Tag: kindergarten

The Los Angeles Unified School District is pushing the gas pedal on its expansion of transitional kindergarten, and will offer the program to all four-year-olds this fall, two years ahead of the state’s mandate that school districts must do so.

The expansion seeks to better prepare all children for school and life, but especially low-income children, English language learners, and children with disabilities. Research shows that children who attend school before kindergarten are more likely to take honors classes and less likely to repeat a grade or drop out of school.

“Why wait two years to empower students with early literacy, early numeracy, earlier socialization … when we can do it now?” said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, unveiling the plan at Van Deene Avenue Elementary STEAM Academy in the Harbor Gateway. “It’s literally an early start for students who absolutely need the normalcy, the routine and the early attention.”

Many Texas public school teachers are struggling financially. Recent data shows their annual salaries are nearly $8,000 less than the national average.

All year long, Texas teachers have been hoping the Texas Legislature would pass measures to increase teacher pay. And during the current special legislative session, the state’s fourth this year, lawmakers filed a proposal that would have given them those sought-after raises.

But that measure passed in the Texas House earlier this month after a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats took out a provision that would have created education savings accounts. That voucher-like program would have given families public funds to use towards private school tuition and other education expenses.

The Texas Newsroom talks to teachers from across the state who say losing that salary bump is worth it if it keeps school vouchers at bay.

While many teachers have received cost-of-living adjustments that have translated to about an extra hundred dollars per paycheck, some still feel like they need to take a second — or even third — job to make ends meet.

Raven Morris, Princeton ISD

From Monday through Friday, Raven Morris teaches reading language arts at Princeton Independent School District outside of Plano.

But