A research brief proposed for the California Department of Education by Ruby Kosewicz-Strickland MCP, PLUS Fellow, Fall 2024
For the last five years, the California Department of Education (CDE) has reported a steady increase in homeless K-12 students in the state1. In the academic year 2018-2019, over 207,000 California K-12 students were without appropriate, consistent and stable housing2. Unhoused K-12 students are disproportionately LGBTQ+, migrants, students of color, and students with disabilities, exacerbating…
Policy Brief prepared for the California Department of Education (CDE), Homeless Education Program
Sacramento City Unified School District’s (SCUSD) college and career readiness initiatives, as cited in the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan, only equip students with half of the skills and requirements necessary for graduates to succeed in their post-secondary options (Conley, 2012). Namely, SCUSD fails to assess critical soft skills, such as perseverance, growth mindsets, goal-setting, collaboration, etc.,…
A PLUS fellow report on teacher retention in OUSD
A research report on the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) student assignment policy, which was designed to help with school choice to reverse the trend of racial isolation and the concentration of underserved students in the same school, and to provide equitable access to programs offered in the district.
This report lifts up the partnership of the past decade to examine how this work to engage youth and schools in comprehensive housing development in the Bayview can inform future work. Understanding this landscape can support future work and better alignment of investments, particularly concerning the role of young people and schools in community redevelopment.
Understanding and lifting up the role that young people play in driving healthy, equitable policies in their schools and cities. Assessing how PLUS & Y-PLAN prepare civic leaders to respond to the needs of young people when crafting policy. Envisioning how cities and schools collect and utilize data to demonstrate positive outcomes for young people…
A PLUS fellow policy brief on teacher wellness and retention in the Oakland Unified School District.
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represents a significant shift in how California funds its schools. Established in 2013, the State of California founded LCFF on a principle of equity. Under this new law, the state uses a weighted pupil formula and allocates more money to school districts for high-need student subgroups as defined by…
Oakland Unified School Districts faces increasing teacher attrition and levels of stress among teachers. Principal leadership is necessary to support teachers and ultimately students achievement.
This report aims to provide the Multilingual Pathways Department (MPD) a general overview of the current implementation of Spanish Biliteracy (BL) and Dual-Language Immersion (DLI) pathways at the school site level. It will identify trends that exists within and across school sites as it relates to the key components of bilingual programming. More specifically, it…
This report is intended to help understand strategic ways to empower and strengthen the West Contra Costa Youth Commission. It is broken up into 7 parts:
Apart from educating, teachers are often in the front lines of dealing with a child’s trauma. This report and policy brief discuss way in which schools can address the vicarious trauma teachers in OUSD go through and recommends ways they can help their teachers cope. Especially since vicarious trauma can lead to teacher burnout and…
This report is a formative evaluation of Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Newcomer Teacher Wellness Mini-Grant. It includes a background of the program’s inception, with a focus on the key role that teacher coordinators played in supporting wellness activities. After illustrating the broad support around wellness activities, it delves into how newcomer teachers feel about…
This memo analyzes San Francisco Planning Department’s Family Friendly City initiative, which seeks to develop an effective family and youth engagement process to meet the needs of all families in San Francisco. Given the intentional educational experience, children are natural planners that understand their neighborhoods and can provide meaningful feedback for SF Planning. UsingY-PLAN (Youth…