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I am thrilled to have joined the board of Create CA, California's leading arts education advocacy organization. Every single California student should have access to high-quality arts education in school and Create CA is determined to see this happen in our lifetimes.

Federal COVID-19 relief funding for schools will end in September. In a series of grants known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, CA schools received $23.4 billion to pay for everything from air purifiers to after-school tutoring kqed.org/news/11979829/…

This dichotomy between what we are seeing in the data about absenteeism (and more broadly pandemic recovery) and what parents/the public think, is a major problem! Parents are not fully aware of, or concerned about, their children’s school attendance brookings.edu/articles/paren…

"My school closed when I was in fourth grade, so I get it." The closer Veteran reporter Jill Tucker describes the wrenching experience of covering school closures — and how she hopes to do it differently in 2024. mailchi.mp/df64f797faec/t…

Bellwether's new series offers a crash course in essentials of higher education finance for policymakers and advocates. bellwether.org/publications/d…

Important piece on the perils of funding schools based on ADA in a world of growing absenteeism. Two big states- TX and CA still employ this penalizing strategy - by Mark Lieberman and featuring EdFund’s own Ericka (Wiggins) Weathers edweek.org/leadership/why…

PACE's Carrie Hahnel: “Districts are experiencing a double hit when they do their enrollment/attendance projections since they’re having to project fewer students, higher absences among students that do come—It’s compounding the pressures they’re facing.” edweek.org/leadership/why…

Seventy years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional. But insidious forces continue to segregate kids. See our exclusive data, in partnership with Bellwether, on how those forces play out: usatoday.com/story/news/edu…

Despite budget constraints, CA districts are obligated to invest in the arts. It's what voters have asked for. The state can help districts navigate their legal obligations while also reimagining what a vibrant, well-rounded education looks like in today's budget climate.

An excellent piece by francis a. pearman on how districts can confront declining enrollment and school closures with equity in mind. Enrollment Down. Achievement Lackluster. Should This School Close? edweek.org/leadership/opi…

Smaller enrollments -- and therefore budgets -- will be the new normal for most CA school districts in the years ahead. Now is the time to redesign schools in ways that are fiscally sustainable but also improve learning and opportunities for students.

.Melanie Asmar helpfully illustrates a struggle coming to a district near you: Forced to confront school closures, district leaders are uncertain how to meaningfully incorporate equity and engagement into their closure plans. chalkbeat.org/colorado/2024/…

🚨NEW! 🚨 Today, Bellwether is releasing two resources dedicated to understanding and addressing the implications of declining enrollment. 🧵

As enrollment declines, California district leaders must operate school systems with fewer resources. How can they use this moment to strengthen opportunities for all students? 📢NEW report with my @Bellwether colleagues Paul Beach & Tanvi Kodali Tanvi Kodali bellwether.org/publications/n…

Seattle Public Schools is proposing to close almost 20% of its buildings. Harbinger of things to come in other districts with declining enrollment, including here in Portland, and this chart from a new Bellwether analysis shows why:

In this Public Policy Institute of California post is a rare goodish news story about California school $$: Per-pupil spending is now above the national average, after decades of sitting toward the bottom. (Big caveat: In high-cost CA, it also costs more to pay teachers and do all the things schools do.)

Declining enrollment is creating challenges for California school districts -- but leaders can use the moment to redesign and strengthen high schools. Appreciative of John Fensterwald's coverage of my new report with Bellwether colleagues Paul Beach & Tanvi Kodali.