News From the Field
Catch top headlines sharing relevant news and stories about Linked Learning practices, schools, and students.
Students deserve to learn with a sense of purpose
Commentary from Roman Stearns, executive director of Scaling Student Success, writes about how a vast majority of young people go through school with a sense of purpose. He highlights examples throughout California where innovative teachers, schools, and districts are fostering student purpose exceptionally well, including Linked Learning partner Porterville Unified School District.
Gov. Newsom’s budget proposal calls for expanding arts ed pathway
The Governor’s proposal, subject to change in May, calls for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to create a new Elementary Arts and Music Education pathway for career technical education teachers. This expansion would allow more working artists to share their expertise with California students, a move many arts advocates praise.
California’s early college high schools can improve dual enrollment diversity
Merging high schools and community college classes in areas with a high number of Latino, Black and low-income students is emerging as a way to overcome disparities in who gets to take dual enrollment courses. The schools, known as “early college” or “middle college” high schools, give students access to dual enrollment courses as early as middle school.
Chronic absences rise to record levels in California, but so do graduation rates
Rates of chronically absent students in California in 2021-22 nearly tripled statewide from before the pandemic to record levels. But, the high school graduation rate in 2021-22 reached a record high statewide and rose significantly for most student groups.
Dual enrollment thrives in Central Valley area where few earn college degrees
Kern Community College District has one of the state’s most extensive and fastest-growing dual enrollment programs. There were 8,086 dually enrolled high school students in fall 2021, making it the second in size only to the Los Angeles Community College District.
California community colleges eye a different future amid pandemic disruption
Enrollment at California’s community colleges has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years, new data show. The stark decline has educators scrambling to find ways to meet the changing needs of students who may be questioning the value of higher education as they emerge from the harsh pandemic years.
Chico State wins $13.4 million grant to boost North State teacher workforce
Chico State’s School of Education won a $13.4 million, three-year grant to provide financial aid and other incentives to students in 12 Northern California counties who want to become teachers in their communities.
State announces four new planning grants to streamline transition from education to career
The state announced the recipients of $1 million in planning grants aimed at streamlining the transition from K-12 schools to college and career. The Department of General Services (DGS) announced that it would be awarding $250,000 each to collaboratives in the Bay Area, Central Coast, Northern San Joaquin and Eastern Sierra regions.
Growing numbers of California high schoolers dual enroll in college courses, but access uneven statewide
Earning college credit in high school can be a powerful tool for exposing students to universities and helping them get a leg up on tuition and earning a degree. But access to those courses remains uneven across California.