Topic

Early Learning

Quality early care and education are critical to prepare California children for school and their lives in general. But a large percentage of children do not have access to high quality early childhood education programs. The coronavirus pandemic has caused financial strife for early learning programs trying to meet health and safety guidelines and keep staff and children safe. But the public health crisis has also illuminated the essential nature of the early learning and care field and reinvigorated hopes to expand preschool access to more children.

Child Care

May 3, 2023

Is the child care crisis escalating?

Maintaining a high quality of care is the bottom line, experts say. Simply expanding access to child care or lowering its costs is not enough to give children the head start they need.

Karen D'Souza

Early Learning

April 12, 2023

What parents should know about transitional kindergarten

Many more California children will be eligible for TK. It may help kids make up for some social and intellectual stimulation lost during the pandemic, experts say.

Karen D'Souza

Literacy

April 6, 2023

The magic of story time: Why is reading aloud to kids so important?

Amid the escalating national literacy crisis, with its grim statistics and deeply entrenched ideological battles, this one is an easy fix, experts say. Read aloud to your children and students.

Karen D'Souza

California's Enrollment Rollercoaster

April 4, 2023

California's TK-12 enrollment fails to rebound in a return to 'normalcy'

Drop of less than 1% in enrollment is less severe than during Covid but consistent with the decline that started 20 years ago and is projected to continue for the rest of the decade.

John Fensterwald And Daniel J. Willis

Literacy

March 29, 2023

Documentary film asks: Do all children have 'The Right to Read?'

Literacy is the watershed social justice issue of our time, many advocates argue.

Karen D'Souza

Literacy

March 28, 2023

California districts vary enormously in reading achievement, report finds

A new study of low-income Latino students suggests that how they score in reading and writing stems more from how they are taught and less from their family income or English proficiency.

Zaidee Stavely

K-3 Grades

March 23, 2023

Amid California's mounting literacy crisis, state names new literacy directors

Since reading lays a foundation for all future learning, including math and science, many regard plunging test scores as cause for alarm.

Karen D'Souza

Child Care

March 8, 2023

Are young boys of color set up to fail in early education?

Examining implicit bias, experts say, may be the key to making early education more equitable.

Karen D'Souza

Coronavirus

February 10, 2023

The pandemic fueled a public school exodus, study says

Disruptions wrought by the pandemic may be leading the education world toward a watershed moment, some say, a time to rebuild the critical connection between families and schools.

Karen D'Souza

Child Care

January 19, 2023

Inside the child care crisis: Q&A with a veteran provider

Child care workers want to be recognized as early educators, they say, and not just babysitters.

Karen D'Souza

School Finance

January 18, 2023

The right choices? Leaders, policymakers and experts react to Gov. Newsom's 2022-23 education budget

See what education leaders are saying about the governor’s plan to fund education in the coming year.

EdSource staff

Commentary

January 17, 2023

Reactions to the governor's early education budget proposals

Leaders representing all segments of California’s education system share their reactions to the governor’s 2023-24 January budget proposal for early education.