migrant education, teacher development, English-language instruction, and other services for high-need populations. 'As the significant bulk of this funding is tied to students, including our most fragile student populations, we pray that they do not become permanent—which could result in catastrophic learning and life consequences for children and families across Miami-Dade,' said Steve Gallon, vice chair of the Miami-Dade school board. Nationwide, the cuts affect at least 18 grant programs totaling more than $8 billion, according to the Department of Education's 2025 budget summary. Among the programs cut: $375 million for migrant education$2.2 billion for professional development$890 million for English-learner services$1.3 billion for academic enrichment$1.4 billion for before- and after-school programs Florida alone stands to lose about $396 million, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The grant programs have been replaced by a new initiative, the K-12 Simplified Funding Program, which will distribute $2 billion in flexible block grants to states. The Dept. of Education's budget summary says the change gives states 'flexibility to deploy these resources in a manner consistent with the needs of their communities.' But education advocates warn that because the money is not targeted, students with the greatest needs may not receive support. This is not the only federal funding loss affecting Miami-Dade. In February, the Department of Education also terminated a $9.26 million grant awarded to Miami-Dade schools under the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program. The five-year grant was meant to support a project called Edu-PARTNERS, aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers in high-need schools. The program included a partnership with Miami Dade College and mentorship opportunities for new educators. According to the grant application, Edu-PARTNERS aimed to increase teacher diversity and promote greater equity in student access to quality instruction. Miami-Dade was one of more than 30 grantees selected in the 2024 competition. But on Feb. 12, the department issued a formal termination notice, ending the grant immediately. No public explanation was given for Miami-Dade's termination. A Department of Education employee reached by phone said they had no information on individual grant cancellations but noted the TQP program has existed since 2008 and has historically funded successful partnerships between school districts and educator training institutions. Madeline Pumariega, president of Miami Dade College, said the institution remains committed to its mission. 'Despite the grant cancellation, we continue to expand our teacher preparation and education programs,' she said, citing the school's teacher academy and apprenticeship offerings. The cancellation has alarmed local and national education leaders. Tony White, president of the United Teachers of Dade, said in a statement that 'canceling any program that helps with our county's teacher shortage is harmful to the students of this district.' The TQP program, authorized under the Higher Education Act, is the only federal initiative specifically focused on building sustainable educator pipelines in under-served communities. Its sudden cancellation is part of a broader shift by the Trump administration, which says many of the defunded programs no longer align with its goals. According to the department's budget summary, the elimination of these programs is expected to save taxpayers $2.13 billion in fiscal year 2026. For Miami-Dade students, the long-term cost remains unclear. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Walters: New California school data project fulfills campaign promise Newsom made
Gavin Newsom can — and should — be faulted for making campaign promises six years ago that he must have known were impossible to achieve, such as his vows to create single-payer health care and build 3.5 million new housing units. When reminded of them after becoming governor, he dismissed them as 'aspirational,' a caveat he neglected to attach to his original pledges. Nevertheless, credit is due when one of his promises becomes reality, as it did this week when the state launched the beginnings of a long-needed system of tracking how the state's public school students fare in classrooms and later in life. The Cradle-to-Career project released its first batch of numbers, along with video tutorials on how to access the data. 'With the C2C Student Pathways Dashboard now live, Californians can visualize their futures by seeing disconnected data from across sectors and previously unavailable insights, all in one place,' Newsom said in a statement. 'The Golden State is once again leading the way in innovation, connecting our education system to the workforce to ensure everyone has the freedom to succeed.' However, not everyone in the rarified ranks of education researchers and reformers echoed Newsom's boasts. Alex Barrios, president of the Educational Results Partnership, a business-backed education policy coalition, complained that 'the dashboard fails to do what it promised. It doesn't represent the journeys of all students and how they navigate to and through careers. 'By following the career trajectories of only college graduates, it assumes the only path to success for students is through a four-year college degree,' Barrio alleges. The new data system should include all of the factors that Barrio's organization lists, but its criticism may be premature, since officials say they intend to expand the project's scope as rapidly as it can obtain data. Assuming that the project does widen its reach, C2C, as it's dubbed, not only will be a lasting accomplishment for Newsom, but it will fill a void that's existed far too long. Without reliable data on outcomes, the nation's largest school system operates in an accountability vacuum, which the education establishment seems to prefer. The state Department of Education has a 'dashboard' that purports to give parents, taxpayers and voters a picture of how well schools are doing their job. However, the current system is a mishmash of educational jargon that is difficult to decipher. It also skews the ratings in ways that minimize actual academic achievement, such as in reading, writing and mathematics, and elevates peripheral factors it calls 'multiple measures.' Thus, it downplays the fact that California's students fare very poorly vis-a-vis those in other states and the 'achievement gap' still broadly separates low-income and English-learner students from those with more privileged circumstances. Education reformers have long pushed for obtaining and publishing more objective and complete data, especially after former Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature overhauled school finance a decade ago to provide more funds to schools with substantial numbers of what were called 'at-risk' students. Better numbers would, the reformers said, provide a clearer understanding of whether Brown's Local Control Funding Formula was working. Brown, however, backed the education establishment's preference for getting the money without strict accountability for how it was spent and whether it was having a positive effect. He said he trusted that local school officials would spend the extra money wisely, calling it 'subsidiarity,' a secular version of an obscure religious principle. After Newsom succeeded Brown he quickly reversed that position and called for a comprehensive data system to track how students were faring during and after their journeys through the school system. The Legislature responded by authorizing the C2C system. CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Walters: New California school data site fulfills a Newsom promise made
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul Public Schools Board: New superintendent to start May 12
Stacie Stanley will start as St. Paul Public School's next superintendent on May 12, with a first-year salary of $270,000 following contract approvals by the district's board Tuesday night. A short-term contract sets Stanley's start date at May 12 and goes through June 30. A long-term contract begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2028. She will receive an additional salary of $37,384 during the period of her short-term contract. Her second-year salary was set at $275,400 and her third-year salary was set at $280,908, according to district officials. Interim Superintendent John Thein receives a salary of $230,000 a year, according to his employment contract with the district which was approved in April. Thein has been serving as interim superintendent since May after the departure of former superintendent Joe Gothard, who left to lead the school district in Madison, Wis. Thein also served as interim superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools from 2016 to 2017. Gothard's base salary as of 2023 was $256,000. The St. Paul school board unanimously selected Stacie Stanley in December, hiring the Edina superintendent who grew up in St. Paul and attended the city's schools. She is the first SPPS superintendent born, raised and educated in St. Paul in the district's more than 150-year history, Thein said Tuesday. Stanley has been superintendent of Edina Public Schools since July 2021 and previously served as associate superintendent at Eden Prairie Schools. She is the president-elect of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Stanley has held leadership roles in the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District, Roseville Area Schools and East Metro Integration District. Stanley graduated from Central Senior High School. Before getting into education, Stanley worked in occupational therapy. She then worked as a math teacher. She eventually became director of the office of equity and integration for East Metro Integration District. In her career, she has overseen curriculum assessment instruction and support services and English-learner programs, she said during the virtual meeting. Stanley has a doctorate in educational leadership from Bethel University and a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in K-8 elementary education from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. Education | SPPS Board of Education to vote on cell phone policy Tuesday Education | St. Paul, other big districts cancel Tuesday classes because of cold weather Education | St. Paul Public Schools cancels school, after-school activities Tuesday due to weather Education | Confirmed case of pertussis/whooping cough in St. Paul school district Education | St. Paul Public Schools begins open house tours before priority enrollment deadline
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Area schools contribute to record state graduation rate
ELKHART — The 2024 graduating classes for Concord Community Schools and Elkhart Community Schools contributed to the highest graduation rate on record in Indiana. Across the state, 90.23 percent students graduated from high school, which is up from 88.98 percent in 2023. 'Over the past year, we have celebrated a number of successes in K-12 education, and there is urgency to continue this positive momentum for Indiana students,' Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said in a statement. 'As a state, we have seen literacy rates increase for the third consecutive year, chronic absenteeism rates improve for the second year in a row, and today, the highest state graduation rate on record.' She attributed the improvement in student outcomes to a collaboration of educators, families and communities. 'Together, we must continue to keep our foot on the gas pedal in 2025, ensuring we keep improving our education system in Indiana and increasing opportunities for students,' she said. Indiana students can graduate in one of two ways. One way is with waivers, which are intended to help students in special circumstances, including those who transfer to a new school. The other way is without waivers. Some students, including those who transfer to an Indiana school from another state or non-accredited private school or have other extenuating circumstances are eligible for graduation waivers. But those students must still meet all of the coursework, credit and employability skills requirements. They must also maintain a 'C' average in required courses, an attendance rate of 95 percent, and fulfilling all other state and local graduation requirements. According to the Indiana Department of Education, Elkhart Community Schools' 2024 graduating class had a graduation rate of 94.45 percent with waivers. Concord Community Schools had a graduation rate of 94.09 percent with waivers. The 2024 state graduation rate without waivers is 87.53 percent, which is up from 84.92 percent in 2023. Elkhart Community Schools' 2024 graduation class had a non-waiver graduation rate of 94.45 percent, which is up from 90.15 percent in 2023. Concord Community Schools had a non-waiver graduation rate of 92.80 percent, which is up from 92.75 percent in 2023. 'We're happy with our success the past two years,' said Seth Molnar, Concord High School principal. 'Last year, we were 92 percent … that's the highest graduation rate we've had in 15 years. We beat that this past year, so we're really excited with all the progress we've made in this building, helping our students find paths to graduation. A kudos to our parents, our students and our staff. We worked incredibly hard to increase those numbers.' Across the state, graduation rates increased for Black, Hispanic, White and English-learner students. The state graduation rates also increased for students in special education and students receiving free and reduced-price meals. Cary Anderson, Elkhart High School principal, said he is excited about the 94.45 percent graduation rate for the high school, but that is not the only piece he and his staff are looking at. 'It's not just graduation rates we're looking at,' Anderson said. 'We're looking at everything. We're looking at our college-bound kids, we're looking at our career-bound kids, and doing everything we can to meet their needs.' Anderson said the school is trying to graduate students who come back to the school community and work in the business community to help the community be better at large. He said the school is not just trying to graduate students, but graduate students with a focus, which will prepare the students for their next roles in life.
