An early prison cell, an inmate's home for years. (Photo: Straight 8 Photography)OPINION: Jerry Brown’s push for sentencing reform is the latest great example of Brown doing what most experts and practitioners know to be the right thing—and the willingness of an aging and experienced governor to learn from and correct his mistakes.
Students attending class at Glendale Community College. (Photo: Wayne Thom)The leaders of California’s vast community college system this week unanimously adopted a reform agenda with amazing ease – given how fundamentally hard the decision was to engineer. The Board of Governors decided to endorse comprehensive recommendations to better align career technical education (CTE) programs with the workforce needs of California’s employers. It could be the linchpin in a more strategic statewide effort to reduce poverty and reverse the growing opportunity and income gaps.
A student going to school on the web. (Photo: Anna Tamila)OPINION: Like many families throughout California, ours is taking the important step of beginning another school year. Although we live in Sacramento County, my sons will be attending an excellent public school in Sutter County. Or, more precisely, the school will be coming to them. My sons attend the California Virtual Academies (CAVA), an online public charter school offered throughout the state and certified by the state of California.
Robert Nelsen, the new president of California State University, Sacramento. (Photo: Sacramento State)As a boy growing up impoverished on a Montana ranch, Robert Nelsen did not expect to go to college. Years later, he is the eighth president of California State University, Sacramento. Nelsen, 63, former president of the University of Texas-Pan American, officially took over as the chief executive officer of the 30,000-student campus in July.
An apprentice engineer uses a milling machine at a training facility. (Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Shutterstock)As the uneven economy recovery continues in California, there is one area where jobs remain available: technical workers. Workers with vocational training are currently in demand. The hardest segment of the workforce to replace has been the skilled trades, due to a shortage caused by the exodus of highly-skilled baby boomers that are entering retirement.
John Mockler, one of the most influential voices on California education policy for more than 40 years, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer. He was 73. The architect of Proposition 98, the 1988 initiative that sets state support for public schools, Mockler also served as executive director of the State Board of Education and Gov. Gray Davis’ cabinet secretary for education.
Youngsters in a California classroom. (Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The health of California’s evolving and global 21st century economy depends on a skilled workforce. Yet, there are too few qualified applicants to create talent pools for jobs that fuel our economic growth. And while STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) jobs in the state are projected to grow 22 percent by 2020, the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that in 2011, 75 percent of California’s 8th graders were not proficient in national math standards.
Students at a Murrieta Valley Adult and Community education facility. (Photo: Murrieta Valley Adult School) Adult education in California may see its first funding increase in the state budget, following years of school closures and savage cuts stemming from the recession. The Department of Education estimates 100 school districts have closed their adult schools since districts were permitted to use “categorical” money in their budgets.
PPIC: Three out of four likely voters oppose forcing students to pay higher tuition at public colleges and universities, according to the latest survey by the Public Policy Institute of California. But most voters oppose raising taxes to meet the schools’ fiscal needs.
Californians’ reliance on TV for their political news is declining, while an increasing number of people are using the Internet for political coverage, according to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California.