Blog

By John Fensterwald, EdSource, September 1, 2020 California would become the first state to require that all high school students pass a one-semester ethnic studies course to graduate if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a bill that the Legislature passed on Monday, the last day of the legislative session. But in order to get Assembly Bill 331 out of a Senate committee and on to a final vote, the primary author, Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, proposed one amendment and accepted several others.

By John Carroll, KPBS, September 1, 2020 If you’re driving through the intersection of 30th and Lincoln in North Park, you might do a double take at a pop-up next to Hangers Cleaners. There sits an old refrigerator, painted mustard yellow, with shelves of dry goods and diapers next to it. A community fridge, to be more precise. "I just wanted to include it into my own community,” said North Park resident Annie Lein. After seeing community fridges in other cities like LA and Oakland, Lein...

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, September 1, 2020 The ruling came in a lawsuit asserting that the use of standardized test scores is broadly biased — and particularly detrimental to students with disabilities who seek to take the test during the coronavirus crisis. Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman said in his Monday ruling that plaintiffs had shown sufficient cause to stop the tests for now because applicants with disabilities had virtually no access to test-taking sites or legally...

By Alejandra Borunda, National Geographic, September 1, 2020 Rosa Villegas woke up at two in the morning on a late August Monday to make her way to the lettuce fields in California’s south Salinas Valley, where she was scheduled to start bagging heads of romaine at 4 a.m. The sky overhead wasn’t its usual dark, star-dotted self as she walked to her car. Instead, it glowed a sickly red, colored by the fires burning on the flanks of the Santa Lucia mountains, just a few miles west. “It was...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create anxiety and uneasiness and impact people’s mental health and overall well-being, a Clinton Foundation partner shares her expertise and resilience-building strategies to use during uncertain or challenging times. This blog post was written by Dana Brown, Organizational Liaison, ACEs Connection. Dana is an ACEs Science Statewide Facilitator, and through the organization, Learn4Life, she works within the Trauma-Informed Work Group and Steering...

August 12, 2020 | 2:03 p.m. | ASTHO Staff The movement to address racism through policy change in the U.S. is receiving significant political support at every level of government. Government institutions are acknowledging the systemic oppression of people of color that persists in the United States and elevating racism as an urgent public health emergency comparable to other public health crises. At the local level a growing number of cities and counties are issuing declarations . Public and...

ACEs Aware Seeking Applicants to Support Clinical Work Apply by September 15, 2020 ACEs Aware , led by the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), is hiring for three new positions to further the mission of supporting Medi-Cal providers across California with training, clinical protocols, and payment for screening children and adults for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Aurrera Health Group is the project management...

From Children's Defense Fund of California, September 2, 2020 Please join us for our online forum, the second in a two-part summit series on supporting children and youth with incarcerated parents to build resilience during COVID-19 and the necessary social unrest associated with anti-black policing and systemic racism. Building Resilience for Children and Youth of Incarcerated Parents [ Please click here for more information and to register .]

“Change culture and you change lives. You can also change the course of history. Many well-meaning social activists overlook this essential fact. They focus relentlessly on strategy, but strategy means nothing to our bodies and our lizard brains. When strategy competes with culture, culture wins–every time.” ~Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother’s Hands No one can dispute Valorie Kondos Field’s record of winning. During her 29 years as head coach of the UCLA women’s gymnastics team, she led her...

Nina Sparling Sep 3 Nearly 20% of Californians know someone who has died of COVID-19, a rate that’s significantly higher for people of color and low-income residents, according to a new poll from the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF). Among respondents, 10% of White people reported knowing someone who had died of the virus, while that rate rose to 29% for Latinx people, 28% for African Americans and 19% for Asian Americans. Meanwhile, 26% of low-income respondents of all races said...

Narges Zohoury Dillon Sep 2 Parents’ role in suicide prevention is on my mind a lot this year with parents taking on the added responsibility of educator as many schools start remotely. Remote education means reduced access to the professional support resources schools offer which is particularly hard at this time of increased stress and mental health challenges for students and families alike. I have pictured talking to my own daughter about the topic of suicide more times than I can count.

In Fresno, volunteers from local churches were already working with the schools, mentoring kids and running weekend recreation programs. Community-based non-profits were in conversation with educators; pastors were talking to social-service providers. The problems were clear: nearly 30% of Fresno’s residents living in poverty (the rate tops 40% for Black residents), with a 20-year gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest parts of this sharply segregated city. For several years,...