In the wake of Glenn Youngkin’s surprise victory in Virginia – it wasn’t anti-CRT racism that drove most unhappy parents to the polls. In fact, it was the prolonged school closures.

Leaders of OpenSchoolsCA announced Wednesday that they intend to continue their activism through a nonprofit to promote direct parent influence in the state’s highly political education landscape.

The plan is a major shift from the district’s previous offer of hybrid learning for all students, and comes after months of negotiations between the school district and its union.

“This isn’t a breakthrough, it’s a failure,” said Pat Reilly, a Berkeley parent and an advocate with OpenSchoolsCA, in a statement.

Four years of the Trump presidency and the calamity of Covid-19 is driving a political realignment across the United States, and the Golden State is changing too.

… Change Research co-founder Pat Reilly and Jon, Jon, and Tommy break down the results of the very first poll in the Crooked Media/Change Research PollerCoaster 2020 series.

Crooked Media, a progressive political media company known primarily for its "Pod Save America" podcast series, is launching a polling partnership with progressive polling firm Change Research.

Imagine a California summoned to its true greatness with a fully-funded and world class education system. Imagine a state where at every school, every child’s needs are met.

If we want to make real and meaningful impact on students’ lives, we have to be able to explain our motivations, research, and solutions to those very students. We have to be able to communicate clearly with their parents and teachers and community members. And we need to start now.

… while my sons do have a President Obama action figure, they aren’t growing up with a crucifix above every bedroom door, or a framed portrait of JFK. Instead they wonder at all the men pictured on their American presidents kiddie placemats. “Where are the women presidents?” they ask.

Everyone agrees that education is important – but getting attention for that new innovative program can be hard. Whatever solutions your organization wants to promote, you need to make sure your messaging stands out from the crowd, grabs your audience, and inspires them to work with you.

We don’t live in the past, or in a Disney cartoon.

The day after Hillary Clinton’s historic primary victory, the Berkeley Hills were alive with speculation about her VP pick. I was surprised when my suggestion of Elizabeth Warren was met with “nah, that’s too many women,” or “it’s too risky to have two women on the ticket,” or “no one will vote for a two-woman team.”

As California looks back on its first full school year of the Local Control Funding Formula, nonprofits with strong parent engagement, equity in schools and expanded learning have capitalized on interest in the formulas to promote their role in improving education here in California.