There's a lot of evidence that indicates that teacher morale has been declining nationwide and is at, by some measures, the lowest point in recent memory. California teachers scored 16 on the Teacher Morale Index, which is based on three questions from the Education Week survey. The morale score for U.S. teachers overall was 13.
California is one of six states that fund public schools based on how many students attend classes on an average day. Under California law, Average Daily Attendance is calculated by dividing the total number of days students attended class by the number of days of instruction. A student who leaves campus for only part of the day to protest, or for any other reason, still counts as having attended school for the purposes of calculating ADA.
San Francisco public school teachers are making national headlines as they head into day three of a historic strike, with talks between union and district representatives slowly progressing and other districts across the state considering similar action. As SFist reported Tuesday, classes have been cancelled Wednesday at San Francisco Unified School District as contract negotiations continued into Tuesday evening. SFist took part in Tuesday's march, which began at Dolores Park and ended at City Hall by way of SFUSD's headquarters on Franklin Street.
The article further exemplifies the gross incompetence of Gov. Newsom and his administration. These policy failures are causing lower living standards. It is beyond pathetic that reading and math scores among California's 5.8 million K-12 students trail national averages and more than half the students are reading below grade level. Perhaps policies oriented toward incentivizing excellence and merit could arrest California's continued educational downfall.
California made incremental gains in boosting student graduation rates, reducing chronic absenteeism and seeing more students ready for college or careers, according to newly released state data. But the state's slow progress means the majority of California's students may not reach proficiency in English Language Arts and math for many years. "At the current pace of progress it will take many, many more decades and leave behind multiple generations of students," said Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey, the director of P-16 research at EdTrust-West, an educational advocacy nonprofit.
On top of the typical anxieties of the college application season, California's high school class of 2025 had some unusual hurdles to clear. First, there was the two-month delay in when the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form was available to students and their parents. Then, devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area that disrupted so many lives.
Nearly three-quarters of California public high school seniors applied for federal financial aid this year, soaring past last year's figures by 11% and giving further indication that California's efforts to get more students to apply for federal grants are paying off. This time last year about 307,000 high school seniors completed a financial aid application. This year, that number is around 340,000.
In a press release Wednesday, the department said California must rescind its guidance permitting participation based on gender identity, issue written apologies to cisgender female athletes, restore records and titles 'misappropriated by [transgender] athletes,' and adopt binary 'biology-based definitions' of sex.
Jakob Conry's journey as a college student illustrates the challenges faced by many community college students in California who struggle with housing insecurity.
