Photo: Tony Savino, via Shutterstock)OPINION: It is critical that as the budget discussions progress one sector of public school students who have been shortchanged are treated — and funded — equally as their peers: Personalized Learning public charter school students.
Youngsters in a kindergarten classroom, pre-pandemic.(Photo: YM.Ku Shahril, via Shutterrstock)OPINION: Faced with the enormity of an economic fallout and public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 crisis, California must manage an unprecedented budget deficit, unemployment that rivals the Great Depression, and rising poverty. With mandated school closures across our state, the response by school districts has been swift and impactful, stepping up to provide free emergency meals despite increased costs and losses of traditional sources of revenue.
A middle school in Marin County. (Photo: Osaze Cuomo, via Shutterstock)PPIC: A March ballot measure to authorize state bonds for public education facilities is supported by slightly more than half of voters. Seven in ten Californians approve of Governor Newsom’s proposal to spend $1 billion to address homelessness. These are among the key findings of a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California.
A California school bus powered by propane. (Photo: SchoolBusFleet.com)In the last decade, numerous California school districts have adopted propane-based school buses in an attempt to eliminate costs and toxic emissions. Since 2013, the Elk Grove Unified School District near Sacramento has added 16 propane buses to its fleet and expects up to 12 more in the next month.
Demonstrators protest the elimination of DACA at a September 2017 gathering at UC Berkeley.
(Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald) OPINION: Adriana and her six-year old daughter are like two peas in a pod, taking walks on the beach together, baking brownies, cuddling at home with a book, and occasionally splurging on a trip to Orange County’s Disneyland Resort. Arriving from Guatemala when she was five years old, Adriana has always lived here in Orange County.
The approach to Bixby Bridge in Big Sur along California Highway 1. (Photo: Jingjits Photography)The stunning region was slammed by storms last winter resulting in multiple landslides and a bridge failure that have largely isolated the region for six months. Now there are just two ways in south of where the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge was demolished — take a rugged half-mile trail in, then take a shuttle or rent an electric bike, or make a lengthy detour in from U.S Highway 101.
An eye chart seen through a pair of glasses. (Photo: Coprid, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With all that we do to try to help our children succeed at school, we are failing to properly screen students for correctable vision problems that can hinder learning.
A one-room schoolhouse in Comptche, Mendocino County, which serves 14 students. (Photo: California Teachers Association)The 112-year-old schoolhouse with the old-fashioned bell looks like it should be a historical museum. But it’s a working K-8 public school with only 10 students. Washington School, about 20 miles east of Nevada City in the Sierra foothills, is one of a handful of one-room schools scattered scattered across rural California.
A young boy taking a vision exam. (Photo: GWImages, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California’s optometrists have a prescription for our members of Congress this year: Don’t lose sight of our children’s vision. As discussions about the Affordable Care Act take center stage with a new President and new Congress in January, children’s vision is a prime example of the comprehensive and economically sound approach to health that is at risk if the ACA is repealed without a replacement.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell at a GOP fund raising event for Mitt Romney. (Photo: Mavrick, Shutterstock)OPINION: The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to vacate the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has implications for California and its anti-corruption statute. The trial jury found that McDonnell performed official acts in exchange for gifts. But the Supreme Court decided that the jury was incorrectly instructed on the definition of the “official act” element of the federal corruption statute.