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Tag: school

  • COVID money countdown: Schools exhaust pandemic aid as federal help winds down

    COVID money countdown: Schools exhaust pandemic aid as federal help winds down

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    This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

    Over the last three years, an influx of pandemic aid has been transformative for many schools.

    Some were able to hire social workers or give every child a laptop for the first time. Others fixed up old buildings, tutored struggling students, or revamped summer school programs.

    But that era is quickly drawing to a close. And this month marks an important stop on the way toward the end of COVID relief.

    Schools have to say by the end of this month how they plan to spend the last of their $123 billion from the American Rescue Plan, the third and final batch of schools’ COVID aid from the federal government. Then they have until Jan. 28, 2025 to spend the money.

    The deadline at the end of September matters a lot: Schools that have any money not earmarked by then could eventually have to return the funds to the federal government. And some states have said they are concerned that schools may be at risk of not meeting that deadline.

    Schools can seek an extension to spend their remaining aid until March 2026. But that won’t give them more time to officially decide how to use it — leaving some scrambling to come up with a plan before the deadline in 11 days.

    “We have been in contact, in many cases multiple times, with districts and charters to remind them of their responsibility to obligate these funds,” Tom Horne, Arizona’s state superintendent, said in a news release earlier this week. “Most are showing the ability to do this, but a number of them are at great risk of reverting funds.”

    Some Arizona school districts or charter schools had yet to commit any of their funds to a specific purpose, Horne said, and many others have earmarked only a fraction of their aid.

    Michigan said it expected some federal aid would be returned by schools, but noted it had left less than 1% of the first two aid packages on the table.

    “We do anticipate that some school districts and subgrantees will not be able to obligate funds by the end of the month and may revert funds back to the federal government,” Jeremy Meyer, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Education, told Chalkbeat in an email.

    Still, federal officials told reporters on Thursday they were confident that little if any money was at risk of being returned by schools. Schools across the country have already spent and been reimbursed for 87% of their American Rescue Plan dollars, officials said. Much of the remaining money has been spent, too, but hasn’t yet shown up on spending trackers due to record-keeping lags.

    Schools can’t use the aid to pay staff salaries after this month. But they can continue using it to do things like pay tutors to work with their students, finish up a construction project, or contract with a community organization to help with attendance outreach.

    Federal officials have said they would look especially favorably on applications to spend the money beyond the usual timeline on Biden administration priorities, such as intensive tutoring, efforts to boost attendance, and extra instructional time.

    Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Puerto Rico have already applied for and received spending extensions on behalf of some districts and schools. These extensions cover some $1.1 billion in aid, federal officials said.

    Several other states, including Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., told Chalkbeat that they intended to apply for spending extensions in the coming weeks or months.

    Nationwide, schools have already spent about $1.5 billion beyond original deadlines after getting extensions on their first two aid packages, federal officials said.

    Schools have struggled for a number of reasons to spend down their pandemic aid, though often not for lack of need.

    Construction delays held up spending in Mississippi, where schools spent a large share of aid on building projects. Meanwhile, supply-chain issues slowed spending in Tennessee and Illinois.

    In Colorado, some schools had trouble filling certain educator positions amidst national shortages, or they planned to hire a company to provide training and were still waiting for that service to come through, Meyer wrote.

    In other cases, not as many students or staff showed up to certain activities like summer school or after-school programs as originally anticipated, so they ended up costing less than expected.

    Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.

    Related:
    Federal COVID relief dollars improved student test scores, two new studies find
    As COVID relief spending deadlines loom, one district moves ahead with an uncommon tech plan
    For more news on pandemic aid, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

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    Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat

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  • Adams 14 to add more than a dozen new electric school buses to its fleet – The Cannabist

    Adams 14 to add more than a dozen new electric school buses to its fleet – The Cannabist

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    Adams County School District 14 will roll out 14 new electric school buses by 2025, adding to the 144 electric buses that already are ferrying school children in Colorado or are on-order for districts across the state.

    The Adams 14 buses will phase out more than half of the 25 diesel buses used by the district. The school district also will build solar-powered canopies to house the new buses, and that solar power will be used to charge them, said Josh Cochran, the district’s operations director.

    The solar power also will help electrify Alsup Elementary School, which is next to the district’s bus depot in Commerce City.

    Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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    Noelle Phillips

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  • 15-Year-Old Jones High Student Charged for Bringing Gun to Orlando School

    15-Year-Old Jones High Student Charged for Bringing Gun to Orlando School

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    A 15-year-old Jones High student was charged for bringing a gun to an Orlando school.

    The Orlando Police Department said it will not hesitate to protect the students and teachers they serve and take all threats seriously.

    After a social media post was shared about a student with a gun at Jones High School, a 15-year-old was swiftly located by the School Resource Officers on campus.

    The student was found with an unloaded BB gun. However, it did not have any markings to distinguish it from a real firearm, according to local law enforcement.

    While there was no threat associated with his social media post, the actions of this student caused unnecessary fear among his peers, their parents and teachers.

    The student was charged with a city ordinance violation: Carrying a Simulated Firearm.

    In light of the recent school shooting in Georgia, the Orlando Police Department expressed its unwavering commitment to vigilance in local schools and to stop any individuals who could be considered a danger to public safety.

    Recently, a 16-year-old Central Florida student was also arrested for threatening a mass shooting at another local school; a 15-year-old Central Florida student was also arrested for making an online school shooting threat at another school; and a 13-year-old student was also arrested for threatening a school shooting in Central Florida.

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  • Educators outline 5 priorities for the new school year

    Educators outline 5 priorities for the new school year

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    Key points:

    With a new school year comes new priorities for educators and students alike. Teaching is evolving at a rapid pace, pushed forward by advancements in AI, the need for real-world relevance in classroom lessons, and a focus on student wellness.

    From career and technical education (CTE) to STEM learning and AI’s evolution, here are five priority areas for educators in the 2024-2025 school year:

    Student achievement and well-being

    Now more than ever, the need to focus on educating the “whole child” is a top priority for our schools. Educational experiences extend beyond the traditional classroom setting. For instance, in Baldwin School District, we continue to expand on our emotional wellness efforts through our very own Wellness Center, allowing our students and their families seamless access to the support services needed to help their child succeed in school and beyond.
    –Dr. Shari L. Camhi, Superintendent of Schools, Baldwin School District

    There’s a growing emphasis on wellness and addressing the complex needs of students as they navigate a challenging world. This holistic approach is reshaping how we engage students, pushing us to rethink traditional models and deliver teaching and learning in more relevant, responsive ways. To truly improve student engagement and achievement, we must start by valuing the conversations and dedicated time needed to measure and adjust the adult behaviors that directly impact these areas. This reflective process is essential for driving meaningful improvements. As we think about this work, it’s crucial to shift the conversation from merely tracking student attendance to focusing on how students are showing up: how they engage with complex problems, interact with their peers, and connect with adults. It’s not enough for students to simply be present; they need to be actively involved in learning experiences that challenge them and foster critical thinking.
    —Jonah M. Schenker, Ed.D., District Superintendent, Ulster BOCES

    CTE and career readiness

    As an engineering teacher who runs a hands-on laboratory class, I like to start the year off by exposing my students to all the industry equipment and industry-certified credentials that they will have access to throughout the year. Leading a career and technical-focused class allows me the opportunity to inspire and prepare students for their future careers. Informing students about industry trends and showing how current practices are incorporated into the curriculum gets them excited and eager to learn. By demonstrating the various types of training equipment–from mechatronics to robotic arms, 3D printers, pneumatic trainers, AC/DC electricity trainers, and more–students understand the big picture of how this dynamic and engaging learning environment equips them with the skills they need to succeed. By implementing these strategies, CTE educators can expect a vibrant, engaging learning environment where students can obtain skills and knowledge for a successful future. 
    –Stefany Gurgel, NC3 Master Instructor, Festo and Instructor, Jewish Leadership Academy

    Learning and experiencing outside the four walls of the classroom is essential. We continually focus on creating industry partnerships and new opportunities for students to explore future career prospects in high-demand fields. Creating a relevant and robust learning environment and always doing what is best for our children is successful because of the dedication of our administrators, teachers, and staff.
    –Dr. Shari L. Camhi, Superintendent of Schools, Baldwin School District

    Nationally, we’re seeing an increased focus on integrating AI into the classroom. This isn’t just about using AI as a tool but also about preparing students for a future where AI literacy will be crucial. Moreover, we must move away from a mindset of informational compliance–where students complete tasks for the sake of completion–and instead focus on engaging them in authentic problem-solving. By providing opportunities for students to work on real-world problems and present their solutions to experts and audiences outside their schools, we not only make learning more relevant but also empower students to see their work as meaningful contributions to their communities and the broader world.
    —Jonah M. Schenker, Ed.D., District Superintendent, Ulster BOCES

    Personalized hands-on learning

    Personalization of the student’s learning experience is becoming a necessity to make it meaningful, engaging, affirming, and rigorous. We adopted and implemented a new instructional framework with a keen focus on these aspects. Now, we are building a program to braid in the appropriate technology to drive it forward. One way we do this is through the implementation of interactive projection technology from Epson. Students can interact with content being projected on the board or cast the screen from their device to model for their peers. This brings engagement and personalization in a whole new way.
    –Lisa Irey, Director of Technology, Des Moines Public Schools

    We’ll see more classes stepping away from strictly virtual content this school year. Teachers are ready to have students put away their Chromebooks and engage in discussions and hands-on activities. Technology will still play a role in classrooms, with teachers and students collaborating using tools like interactive projectors, but after a few years of students looking at screens all day, there will definitely be a shift to technology’s role being supplemental and not the end-all be-all.
    –Nate Moore, executive Director of Technology, Kearsley Community Schools

    AI in K-12 learning

    The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has presented districts everywhere with new teaching and learning opportunities. This year at St. Vrain Valley School District, we will continue to provide our teachers with ample opportunities to collaborate, discuss, and share resources and strategies to enhance their understanding of AI and the potential benefits of AI tools. To support their professional growth, teachers will also have continued access to the AI Coach platform, which enables them to watch and reflect on videos of their classroom instruction, set professional goals, and receive personalized observation tips, coaching, and resources from a virtual, computerized AI coach. This helps our teachers strengthen their practices and participate in ongoing, reflective coaching at their own pace.
    –David Baker, Professional Development Coordinator. St. Vrain Valley School District

    As the artificial intelligence integration continues to develop in schools, I expect to see more use of individualized AI student tutoring as well as a greater emphasis on personal connection and creativity. The AI technology boom in education, includes some well known issues as well a great deal of potential. The ability to offer students personalized coaching is one of the more exciting areas of opportunity as long as it’s safe and supports student privacy. There is still a great deal of trepidation among educators about AI now, but there is also opportunity, and many schools don’t want to fall behind. At this point, much of the AI used in schools serves as a replacement for traditional tests and assessments, but new tutoring and teaching tools are beginning to emerge. As AI begins to be utilized more in education the focus on the areas where humans are necessary such as making connections, developing creativity, and versatile storytelling gain more importance in the classroom. An unexpected effect of the AI boom is that it heightens the focus on innovation and creative problem solving and relationship building.
    —Tim Needles, Technology Integration Specialist, Smithtown Central School District & Author of STEAM Power

    It seems everywhere we look companies and products are announcing their new integrations with AI or AR/VR. For some, this may be a struggle to embrace due lack of access or belief that paper is better. In the current iterations of AI, teachers who explore their options are able to find tools that make their daily task loads easier. The most time consuming or emotionally taxing items can be processed via prompts. Some of these tasks might include replying to parent emails without emotional interference, creating differentiated assignments with ease and expertise, and creating interactive lesson components and higher order questions that probe thinking patterns. With the rise of AI comes AR/VR. The use of AR allows students to interact and problem solve in a space that is free of the constraints of budgets and in some instances time. Students are able to manipulate very large items or very small items a typical classroom would not have access to (the sun and stars, for example). With the use of VR, students are able to create, repair, and manipulate items that have been and will continue to be out of reach for many students. With a sincere focus on college/career/military readiness, access to VR training is allowing students to gain and perfect skill sets prior to their entrance into the post-high school phase of life.
    –Jessica Campos, Instructional Technology Coach, Mesquite Independent School District

    STEM skills

    With an increasing number of schools limiting personal device usage during the school day, I foresee a shift in education toward teaching more interpersonal skills and incorporating more hands-on activities. One of my favorite activities is having students make powered paper airplanes with the POWERUP 2.0 Airplane Kit. It’s a great hands-on activity with a technology element that helps students learn STEM-related concepts, the engineering process, and collaboration skills.
    –Josh Underwood, Physics and Aviation Teacher, Mason County High School

    As educators prepare for the new school year, we must incorporate scientific probeware into STEM classrooms to enhance student engagement and learning. Probeware, which combines sensors and software to collect and analyze data in real-time, offers a practical approach to teaching science and technology. I plan on using probeware in all my courses, from AP Chemistry to Organic Chemistry to Forensics, as students conduct captivating experiments in colorimetry, melting-point analysis, gas pressure inquiry, gas chromatography, and more. The use of this technology will enable students to engage in active learning and real-time data collection, visualize with graphs, explore complex phenomena, and develop important scientific skills.
    –Diane M. Vrobel, Ed. D., Science Teacher, Archbishop Hoban High School and Member, Vernier Trendsetter Community

    Laura Ascione
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    Laura Ascione

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  • Beyond the bookshelves: 3 ways school libraries have evolved to meet students’ needs

    Beyond the bookshelves: 3 ways school libraries have evolved to meet students’ needs

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    Key points:

    School libraries have undergone a significant shift over the years, adapting to changes in technology, education philosophies, and the dynamic needs of students. Once simply a quiet space to check out books, libraries have evolved to provide students with a holistic and interactive learning experience. 

    Over the past several years, these spaces have transformed into collaborative areas that encourage group work, discussions, and hands-on activities, promoting creativity and innovation–ultimately becoming instrumental in shaping well-rounded, adaptable learners. 

    While still a repository for information, there has been a major shift from traditional print materials to a blend of physical and digital resources including: e-books, online databases, and multimedia resources to support diverse learning levels. Librarians and media specialists are now tasked with not only ensuring students and educators have easy access to essential physical media and textbooks, but also efficiently managing an infinite amount of digital resources. 

    Here are three ways school districts are using libraries as a venue to provide students with effective, personalized approaches to learning: 

    Flexible spaces 

    School libraries have shifted to interactive spaces, equipped with 3D printers, coding kits, multimedia production equipment, whiteboards, games, and other tools that encourage communication and teamwork. Traditional beige, rigid layouts with rows of bookshelves and tables have given way to open, adaptable spaces that accommodate group work, discussions and various learning activities. Libraries now incorporate mixed-use furniture, movable partitions, and diverse seating arrangements to create spaces that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate various group sizes and activities. Design elements such as writable surfaces, multimedia stations, and intentionally placed power outlets are integrated to support collaborative projects and technology use. For instance, in our library, we have bike desks and crafting stations, and recently our students engineered a Makerspace-style mini-golf course throughout the aisles of our non-fiction section using found materials. 

    This shift reflects a move toward active and collaborative learning environments, as well as provides students with the tools and resources to engage in hands-on, creative learning projects. These modern spaces encourage creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and integration of STEM concepts, while giving students a “brain break” from traditional classroom learning. 

    By embracing flexible learning spaces, libraries are transforming into dynamic centers that not only house information but actively encourage social interaction, teamwork, and the development of crucial collaborative skills essential for success in today’s interconnected world. 

    The digital shift 

    Along with traditional physical materials, school libraries now also house a wealth of digital tools, including e-books, online databases and multimedia resources. Especially relevant during periods of remote or hybrid learning, educational technology can grant students remote access to library resources before or after school, or in the event of an absence. Adopting student-centric digital platforms empowers learners to conveniently access essential learning materials, online databases, and educational software independently from anywhere, promoting continuous learning and opportunities for enrichment outside the physical school environment.

    Integrating with edtech software and e-learning platforms allows librarians to collaborate with teachers in delivering digital content and resources directly to students, facilitating a seamless connection between classroom instruction and library resources. 

    By understanding and embracing digital media trends, school libraries are not only adapting to the changing educational landscape, but also playing a pivotal role in fostering digital literacy, creativity and innovation among students. 

    Partnering with a resource management system 

    Library resource management software enables librarians and media specialists to effectively manage physical and digital resources efficiently, inducing cataloging, circulation and inventory management, ultimately streamlining library operations. Valuable analytics provide insights into resource usage patterns, students’ reading habits, preferences, and overall engagement with library materials. This enables librarians to make recommendations for resources that align with students’ interests and learning preferences. It also provides the ability to curate collections that reflect diverse perspectives and cultures fostering inclusivity and equal learning opportunities to broaden students’ world views. 

    Adopting a data-driven approach can inform librarians about the effectiveness of certain materials and guide future collection development, ultimately reducing the need for over-purchasing, duplicate spending or underutilization of resources, which results in efficient time management and cost savings. 

    Changes in our schools’ libraries reflect the broader educational shift towards preparing students for the demands of the 21st century, where digital literacy, collaboration, and adaptability are essential skills for success. Shifting the focus from a “traditional library” to a space that promotes lifelong learning skills prepares students for continuous learning in an ever-changing world, contributing to the development of students’ critical thinking, research skills, and overall academic success.

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    Carrie Friday, Melbourne High School

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  • America’s oldest colleges prove even our ancestors were nerds (12 Photos)

    America’s oldest colleges prove even our ancestors were nerds (12 Photos)

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    Camry

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  • Colorado’s November ballot will have seven citizen initiatives, from abortion rights to ranked-choice voting – The Cannabist

    Colorado’s November ballot will have seven citizen initiatives, from abortion rights to ranked-choice voting – The Cannabist

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    Colorado voters are set to weigh in on ballot questions related to abortion rights, veterinary services, mountain lion trophy hunting and an overhaul of the state’s election system in November.

    The deadline to finalize the state’s ballot is coming Friday, but all of the citizen initiatives — meaning ballot questions pursued by members of the public, rather than the legislature — were finalized late last week. State election officials certified that the final ones had received enough petition signatures after clearing earlier regulatory hurdles.

    Nine ballot measures from the public have been approved. But two of those — the property tax-related initiatives 50 and 108 — are both set to be withdrawn by sponsors as part of negotiations with the governor’s office and the state legislature, which on Thursday passed another property tax relief bill at the end of a special session.

    Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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    The Cannabist Network

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  • Revolutionizing education through school-based healthcare

    Revolutionizing education through school-based healthcare

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    Key points:

    It’s officially back-to-school time, where ideas are nurtured, knowledge and curiosity thrive, and life-long friendships are forged. Yet, for many students, school is also a place where the challenges of ADHD are put on full display. For parents and teachers, addressing these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach that combines thorough and adequate testing, open communication, and proactivity.

    A holistic approach to student health

    The implementation of school-based health centers (SBHCs) is fostering a supportive environment for children with unique needs like ADHD. Traditionally, healthcare and education entities have existed in separate realms. However, the recent global mental health crisis calls for a more interconnected approach. These centers have emerged as hubs for comprehensive primary care and behavioral health services. The rise in SBHCs signals a move in the right direction and acts as a bridge between educators and parents. This strategic partnership creates an environment conducive to learning and growth while nurturing each child’s potential.

    “SBHCs provide primary care and behavioral health services for students with Medicaid, no insurance, and occasionally private insurance on school campuses nationwide,” says Ashlea Johnson, LCSW at Summit Mental Health Services and clinical advisor at Qbtech. “The ability to collaborate with educators alongside the family system is an incredible boon for the students.”

    The collaborative nature of SBHCs allows clinicians to dive into each student’s specific needs, creating a personalized curriculum extending beyond medical checkups. For example, clinicians at a Colorado-based SBHC incorporate more technology, like objective ADHD testing, to design effective accommodation plans. By harnessing technology-driven testing tools, educators can tailor strategies that enhance school performance and behavior in the classroom with peers.

    As the educational landscape continues to evolve and embrace these changes, it also highlights the impact ADHD can have in the classroom. From a parent’s perspective, these challenges can affect their child’s entire school experience, which is why having central healthcare centers equipped with better technology is crucial to student success.

    How parents can help

    The impact of ADHD on a child’s education is profound. The constant transitions, including moving between classes to varying schedules and new routines, can exacerbate an already stress-ridden child. Parents often find their children struggling to focus in this ever-changing environment and wonder how to lessen the burden.

    Parents can play a pivotal role in equipping their children with the right tools to navigate these challenges successfully:

    • Early planning and communication. Starting conversations early leading up to the first day back can lessen the upcoming anxiety. Discussing teachers, routines, and new friends can prepare your child for what’s ahead.  
    • Role-playing. Engaging in role-playing scenarios can boost your child’s confidence in social settings. Parents can simulate conversations, providing the child with practical tools for making friends, speaking to teachers and more.
    • A letter to teachers. Collaborating with teachers is crucial. Crafting a letter introducing your child, their accommodation needs, and strengths and weaknesses due to ADHD can familiarize the teacher, helping create a supportive classroom environment.
    • Familiarization visits. A field trip to the school or classroom before the year starts can ease stressors and make it less intimidating.
    • Establish routine. Ensure you have established a consistent routine well before the school year starts, from bedtime to breakfast, to provide a sense of stability your child can come home to.
    • Get a medical opinion. Seek a doctor who is competent in ADHD. While starting with a pediatrician or primary care provider is common, parents should seek a specialist with expertise in ADHD diagnosis and management, including objective testing. 

    Navigating proper accommodations can also be daunting due to the differing policies across individual schools and districts. For parents seeking to secure services for their child, it’s vital to get an outside medical evaluation that acknowledges ADHD as a medical condition to be used alongside the school evaluation. Choosing a provider who offers comprehensive assessments using subjective and objective measurements and having that data to support the diagnosis can bolster the case for accommodations and provide a clearer picture of the child’s needs.

    It’s worth noting each child is unique, and what works for one may not work for the other. Children often possess a deep understanding of their needed accommodations, whether stepping outside the classroom for fresh air or having a quiet place to go for a break when frustrated. Teachers making simple tweaks to their classroom–like seating arrangements, stress balls, or even treadmills–can significantly impact a child’s ability to concentrate and engage.

    A glimpse into the future 

    As we look ahead, the future of SBHCs seems bright, and the need for such places will likely increase as schools recognize the synergy between emotional well-being and academic success. Technology will play a significant role as well. Tools like objective ADHD assessments can boost classroom performance and behavior by being the anchor on which diagnosis and management lie. The data-driven insights can empower educators and clinicians to craft even more tailored plans, ensuring each student receives what they require. This fusion of education and healthcare will continue to redefine student success, reshaping the education landscape for good.

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    Evelyn Green, M.S.Ed., ADDA and CHADD

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  • Literacy First Expands its Early Childhood Literacy Program to Chattanooga, TN After Successful Pilot Program

    Literacy First Expands its Early Childhood Literacy Program to Chattanooga, TN After Successful Pilot Program

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    Austin, TX —  Literacy First, a program from The University of Texas at Austin’s Charles A. Dana Center dedicated to improving literacy outcomes for young learners, is excited to announce its expansion beyond Central Texas. In partnership with Chattanooga 2.0, Literacy First piloted its evidence-based tutoring program in Chattanooga, TN, during the 2023–2024 school year. 

    The Literacy First tutoring model supports children at Title I schools in grades K-2, providing personalized literacy instruction to address individual needs. Through high-impact, one-to-one tutoring during the school day, they close gaps in literacy skills and set students on a path to excel in school and life as they learn to read.

    Literacy First successfully piloted its program with first and second grade students at East Side Elementary. This marks the first time Literacy First has replicated its tutoring program outside of Central Texas. The positive impact on student literacy outcomes was evident, with over half of students in the pilot program reaching or nearing grade-level reading standards by the end of the school year, motivating the district to expand the services offered. 

    For the 2024–2025 school year, Literacy First, in partnership with both Chattanooga 2.0 and Hamilton County Schools, will extend the program to include 11 additional elementary school campuses and two District Lead Coaches. This expansion is part of Literacy First’s gradual release Capacity Building Model, where their expert staff trains and supports district staff and paraprofessional tutors over several years. The goal of this model is for the partner schools and organizations to implement the program independently with reduced support from Literacy First over time. 

    “We are thrilled to bring our proven tutoring model to Chattanooga and collaborate with partners dedicated to creating opportunities for all children to build a strong educational foundation in reading,” Literacy First Director, Dr. Claire Hagen Alvarado stated.

    Chattanooga 2.0 Director of Literacy and Student Strategy, Brandon Hubbard-Heitz added, “Literacy First’s tutoring model is a key strategy in Chattanooga 2.0’s effort to build a robust and aligned system of literacy supports for children beginning from birth at home, in school, and across the community. We were excited to launch the model in Hamilton County Schools and are even more excited to see the model’s expanded impact on K-2 students across the county.”

    Reading is essential to success in every academic discipline, which is why it was important to us to see Literacy First scale up as a tool to support students who need a little extra help,” says Dr. Justin Robertson, Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. “I am excited about the partnership with multiple community partners to provide tutoring that will make a real impact in both the short and long term.”

    For more information about Literacy First and their mission, visit  www.literacyfirst.org.

    About Literacy First

    Literacy First teaches young children how to read, equipping them to excel in life and realize their dreams. Since 1994, Literacy First has partnered with public, Title I schools and community organizations to provide intensive and effective literacy tutoring in English and Spanish to K-2 students. Literacy First is an outreach program of the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Learn more at  www.literacyfirst.org. 

    About Chattanooga 2.0

    Chattanooga 2.0 was established in 2016 and is a small nonprofit that works to change systems in order to impact generational changes in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, TN. The ultimate goal is to improve economic opportunity and quality of life — and Chattanooga 2.0 believes education attainment is the first step. From early childhood education to the attainment of a thriving wage career, the small team leads initiatives to remove systemic barriers and provide intentional supports to children, students, and their families. Chattanooga 2.0 convenes and leads community groups such as Early Matters, Great Teachers Great Leaders, the Out of School Time Alliance, and the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Children’s Cabinet. For more information visit  www.chatt2.org.

    eSchool News Staff
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  • Tim Walz was a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, long before it was common

    Tim Walz was a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, long before it was common

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    In a video intended to help introduce vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to a national audience ahead of his Democratic National Convention speech Wednesday night, a handful of students from his years as a high school teacher sang his praises.

    One called him “jovial,” another “engaging,” another a “big part” of the local community.

    For Jacob Reitan, Walz was the teacher who had his back against bullies during one of the most difficult chapters of his teenage life, when he came out as gay just before his senior year of high school a quarter-century ago, in 1999.

    “When I decided to come out as gay, we started the Gay Straight Alliance,” said Reitan, now a 42-year-old lawyer. “Tim Walz was the faculty advisor.”

    The decision by Democrats — and the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris — to include Reitan and other references to Walz’s staunch support for LGBTQ+ rights was in some ways an obvious one. Queer voters number in the millions, and a politician having a decades-long record of support would be seen by many of them — and many other liberals — as a positive thing.

    Still, the decision was a defiant one, too — a doubling-down on the Democratic ticket’s queer allyship at a time when Republicans are pushing an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, hammering Walz on his legislative record supporting queer rights, and suggesting he is too progressive for the average American voter.

    In one characteristic barb, former President Trump recently criticized Walz as being “very heavy into transgender.”

    In interviews with The Times, LGBTQ+ former students of Walz said his support embodies his simple commitment to fairness and kindness, and against bullying and injustice.

    When Walz took the DNC stage Wednesday night, he struck many similar notes.

    “That family down the road — they may not think like you do, they may not pray like you do, they may not love like you do, but they’re your neighbors, and you look out for them and they look out for you,” Walz said. “Everybody belongs.”

    Reitan said in an interview that Walz and his wife, Gwen — also a popular teacher at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minn. — had been flagged to him as LGBTQ+ allies when he was a younger student. He had Gwen Walz as an English teacher and recalled her telling him and his classmates on the first day of instruction that her classroom was a “safe space” for gay students.

    Later, Reitan was being bullied at school and decided to form the Gay Straight Alliance, not just for him but for future LGBTQ+ students at the school. The principal recommended Walz as the faculty advisor, and Reitan said he immediately recognized the significance of having the backing of the school’s football coach. Gwen Walz’s support also was invaluable.

    “The concept of Tim being the advisor was a product of both their support, but also the optics of it,” Reitan said.

    That the Walzes were willing to step up as they did — especially at “a different time for gay people that was not easy” — showed “the character that they have as individuals,” Reitan said.

    “They were a gift to the students at West High School. They’ve been a gift to the state of Minnesota,” he said. “And I’m thrilled that the nation is getting the chance to know them both.”

    Since picking Walz as her running mate, Harris has seemed happy to highlight his queer-friendly past, and his advising of the Gay Straight Alliance.

    “At a time when acceptance was difficult to find for LGBTQ students, Tim knew the signal that it would send to have a football coach get involved,” Harris said at one campaign rally, to raucous applause. “And as students have said, he made the school a safe place for everybody.”

    In her own video Wednesday night, Gwen Walz talked about her husband teaching for 15 years, helping lead the school’s football team to a state championship, and teaching students “that we’re all in this together.”

    She said that he agreed to be the Gay Straight Alliance advisor “because he knew how impactful it would be to have a football coach involved,” and that he “inspired his students” and “changed lives.”

    After Walz was elected to Congress in 2006, he continued his LGBTQ+ allyship — supporting the right to same-sex marriage, which wasn’t affirmed nationally until a Supreme Court ruling in 2015, and calling for the repeal of the federal “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which forced gay and lesbian service members to hide their sexuality or face removal from the U.S. military.

    Walz continued to support queer rights as governor. He signed an executive order protecting transgender people’s access to gender-affirming healthcare in Minnesota. He also signed two significant laws: One bans debunked conversion therapy practices aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity; the other protects transgender people and their families from out-of-state subpoenas, arrest warrants and extradition requests related to their receiving gender-affirming care in Minnesota.

    At a California delegation breakfast at the DNC on Wednesday, Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang praised Walz as “a person who has been there for LGBTQ youth since the ‘90s,” and said he and Harris deserve LGBTQ+ people’s votes.

    Seth Elliott Meyer, 38, who is queer, is another former student of Walz. By the time he got to Mankato West, his sister and brother had already had Walz as a teacher and coach, and he’d heard all about how great Walz was. But he wasn’t sold.

    “I’d heard his reputation as a hunter and a coach and a social studies teacher, and I thought, wow, that doesn’t sound like my kind of guy at all,” Meyer said in an interview, with a laugh. As “a combative, punk rock 14-year-old,” hunting and football just weren’t his things.

    It wasn’t until Meyer had Walz as his history teacher his junior year, in 2002 and 2003, that he realized what all the hype was about, he said — when Walz “won me over with his rampant niceness and fairness.”

    “He was one of those teachers who wanted to make everyone feel included and involved and valid,” Meyer said.

    Meyer tries to remember those lessons today, he said, including when he’s advising his own students at the Atlanta school where he now teaches — and serves as the Gay Straight Alliance advisor.

    Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

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    Kevin Rector

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  • Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program Prepares 151 New Teachers for Full-Time Positions Across Miami-Dade County Classrooms

    Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program Prepares 151 New Teachers for Full-Time Positions Across Miami-Dade County Classrooms

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    MIAMI, FL – Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) is tackling South Florida’s teacher shortage head-on by creating a clear path to teaching for college seniors and career changers. Following its first year at the University of Miami in 2023, the education nonprofit expanded to Florida International University and Miami-Dade College, making TAP accessible to college seniors and graduates with a four-year degree. Now in its second year, TAP has more than tripled its impact: 151 participants have successfully graduated from this year’s program and are preparing to teach in public, private, and charter school classrooms across Miami-Dade County as full-time teachers for the 2024-25 school year – up from 43 participants during its first year.

    “While Miami students are performing better than their peers in other major cities, learning gaps exist and the teacher shortage is exacerbating the problem. A strong education system is critical to ensuring the viability of South Florida’s economy over the long-term, and that begins with building a robust pipeline of teachers. TAP will be the single largest source of new teachers in Miami-Dade County this school year, and we’re eager to scale up our program in Florida and beyond,” said Leslie Miller Saiontz, Founder of Achieve Miami.

    TAP is addressing a teacher shortage that is impacting communities in Florida and beyond. On the first day of school for the 2023-24 school year, there were more than 5,000 vacant teaching positions in Florida, and hundreds of thousands across the U.S. according to Florida Education Association’s (FEA) count of vacancies.

    Becoming a teacher through TAP is achievable in four attainable steps: participants take TAP’s one-semester course, followed by a six-week paid summer internship, earn their teaching certification, and are then hired by a Miami-Dade County public, private or charter school and placed in a classroom. This approach ensures that new teachers are well-prepared to make an immediate impact in the classroom. The streamlined process offers a clear path to becoming a teacher, opening the eyes of many to the benefits of a career in education.

    “South Florida is full of talent, both at our local colleges and across the workforce, and we find that many qualified individuals are excited about a flexible and fulfilling career in education,” said Jasmine Calin-Micek, Senior Director of the Teacher Accelerator Program. “TAP’s success in Miami is proving that when you offer an onramp to teaching, there’s no shortage of demand.”

    TAP is the first initiative of its kind in Florida, and Achieve Miami is currently in discussions with other universities interested in expanding the program nationally. The launch of TAP is entirely privately funded through funds raised by Achieve Miami, including a portion of the more than $2.6 million contributed by nearly 500 donors during the Miami Foundation’s 2023 Give Miami Day.

    To learn more about the Teacher Accelerator Program, or to take the first step towards a fulfilling career in education, visit www.teacheraccelerator.org.

    ABOUT THE TEACHER ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

    Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) is a non-profit organization creating a pipeline of talent for the teaching profession through recruiting, preparing, and mentoring aspiring educators. TAP’s comprehensive and streamlined program equips college students and career changers with the skills, knowledge, and certification necessary to excel in the classroom. TAP addresses the nationwide teacher shortage crisis by providing a built-in path to teaching, inspiring a new generation of educators.

    TAP participants take a one-semester course, followed by a six-week paid summer internship, earn a certificate to teach, and begin instructing in a Miami-Dade County public, private, or charter school classroom. TAP is an initiative of Achieve Miami, supported by Teach for America Miami-Dade, and is offered by the University of Miami, Florida International University and Miami-Dade College. Learn more at www.teacheraccelerator.org.

    eSchool News Staff
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    ESchool News Staff

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  • Weapon — described as loaded gun — seized after student fight Friday at Sylmar High

    Weapon — described as loaded gun — seized after student fight Friday at Sylmar High

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    A loaded gun fell to the ground during a fight Friday morning among several students at Sylmar High — an incident that resulted in a lockdown at the school and at least one arrest, according to a source close to the investigation.

    No injuries were reported.

    In a communication to families and staff, Los Angeles school officials acknowledged “a disturbance on campus” and that school police “recovered a weapon from a student and that student has been taken into custody.”

    KCAL news reported on the incident Friday, interviewing a parent who said students talked of a gun being found and that her 11th-grade son saw another student taken into custody from his class later in the school day.

    Regarding the lead-up into the altercation, “they said that two kids were going to get into a fight, and one of the kids took out a gun on the other kid,” the parent told the television reporter.

    KCAL also aired two videos identified as showing the fight that took place. In one video, it looks as though at least two students are beating another student. A portion of the second video shows a student scooping up an object from the ground that might be a gun — although the video, as aired, was blurry.

    While the district did not confirm that object was a gun, a source close to the investigation said that officers recovered a loaded gun that had fallen to the ground during the altercation and was later confiscated by officers.

    The source was not authorized to speak about the incident and requested anonymity.

    The district acknowledged one arrest, but the source said there was more than student taken into custody.

    Last week marked the start of the new school year in L.A. Unified, the nation’s second-largest school system.

    The fight — and the apparent recovery of a loaded weapon — occurred one day following an after-school stabbing at Franklin High.

    District officials appear to have alerted parents quickly through a messaging system, although the details were limited.

    The first message informed parents that “an incident is occurring on or near our school that has required our school to go into a ‘lockdown.’”

    In a lockdown “all gates and doors in the entire school are locked,” parents were told.

    In an update, the school alerted families that the lockdown began at 10:15 a.m.

    A third message noted the end of the lockdown, which the district later said concluded at 10:54 a.m. The third message also said the regional office “will be providing extra support staff to ensure the safety and well-being of our school community,” including mental health support.

    It’s typical for such support to include on-campus school police officers. Normally, officers are restricted to patrol and not allowed on campus.

    The scenario of a fistfight or assault in which a student reaches for a gun recently had deadly consequences just off campus near Washington Preparatory High, when a student was fatally shot by another student.

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    Howard Blume

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  • This is not a drill. Students duck, cover, evacuate as quake jolts the first day of school

    This is not a drill. Students duck, cover, evacuate as quake jolts the first day of school

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    It took a split second for the instincts of Principal Laura Gutierrez to kick in when an earthquake coursed through Aldama Elementary School in Highland Park as she stood outside supervising recess.

    She started to dance — shaking in time to the shaking. A few students, frozen in momentary fear, saw her and started dancing too.

    “They looked at me, a lot of them with big eyes. I looked back and it was like, ‘OK, we’re gonna just sway to this.’ And so a lot of them did it with me.”

    She then immediately radioed her plant manager and supervision aides to coordinate a full campus response.

    A 12:20 p.m. moderate earthquake jolted the first day of school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, causing no reported damage, but bringing on jitters and testing preparedness instilled by earthquake drills.

    Centered in El Sereno, the 4.4 magnitude temblor especially rattled nearby, including Wilson High School, which was temporarily evacuated, said Supt. Alberto Carvalho. Students ducked and covered at many campuses, with a smaller number following with a short-term evacuation.

    The main campus at Academia Anawakalmekak, a charter school, sits two blocks from the epicenter. The force of the shock was no dancing matter.

    “It felt like an ocean liner hit the building,” said Marcos Aguilar, co-head of the K-12 charter school.

    The initial jolt was the most of it, with follow-up shaking lasting just a few seconds, Aguilar said.

    That’s about how Jose Montes de Oca, the assistant principal at the upper-grades campus, felt it — although he used the word “truck,” not “ocean liner.”

    Aguilar was upstairs working with some staff and admits he and colleagues ignored the standard protocol to duck and cover and instead rushed downstairs to check on students.

    They were fine — and were following the rules of duck and cover under or near their desks and then evacuating after the shaking stopped under adult supervision. Many if not most of the students already were outside because it was lunch time, said Montes de Oca.

    Parents were flooding the phone lines to check on kids — which also happened at other schools, including Aldama. The charter school staff could not initially pick up the calls because they, too, had to evacuate. But the school quickly sent out a text saying everyone was safe.

    Aguilar rushed over to the campus for the youngest students “because that’s where I thought there’d be more concern.” About four students were spooked, with one crying. “Everybody else was pretty much just excited to be outside. It did shock a couple of our staff members. They might have past memories of bigger earthquakes.”

    At an afternoon school assembly for students and parents — part of the regular first-day events — Montes de Oca reviewed earthquake safety, including what to do at home.

    As scary as things were for a few seconds, Aguilar noted that no one evacuated from the restaurant next store.

    Back at Aldama, Principal Gutierrez said about two-thirds of students already were outside — either at recess or lunch. The students inside appeared to have followed safety rules. It helped that she’d chosen earthquake safety as the subject of her Monday school assembly. Like the charter school, Aldama has earthquake drills every month.

    Parent Lauren Quan-Madrid hadn’t felt the earthquake where she was working in Whittier. But her husband, a teacher at Wilson High, alerted her in something of a panic to check on their daughter.

    The shaking had been strong at Wilson, leading to a schoolwide evacuation and a painstaking campus inspection that kept students outside for a while.

    Their second-grader, Valeria Madrid-Romo, said the earthquake scared her. She’d already been anxious about going into a new grade at school, wondering if she could handle harder material.

    By the end of the day, she felt reassured academically and had moved past the earthquake. When her mother arrived breathlessly and had her pulled momentarily from class, Valeria demanded to know: “What are you doing here?”

    Juvenal Rodriguez and his wife were jolted into alarm as well, but Mateo, also a second-grader, was unimpressed. It was much more interesting, he said, when hail fell at their house during the recent rainy season, he said.

    Aldama third-grader Madison Alvarez thought the earthquake sounded like a tree falling — so she did not get too concerned. What really stood out to her was that it was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

    “We did a lot of art and coloring,” she said. “And had the first day of recess, it was short, but it was really fun.”

    Jorge Alvarado, a 12th-grader at Academia Avance, a different charter school, was sitting in class when he saw a mirror shake, then he felt the floors vibrate and then saw the walls move.

    “I was just in shock because, like, we were in class, and I didn’t expect it to happen,” Jorge said. But as at the other schools, he and his classmates knew what to do.

    Principal Gutierrez chose to embrace a positive spin: “We dance for any reason at Aldama.”

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    Howard Blume

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  • Colorado to allow additional public input on planned expansion of gas storage near Adams County elementary school – The Cannabist

    Colorado to allow additional public input on planned expansion of gas storage near Adams County elementary school – The Cannabist

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    Colorado air pollution regulators made the rare move this month to extend the public comment period on a permit that would allow a pipeline company to expand its gasoline storage facility across the street from an elementary school in a neighborhood north of Denver.

    The extension comes amid criticism that regulators at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and executives at Magellan Pipeline Company did not communicate with people about plans to expand gasoline storage at the Dupont Terminal at 8160 Krameria St. in unincorporated Adams County.

    The expansion would increase the amount of toxins released into the air in a community that already suffers a disproportional amount of pollution compared to the rest of the state.

    Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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    Noelle Phillips

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  • After universal preschool’s rocky start in Colorado, “things are much better” in year two — though challenges remain

    After universal preschool’s rocky start in Colorado, “things are much better” in year two — though challenges remain

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    As Colorado’s universal preschool program moves into its second school year this month, officials are hoping to leave its rocky rollout in the rearview mirror.

    By the end of July, more than 31,000 4-year-olds matched with state-funded preschool providers for the coming year, according to the most recent data for the core program from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. Most will receive up to 15 hours of free classtime per week, though about 11,100 of them — about 3,000 more than last year — are expected to qualify for 30 hours each week, after state officials expanded eligibility criteria for the extra class time.

    The number of providers participating in the program — in-home day cares, private practices, religious schools and public schools — has grown by about 150, to more than 2,000 statewide for this school year, Universal Preschool Program Director Dawn Odean said.

    Taken together, that data points to the year-two stabilization of a program whose inaugural year, hiccups and all, was akin to “building the plane as we were flying it,” Odean said.

    Colorado’s program was officially born in April 2022, when Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill to create it and the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood. The program was set for a fall 2023 launch. That left about 16 months to stand up the department, bring about 1,800 participating providers into the new system and sign up tens of thousands of families.

    Officials also had to find and fill the gaps between concept and reality — including budget crunches caused by a participation rate about 20% higher than expected.

    But entering year two of the $344 million program, Odean and local coordinating organizations are hopeful the initial struggles were growing pains associated with its launch. Department officials expect to meet or surpass last year’s sign-up numbers soon, and they hope to see enrollment increase by up to 5%.

    “In a nutshell, I’ll tell you things are much better,” said Elsa Holguín, president and CEO of the Denver Preschool Program. It’s one of the local coordinating organizations, or LCOs, that act as a link between the state department and on-the-ground providers. “Things have gotten better for the families, things have improved for the child care providers and things have improved for the LCOs.”

    But, she added, there’s always room for refinement.

    “Are we where we need to be? No. We still have some work to do across the spectrum,” Holguín said.

    The rollout of year two is still underway, with parents now able to walk through local providers’ doors to sign up for free preschool, space permitting, rather than being required to apply online. The full enrollment figures for this year won’t be available until the fall.

    Aleia Medina, 5, second from right, and classmates attend a morning class with Rosario Ortiz at the Early Excellence Program of Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

    Adapting to last year’s high enrollment

    Ahead of last year’s launch, expectations for the first year began shifting about as soon as public planning for it began.

    A promise of 10 hours a week of free classtime for all preschoolers turned into 15, with some students qualifying for double that time — considered full-day schooling — based on family circumstances. But months later, officials raised the threshold to qualify for 30 hours as overall enrollment rates shot up about 20% higher than expected, leaving some families feeling like the rug was yanked out from under them.

    Initially, the state had planned to offer extra time to children deemed at risk if they qualified under an eligibility category — by having an individualized education plan, being a dual-language learner, coming from a low-income family or being in foster care.

    When demand outpaced expectations, state officials changed the criteria to add base household income limits, at a middle-class level, as an additional qualification. Students still had to qualify under at least one other factor.

    Meanwhile, providers and families were chafing at a confusing enrollment process that drew critical attention from state lawmakers.

    But officials point to a number of under-the-hood changes since then to smooth out operations.

    Voters in November approved a ballot measure last fall that allowed the state to keep $23.7 million in excess tobacco tax proceeds that help pay for the program. Officials expanded the criteria for 30 hours of free classtime to include all families who are at or below the federal poverty line, expanding access to some 3,000 more children. And the state streamlined enrollment processes to smooth out some of those first-year wrinkles.

    “We’re ecstatic with year one as far as the number of children served and the number of providers participating — but (we) certainly knew that we stood up the program, and the process to enroll and register, in a fairly compressed timeline, which created some challenges,” said Odean, the state’s preschool program director, in an interview this week.

    She also acknowledged the legal battles that played out in the first year.

    A group of school districts had sued over the rollout, claiming that it hurt students with special needs and left school districts in a lurch. A judge ruled in July that the districts lacked standing to sue, while also acknowledging the “headaches” they faced, according to Chalkbeat.

    In a separate January lawsuit, two Catholic schools sued over a nondiscrimination clause for preschool providers. That suit was largely rejected, but not before the state removed the nondiscrimination clause. About 40 religious schools are registered as universal preschool providers in the state this school year.

    Odean said she couldn’t comment on the particulars of the lawsuits, but she appreciated the conversations they spurred about how to make sure families get the preschool they want — even if she wished they didn’t take the form of litigation.

    Hunter Fridley, 4, counts the number of classmates during a morning class with Rosario Ortiz at the Early Excellence Program of Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
    Hunter Fridley, 4, counts the number of classmates during a morning class with Rosario Ortiz at the Early Excellence Program of Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

    Private providers’ low enrollments “concerning”

    When it came to preparing for school this year, Holguín, the Denver Preschool Program’s CEO, said preregistration for families and other changes to enrollment, in particular, “changed our world” by making it easier to connect them with preschool providers.

    Diane Smith, director of the Douglas County Early Childhood Council, another LCO, likewise said the state’s program is better positioned this year “in many ways” — though it’s still too early to make a definitive call.

    She still identified a number of focus areas for the future, including a desire for more lead time between announced changes to the program and when they’re implemented, along with more predictable, consistent funding for providers. And, of course, the unending work of making sure every family that wants to participate knows about the program and how to enroll in it.

    In short, the first-year growing pains haven’t quite waned, Smith said, even as she excitedly reports that more providers have signed up to provide universal preschool in her area.

    “Some people are bigger worriers than I am,” Smith said. “I’m the type who says ‘Yes, this is a little bit of a challenge, but I think intentions are always good.’ We’re looking to move forward and we have.”

    Dawn Alexander, executive director of the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, which advocates for private preschool providers, warned that some of her members were starting to fret about “concerning” low early enrollment numbers — though she, too, cautioned that it was too early to raise a red flag.

    Many families seem to be choosing school districts’ programs for their 4-year-olds, Alexander said, meaning that private preschools lose out on those enrollments. The older, less care-intensive preschool children help round out the rosters of many facilities that also provide day care for infants and toddlers, she said. Losing those populations can put their entire business at risk.

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    Nick Coltrain

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  • School sensory spaces are for everyone

    School sensory spaces are for everyone

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    Key points:

    When I was a principal, my assistant principal and I took over an unused classroom and built a sensory space in it. We created places where students could move around, and quiet areas where they could relax. Students were able to visit the sensory space whenever they felt they needed to “get some wiggles out” or otherwise regulate themselves.

    One of my students at the time had an overwhelming need to move, and recess was not enough. His restlessness would get worse when he was nervous, and he had a great deal of anxiety around reading. Sometimes he would ask his teacher, “Do you mind if I go read in the wiggle room?” In the sensory space, he would prop his book on the handlebars of a stationary bike, and my assistant principal Nichole Schlagel or I would meet him there so he could read to us while he pedaled.

    By the end of the year, his reading improved and his confidence increased to the point where he chose to stay and read with his classmates. He was so excited to show his teacher what he could do. His discipline concerns went down as well, because he was learning to regulate his emotions and advocate for himself instead of acting out.

    “Sensory spaces have complemented our ability to support the unique needs of all students,” said Schlagel, now a principal. “They provide the opportunity for students to learn how to manage what they are feeling and needing at any given time. Students can start recognizing their needs and eventually do not need to rely on the sensory items or spaces that have been available to them. Our students become more confident and develop a deeper sense of self-resilience.”

    Success stories like our student reading on the stationary bike, as well as schools’ reinvigorated focus on social-emotional learning in recent years, have led many educators to see the value in providing sensory spaces. Actually creating them, however, may feel like a daunting prospect to many. To help you get started, here’s some background about how sensory spaces support all students (and teachers), as well as some best practices for planning and creating your own sensory space.

    How sensory spaces benefit all students

    Sensory spaces, in the past, were mostly used in hospital, psychiatric care, or therapeutic settings, but in recent years I’ve seen them more often in educational environments. In schools, these spaces have mostly been considered tools for neurodiverse students, because they can directly support them in challenges they face at school. A student with sensory processing challenges, for example, may require extra downtime throughout the day to sort through all the information they’ve taken in.

    A neurotypical student may be able to weed through all the information without extra downtime on a daily basis, but all students–all people–need additional support sometimes. They should all have the opportunity to visit a calming space, a social space, or whatever space they need when they need to self-regulate, even if they don’t need that support every day. Ideally, schools would have more than one sensory space. The goal is always to meet students where they are, and one space only provides one opportunity to meet them. This is no different than what we should do academically.

    Every school has a continuum of services for students of varying abilities. A student may be highly gifted while struggling with autism. A student in general education may have physical challenges, and another student may need an aide with them throughout the day. I would encourage educators to think of sensory spaces in the same way you think of the continuum of services you already offer. What are the varying environmental needs of your students and what kinds of spaces do you need to meet them? 

    Sensory spaces can meet the needs of many different students, but if 40 students are trying to use one chill space at the same time, the purpose of the room is defeated. A hallway hangout, on the other hand, could accommodate more people, as well as some social noise and other activity. Even in general instruction, a student should be able to say, “I’m paying attention, but I need to get some wiggles out,” and then ask to trade their seat for a wobble stool, a piece of soft seating, or a standing desk.

    In addition to being tools to regulate students’ moods and emotions, sensory spaces help them learn how to do those things on their own, as well as how to advocate for themselves. Sensory spaces aid students in understanding where they need to be and how they can help themselves to accomplish whatever they want to do at any given moment.

    Planning your sensory spaces

    The first step to designing sensory spaces for your school is to set goals and make sure all stakeholders are on board. Goals for students might include getting wiggles out, calming, self-organization, sensory integration, individualized sensory input, self-regulation, control of emotions, or improved communication.

    To help define the goals and guide further planning, seek out neurodivergent adults in your school who are comfortable sharing their thoughts. Also ask students what they need. Consult a cross-section of people from the school, including special education teachers, school psychologists, general-education teachers, wellness coordinators, and your principal, just to name a few. They’ll all bring in different perspectives, ideas, and even resources to help plan spaces that meet a variety of needs.

    General education teachers, for example, might notice that their students seem really stressed before a test and suggest a space in their classrooms to help students relax. District-level staff might have suggestions for spaces that align with a larger district vision. I always advocate for creating sensory spaces for teachers, as well, because sometimes they need to self-regulate too, and they should have input into the space they will use.

    Where to create a sensory space

    A sensory space might be a quiet corner in the back of a classroom that students can visit to step away from classwork or take a break from interpersonal interactions. This kind of spot might include a bean bag chair with a canopy or some kind of nook furniture, along with a quiet sound machine to help reduce noise from outside the space.

    Hallways can get crazy, so one kind of sensory space might be a spot between classes where students can sit and socialize. You could even install a little shell with acoustic panels to dampen the noise, along with soft or curved furniture to encourage socialization. In large enough hallways, you might even have places where students can sit and do work, perhaps with a table or some small desks grouped together, making it useful for intervention work during class time, as well.

    Supporting teachers and students

    With any new environment in a school, it’s essential to provide professional support. Teachers need to understand the goals of any sensory space, when students are able to access it, and how to use it. Spaces that are customizable and flexible can serve many needs for many students, and teachers and administrators should know how to adapt those spaces to meet different needs.

    Introductory professional development might begin with the idea that sensory spaces are not a reward or a punishment. Students and educators should feel comfortable seeking out what they need before they become dysregulated. Sensory spaces are no different than the furniture, pencils, or manipulatives in a classroom: They are tools that students and teachers can access as they need them.

    Once they have learned to use these spaces, educators will be prepared to teach students how to use them, too. For example, the time to visit a sensory space is before a student is so overwhelmed that they can’t handle their environment. Therefore, it may be appropriate sometimes to check in with a student to see if they need to visit a space, as trained educators may see triggers or other clues to a student’s emotional state that the student has not yet learned to identify in themselves.

    When students need support, educators need to be there to meet them. Sensory spaces not only do that, but they help you support students as they learn to advocate for themselves and their needs, whether sensory or academic. In the end, the two go hand-in-hand. Students who are happy and excited to be at school are more successful academically, and academically successful students are happier and more excited to be at school.

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    Dr. Sue Ann Highland, School Specialty

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  • Metrasens Entrusted by Public Schools Nationwide as Strategic Partner in Extracurricular Event Safety

    Metrasens Entrusted by Public Schools Nationwide as Strategic Partner in Extracurricular Event Safety

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    NAPERVILLE, Ill. /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ —  Metrasens, a leading provider of advanced detection systems for security and safety applications, today announced its ongoing strategic partnerships with K-12 public school districts across the United States. By addressing the critical issue of extracurricular event safety, Metrasens solidifies its position as a leader in school safety and the go-to partner for enhancing security at campus events.

    In today’s dynamic security landscape within educational settings, ensuring safety during extracurricular events has become a top priority for school administrators and athletic directors nationwide. According to the  K-12 School Shooting Database, there has been a concerning increase in shooting incidents at these events. From 2022 to 2023 alone, there was a 50% rise in K-12 school shootings during school events, and a staggering 300% increase from 2019 to 2023.

    “School districts adopting safety and security partners like Metrasens are taking practical steps in prioritizing school safety,” stated Ryan Petty, Florida State Board of Education member and father of Alaina Petty, a victim of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Post this

    Ryan Petty, Florida State Board of Education member and father of Alaina Petty, a victim of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, emphasizes the importance of proactive safety measures. “Schools can, and should continue to take practical steps towards building a safer environment for students on campuses, not only during school hours, but also during extracurricular events,” said Petty. “School districts adopting safety and security partners like Metrasens are taking practical steps in prioritizing school safety.”

    Recognizing this critical issue, Metrasens has been chosen by public schools nationwide as a strategic partner in enhancing extracurricular event safety and addressing related challenges, such as the prevalence of vaping on campuses. With 300 systems deployed across more than 30 school districts and 200 individual schools, Metrasens is at the forefront of safeguarding students and staff and prioritizing compliance.

    Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) selected Metrasens to bolster safety measures for graduation ceremonies and extracurricular events. Daniel Garcia, Safety & Security Executive Director at Fort Worth ISD stated: “With regards to Fort Worth ISD graduations and other ceremonies, it’s paramount that students, faculty, and visiting families feel assured and confident as they come together to commemorate these special occasions. As we open our facilities to families, it’s essential to offer reassurance that Metrasens Ultra systems provide a completely safe solution for all members of our school community.”

    In Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) independent school district in Oklahoma, Metrasens’ state-of-the-art security screening systems bolster safety protocols across 77 learning communities.

    Dr. Matthias Wicks, former Chief of Police at Tulsa Public Schools, emphasized the district’s unwavering commitment to securing all facilities and events, stating: “To accomplish our safety goals, we deployed Metrasens Ultra technologies and steadfast safety protocols to protect the well-being of everyone in attendance at our extracurricular events.”

    Similarly, Moore Public Schools (MPS), Oklahoma’s fourth-largest public school district, collaborated with Metrasens to bolster safety measures across 35 campus sites and large venues. Embracing a proactive stance towards safety, MPS integrated Metrasens Ultra detection systems to maintain the highest security standards. Dustin Horstkoetter, MPS Safety and Security Director, commended Metrasens for its unmatched reliability and quality, affirming, “the reliability and quality of Metrasens solutions are incomparable.”

    Further solidifying its position as a leader in school security, Barberton High School (BHS), situated within Ohio’s Barberton City School District, chose Metrasens as a pivotal partner in its proactive approach to campus security. Recognizing the need to enhance security protocols in light of recent incidents targeting schools nationwide, BHS aimed to stay ahead of potential risks and ensure the safety of its students and staff through this partnership.

    “We believe having another layer of security that is non-intrusive and is safe to use is a logical step forward,” said Jeff Ramnytz, Superintendent of Barberton City Schools. “We highly recommend Metrasens to other school districts seeking to enhance their security measures.”

    “Extracurricular events such as football games, basketball tournaments, and other school activities often attract individuals from inside as well as outside the immediate community, presenting unique security challenges,” said Todd Hokunson, Chief Commercial Officer at Metrasens. “In response to these concerns, Metrasens is committed to shaping the safety landscape in educational environments through innovative solutions and strategic partnerships.”

    These key partnerships underscore Metrasens’ dedication to providing innovative solutions that prioritize safety and compliance in educational settings. As administrators and safety directors continue to navigate evolving security challenges, whether securing extracurricular school activities or addressing the growing issue of vape usage on campus, Metrasens remains steadfast in its mission to empower educators and protect students, ensuring a secure environment conducive to learning and growth.

    About Metrasens
    Metrasens is the world’s leading provider of advanced magnetic detection technologies. With a technology center and manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom, a North American sales and customer service hub in Chicago and a global network of distributors, the company’s innovative products are designed to address deficiencies in conventional screening methods and make the world safer and more secure. Metrasens’ mission is to take cutting-edge science from the laboratory and use it to create revolutionary, award-winning products that meet the distinct and diverse security needs of its customers. Metrasens’ core technologies have a wide range of real-world applications, embodied by solutions that are easy to adopt and simple to use.

    For more information, visit  http://www.metrasens.com

    eSchool News Staff
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  • The pandemic’s lasting impact on young learners

    The pandemic’s lasting impact on young learners

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    Key points:

    Young students require more learning support to remain on pace with historical academic growth trends, according to new research from Curriculum Associates, which unveils national data on the pandemic’s impact on academic growth and recovery for elementary school students.

    Student Growth in the Post-COVID Era offers an assessment of student performance, tracking growth year over year and comparing it to historical trends. The report leverages three years of longitudinal data and is the first of its kind to look at impacts on younger learners who were not yet in formal schooling at the start of the pandemic. The research provides a temperature check on students’ academic growth, parsing aggregate data to determine where–and for whom–recovery may be occurring.

    Key findings:

    • Young students require more support to keep pace with historical growth trends.
    • Older students (i.e., those in grade 4 in 2021) demonstrate signs of recovery in both reading and mathematics that in some cases align with their pre-pandemic growth trajectories.
    • Students who were well below grade level in both reading and mathematics at the beginning of the 2021–2022 school year are not keeping pace with pre-pandemic growth trends.
    • Some students who were at or near grade level are exceeding historical growth trends.
    • Students from schools in lower-income or minoritized communities demonstrate continued disparities in academic growth relative to pre-pandemic trends.

    “We know the pandemic placed an enormous strain on our educators and school districts,” said Dr. Kristen Huff, vice president of research and assessment at Curriculum Associates. “The varied data and analytic approaches make it more challenging to assess the post-COVID recovery landscape. This research offers new insights into varying patterns of recovery, identifying where recovery is happening and where more support is needed.”

    Uneven recovery trends indicate that in some instances, post-pandemic interventions were likely effective.

    “While most young people who fall behind stay behind, there are diverse schools across the nation where students who started behind grade level are consistently catching up,” said Dr. Tequilla Brownie, CEO of TNTP. “The first common factor is the intentional creation of environments where students feel a sense of belonging. The other two priorities that matter most are consistent access to grade-level instruction and the presence of a unified, coherent instructional program that gives both students and educators a clear path to success.”

    These data underscore the need for educators, district leaders, and other stakeholders to carefully assess which interventions are most effective and how we can work together to change the course of learning outcomes for students who need support now.

    “Even before the pandemic, many students in our district were not performing at their highest level of potential,” said Dr. Mark Sullivan, superintendent of Birmingham City Schools. “We were not pleased with the number of third graders reading on grade level, so we had to become intentional in everything we do. This included training our teachers on the Science of Reading, setting high expectations for educators and students, and actively involving families in their children’s learning.” This year, the district saw a 75- percent increase in the number of students reading at or above grade level.

    The urgency of finding and implementing the right interventions is clear, especially when looking at this year’s Grade 2 students, who were not yet in school during the pandemic. If applied nationally, these data suggest more than 1.3 million Grade 2 students (out of the nation’s 3.5 million) are behind in reading compared to 1.1 million in 2019. More than half a million more Grade 2 students (up from 1.2 million to 1.7 million) are behind in mathematics.

    Gaps in learning may be compounding for this group of students over time as they work to catch up on foundational skills while learning new content.

    For Grade 2 students and all whose learning is not keeping pace with historical trends, this report will shape the conversation on how educators can help every student succeed.

    This press release originally appeared online.

    Laura Ascione
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  • Trump shooting shocks, but a gunman striking terror in the U.S. is nothing new. Now what?

    Trump shooting shocks, but a gunman striking terror in the U.S. is nothing new. Now what?

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    The attempt on former President Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday felt familiar in a uniquely American way.

    The shooter trained his AR-style rifle on people gathered far from his rooftop perch, echoing the mass shooting in 2017 in which a gunman opened fire on a music festival from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel.

    Law enforcement said the shooter was 20 years old and got the gun he used from home — just like so many other young shooters who have left bloody trails through this nation’s schools and churches, bars and other community gathering places.

    “Time and time again our communities are shaken by acts of gun violence that have invaded what should be our safe places,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of the gun control advocacy organization Moms Demand Action. “But they are a consequence of our country’s weak gun laws and guns everywhere culture — laws that allow hate to be armed with a gun to easily take someone else’s life.”

    Amid denouncements of political violence from leaders and average Americans on both sides of the political aisle, the nation’s great gun divide felt newly raw Sunday — but hardly changed. Despite their presidential candidate nearly being shot dead, there were no outward calls from leading Republicans for the party to ease its ardent support of gun rights.

    Still, the shooting provided a new and particularly powerful example of yet another American institution — this time the electoral process — falling victim to the vast proliferation of modern firearms. And that could matter as courts across the country and in California continue to weigh when, where and why such weapons may be restricted, if at all.

    Right now, federal courts are considering challenges to a California law banning exactly the sort of AR-style rifle used by the alleged shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa.; another banning people Crooks’ age and younger from possessing firearms; and a third barring people from carrying firearms into an array of “sensitive” places — including public gatherings and special events.

    A person is removed by state police from the stands after a gun was fired at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.

    (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

    Like the Vegas shooting, where a gunman killed almost 60 people and injured hundreds of others, the attack Saturday raised questions about how to define such sensitive places, and how to determine whether a certain type of firearm or accessory is so dangerous that it falls outside the protections of the 2nd Amendment, legal experts said.

    Such questions hold added weight in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen, where the high court said most gun laws are legitimate only if they are rooted in the nation’s history and tradition or are sufficiently analogous to some historic law.

    In October, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, of San Diego, citing the high court’s Bruen decision, ruled that California’s ban on the sort of AR-style weapon used Saturday was unconstitutional because it was not rooted in history — and because assault-style rifles are sufficiently common and not uniquely dangerous.

    “Like the Bowie Knife which was commonly carried by citizens and soldiers in the 1800s,” Benitez wrote at the start of his decision, “ ‘assault weapons’ are dangerous, but useful.”

    Of course, assault rifles are far more dangerous than Bowie knives, with a vastly different range for inflicting harm. Federal authorities, for example, said Crooks shot Trump from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue” — which the Washington Post estimated was about 430 feet from where Trump was speaking.

    Darrell A.H. Miller, a professor at University of Chicago Law School who studies 2nd Amendment law, said there is a “fairly well established” legal tradition declaring political rallies and other electoral events as sensitive places where guns can be prohibited.

    However, Saturday’s shooting raised new questions about the scope of such restrictions and others like it — and about the nature of “sensitive places” and how their boundaries can and should be defined, he and other experts said.

    “Sensitive places doctrine, to the extent that it is currently being developed, may need to be attentive to changes in firearm technology over the last 200 years,” Miller said in an interview Sunday.

    Legal experts said the shooting could also help gun control advocates argue that such high-powered, long-range weapons are uniquely dangerous, even if they are commonly owned, and that bans on them in California and elsewhere are therefore in line with other longstanding bans on particularly dangerous weapons such as machine guns.

    Steve Gordon, a retired LAPD special weapons team officer and sniper, said the shot that struck Trump was not particularly difficult with a little training, despite the distance.

    “That type of rifle is standard issue to the police/military and that is not a difficult shot to make with that weapon system,” Gordon told The Times.

    Congressional Republicans and the Biden administration have said Saturday’s shooting will be investigated thoroughly, including to determine if anything could have been done differently to prevent it. What may come of those probes is unclear.

    Trump’s shooting also could be cited as another data point — a historically monumental one — in support of laws, such as California’s, that bar the sale of such weapons to those under 21, regardless of whether Crooks personally bought the weapon or not.

    Gun control advocates could use the added evidence of the unique threat that high-powered, long-range weapons pose in the hands of unstable young men, particularly given the uphill battle they face in defending firearms restrictions post-Bruen.

    The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that domestic abusers can be precluded from possessing firearms, but it has ruled against firearms regulations in other instances. Just last month, the high court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks — an accessory that allows gunmen to fire off rounds much more rapidly, and which were used in the Vegas shooting.

    Courts aside, Trump’s shooting has already entered the national gun debate in a major way.

    For example, when the National Rifle Assn. offered prayers to Trump, law enforcement and others at the rally in a post on the social media platform X, Shannon Watts — a co-founder of Moms Demand Action and the affiliated group Everytown — responded with a bristling retort suggesting hypocrisy on the NRA’s part.

    “The NRA’s extremist agenda ensured a 20 year old would-be assassin had access to a weapon of war, rendering even the most highly trained security forces incapable of protecting anyone — from school children to former presidents,” Watts wrote.

    She then noted that such weapons have been used in recent years to murder people at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and schools across the country, from Santa Fe, N.M., to Uvalde, Texas, to Parkland, Fla.

    Others made similar connections.

    “If you keep talking about the assassination attempt don’t you dare tell the kids who survive school shootings and their families to ‘just get over it,’ ” wrote David Hogg, a survivor of the shooting that killed 17 and wounded others at his Parkland high school in 2018.

    Hogg was apparently referring to comments Trump made about the need to “get over” a school shooting in Iowa earlier this year, which were roundly condemned by gun control advocates and survivors.

    What happened Saturday was “unacceptable,” Hogg wrote, but so is “what happens every day to kids who aren’t the president and don’t survive.”

    Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

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  • Project 2025, GOP platform blast California, teeing up critiques of Biden stand-ins

    Project 2025, GOP platform blast California, teeing up critiques of Biden stand-ins

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    At the start of Project 2025’s conservative playbook for a second Trump presidency, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts took aim at leaders who he said wield power to “serve themselves first and everyone else a distant second.”

    He mentioned North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un comfortably ruling over an impoverished nation, “billionaire climate activists” flying on private jets while criticizing carbon-emitting cars, and two “COVID-19 shutdown politicians” in California who were seen out and about — at a hair salon and a fancy restaurant — while calling on their constituents to stay home.

    Name-dropping U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom in the conservative right’s blueprint for the White House was a way for Roberts to tie them, and California, to the idea that out-of-touch coastal elites are ruining the country.

    That notion — well worn in American politics — appears throughout the Project 2025 plan, a wonky, 900-plus-page manifesto released last year by conservative thought leaders and Trump acolytes.

    The idea is also evoked more subtly in the much snappier, 16-page Republican Party platform spearheaded by Trump and adopted by party officials last week, which criticizes American politicians who “insulated themselves from criticism and the consequences of their own bad actions” while average Americans suffered.

    Roberts and other Heritage Foundation officials were not available for comment. A Heritage Foundation spokesperson said Project 2025 is a product of more than 100 conservative organizations and “does not speak for any candidate or campaign.”

    According to political experts, the conservative strategy of criticizing “woke” liberal ideas, many of which got traction in California, has become particularly useful in the current election cycle, as Trump’s base has proved especially receptive to conservative virtue signaling on issues such as abortion, climate change, guns, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.

    That strategy will only grow, the experts said, if President Biden comes off the Democratic ticket and is replaced with a California politician such as Newsom or Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator.

    “This is a vital angle to be hitting,” said Jon Michaels, a constitutional law professor at UCLA with a forthcoming book on right-wing authoritarianism. “California becomes a convenient foil, and the excesses of California are what Republicans can run against.”

    Issues at play

    Conservatives have long cast California — sometimes fairly, other times not — as a failing state crumbling under the weight of out-of-control regulation, crime and homelessness, and the 2024 race has intensified those lines of attack.

    “Instances of California really going in a different direction from what the Republican Party wants is all over the [Project 2025] report — everything from diversity, equity and inclusion, to connections to China, to high tech [companies] to homelessness,” said Bruce Cain, a political science professor at Stanford University. The aim is to portray a state in disorder, an “undemocratic, patronizing state controlled by the high-tech elites completely out of touch with where the rest of America is.”

    Both Project 2025 and the GOP platform envision a second Trump presidency where federal bureaucrats use the powers of the executive branch to beat back an array of California policies — including protections for undocumented immigrants, the environment, unionized workers, those seeking abortions and transgender youth.

    In its phrasing, the GOP platform is at times bombastic — just like Trump, who helped draft it — and lays out a relatively clear framework for how he intends to govern in sharp contrast to California leaders.

    “California becomes a convenient foil, and the excesses of California are what Republicans can run against.”

    — Jon Michaels, constitutional law professor at UCLA

    For example, Los Angeles and other major California cities decline to use their police forces or city personnel to enforce immigration laws. Trump’s platform promises to “cut federal funding” to such jurisdictions.

    California is in the process of reining in oil drilling in the state, with leaders raising concerns about the environmental and health impacts. The platform calls on the nation to “DRILL, BABY, DRILL.”

    California requires LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula in schools and the Democrat-controlled state Legislature just passed a law barring school officials from informing parents of kids who identify as transgender at school if the kids don’t want that information shared. The platform says Republicans support “parental rights” and will “defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children” or push “radical gender ideology.”

    The Project 2025 plan is even more ardent in its rebuke of California policies.

    Roberts, in his foreword of Project 2025, speaks much of American liberty, but defines it squarely within a Christian nationalist framework, saying the Constitution gives each American the liberty to “live as his Creator ordained” — to “do not what we want, but what we ought.”

    The plan calls on Trump, if elected, to “make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors” — a process that it says should start with deleting all references to queer identities, “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” abortion or “reproductive health” from federal legislation and rules.

    Calling California and other liberal states “sanctuaries for abortion tourism,” the plan says the Trump administration should “push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction in America,” work with Congress to enact antiabortion laws, and mandate state reporting of abortion data to the federal government — including patients’ state of residence and “reason” for receiving a procedure.

    Critics say such actions would empower conservative states that ban abortions to identify and punish women who go to liberal states such as California to have those procedures.

    The party platform does not call for a national abortion ban, which rankled some on the right, but does back state policies restricting it and says Republicans “proudly stand for families and Life.”

    Both plans criticize the nation’s shift to electric vehicles, and Project 2025 says the federal government should rescind a waiver allowing California to set its own clean air standards around fuel economy, which underpins the state’s goal of shifting exclusively to zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

    The fight ahead

    Although Project 2025 is authored in large part by prominent advisors and former appointees of Trump, he has recently sought to distance himself from the plan.

    In an online post July 5, Trump wrote that he knew “nothing about it,” but also that “some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Even so, he wished those behind the plan “luck.”

    “This isn’t Alabama or Mississippi. You are taking on a very powerful state with a lot of resources — and a will to resist.”

    — Bruce Cain, political science professor at Stanford University

    Trump’s campaign referred questions about Project 2025 and the GOP platform, and their relation to California policies, to the Republican National Committee.

    Anna Kelly, a committee spokesperson, said the party platform “contains commonsense policies like cutting taxes, securing the border, ending absurd [electric vehicle] mandates, securing our elections, defending our constitutional rights, and keeping men out of women’s sports” — with the last being an apparent reference to transgender women.

    “If reporters find those principles contradictory to values pushed by California leaders,” Kelly wrote, “maybe it’s time for Democrats to evaluate how their state is run.”

    Democrats, including Biden, have repeatedly tied Trump to Project 2025, saying his claims of distance from it are absurd given how many people in his orbit are leading it. On Tuesday, Harris called out Project 2025 at a campaign event in Las Vegas, noting that it calls for the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Education, cuts to Social Security and a nationwide abortion ban.

    “If implemented, this plan would be the latest attack in Donald Trump’s full-on assault on reproductive freedom,” she said.

    Experts said that if Biden is replaced by Harris or Newsom — who are considered leading candidates amid a swirl of doubt about Biden’s age and ability to defeat Trump — conservative derision about California and its liberal policies will increase, and find a receptive audience in many parts of the country.

    A Times survey earlier this year found that 50% of U.S. adults believe California is in decline, with 48% of Republicans saying it is “not really American.”

    If Trump wins, California is expected to lead the liberal resistance to Trump’s agenda, just as it did during his first term, experts said. Such efforts will be hampered by California’s budget woes and the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, they said, but not undone completely.

    “California will fight back, and it has the means to fight back,” Cain said. “This isn’t Alabama or Mississippi. You are taking on a very powerful state with a lot of resources — and a will to resist.”

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