On Our "Virtual Route 66" This Week: On Education Watch

Our team was on the prowl this week as Campus Protests Surged throughout the United States in support of Palestinians.  As we went to press today, UC Irvine had an encampment to force divestment.  Our team will continue to assess as teachers throughout California continue to be in a state of flux with this snapshot courtesy of the team at EdSource: 

As protests surge across college campuses, student journalists report from the front lines

By Betty Márquez Rosales & Mallika Seshadri, EdSource

Student journalists are central to the reporting of historic national student protests, at times providing round-the-clock coverage and, increasingly, doing so under threats of arrest and violence. Read more

Hundreds of teachers in limbo after spike in pink slips

Almost 2,000 teachers across California received notices they might be laid off this year, a huge increase compared to last year. School districts are facing budget cuts, with federal Covid relief funding expiring, enrollment declining and state funding leveling off. With California experiencing an ongoing teacher shortage, what is the impact of this flood of pink slips on schools and teachers?

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California education news: What's the latest?

Protests at Cal Poly Humboldt led to arrests, suspensions, job insecurity At least 27 campuses have had Pro-Palestinian protests

Upcoming Roundtable Getting California kids to read: What will it take? May 14 at 3:30 p.m.

Fewer than half of California students are reading by third grade. Even fewer Black and Latino students meet that standard. While the state has taken some steps to get all kids to grade level, there is no comprehensive plan. Districts decide how reading is taught and many use instruction deemed ineffective. What’s standing in the way of ensuring all kids, including English learners, read by third grade? SAVE YOUR SPOT

This week’s stories from EdSource

JUVENILE JUSTICE How California's juvenile justice system changed since shutdown of state facilities By Betty Márquez Rosales | Read more COLLEGE & CAREERS Police break up encampment, disperse protesters on UCLA campus By Betty Márquez Rosales | Read more ADULT EDUCATION When you can't read a medicine bottle: California immigrants struggle with low English literacy By Emma Gallegos | Read more INTERACTIVE MAPS AND INFOGRAPHICS Californians without high school education by county By Yuxuan Xie | Read more LESSONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND Amid Israel-Hamas war, colleges draw lines on faculty free speech By Michael Burke and Corey Mitchell, Center for Public Integrity | Read more CALIFORNIA'S READING DILEMMA Dissent, no funding yet for statewide teacher training in math and reading By John Fensterwald | Read more ADMINISTRATORS West Contra Costa responds to complaints filed over teacher vacancies By Monica Velez | Read more

Our picks from other sources

Police report no serious injuries. But scenes from inside UCLA camp, protesters tell a different story By Connor Sheets, Richard Winton, Jason Armond, Safi Nazzal, and Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, May 3

What’s next for Cal Poly Humboldt students, faculty and administration after campus protest? By Jenavieve Hatch, Sacramento Bee, May 3

College students are protesting schools’ ties to Israel. Here’s why. By Kim Bellware, Washington Post, May 3

College student explores rare mental health condition in award-winning podcast By Elissa Nadworny and Janet W. Lee, NPR, May 2

California Republicans want to take financial aid from protesters if they were violent By Alexei Koseff, Calmatters, May 2

Who were the masked men behind the UCLA camp attack? Online sleuths vow to find out By Brittny Mejia, Jessica Garrison, and Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, May 2

Also of interest

PK-12 Educational Hybrid Employment Fair: The Los Angeles County Office of Education, Tulare Office of Education and California Center on Teaching Careers are holding the PK-12 Educational Employment Fair on May 18, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This event will feature both in-person and virtual attendance options, with registration required. Be prepared for potential online interviews or onsite interviews at LACOE’s Education Center West Building, located at 12800 Ardis Avenue, Downey, CA 90242. More than 30 education agencies are looking for candidates to fill job openings including Glendale Unified, Los Angeles Unified School District, Orange County Department of Education, Long Beach Unified, San Gabriel Unified and many more. Whether you're seeking a teaching or non-teaching role, inquire about open educational employment positions in Southern California. Find more information and register here. Labor-management conference: June 24-26. The California Labor-Management Initiative invites school districts to send teams to the annual conference in San Diego to hear from experts and exemplar districts, and discuss opportunities to build labor and management teams in difficult times. Teams should include the superintendent, HR director, certificated and classified union leaders and a school board member. School teams also can attend. Go here to register and learn more. UCD Davis C-STEM (Computing-STEM) Professional Development/Computer Science Supplementary Teaching Credential Program: Summer 2024. With over a decade of experience in providing professional development for K-12 teachers, UC Davis C-STEM has been training teachers without any prior coding experience on computer science and integrating the discipline into STEAM education. C-STEM offers fun, hands-on, and project-based PD. In Summer 2024, UCD C-STEM is offering professional development at UC Davis and UCR. More info here.