Category Archives: California Department of Education (CDE)

National Nutrition Month—March 2022 – Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

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The California Department of Education Nutrition Services Division commends schools across the state for providing excellent service and continuous access to school meals and snacks. Since the beginning of this pandemic, school food service professionals, school leaders, and staff have been on the frontlines providing nutritious meals that support not only students, but families and communities as well. We continue to feel immense gratitude and admiration for your dedication and resilience.

March is National Nutrition Month® (NNM®). This month is an outstanding time to celebrate and recognize both the importance of nutritious foods and the role that food service staff play in supporting student health, learning, and school meals (on or off-campus).

This year’s theme is Celebrate a World of Flavors. Understanding the multiplicity of cultures and celebrating flavors from around the world helps us to recognize and appreciate our diversity. The theme encourages us to be curious, enjoy our differences, and expand our palettes. In our school communities, we bring together many different backgrounds, cultural food habits, and taste preferences. During the month of March, I encourage you to Celebrate a World of Flavors, as well as the students, families and staff that enrich our collective experiences by sharing their food cultures with us.

Source: National Nutrition Month—March 2022 – Nutrition (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces 2022 Model Continuation High Schools – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that 36 schools throughout the state were recognized as Model Continuation High Schools (MCHS) for 2022.

“These model schools provide invaluable resources and academic opportunities to our high-needs students, who often are dealing with difficult life events,” said Thurmond. “Students reap the benefits of social and emotional learning, mentorship programs, student wellness, and restorative justice practices, among other exemplary methods. The efforts of teachers and administrators at our Model Continuation High Schools provide students with the social support, goal-setting, and coping skills that they need to succeed in the academic setting and in their lives after high school.”

Source: SPI Announces 2022 Model Continuation High Schools – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces Support for Senate Bill 830 – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) today joined state school leaders and partners to urge support of a bill that would inject new funding into schools using a more equitable funding calculation and finance efforts to address chronic absenteeism and truancy.

Senate Bill (SB) 830, co-sponsored by State Superintendent Thurmond, would augment California’s education funding system, which is now based on average attendance with additional funding based on average enrollment. This modification would help schools be funded more equitably and help schools struggling with absenteeism—and all schools—receive the financial support they need to recover from the pandemic and thrive in the future.

“With the pandemic already causing so many difficulties across schools and in people’s lives, the last thing that should happen is for schools to face additional economic uncertainty,” said State Superintendent Thurmond. “SB 830 gives districts predictability on how they receive funding and gives them important resources to address what has been one of our most perplexing challenges: dealing with chronic absenteeism in ways we have not yet seen before. It will put students and schools on a better path to further close opportunity and education gaps.”

Source: SPI Announces Support for Senate Bill 830 – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

Applications for Free Summer Meal Programs – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that applications are available for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO), both federally funded, state-administered programs that serve free meals to children eighteen and younger when school is out of session. Summer meals provide children with access to essential nutrition during school closures and the summer break.

Summer meal programs have provided children with essential meal service throughout the pandemic. From January 2021 through November 2021, nutrition programs including SFSP and SSO have provided more than 967 million meals to children throughout the state.

“Our summer meal sponsors were critical in allowing us to meet the demands brought on by the COVID crisis, and I commend our school districts and other organizations that made these meals possible,” Thurmond said. “The ability to feed the most vulnerable kids throughout the state, in multiple locations, would not be possible if these organizations did not participate.”

Source: Applications for Free Summer Meal Programs – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces “A Trusted Space” Initiative – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced A Trusted Space: Redirecting Grief to Growth, a film-based program to help address increasing mental health challenges faced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Created by the nonprofit All It Takes, the program provides educators and school staff across the state with strategies to build safe and trusted spaces for K–12 students.

Recognizing that COVID-19 has impacted our lives for almost two years and has caused anxiety, grief, stress, and a myriad of losses for our school communities, State Superintendent Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) have worked to expand school-based health services. These include the formation of the new Office of School-Based Health Programs; the addition of a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Consultant; and sponsoring legislation to recruit 10,000 mental health clinicians. Thurmond, who worked in social work and school-based mental health, has vowed to help California lead the way in providing for mental health needs in our schools.

Source: SPI Announces “A Trusted Space” Initiative – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Responds to Governor’s Proposed 2022 Budget – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today issued the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed education budget for the fiscal year 2022–23:

“This once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has created extraordinary challenges for our students, families, and educators. We must now meet those challenges and continue to transform California schools. The Governor’s proposed budget will almost triple the amount of per-pupil investment from a decade ago and will allow the state to address historic inequities, learning loss, and the social-emotional needs of our students. I want to thank the Governor for the attention and focus on our students and schools in a time when we need all the resources possible to help students heal, recover, and thrive.

“As with last year, California continues to need increased investments in mental health to address the severe trauma our students have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which we know will have a lasting impact on their ability to learn and succeed through the rest of their lives. The Governor’s budget proposal aligns with and reflects many of the CDE’s priorities and my priorities.

Source: SPI Responds to Governor’s Proposed 2022 Budget – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

CDE Releases Student Data for 2020-21 – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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The California Department of Education (CDE) today released student performance data that provide baseline indicators of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted schools and students.

To prevent the spread of virus before development and widespread distribution of vaccines, most students learned from home for most of 2020–21 and returned to campuses in the spring either full-time or with hybrid (in-class and remote) instruction.

The 2020–21 data affirm both the challenges created by the pandemic and California’s commitment to helping students recover from COVID-19 via a bold slate of historic investments in student learning, health, and well-being. The $123.9 billion education package signed by Governor Newsom in July provides the highest level of K–12 funding in history, including the expansion of after-school and summer programs to accelerate learning and the creation of full-service community schools to address student mental health and wellness needs.

Source: CDE Releases Student Data for 2020-21 – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

New Workgroup to Address School Staff Shortages – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced today the formation of a working group to address staff shortages being experienced in California schools. Schools across the country are seeing workforce shortages as is the case in every sector in the country due to the pandemic. California schools are struggling to find teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, and other staff during this period.

The workgroup will bring together school district leaders and representatives of associations that represent schools and staff including certificated staff, classified staff and administrators. Representatives from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) will also work with the group. The goal of the group will be to brainstorm strategies that can help schools increase staff size.

Source: New Workgroup to Address School Staff Shortages – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Lays Out Needed Resources for CA Schools – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today held a press conference at George Washington Preparatory High School, a site that also hosts a health clinic providing COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and boosters. There he outlined a number of key proposals to provide resources and supports to allow students to heal, recover, and thrive.

Thurmond began by addressing programs helping California schools get through this extremely difficult period of the pandemic, and that will transform California schools, including universal meals, universal transitional kindergarten for every four-year old, and universal expanded learning programs offering tutoring, mentoring, and coaching—because learning happens before school, during school, and after school.

“We are focused on recovery and dealing with impacts, but we cannot lessen our efforts to close the learning gaps that we were trying to close even before the pandemic,” said Thurmond. “We want to think about what we are going to do for California schools for the next several years to help them, and help our students to thrive.”

Source: SPI Lays Out Needed Resources for CA Schools – Year 2022 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces Plan for Statewide Mentoring Program – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced plans to build a statewide mentoring program to help all California students and is calling for participation from mentoring organizations in the state that would like to be part of the initiative. The goal of the effort is to connect caring adult volunteers to California students who need extra support to be successful in school.

“When I first started thinking about running to become State Superintendent, I always thought that in order to close opportunity and achievement gaps, there needed to be a program to make sure no student falls through the cracks—a way to put individual focus on students who need additional help,” said Thurmond. ” I intended to pilot such a program when my term started, but that plan got pushed to the side when the pandemic began. I can see how a program like this is needed even more right now because of how the pandemic has impacted the learning and social-emotional needs of California students.”

Source: SPI Announces Plan for Statewide Mentoring Program – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces $2 Million in Grants Available – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced that California community-based organizations will be able to apply for grants to address the social isolation experienced by students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of its ongoing efforts to address the pandemic’s continued impact on students, the California Department of Education (CDE) will award grants of up to $250,000* each to community-based organizations that can demonstrate their ability to partner with schools and districts to provide programs and supports to offset the social isolation experienced by students during the pandemic and help them build healthy social connections.

The application process and criteria are available on the CDE website today, December 8, 2021, and the deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022. The grants are funded through a $2 million appropriation in the 2021–22 California State Budget (AB 130, Chapter 44, Sec. 164).

Source: SPI Announces $2 Million in Grants Available – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

2022 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced two outstanding high school students to represent California in the 60th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), which is sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Joleen Bakalova of Loma Linda (San Bernardino County), a junior at Citrus Valley High School in the Redlands Unified School District, and Sneha Revanur of San Jose (Santa Clara County), a senior at Evergreen Valley High School in the East Side Union High School District, were selected for their extraordinary leadership skills, significant commitments to their schools and communities, and academic and extracurricular achievements as California’s delegates in this highly competitive program.

“I am amazed at what these incredible students have accomplished already in their young lives in their schools and communities and know they will represent California well in this program,” Thurmond said. “I am impressed and inspired by their strong leadership, passion, and commitment to making positive change and doing good in this world. Their advocacy work on issues such as mental health awareness, civic engagement, civil rights, social justice, equity, and desire to improve the lives of those who are disadvantaged gives me confidence that our future is in good hands.”

Source: 2022 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces New Digital Reading Partnership – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced a partnership with Renaissance that will provide unlimited access to myON digital books and daily news articles for all pre-K to grade twelve students in California from December 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022.

This initiative aims to give students The Gift of Literacy External link opens in new window or tab. during the winter break by providing opportunities to engage in reading at home, at school, and in the community and is part of the Superintendent Thurmond’s statewide literacy campaign to help all California students reach the goal of literacy by third grade, by the year 2026.

“I encourage every parent and student to use this free service to continue to read over the holidays,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “This is a great opportunity for our families to share the joy of reading and establish routines that support literacy growth for our students.” Literacy is a key benchmark in measuring and predicting student success, which is why Superintendent Thurmond is taking bold action to help students meet this important milestone. “We hope that free access to thousands of digital books will create and cultivate a lifelong love of reading that can continue to be nurtured by our school and local libraries,” Superintendent Thurmond said.

Source: SPI Announces New Digital Reading Partnership – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Applauds National ESEA Distinguished Schools – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today congratulated two California schools for receiving recognition as 2021 National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished Schools—formerly known as National Title I Distinguished Schools. Hall Middle School in the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District and West Valley High School in the Anderson Union High School District are two of up to 100 schools throughout the country being recognized.

“Congratulations to principals Toni Brown and Joshua Mason, as well as all of the educators, staff, administrators, parents, and students at these schools,” said Thurmond. “Not only were these two schools already named 2021 California Distinguished Schools, they’re also being recognized for their excellent work closing opportunity gaps among student groups and ensuring academic growth for all students.”

Hall Middle School was selected because it performed exceptionally well in Category 1 of the qualifying categories (exceptional student performance and academic growth for two or more consecutive years), while West Valley High School performed well in Category 2 (closing the achievement gap between student groups for two or more consecutive years).

Source: SPI Applauds National ESEA Distinguished Schools – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Announces Plan to Transform California Schools – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond joined other California Department of Education (CDE) leaders at a press event today to announce the integration of a host of programs and strategies to help transform education in California schools, along with student and family supports. State Superintendent Thurmond is seeking input on needs and challenges and will be touring the state to get feedback from school leaders, family members, and students on how to best implement these programs to provide the most benefits for everyone involved.

“The pandemic, as challenging as it has been, provided us the opportunity to sharply focus our work. Our students are resilient, but we need to recover and close the gaps and disproportionate impacts exacerbated especially on students of color,” Thurmond said. “Ironically, it is in this pandemic that we now have resources never seen before to address some of the biggest needs in education. I am grateful to the Governor, Legislature, and people of California for partnering with us and providing us with this incredible opportunity to make a change. Now that we have this support, I look forward to inviting California students and family members to share ideas on how to improve education in California and hear feedback from school leaders on how to support the smooth implementation of these programs for California schools.”

Source: SPI Announces Plan to Transform California Schools – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SPI Leads Task Force on Black Student Achievement – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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Calling out the impacts that systemic and institutional racism have had on Black students, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond formally launched a statewide task force on Improving Black Student Achievement. Last week, the task force held its first meeting led by Thurmond and several co-chairs named to guide the work of the task force.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re undertaking with this group,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “Many of us have been working on closing opportunity gaps for years, yet many of our Black students in California are still facing environmental factors that affect their learning before they even get into the classroom. Now is the time to focus and make real change.”

The task force identified five issue areas which will be the basis for working groups: The school-to-prison pipeline (including suspension, chronic absenteeism, and graduation), teacher diversity, academic achievement (including reading and math assessments), mental health, and housing insecurity (including homelessness and foster youth). The task force includes 30 members—including notable leaders from the fields of education, higher education, research, criminal justice reform, and the foundation and nonprofit sectors—as well as the following five co-chairs, who bring leadership and expertise in the area of improving Black student achievement:

Source: SPI Leads Task Force on Black Student Achievement – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

SBE Acts to Improve Teacher Quality & More – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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The California State Board of Education this week moved to increase the number of highly trained teachers serving high-need students; approve new optional arts and world language instructional materials; adopt new procedures to ensure that increased and improved services are realized for low-income students, English learners, and foster youth; and strengthen the state’s “whole child” approach to education.

“I am pleased by the many steps taken by our Board over the course of the last two days to enrich the education of all California students. The policies we approved will improve classroom learning in the arts and world languages; ensure attention to the needs of the most vulnerable students; create stronger relationships with parents and communities; and broaden the availability of health, mental health, and other supports for children who need them the most,” said State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond. “I appreciate the staff of the California Department of Education and the State Board for working to shape implementation of these exciting initiatives. These measures set California students on a course for not only overcoming the challenges of COVID-19 but thriving in years to come.”

Source: SBE Acts to Improve Teacher Quality & More – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

First-Ever CDE Student Stability Reports Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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Chief Deputy Superintendent Mary Nicely announced today the release of the first ever “Stability Rate” (SR) reports created by the California Department of Education (CDE). These reports were developed in response to requests from educators, policy makers, and educational partners across the state, and identify the number and percent of students who receive a “full year” of learning in the same school.

“I commend the work of the Analysis, Measurement & Accountability Reporting Division at the CDE in creating this report, which is another valuable tool for us to identify and assist our most vulnerable students,” Nicely said. “While most students do not move schools, some students move schools once or twice, and very few students move a lot. State and national foster youth advocacy groups have been requesting for years that California publish this data, since it is a great conversation starter on the rights of our vulnerable students on still attending the same school even if they are forced to relocate.”

Source: First-Ever CDE Student Stability Reports Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

2022 CA Teachers of the Year Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today named five exceptional educators as the 2022 California Teachers of the Year. These educators are ambassadors for the profession and serve as representatives of the state for the calendar year. Thurmond, who has 12 years of direct experience in education— teaching life skills classes, after-school programs, and career training—said he is thrilled to honor five outstanding and talented teachers who have gone above and beyond during a challenging time in education, and in our lives.

“In what may be the toughest ever time for California families, students and educators, these five innovative and caring teachers have made profound differences in the lives of their students and communities,” said Thurmond. “I’m proud that these educators are receiving this prestigious honor for their continued effort to connect with students even during unimaginable circumstances, to address their needs, and support them in any way they can.”

Source: 2022 CA Teachers of the Year Announced – Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

What’s New in Independent Study for 2021–22? – Letters (CA Dept of Education)

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The following information has been compiled to provide easy access to new updates, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and other information pertaining to Independent Study for the 2021–22 school year. The California Department of Education (CDE) remains committed to providing support to local educational agencies (LEAs) as they implement Independent Study requirements. As we receive questions, we continue to create and share helpful updates to resources to support LEAs through this process.

Overview

CDE provides key information and resources on Independent Study programs, including FAQs and guidance for the provision of services, on the CDE Independent Study web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/is/. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding legislative amendments to the Independent Study framework for 2021–22, CDE is providing a series of updates to guidance and resources for schools for the current year. In addition to its typical uses, this school year, Independent Study is the vehicle being used to provide families with an alternative to in-person instruction as well as for use by schools for students who cannot participate in classroom instruction due to temporary quarantine or COVID-19 caused school closure. Contact IndependentStudy@cde.ca.gov for general questions.

Source: What’s New in Independent Study for 2021–22? – Letters (CA Dept of Education)