While family engagement has always been an important component for supporting student learning in school, the abrupt switch to distance learning in March has dramatically changed the role of parents and other at-home care-providers to that of teacher, tutor, counselor, and technology coach. The transition to distance learning has been particularly…

In January 2016, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) commenced an 18-month project to study the implementation of California's Adult Education Block Grant (AEBG) initiative. AEBG's purpose is "to improve coordination and better serve the needs of adult learners within each region." CLASP set out to foster greater understanding…

"Degrees of Freedom" challenges California to include currently and formerly incarcerated students in the vision set by the state's 1964 Master Plan for Higher Education--a vision of college access for all, for the benefit of the entire state. A college education strengthens economies, changes lives and renews communities, and yet, for…

"Degrees of Freedom" finds that California has not been adequately providing effective college opportunities for criminal justice-involved students, despite the fact that such access will help California build safer and more economically viable communities. This report is part of a larger initiative--Renewing Communities--to expand…

In the late summer of 2008, after the 2007-2008 fiscal year's books had closed, the nation's wealthiest universities were confronted with an unfamiliar sight: single-digit endowment returns. Not since 2003 had Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey), or Stanford University (Stanford, California)…

Decades of research show that quality pre-kindergarten programs can make a critical difference in children's school readiness and their future educational success. Investments in early learning are proven to yield important short- and long-term benefits for students and school districts. Driven by this strong evidence, the movement to expand…

As college presidents face the challenges of a turbulent and uncertain economy, they are working to assess the impacts on their strategic financial positions and to develop response plans that reflect their institutional missions and values. How can college presidents navigate during these difficult economic times as they seek to hold on to the…

"Torchlights in ESL: Five Community College Profiles" grows out of the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy's (CAAL's) recent two-year study of adult ESL service in community colleges. The five college programs at the heart of the study offer high quality ESL instruction and are considered exemplary. This publication is a supplement…

Collective bargaining agreements, by their nature, impact upon the delivery of educational services to California's students. Collective bargaining agreements deal with hours of employment, evaluation of personnel, transfer of employees, leaves of absence and class size. These contract provisions directly impact a district's ability to provide…

In this article, the author describes how Superintendent Jimmy Cunningham recognized the moment he parted ways with his urban colleagues on just how school funding should be meted out in Arkansas. The Arkansas Supreme Court had declared the state's school funding system unconstitutional so the Arkansas Association of School Administrators had…

If the notion of public and private spheres seems somehow quaint or old-fashioned, the distinction between public and private corporations will be that much more obscure. Yet Channel One broadcasts in a public school classroom are indisputably the result of a contract between a private corporation (Alloy Media + Marketing) and a public corporation…

Every month, "Leadership" features articles written in an informal, conversational style that provide practical information for school administrators. This issue of "Leadership" contains the following articles: (1) "'Sorta Dumb' Beliefs Fail 65% of Students" (George Manthey); (2) "A Solid Foundation in School…

The present monograph has been "written with a view" to presenting in a simple and concise manner to the general educational public the most significant conclusions reached in the course of an extensive study of school finance, continued for several years and covering a number of states. Some of the data have been taken from bulletins of…

A project was undertaken to develop a model for establishing normative costs and budget guidelines for California's community colleges. The model was developed using adaptations of microcomputer software and tested using data from the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges and from the Marin Community College District (MCCD).…

The two papers in this document focus on two different major educational reforms and their continuing central issues in California's comprehensive school finance legislation of 1981. The first report, "The Waiver Process for California's Educational Code," by David R. Pacheco, examines the legislation that delegated to nonelected board…