Parents allege that the Sequoia Union High School Board circumvented the state's open meeting laws by discussing the school's closure in private text messages, which they claim violates the Brown Act.
The Palo Alto Unified School District is in the middle of at least 11 different lawsuits, including cases that allege unchecked bullying, racist attacks, injured students, inadequate special education and retaliation by district leadership.
This idea was based on the parallel between the pluck and elan that are characteristic of both the early-college students I worked with and that of America's hardest-working founding father. Five years after I wrote the book, I had the opportunity to revisit the field for a revised edition, making it appropriate to ask, after Thomas Jefferson's song in the second act of Hamilton, "What'd I Miss": How has early college/dual enrollment changed over the past half decade?
The central aspect of the PACE plan calls for removing the state superintendent as the head of the California Department of Education. Instead, that department would be run by an appointee of the state Board of Education. Members of the state board are appointed by the governor to fixed four-year terms. The PACE report envisions the "governor as the chief architect and steward responsible for aligning and advancing California's education system."
Teachers have almost no authority over student behaviors or academic grading, and are given little, if any, respect from administrators, parents or even students. Instead, students have all the authority but no responsibility for their success. Students do (or don't do) whatever they wish, while empty-handed teachers are left to take the blame. Teachers no longer have the ultimate tool of flunking students.
Los Alto School District board trustee Vladimir Ivanovic is resigning in protest over the district's plan to build a new campus for Bullis charter school, a move he believes will impose a large tax burden on residents and jeopardize future bond measures. The long-time trustee announced his decision at the board's meeting on Jan. 12, and submitted his resignation letter. Ivanovic, whose four-year term was set to expire in December, will stay in the position until March 11.
A new Bronx charter school is opening with a 50-week calendar and 7 am-7 pm hours, designed to better align with working parents' schedules. School: Strive Charter School (public charter), Bronx - grades K-4 Address: 604 E. 139th St. Hours: 7 am-7 pm Weekday schedule: Drop-off 7-9 a.m. + pick-up 4:30-7 p.m. (both flexible) Extras: Optional weekend programming + planned 50-week calendar Meals: Free breakfast, lunch, and dinner on open days
These numbers look stark, but in context they reveal far more about the conditions California children are growing up in than the quality of classroom instruction. California educates a disproportionate share of children experiencing housing insecurity. A 2024 analysis found that 4% of California students were homeless, with some counties reaching 16%. The California Department of Education reports 230,443 homeless students statewide, a 26% increase over five years that mirrors broader trends in affordability, overcrowding and displacement.
On a chilly day before Christmas, Teresa Rivas helped a tween boy pick out a new winter coat. "Get the bigger one, the one with the waterproof layer, mijo," she said, before helping him pull it onto his string-bean frame. Rivas provides guidance counseling at Owen Goodnight Middle School in San Marcos, Texas. She talks with students about their goals and helps if they're struggling in class. She's also a trained navigator placed there by a nonprofit called Communities in Schools.
