EdSource

“I am a proud product of public education,” Kamala Harris said in a not-so-subtle rebuttal to President Trump and his allies’ disparaging descriptions of public schools as “government schools” intent on indoctrinating students with left-wing and “woke” ideologies.  

Big shoutout to Student Achievement Partners' Chief Program Officer Aly Martinez for her quote in this EdSource article! Earlier this year, the University of California Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) determined that fourth-year high school data science courses do not meet their admission requirements, even though student interest in data science is quickly growing. From the article ➡️”’Other states are thinking about a wider range of rigorous math courses. California is not doing that. Many districts have done these innovations and seen success. It’s frustrating; it feels like California is closing the door versus opening it,’ said Martinez, who is now the chief program officer for the national nonprofit Student Achievement Partners.” Our team is working to open doors for students to experience joyful and relevant learning experiences – including data science!  https://lnkd.in/gBm_ZfpC

The Community College League of California is proud to support the growth of California community college baccalaureate degree programs. Thank you EdSource for continuing the conversation about these essential degree pathways and opportunities through legislation. #SB895 #CaCommunityColleges #CommunityCollege #CCLC

Emily F. Cutrer, the president emerita of Texas A&M University-Texarkana, will take over as the interim president of Sonoma State University during a moment of “enormous financial pressures,” The California State University announced.

In California, there are 42 bachelor’s degree programs that are currently offered or will be soon across 35 different community colleges. But another eight proposed degrees are currently in limbo because The California State University has raised duplication concerns. Four of those degrees have been held up for more than a year. Beyond that, there are colleges that would like to offer additional bachelor’s degrees but haven’t proposed them because of the duplication law. Francisco Rodriguez (Chancellor) of the Los Angeles Community College District, the state’s largest district, said colleges “have a strong interest” in being able to offer bachelor’s degrees in a wider array of programs, including education. “There are workforce shortages, and the community colleges are perfectly situated and positioned to address some of these regional needs,” he said. “My instinct tells me there are enough students for everyone.”

California State University Maritime Academy Interim President Mike Dumont appealed to the The California State University Board of Trustees to support the proposal on Tuesday, saying the campus has already made deep budget cuts that include leaving positions unfilled. Without dramatic improvement in the campus’ enrollment and revenue, Dumont said he does not “see the maritime academy continuing.” “Quite frankly, we’ve taken a chainsaw to every expense on our campus,” he said. “We are working drastically to save money everywhere we can. I don’t know how much longer that can continue … I have cut muscle, bone, and I’m now down to tendon and arteries.”

Nearly two decades ago, while district attorney in San Francisco, Kamala Harris launched a student attendance initiative focused on elementary school children. Each year, she sent letters to all parents advising them that truancy was against the law. Prosecutors from her office would meet with parents with chronically absent children. If they did not rectify the situation, they could be prosecuted in a special truancy court — and face a fine of up to $2,500 or a year in county jail.   By 2009, she said she had prosecuted about 20 parents. “Our groundbreaking strategy worked,” she wrote in an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, citing a 20% increase in attendance at the elementary level.

Students want to know: Will taking data science courses help me get into UC? “I feel like we’re not coming at this from a student perspective. I feel we’re coming at this from an academic perspective, and I would really encourage all of us to maybe flip that a little bit, put yourselves in the shoes of a rising sophomore, a rising junior,” regent Alfonso Salazar, who is president of the University of California Alumni Associations, said at the meeting. “That would be incredibly helpful because people are very nervous and concerned.” 

Tehama County Department of Education Superintendent of Schools Richard DuVarney is the new president of the California County Superintendents, an association supporting and advocating for the state’s county superintendents.

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