In California, approximately 47,000 students live in foster care (in 2018-19, around 0.7% of the student population). The reasons for entry into foster care are multiple, complex, and often intertwined with the social and environmental challenges associated with poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the social and environmental…

California is in the midst of a crisis of homelessness, with more than 1 in 5 of the nation's students identified as experiencing homelessness residing in the state. The incidence of student poverty and homelessness in California has been rising steadily both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the total student population. Although the…

This brief summarizes the practices of successful, instructionally engaged leaders and the ways districts develop these leaders. These practices are drawn from "positive outlier" districts in California that have excelled at helping African American, Latino/a, and White students achieve at high levels on assessments of academic standards…

This brief summarizes successful strategies for creating a strong and stable teaching force. These strategies are drawn from "positive outlier" districts in California that have excelled at helping African American, Latino/a, and White students achieve at high levels on assessments of academic standards in English language arts and…

Gridley Unified School District serves just over 2,000 students across five schools in a small rural town in the upper Sacramento Valley. The median annual household income in Gridley is just over 60% of the state average. Gridley Unified is one of seven districts studied by researchers at the Learning Policy Institute in a mixed-methods study…