Background: Incorporating scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems. Methods: 430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and…

Docent programs are in flux. Many institutions have rethought their programs to encourage more diverse voices: some have eliminated the docent role, while others have changed their structure and offered additional training. When The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens decided to invest in its docent program as part of an…

California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) continues its two-year NSF grant, "Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions Catalyst Track," that began in the Fall of 2022 to support the advancement of female faculty careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Treating the improvement…

Government programs impose eligibility requirements to balance the goals of improving welfare while minimizing waste. We study the impact of eligibility monitoring in the context of Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submissions, where students may be subject to "verification" requirements that require them to confirm…

A widely cited Emory University study found that while 76% of incarcerated Americans return to prison within five years, that rate drops to 55% for those who take high school classes, 30% for those who complete vocational training, and 13.7% for those who complete an associate degree. Community colleges play a key role in ensuring that people…

Pursuant to California Education Code provisions 17201(i)(1)(B)(C), 17203.5, and 66014.6, the California Community Colleges Student Housing 2024 report provides the following information: (1) the 2024 Annual Progress on California Community Colleges Affordable Student Housing; (2) the 2024 California Community Colleges Housing Insecurity; and (3)…

For at least two decades, several California schools have embraced a community schools model that marries schools and community organizations to seamlessly provide a variety of supports to students and families in communities with the highest needs. But when the pandemic hit, those needs multiplied. Members of the California State Board of…

From 2016-2023, College Futures Foundation supported several California State University (CSU) campuses to partner with California community colleges in their regions to increase the number of students transferring from community colleges and completing bachelor's degrees at the CSU. In an effort to learn more about this work, College Futures…

WestEd has partnered with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to conduct an external formative evaluation of the California Teacher Residency Grant Program (TRGP) since the launch of the TRGP in 2019. The ongoing evaluation is aimed at assisting residency practitioners, technical assistance providers, and policymakers to better…

Arising from a research-based, comprehensive school transformation strategy, community schools organize in- and out-of-school resources and supports such as mental health services, meals, health care, tutoring, internships, and other learning and career opportunities to fit specific community needs. Through this strategy, students, families,…

California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) was awarded a two-year NSF grant, "ADVANCE Catalyst: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions", that began in Fall 2022 to examine potential systemic barriers against female faculty of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in recruitment,…

On August 24, 2022, President Biden announced that his administration would be cancelling $10,000 -- $20,000 of student debt for middle- and lower-income borrowers. Naturally, this announcement has unleashed a wave of follow-up questions among borrowers. This fact sheet is intended to help Californians with student loans navigate the process of…

Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families--especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently comprehensively amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), is the primary source of federal aid to support elementary and secondary education. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and was funded at $17.5 billion for FY2022.…

In fall 2013, The Teagle Foundation issued an RFP inviting selected institutions and organizations to apply for grants that addressed the following question: "How can faculty work together to create a more coherent and intentional curriculum whose goals, pathways, and outcomes are clear to students and other constituencies with a stake in the…