Too hot for school in Fresno? + Fixing pandemic learning loss + 9/11 poetry contest
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Hey everyone! It’s Lasherica. Today’s Wednesday, Sept. 7. I hope you were able to stay cool and enjoy the long weekend.
Math and reading scores plummeted during the pandemic.
That’s been the headline I’ve seen in local and national news following the National Center of Education Statistics study on the country’s 9-year-olds. It’s heartbreaking. It’s painful. But it’s not surprising.
As a journalist, educators have told me how three pandemic school years would push students back academically. As a parent, I’ve seen my own kids either struggle or talk about how class lessons have to go back to catch students up.
Then there are the academic achievement gaps for students of color. But what I’ve learned, which is also what I want to talk about, is that those gaps form well before students are old enough for state tests.
“California has among the largest achievement gaps in the country, and research has shown those gaps are present before children enter kindergarten, so it is imperative that we provide high-quality early learning opportunities for kids,” Samantha Tran, senior managing director of education policy at an advocacy group Children Now, said in a 2021 EdSource story.
Black children have gained less access to California’s universal pre-kindergarten program, an analysis led by the University of California-Berkeley School of Education found.
Let’s take a step back to walk through this. Pre-k, or transitional kindergarten as the state refers to it, is fundamental to students’ early learning and educational success. That’s something I know firsthand from one of my students not being able to attend versus the other having that opportunity. But studies back that up.
Children in pre-k develop literacy, language and math skills faster than children who don’t participate; gains made by kids in pre-k are 37 to 176% greater than students who don’t do pre-k and continue into the elementary grades, according to The Urban Child Institute.
The $2.7 billion universal transitional kindergarten program has been gradually phasing in students until it includes all the state’s 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year.
That was about 64,000 new children estimated to enter the state’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten program in August, UC Berkeley said.
UC Berkeley found the number of Black children enrolling is lower now than before the pandemic and was declining in the three years prior to the pandemic.
“We don’t yet know why African American parents shy away from transitional kindergarten,” said Carla Bryant, study co-author and director of the statewide nonprofit District Innovation and Leadership in Early Education.
Other pre-K options, including Head Start, California State Preschool (CSPP), and nonprofit centers, are available to Black families, as is childcare.
The study also found that white families are enrolling their students at lower rates in the state program. I didn’t say they weren’t putting their children in pre-k at all; it’s just not the state program, meaning the program doesn’t have a diverse population of students. White families may be selecting alternative pre-K programs or forms of child care, the study notes.
Still, Black student enrollment has been the lowest behind Latino, white, then Asian groups since at least the 2013-14 school year, the Berkeley study shows.
These things can vary by school district.
Scholars Ja’Nya Banks, Chunhan Huang, Abby Slovick with Carla Bryant and Bruce Fuller at Berkeley Children’s Forum, a research and development initiative housed at the Berkeley School of Education, argue that access to pre-k should be distributed fairly across groups and communities to narrow the gaps we see.
The analysis noted supporting nonprofit pre-k centers like Georgia to build “from historic roots in poor communities” or working with headstart programs that provide education to 2- and 3-year-olds like Oklahoma officials do.
“Policymakers hope to narrow the wide gaps in children’s early learning,” said Bruce Fuller, a professor at the Berkeley School of Education, sociologist, and co-author of the study. “We simply won’t reach this goal unless all children gain equal access to quality pre-K.”
Whew! I know that was a lot to take in. But important, right?
Keep reading to see what Julianna and I have been working on to ensure you’re aware of what’s impacting education.
NOW HERE’S THE LATEST FROM THE EDUCATION LAB
‘Numerous’ bus stops dropped just before school started in Sanger. Parents weren’t told
“You’re forcing parents to choose to go work or to send the kids to school.”
It’s hot! Here’s how Fresno-area school districts plan to keep students safe during heat wave
Fresno-area districts have plans to handle extreme heat affecting the Central San Joaquin Valley around Labor Day weekend.
Air conditioning issues force Fresno school to send students home amid heat wave
At least two Fresno Unified schools have released students early due to the record-breaking heat.
MORE FRESNO-AREA EDUCATION NEWS
T1 Sports Academy, an organization that mentors, trains and supports student athletes, donated over 300 backpacks with school supplies to schools throughout Fresno County: Washington Academic Middle School in Sanger, Fremont Elementary in Fowler and Brletic Elementary in Parlier. Fresno State football players Jalen Cropper, Levell Bailey, Maurice Noris and Tyrone Sampson participated by handing out the backpacks.
The office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools and the California 9/11 Memorial will host One Voice: Spirit of 9/12 Candlelight Vigil, where poetry, art and logo contest winners will be recognized.
“This contest encourages students to look back at this defining moment in our country’s history and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, as well as how our nation came together in the aftermath of that tragic event,” the county superintendent’s office said in a news release.
The top three contestants in each division are as follows:
Logo
Marina Susoev, tenth grader at Kerman High School in Kerman Unified
Poetry - Middle School
Clara Hoff, seventh grader at Alta Sierra Intermediate Middle School in Clovis Unified
Tyler Thao, seventh grader at Alta Sierra Intermediate
Sarah Ernster, eighth grader at Alta Sierra Intermediate
Poetry - High School
Key Vang, twelfth grader at Roosevelt High School in Fresno Unified
Lucy Moua, ninth grader at Sunnyside High School in Fresno Unified
Jack Finley, twelfth grader at Kerman High School
Art - Middle School
Selah El Issa, eighth grader at Sanger Academy Charter School in Sanger Unified
Kaedyn Powell, eighth grader at Alta Sierra Intermediate
Logan Walker, eighth grader at Kerman Middle School in Kerman Unified
Art-High School
Karen Ramirez Flores, eleventh grader at Roosevelt High School
Julian Gimbel, ninth grader at Clovis East High School in Clovis Unified
Zariah Saldivar, twelfth grader atRoosevelt High School
The grand prize winners will be awarded a paid trip to New York City to visit the National 9/11 Memorial. Those winners will be announced during the event on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. on at the California 9/11 Memorial, located at 3500 Pelco Way, followed by the candlelight vigil.
The Lutheran Hunger Network and Central California Food Bank is having a Drive-Through Neighborhood Market on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 9 am to 11 am at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5140 N. Fruit Ave. Volunteers will put the items in people’s trunks as they drive through. Walk-ups are also welcome.
Fresno Unified School District and its Parent University will have family learning sessions each week throughout September. Its 2022-23 class series includes:
Raising Healthy Kids in a Digital World, Sept. 5-Sept. 9
Self-care for Parents, Sept. 12-Sept. 16
Family Literacy Class: Art, Sept. 19-Sept. 23
Family STEM Class: 3 Little Pigs Building Challenge, Sept. 26-Sept. 30
STILL WANT MORE EDUCATION NEWS? HERE’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Wasn’t The Fresno Bee’s Yesenia Amaro’s story on everybody’s reading list? It should be.
Millions could have helped downtown Fresno hospital. The money went to Clovis instead
Over the past decade, Community Medical Centers has taken state and federal money intended to offset the cost of providing care for indigent patients, primarily in downtown Fresno, and used it to help fund a $1 billion hospital expansion in affluent Clovis. | The Fresno Bee
Julianna’s List
California’s Reading Wars History
An overview of how the state has taught reading since the 70s. | EdSource
LAUSD parents seek relief from extreme heat in school yards and on campuses
L.A. Unified is investing in increasing natural shade and other infrastructure to cool down playgrounds – but some parents want a quicker solution with school already in session. | Los Angeles Daily News
Central Coast school district bans smart phones, watches in class: ‘It’s a no-brainer’
Santa Barbara Unified School District is banning cell phones, smart watches and headphones during class. Students will be required to put them in their backpacks during instruction – and some have already reported that their phones have been confiscated for violating the policy. | The Tribune
Lasherica’s List
Uvalde school board fires police chief after mass shooting
Police Chief Pete Arredondo is the first officer dismissed over the “hesitant and fumbling law enforcement response” to the May 24 tragedy. | Los Angeles Times
How to Re-Energize Teachers and Students This School Year
Educators shared suggestions on how schools can help students and teachers feel safe and connected. | EducationWeek
The Gap Between Teacher Pay and Other Professions Hits a New High. How Bad Is It?
Teachers make less than their college-educated peers in other professions, a new analysis finds. | EducationWeek
Beyond gender-neutral bathrooms: A guide to rights and protections for LGBTQ+ students
LGBTQ+ students have far more protections in California, which has one of the highest percentages of gay people in the country at 9.1%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. | EdSource
Family of La Puente boy who died after school fall settles lawsuit
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District reaches a $18 million settlement with family of disabled boy who died after fall at school. | Los Angeles Times
Gov. Newsom quashes bill to provide more funding for Black students
He promises to target money next year for lowest performing student group | EdSource
Remember, Fresno-area students, superintendents, board members and others said this bill could give Black students “an opportunity to perform.”
Follow the Ed Lab, Julianna, our editor Rob, and myself on Twitter so that you’ll be the first to get the latest information.
