News From the Field
Catch top headlines sharing relevant news and stories about Linked Learning practices, schools, and students.
California mask mandate for schools to end after March 11
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials said today that the state mask mandate for schools will end, but local jurisdictions are free to impose their own requirements.
Omicron surge worsens teacher shortage, closing more California schools to COVID
The omicron variant of COVID-19 has hit California’s teacher workforce so hard that many schools are weighing closure and in some cases forced to dip into emergency days. The quality of instruction is suffering, but some teachers say they still prefer this to remote instruction.
Back to campus under COVID: Students reflect on an unusual semester
The CalMatters College Journalism Network spoke with students across the state about going back to campus — the highs, the lows, the weird.
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.
Quarantining students could get more instruction with proposed independent study changes
The state legislature proposed changes to the independent study laws that had been disrupting school reopenings across California. Educators say the revisions will help but don’t go far enough.
California schools should spend their extra $15 billion on students
The massive influx of one-time federal aid should be used to make up for lost learning time and emotional setbacks students experienced when schools were closed during the pandemic, writes Chantal Lovell, communications director at the California Policy Center.
California lacks timely data on who goes to college. This might fix that.
California high schools say they make students college-ready, but rarely does the public have the data to see if students actually made it to college and thrived. California lags the nation in public data that shows how students move from school to college and the workforce. A statewide fix is on the horizon.
The wires may be there, but the dollars aren’t: Analysis shows why millions of California students lack broadband
Across urban and rural areas alike, public schools with more students in poverty were far more likely to serve households that lacked a basic broadband connection at home in the months before school went online, according to an unprecedented CalMatters analysis. For the vast majority, the barrier to access was not a lack of internet infrastructure — indicating that the more common obstacle was affordability.
Data system will help chart a pathway to educational success
Continued funding for a Cradle-to-Career Data System would empower communities and educators to demand better from schools.