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May 7, 2026 | California’s historic investment in community schools is showing promising early results. Participating schools reduced chronic absenteeism and suspensions, improved academic outcomes, and produced particularly strong gains for Black students, English learners, and students from low-income families—offering evidence that community schools can help close long-standing opportunity gaps.

May 7, 2026 | Research confirms that principal turnover negatively impacts student achievement and teacher retention. A California-focused analysis of statewide data examines trends in principal preparation, experience, and distribution, identifying key school, district, and principal characteristics associated with turnover across the state.

May 7, 2026 | California's teacher shortage crisis has tripled the number of teachers practicing with substandard credentials since 2012–13, disproportionately impacting students of color and low-income communities. While recent state investments have increased well-prepared teachers significantly, many programs are sunsetting. Sustained, coordinated policy action is needed to stabilize the state’s workforce.

April 17, 2026 | Texas is navigating high teacher attrition and relying on uncertified teachers who can fill vacancies quickly. While the share of uncertified teachers tripled across the state between 2019–20 and 2024–25, some districts maintained high rates of certified teachers. This study sought to identify those districts and understand the local contexts that might encourage hiring and retention of certified teachers. These findings are especially relevant in the context of newly passed state legislation enabling a significant financial investment in retaining and recruiting credentialed teachers.

April 8, 2026 | Oakland High School has reimagined learning by integrating a community schools model, Linked Learning pathways, dual enrollment, and comprehensive student supports. Grounded in strong relationships and community connections, this approach has expanded engaging, real-world learning opportunities while improving student achievement, graduation rates, and teacher retention.

April 6, 2026 | Lynwood Unified's deep community roots, existing network of health partners, emphasis on social emotional learning, and focus on building coordinator capacity enabled rapid districtwide implementation. Within two years, all 17 schools became community schools, yielding significant gains in student achievement, attendance, school climate, and family engagement.

March 27, 2026 | Los Angeles Unified School District successfully implemented its Community Schools Initiative through a robust support structure that centers inclusive environments enabled by restorative practices, project-based learning, and Linked Learning pathways. While all low-income schools in the district are recovering from pandemic-era lows, these schools are improving at substantially higher rates in achievement and attendance.

March 23, 2026 | California’s expansion of universal prekindergarten (PreK) has helped increase access to early childhood education (ECE) programs. This brief examines the impact of investments in universal PreK by calculating how many 3- and 4-year-olds have enrolled in publicly funded ECE programs across the state.

March 17, 2026 | The most recent data from NCES’ national teacher and principal surveys highlight persistently high teacher turnover and widespread dissatisfaction. The data also point to strategies for decreasing turnover, including competitive salaries, effective school leadership, improved working conditions, and supports for early-career teachers.