Should California lower voting age to 16 for school board races? Some cities working on it

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Good morning and happy Tuesday! It’s Aug. 30. I’m Lasherica, the engagement reporter, and I’ve been thinking about something a lot lately. (Actually, I’m an overthinker, so that’s a common thing for me!)

In covering K-12 education, I’ve worked with different school boards – bickering boards, complaisant boards, and uncommunicative boards. You name it. In those instances, even when boards seemingly have no problems but go about business without asking questions and raising concerns, parents and students frequently seem to be the ones left unheard.

But there’s this EdSource story by Carolyn Jones that I read the first week of August (I told you it’s been on my mind a lot). It talks about a group of voters who I think could change how school boards interact with their constituents: 16- and 17-year-olds.

High schoolers in Oakland and Berkeley helped get measures passed to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in school board elections, Jones reported.

And honestly, I think board members, individually and as a unit, would act differently if teens had the right to vote.

I’ve seen how school boards and school board dynamics can change in one election year.

I think enfranchised students could help hold elected officials accountable.

Think about it: How would board members vote on things if those directly impacted could vote? Would board members engage with parents differently, knowing the parent’s attitudes might influence how the student views something and vice versa?

“I did not feel heard or valued in that conversation as an educator, and that’s why I ran for school board,” Sacramento’s Washington Unified board member Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez said during an EdSource roundtable about her discussion with a senator.

Though the discussion was on another topic, those words should resonate with elected officials. And let me be clear. Even though I am specifically talking about school boards, places such as Culver City in Los Angeles County will decide on the Nov. 8 ballot whether 16- and 17-year-olds should vote for school boards, city council, and other local measures, EdSource reported.

School districts are always talking about how important student voices and perspectives are. Why not have that student voice in the voting pool?

“We’re not exempt from things that happen in our community,” student Julia Rottenburg said in the story. “We should have a voice in the things that affect us.”

NOW HERE’S THE LATEST FROM THE EDUCATION LAB

Fresno’s Jim Costa proposes bill that would give millions to colleges in poor areas

Fresno State and three other California state universities would be eligible for the money.

When will Bullard High School’s cellphone ban begin? How will it work? Questions & answers

The Education Lab has compiled a list of questions and answers based on conversations with the Bullard principal and Fresno Unified leadership.

Many Fresno-area students already eligible for free money for college from California

How to find out if you have funds.

Union pushing Clovis schools to invest millions more in mental health staff, programs

School psychologists say Clovis Unified needs to address decades-old systemic issues.

Last week’s newsletter briefly talked about how mental health staff help teachers do their jobs and why some Clovis school employees want the district to be more like Fresno Unified.

MORE FRESNO-AREA EDUCATION NEWS

Fresno Unified’s African American Academic Acceleration (A4) and Student Engagement departments are hosting a family workshop, “Building Blocks for Black Excellence.” The Sept. 12 event will feature four guest speakers, including award-winning authors and educators, dinner and childcare. The district is asking families to RSVP by September 5. The event will be from 5:30 pm to 7:30 p.m. at the Fresno Convention Center.

More than 600 people will be at the Ninth Annual State of Our Children Breakfast on Sept. 1 from 7:30 am to 9:15 am at the Clovis Veteran Memorial District. Hosted by the Children’s Movement of Fresno with the theme of “Bringing Us All In,” the event will include a conversation with leaders of the Fresno Resident Council, a group formed in 2021 that wants to ensure that children, equity and justice are at the center of policymaking in Fresno County, according to an announcement from the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools.

Fresno and Clovis Unified School Districts are joining other school systems statewide and nationally in offering free meals to its students. Through the Community Eligibility Provision under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, all students in high-poverty schools get free meals without having to fill out the meal application for free or reduced meal status. In some cases, an entire school district qualifies for free meals while in other cases, only some schools in a district qualify while other schools will require the meal application be completed by its students. All FUSD schools qualify.

“This supports the district’s efforts to eliminate all barriers to student learning and helps ensure students are not hungry at school while they are trying to learn,” Fresno Unified said in an August 12 statement.

For Clovis Unified, the following schools will receive free meals for all students: Boris, Clark, CCDS Elementary, CCDS Secondary, Clovis East, Clovis Elementary, Cole, Fancher Creek, Gateway, Gettysburg, Jefferson, Kastner, Lincoln, Mickey Cox, Miramonte, Mountain View,Nelson, Pinedale, Reyburn, Sierra Vista, Tarpey, Temperance-Kutner and Weldon.

For the second year, the local branch of the Asian Real Estate Association of America donated school supplies to all students at Storey Elementary School.

STILL WANT MORE EDUCATION NEWS? HERE’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING

Julianna’s List

Fearing ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ District Leaders Reluctant to Hire Full-Time Teachers

A new Rand survey suggests that while districts are hiring at higher rates than before the pandemic, most of those new hires are tutors, paraprofessionals and substitutes – but not full-time teachers. | The 74

Charter schools favored by many parents who switched their children during pandemic, survey finds

A recent poll indicated that of the roughly 25% of parents who moved their students to a new school during the pandemic, most of them moved their students into charter schools. | EdSource

Lasherica’s List

It’s time to fix the two-tiered faculty system at California’s community colleges

“No credible research findings suggest that part-time instructors are only 50% as effective as full-time instructors, as their discounted rate of pay would suggest.” | EdSource

‘Summer melt’ was bad during the pandemic, and experts fear it could get even worse

“Students graduate with the best of intentions to go to college, even committing to a school, but then life happens: jobs, family, and fear all get in the way.” | The Hechinger Report

What it will take to ensure literacy for all California students

“Meeting the needs of all students for literacy skills in a state like California — where 43% of students come from homes where the first language is not English — requires not only understanding what all students need to experience in the process of learning to read, but also the particular needs of multilingual learners, as well as the needs of those at risk of reading difficulties and those who may experience dyslexia or other learning disabilities.” | EdSource

A Dallas Principal Lost a Fifth of Her Teachers. Can She Hire Enough by the First Day?

A Dallas elementary school principal’s search to find replacements for a fifth of her teaching staff proved compelling for many. | EducationWeek

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