California Public Schools Research Articles

Visibility Interrupted: Rural Queer Life and the Politics of Unbecoming by Carly Thomsen

Reviewed by: Visibility Interrupted: Rural Queer Life and the Politics of Unbecoming by Carly Thomsen C. J. Janovy Visibility Interrupted: Rural Queer Life and the Politics of Unbecoming. By Carly Thomsen. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2021. vii + 201 pp. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $25.00 paper. The origin story goes like this: in 1978, after an epic struggle to defeat a ballot initiative that would have banned gays and lesbians from teaching in California public schools, the San Francisco gay-rights hero Harvey Milk told LGBTQ people that to achieve civil rights, we must come out of the closet. "Once they realize that we are indeed everywhere," Milk said of our opponents, "every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all. And once you do (come out), you will feel so much better." As a political tactic, coming out fueled more than forty years of progress. Carly Thomsen says it's time to reassess. Her argument is not with Milk (who doesn't appear in these pages) but rather with more recent "discourses, ideologies, and strategies used by dominant gay rights organizations" (31) that fail to consider the complex ways in which rural LGBTQ midwesterners experience community and happiness—which don't always require officially coming out. Those of us who live in such places will enjoy Thomsen's dismantling of the LGBTQ-rights movement's myopic metronormativity. But anyone who's marveled at the euphoric self-expression on display at tiny-town Pride picnics might also flinch at Thomsen's assertion that so much emphasis on visibility is counterproductive. It's an intriguing argument, one built around Thomsen's interviews beginning in 2011 with women throughout rural South Dakota and Minnesota (the states where Thomsen grew up). She bolsters it with detours into topics such as a controversy over Matthew Shepard's legacy; rural Flickr and Instagram accounts; the Rush Limbaugh show; an Obama-era White House meeting on rural LGBTQ issues that's distressingly disconnected from actual rural LGBTQ issues; and the case of Jene Newsome, an Air Force sergeant discharged under the Clinton administration's egregious "don't ask, don't tell" policy after Rapid City police officers saw a marriage certificate on her kitchen table. Visibility Interrupted adds layers to the [End Page 272] thankfully deepening field of rural queer studies, a branch of scholarship showing America as it really is. Thomsen does, however, write in dense theoretical language, so it'll frequently be confounding to readers outside academia. But Thomsen knows this: "Most of my interviewees found my argument mundane, boring, and obvious," she writes gleefully of the women who appear in her supplemental documentary, In Plain Sight. One of them jokes, "They gave you a PhD for arguing that?!" (147). Thomsen considers this a validation of her argument. It's probably also a validation of Harvey Milk's. [End Page 273] C. J. Janovy Journalist Kansas City Copyright © 2023 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

It’s Good to Be Popular in High School: A Look at Disparities in STEM AP Offerings in Northern California Public High Schools

In 2018, in response to the proposed elimination of physics at a predominately Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) high school, the Northern California/Nevada chapter of the AAPT investigated school demographics and their effect on physics offerings in public high schools in our region. As access was a key issue, the focus was on public, non-charter high schools, which are free to students and do not require winning a lottery for attendance. As reported previously, the data revealed that the percentage of Hispanic students and the percentage of SED students at a high school are highly correlated (r2=0.60). Additionally, these factors could be used as predictors of a school’s physics offerings. To determine if the disparities in course offerings extended through other Advanced Placement (AP) STEM classes, the data were further analyzed, revealing that as the popularity of an AP exam drops, so do the relative odds of it being offered, when comparing schools with different demographics. A Northern California public high school student is much more likely to get a strong selection of AP STEM classes if his/her school serves an affluent, non-Hispanic student majority rather than mostly poor, Hispanic students.

Racial/ethnic disparities in childhood obesity: The role of school segregation.

Recent studies have observed that racial or ethnic adult health disparities revealed in national data dissipate in racially integrated communities, supporting the theory that "place, not race" shapes the nature and magnitude of racial/ethnic health disparities. This study tested this theory among children. In 2020, the racial/ethnic childhood obesity disparities within integrated schools and between segregated schools were estimated using statewide cross-sectional data collected in 2019 on fifth, seventh, and ninth grade students from California public schools. School segregation accounted for a large part of the obesity disparities between White children and children of color (Latino, Black, and Filipino children). In racially integrated schools, obesity disparities were much smaller than those in statewide data, whereas racial or ethnic childhood obesity disparities were larger when comparing children in majority-White schools with those attending schools with a majority enrollment of children of color, except for Asian children, who generally had lower obesity rates than their White peers. School-level racial segregation is a salient contributor to racial/ethnic childhood obesity disparities. Reducing obesity disparities may be particularly effective if place-level interventions target socioeconomically disadvantaged integrated schools and segregated schools attended primarily by children of color.

Distance learning, digital inequality, and COVID-19: Visualizing learning channels among California public school students

COVID-19 has put a spotlight not only on digital inequalities but on the formation of digital skills. With the pandemic, the abrupt transition of schools to distance learning in continues to underscore the key importance of digital skills for students who will increasingly need digital skills to navigate new educational terrains and adapt to its demands. This study examines fundamental issues in the formation of digital skills and argues that access to the Internet and digital devices are insufficient if students lack digital skills to use them and benefit from them. To explain why we analyze the relationships and learning channels that are central to students acquisition of digital skills. We examine the interrelationships between four essential “channels” through which students acquire digitals skills: through self direction; through peers; through family; and through formal instruction and interaction with teachers. Drawing from original survey and interview data among disadvantaged secondary school students, we employ configurational and narrative methods to explore how the four learning channels map onto the formation of four key Internet skills (Internet search, Internet-mediated school research, multimedia, and social media). The study’s findings shed light on the ways that self-instruction, the primary learning channel, articulates with the other learning channels. Findings show that school-related research skills are best developed through educator-led instruction, while multimedia and social media skills can be developed through the combination of instruction on the part of peers and family members as long as the learning is simultaneously self-directed. Finally, these findings help explain why remote learning has been inadequate for some low-SES students during the pandemic. As we show, these students could not fully benefit from self-instruction due to the lack of family members or peers who could teach them digital skills. When coupled with disenfranchisement from educator instruction, these students could not acquire the digital skills necessary for them to engage in informed self-instruction and skill development.

Implementing a Skin Cancer Prevention Lesson to Enact Institutional Change: A Schoolwide Survey

Background: Schools can play a major role in protecting students from skin cancer by instituting preventive policies and educational programs. Methods: A high school-wide study was conducted to assess students’ current understanding of skin cancer prevention, provide an up-to-date instruction lesson, and evaluate changes in students’ knowledge and behaviors. Results: Written surveys were distributed to 2,688 high school students with a return rate of 38.1% (n = 1,025). Surveys were administered prior to (survey 1), immediately after (survey 2), and 1 month after (survey 3) presenting a video lesson. Significant changes in knowledge gain (an increase from survey 1 to survey 2), knowledge decay (a decrease from survey 2 to survey 3), and knowledge persistence (an increase from survey 1 to survey 3) throughout all grade levels were found. Behavioral changes included an increase in students wearing sunscreen 5–7 days per week (p < 0.001) and students examining themselves for changing moles (p = 0.10). With this survey, the Health Education Framework for California Public Schools was revised to include updated recommendations regarding skin cancer prevention efforts in schools. Conclusions: A skin cancer video lesson given to high school students effectively increased students’ knowledge and promoted healthy behaviors.

Racial micropolitical literacy: Examining the sociopolitical realities of teachers of color co-constructing student transformational resistance

In connection with the historical legacy and imaginations of youth of Color advocating for more just and equitable futures, I consider the complex political terrain through which teachers of Color cultivate students’ agency for social change within the narrow confines of schooling institutions. In this article, I conceptualize racial micropolitical literacy to analyze how teachers identify context-specific reproductions of whiteness and interlocking systems of oppression while learning to politically confront, navigate, and transform race and power through daily, embodied, and interactional practices. Through video recordings, ethnographic field notes, and interview data, I apply this framework to document the day-to-day practices of an Asian American teacher co-constructing student transformational resistance within a southeast Los Angeles, California public middle school. My analysis reveals that the teacher: (1) used critical artifacts to reconstruct carceral conditions of schooling into communal learning spaces of solidarity and activism, (2) engaged students in everyday dialogue about racism, power, and just possibilities, and (3) subverted scripted curricula by drawing on students and his own counternarratives as resources for sociopolitical learning. These practices were improvisationally leveraged on the day of a US national student-led walkout to expand multiple opportunities for politically marginalized Latinx students to organize collective action against gun violence. Offering a more intergenerational and intersectional lens of resistance and social change, I provide implications for eradicating oppressive schooling conditions that constrain the potential of students and teachers of Color as movement-makers and civic leaders in daily classroom life.

The California Equity Coalition: Advocating for Racial Equity in California's Public School Leadership

The purpose of this narrative paper is to provide a reflective description of the formation, structure, and work of a diverse coalition dedicated to collaboratively informing educational policy advocacy in California. Specifically, this article offers an example of how community members from across settings mobilized into collective action to improve the racial diversity pipeline of school leaders in California’s public schools. The California Equity Coalition (CEC) is a powerful network of organizations that see school administrators’ racial diversity and cultural competence as critical levers in creating successful school environments that yield positive student outcomes. Using auto-narrative and testimonio methodology, the work of the CEC is documented in this paper, and rooted in the literature examining the role of Proposition 209 and other barriers that led to the decline of Black and Latinx educators in California. The article also provides a current review of educator pipeline data and research that served as a catalyst for the formation of the CEC. Finally, the article highlights the history, aims, actions, and strategy in building and sustaining this diverse coalition anchored in racial equity.

School Health Services for Children with Chronic Health Conditions in California Public Secondary Schools: Findings from the 2018 School Health Profiles Survey

Background: More than 20% of school districts in the United States do not have policies on identification and case management for students with chronic health conditions (CHCs), suggesting that these students’ health needs may not be met during the school day. Prior research reports a gap in policy implementation and the actual provision or operationalization of the policy into action. Significance: While there is limited research on school health policies, little is known about the actual provision of the services that such policies indicate should be provided. Notably, the actual provision of health services in U.S. schools, particularly regarding CHC management and its association with school nurse employment, is underreported. Methodology: Using data from the 2018 School Health Profiles (SHP) Survey, health services including administering daily medication, providing stock rescue medication, providing case management, facilitating community partnering, and providing disease-specific education were examined in California public secondary schools together with school nurse employment. Complex sampling analysis and chi-square statistics were used to examine the statistical associations. Results: A significantly greater proportion of schools with a full- or part-time nurse compared with schools with no nurse provided: (1) daily medication administration (82.1% vs. 68.1%; p = .014); (2) case management services (75.8% vs. 62.0%; p = .031); (3) disease-specific education for parents and families (44.9% vs. 25.7%; p = .016); and (4) parent and student connection to health services in the community (83.7% vs. 72.2%; p = .035). Conclusion: Findings suggest that nationally representative data, such as SHP, contain important information for states to review regarding school health policies and provision of services. Further research needs to expand these findings to better understand school health policy and practice and its alignment with state and federal laws to support all children, especially those with CHCs.

Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences With Interpreters in the School Setting: A Preliminary Study

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory study was to obtain documentation about interpretive interactions that include speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and interpreters in public schools, including information on best practices and difficulties. Method: Seven California public school SLPs were interviewed by the authors using preset questions. Their responses were transcribed, then coded into 55 codes, and then combined into six different themes. Results: Results included the following six themes: (a) interpreter roles, (b) SLPs' characteristics or actions, (c) characteristics of effective interactions, (d) interpreters' positive characteristics or actions, (e) characteristics of ineffective interactions, and (f) interpreters' negative characteristics or actions. Some of the positive characteristics or actions reported about some interpreters included direct translation without adding, changing, or deleting information, knowledge of professional vocabulary, training as an interpreter, and demonstrating empathy. In addition, the majority of respondents stated that they used the briefing, interaction, and debriefing process in interpreted interactions. Conclusions: It was concluded that additional training of SLPs and interpreters was indicated. Given the small sample, generalizability is limited, but there is a need for further research, especially given that the quality of bilingual assessments and individualized education program rests directly on the skills of effective interpretation.

Effect of school-based body mass index reporting in California public schools: a randomized clinical trial

Importance Annually, US schools screen millions of students’ body mass index (BMI) and report the results to parents, with little experimental evidence on potential benefits and harms. Objective To determine the impact of school-based BMI reporting on weight status and adverse outcomes (weight stigmatization and weight-related perceptions and behaviors) among a diverse student population. Design, Setting, and Participants Cluster randomized clinical trial. The Fit Study (2014-2017) randomized 79 California schools to BMI screening and reporting (group 1), BMI screening only (group 2), or control (no BMI screening or reporting [group 3]) in grades 3 to 8. The setting was California elementary and middle schools. Students in grades 3 to 7 at baseline participated for up to 3 years. A modified intent-to-treat protocol was used. Data analysis was conducted from April 13, 2017, to March 26, 2020. Interventions School staff assessed BMI each spring among students in groups 1 and 2. Parents of students in group 1 were sent a BMI report each fall for up to 2 years. Main Outcomes and Measures Changes in BMIzscore and in adverse outcomes (based on surveys conducted each fall among students in grades 4 to 8) from baseline to 1 and 2 years of follow-up. Results A total of 28 641 students (14 645 [51.1%] male) in grades 3 to 7 at baseline participated in the study for up to 3 years. Among 6534 of 16 622 students with a baseline BMI in the 85th percentile or higher (39.3%), BMI reporting had no effect on BMIzscore change (−0.003; 95% CI, −0.02 to 0.01 at 1 year and 0.01; 95% CI, −0.02 to 0.03 at 2 years). Weight dissatisfaction increased more among students having BMI screened at school (8694 students in groups 1 and 2) than among control participants (5674 students in group 3). Results of the effect of BMI reporting on other adverse outcomes were mixed: compared with the control (group 3), among students weighed at school (groups 1 and 2), weight satisfaction declined more after 2 years (−0.11; 95% CI, −0.18 to −0.05), and peer weight talk increased more after 1 year (0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.09); however, concerning weight control behaviors declined more after 1 year (−0.06; 95% CI, −0.10 to −0.02). Conclusions and Relevance Body mass index reports alone do not improve children’s weight status and may decrease weight satisfaction. To improve student health, schools should consider investing resources in evidence-based interventions. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT02088086

Teen, Queer, and Asian: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Plus Asian American Students' Experiences in Schools.

The experiences of youth with intersecting LGBTQ+ and Asian American (AA) identities have been largely unexplored. This study explored these experiences of LGBTQ+ AA California youth with mental health, school climate, and school victimization. Drawing from the 2016-2017 California Healthy Kids Survey (N=326,124), this study utilized secondary data analyses to examine mental health, school climate, and school victimization among students of specific AA ethnicities (eg, Cambodian, Hmong, Vietnamese) and LGBTQ+ identities. The participants in this study included 7th, 9th, and 11th graders from California public schools, with subsamples of lesbian or gay students (N=13,291), bisexual students (N=30,127), and transgender students (N=7916). The results indicated that Asian Indian, Cambodian, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, and Other Asian LGBTQ+ students experienced more negative school climate and victimization compared to their Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and white LGBTQ+ peers. For instance, 41.1% of Cambodian transgender students reported they were beaten up compared to 27.1% of white transgender students. Mental health differences between LGBTQ+ AA and LGBTQ+ white students were also found. This study's findings can inform school administrators and teachers how to best support LGBTQ+ AA populations.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Relationships between Epistemological Beliefs and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

Introduction. Prior research consistently provides evidence supporting potential relationships between epistemological beliefs and learning. The current study examines the relationship between epistemological beliefs, academic motivation, and self-regulated learning strategies among different ethnic groups of American adolescents. Method. This quantitative study utilized a correlational design to examine the relationship between epistemological beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies in adolescents attending middle school. A total of 364 middle school students (6th to 8th grade) from Southern California public middle schools participated in the study. A multiple group path model was employed to analyze the student data. Results. We found that certain knowledge, omniscient authority, and innate ability beliefs about the nature of knowledge predict positive relationships with self-efficacy and intrinsic value components of motivation. Quick learning and simple knowledge beliefs predict negative relationships with self-efficacy and intrinsic-value but positive relationship with test-anxiety. Similarly, in the aspect of self-regulatory learning strategies, those who believe in the absolute nature of knowledge and the authorities tend to use cognitive and self-regulatory learning strategies more often, while those who believe in the speed of knowledge acquisition tend to employ those strategies less. Discussion and Conclusion. Findings from this study inform educators of the need to advance adolescents’ epistemological beliefs for each subject (e.g., science, language arts) as a method to facilitate their motivation and self-regulated learning. We recommend that future research should include assessments of the participants’ cultural orientations or the domain specificity of the epistemological beliefs, which may vary the associations of the beliefs with self-regulated learning. Additionally, future research can further investigate other potential mediators of the relationship between epistemological beliefs and self-regulatory learning.

Competitive Food and Beverage Policies and Obesity among Middle School Students: Variability by Urbanicity in California.

Introduction: This study examined the association between California school nutrition policies and population-level trends in childhood overweight/obesity by levels of urbanicity.Methods: We used interrupted time series with Fitnessgram data on overweight/obesity from the period 2002 to 2010 pertaining to African American, Latino, Asian, and White students in seventh grades who attended California public schools. We used multilevel logistic regression models to examine the impact of the introduction of successive California school nutrition policies on overweight/obesity prevalence, stratified by gender and adjusted for school district-, school-, and student-level characteristics.Results: At the start of the study period, rural areas and second cities (i.e., population centers with lower population densities than urban areas) had relatively low prevalence, but experienced sharp increases in 2002–2004, leading to higher prevalence of overweight/obesity than suburban areas. There was evidence of beneficial policy influences on overweight/obesity in most areas, except for girls in urban areas and boys in second cities. The evidence of beneficial changes was strongest among children attending schools located in rural areas, and boys in suburban and urban areas. These results persisted even after we accounted for differences in racial/ethnic compositions, socioeconomic characteristics of the schools and school neighborhoods, and school sizes, as well as child-level race/ethnicity, age, and student fitness levels.Conclusion: Despite evidence of beneficial policy impact, childhood obesity prevalence remains high, especially in urban areas in California. Additional policies and environmental interventions are recommended to address obesogenic risk factors unique to each area.

School nutrition laws in the US: do they influence obesity among youth in a racially/ethnically diverse state?

Background/objectivesLittle is known about the separate or combined effects of state and national nutrition policies regulating food and beverages in schools on child overweight/obesity (OV/OB) and related racial/ethnic disparities. We investigated the influence of school nutrition policies enacted in California, independently and in combination with the United States’ national policy “Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act” (HHFKA) on childhood OV/OB and racial/ethnic disparities.Subjects/methodsAn interrupted time series design was used with data from 12,363,089 child-level records on 5th- and 7th-graders in California public schools to estimate sex- and racial/ethnic-specific time trends in OV/OB prevalence during three periods: before the California nutrition policies (2002–2004); when only California policies were in effect (2005–2012); and when they were in effect simultaneously with HHFKA (2013–2016).ResultsBefore the state’s policies, OV/OB prevalence increased annually among children in most subgroups. Improvements in OV/OB trends were observed for almost all groups after the California policies were in effect, with further improvements after the addition of HFFKA. The total change in annual log-odds of OV/OB, comparing the periods with both state and federal policies versus no policies, ranged from −0.08 to −0.01 and varied by grade, sex, and race/ethnicity. Within each sex and grade, the greatest changes were among African-American (−0.08 to −0.02, all p < 0.05) followed by Latino children (−0.06 to −0.01, all p < 0.05). Although disparities narrowed among these groups versus White children after the dual policy period, disparities remained large.ConclusionsState and national nutrition policies for schools may have contributed to containing the upward trend in childhood OV/OB and racial/ethnic OV/OB disparities within California. However, sizable OV/OB prevalence and disparities persist. To end the epidemic, promote healthy weight and increase health equity, future efforts should strengthen state and national policies to improve food quality in schools, particularly those serving populations with the highest OV/OB prevalence.

Strength and Comprehensiveness of Drinking Water Language in California School District Wellness Policies

Objective(s)Assess the quality of water language in California school district wellness policies and examine how language quality relates to school drinking water access. DesignCross-sectional study. ParticipantsRandom sample of 240 schools selected from all California public schools, stratified by geography and grades served. Variables MeasuredPolicies (2016–2018) were coded for quality (strength and comprehensiveness) using an adapted school wellness policy tool. School administrators completed phone interviews about drinking water access on their campus. AnalysisDescriptive statistics (eg, means, standard deviations) summarized school-level characteristics and main outcomes. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between the strength and comprehensiveness of water policy language and water access. ResultsOn a scale of 0–100, mean strength was 11.3 (SD, 5.7), and mean comprehensiveness was 28.8 (SD, 8.7). There was an inverse association between the quality of water language in policies and excellence in drinking water access in schools. Conclusions and ImplicationsThe strength and comprehensiveness of water language in California school district wellness policies were low. Districts would benefit from improving the quality of water language in their wellness policies and examining challenges to implementing policies.

California and federal school nutrition policies and obesity among children of Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Filipino origins: Interrupted time series analysis.

BackgroundObesity prevalence remains high among children of Pacific Islander (PI) origin, Filipino (FI), and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) origins in the United States. While school nutrition policies may help prevent and reduce childhood obesity, their influences specifically among PI, FI, and AIAN children remain understudied. We evaluated the association of the California (CA) state school nutrition policies for competitive food and beverages and the federal policy for school meals (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA 2010)) with overweight/obesity among PI, FI, and AIAN students.Methods and findingsWe used an interrupted time series (ITS) design with FitnessGram data from 2002 to 2016 for PI (78,841), FI (328,667), AIAN (97,129), and White (3,309,982) students in fifth and seventh grades who attended CA public schools. Multilevel logistic regression models estimated the associations of the CA school nutrition policies (in effect beginning in academic year 2004 to 2005) and HHFKA 2010 (from academic year 2012 to 2013) with overweight/obesity prevalence (above the 85 percentile of the age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) distribution). The models were constructed separately for each grade and sex combination and adjusted for school district-, school-, and student-level characteristics such as percentage of students eligible for free and reduced price meals, neighborhood income and education levels, and age. Across the study period, the crude prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher among PI (39.5% to 52.5%), FI (32.9% to 36.7%), and AIAN (37.7% to 45.6%) children, compared to White (26.8% to 30.2%) students. The results generally showed favorable association of the CA nutrition policies with overweight/obesity prevalence trends, although the magnitudes of associations and strengths of evidence varied among racial/ethnic subgroups. Before the CA policies went into effect (2002 to 2004), overweight/obesity prevalence increased for White, PI, and AIAN students in both grades and sex groups as well as FI girls in seventh grade. After the CA policies took place (2005 to 2012), the overweight/obesity rates decreased for almost all subgroups who experienced increasing trends before the policies, with the largest decrease seen among PI girls in fifth grade (before: log odds ratio = 0.149 (95% CI 0.108 to 0.189; p < 0.001); after: 0.010 (−0.005 to 0.025; 0.178)). When both the CA nutrition policies and HHFKA 2010 were in effect (2013 to 2016), declines in the overweight/obesity prevalence were seen among White girls and FI boys in fifth grade. Despite the evidence of the favorable association of the school nutrition policies with overweight/obesity prevalence trends, disparities between PI and AIAN students and their White peers remained large after the policies took place. As these policies went into effect for all public schools in CA, without a clear comparison group, we cannot conclude that the changes in prevalence trends were solely attributable to these policies.ConclusionsThe current study found evidence of favorable associations of the state and federal school nutrition policies with overweight/obesity prevalence trends. However, the prevalence of overweight/obesity continued to be high among PI and AIAN students and FI boys. There remain wide racial/ethnic disparities between these racial/ethnic minority subgroups and their White peers. Additional strategies are needed to reduce childhood obesity and related disparities among these understudied racial/ethnic populations.

Lessons learned from exploring the potential of California's mini-corps tutors as future bilingual teachers

ABSTRACT Currently, there are 1.3 million English Learners (EL) in California public schools (CDE 2018). The passage of Proposition 58, which presented multilingual education as key to students’ future economic success without every using the word bilingual, lifted the previous restrictions on bilingual education programs and increased the demand for programs and bilingual teachers. Recent studies have examined knowledge related to increasing the number of bilingual teachers (e.g. Martínez-Alvarez, P., I. Cuevas, and M. Torrez-Guzmán. 2017. “Preparing Bilingual Teachers: Mediating Belonging with Multimodal Explorations in Language, Identity, and Culture.” Journal of Teacher Education 68 (2): 155–178). A state-wide study of California school districts in 2017 showed that 58% intend to begin or expand bilingual education programs (Harris, V., and A. Sandoval-González. 2017. “Unveiling California’s Growing Bilingual Teacher Shortage: Addressing the Urgent Shortage, and Aligning the Workforce to Advances in Pedagogy and Practice in Bilingual Education.” Californians Together. 4–8). The research questions guiding this work were (1) Does the California Mini-Corps (CMC) program serve as a potential pool for today’s bilingual programs?, (2) If so, what cultural community wealth do tutors bring to teaching?, and (3) What support do tutors identify as critical in a teacher education credential program? In this quantitative study (n = 179), we examine how CMC tutors can address the critical teacher – shortage and identify the assets that graduates of the program bring to teacher education programs. We also explore the needed supports identified by the tutors as critical to their success in teacher credential programs.

Limiting labels: Opportunities to learn and college readiness among English language learners

AbstractOver a fifth of California's public schools' students have limited access to college and career pathways due to being labeled an “English‐language learner (ELLs).” As reported by the California Department of Education, in the 2017–2018 school year, of the over 6.2 million students in California, nearly 1.3 million students are categorized as ELLs. The ELL label states students “whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding English may (my emphasis) limit his or her ability to (1) achieve in classrooms where English is the language of instruction and (2) access opportunities to fully participate in society.” Aligned with deficit thinking models, the US school system interprets “may” as “will” and makes decisions that negatively impact a large body of students across the country. The growing body of research reveals that many with the ELL label have been and continue to be intentionally underserved, limited access to postsecondary education, tracked into low‐rigor and stigmatizing course pathways, and are deliberately unsupported to become college‐ready, furthering the inequities in education and limiting options for quality k‐12 educational experiences. The system becomes blinded by the label and ignores students with ELL labels' abilities and capacities to learn. So how are students with ELL labels supposed to become college‐ready, let alone career‐ready? For the purposes of this critical literature review, I will focus on exploring the existing structures that define “college‐readiness” and the disparities created by the intentional tracking of students with the ELL label in comparison to their non‐ELL peers.

Ciencias bilingües: how dual language teachers cultivate equity in dual language classrooms

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to document how K-8 critically conscious, dual language, science teachers (CCDLSTs) working with bilingual learners (BLs) practice their critical consciousness via the four tenets of dual language education: ideological clarity, pedagogical perspective and clarity, access for all, and equitable spaces (IPAE). This paper is informed by the fourth tenet and research question: How do CCDLSTs create equitable spaces in science learning environments? Previous research offers limited information on how dual language, science teachers practice their critical consciousness. Given the era of Common Core State Standards and the number of BLs left with underprepared teachers, this study advances an understanding of what CCDLSTs are doing in classrooms to draw upon the assets of BLs while implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). A phenomenological qualitative design was used to gather interview and observational data of how six CCDLSTs working in Southern California public schools employed a critically conscious pedagogy in a Spanish/English dual language setting while creating access to science content with equity at the core. Findings include research-based examples of the instructional processes CCDLSTs used in their classrooms to create equity while teaching science in dual language classrooms.

Associations of Postbaccalaureate Coursework with Underrepresented Race/Ethnicity, Academic Performance, and Primary Care Training among Matriculants at Five California Medical Schools.

Studies employing data collected over 15 years ago suggested salutary effects of postbaccalaureate (PB) premedical coursework on medical school class diversity, academic performance, and primary care training. The studies may have limited current applicability given changes in medical school admissions paradigms and population demographics. Using data from interviewees at >1 of 5 California public medical schools between 2011-2013 (N=3805), we examined associations of PB premedical coursework with underrepresented race/ethnicity; academic performance (United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 scores, clerkship Honors); and primary care residency. Adjusting for age, sex, and year, PB coursework was associated with underrepresented race/ethnicity, but not after further adjustment for self-designated disadvantage (SDA). PB coursework was not associated with academic performance or primary care residency. Holistic consideration of SDA and UIM status in admissions coupled with robust matriculant support may merit exploration as an alternative to PB coursework for increasing medical school diversity.