Students, parents rally to save Hayward elementary school

Glassbrook Elementary is one-of-five schools in the Hayward Unified School District that could shutter next school year. District officials blamed dwindling enrollment – down by 2,000 students the past two years. That, coupled with repairs which administrators need to balance against a $14 million budget deficit.

Bay Area economists win Nobel for research on wages, jobs

A University of California, Berkeley economist won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for pioneering research that transformed widely held ideas about the labor force, showing how an increase in the minimum wage doesn’t hinder hiring and immigrants do not lower pay for native-born workers. Two others, including a professor at Stanford University, shared the award for developing ways to study these types of societal issues.

In California, inconsistent school COVID rules are the norm

Now that schools are back in session, parents are mastering this year’s new school vocabulary: Modified quarantine, antigen vs. PCR testing and the so-called Swiss cheese model for keeping classrooms safe, which has become the butt of a few jokes.

Hayward school district blames declining enrollment for closures

Teachers and families in the East Bay said they were blindsided by one district’s proposal to close schools. The Hayward Unified School District is looking at closing five elementary schools come next school year. The district said it’s based on declining enrollment.

Facing teacher shortage, San Jose Unified counselors substitute in classrooms

Academic and child welfare counselors, intervention specialists, student services coaches, among others in the largest San Jose school district, will be "on call" several times a month for substitute teaching duties--a decision that will hurt students who need mental health support, said members of the San Jose Unified Equity Coalition.

California releases new student discipline guidelines

Schools should offer more counseling, suspend fewer students and address the underlying mental health challenges of students who misbehave in class, according to the state's new school discipline guidelines.