News & Resources
How can we improve our schools? What will help our children learn? Read about innovations in education and what they mean for your school, your children and your community.
More Education = Better Health
So many studies have shown the positive benefits of education that we don’t need to cite statistics to convince people it’s an important investment — not only for our own kids, but for our entire society. For instance, people with more education generally have higher lifetime earnings.
Summer isn’t Down Time for Teachers
School may still be out for students, but many principals and teachers are hard at work learning this July and August. The summer is a time many schools are using to focus on adjusting their practice to the new Common Core standards and collaboratively plan.
Millard McCollam Elementary: “It’s the Teachers”
Millard McCollam Elementary is a neighborhood public school in East San Jose’s Alum Rock School District serving primarily low-income students. It might look like a typical school. However, its academic results are far from typical: 82 percent of its students were proficient in English and 87 percent in math in 2013-14. What’s the secret?
The Path to College Starts Early: A Milestones Map for Parents
It’s more important than ever that students graduate with the knowledge and skills to attend college. But what does it mean to be ready for college? That’s the question we’ll be exploring in this series for parents.
Elementary School: Building a Strong Foundation
Elementary school learning is like building a house—the concepts your child learns early on will serve as the foundation for everything that comes after. Catching up later is a lot harder than keeping up. So what should parents of young children focus on?
Innovate Holds its First-ever National Parent Leader Institute
In July 2015, Innovate Public Schools led the first-ever National Parent Leader Institute. For three days, more than 70 incredible parents from across the Bay Area, Nashville and Washington D.C. came together to learn how to build powerful, parent-led organizations in their communities that can effectively advocate for great public schools.
EPA Parents for Education Host Family Community Fair on July 25
Are you looking for an excellent public school for your child? EPA Parents for Education invite the community to a free family event on July 25 at Bell Street Park starting at 10 a.m. Enjoy food and activities and learn how to get your child a great education....
New Website Helps Parents Foster Their Children’s Emotional Intelligence
GreatSchools and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence have launched a new set of articles and tools to help parents foster emotional intelligence in their kids.
KIPP Collegiate: Supporting First Generation Students to College and Beyond
One of the nation’s most challenging high schools is located in a cluster of portables in East San Jose. KIPP San Jose Collegiate, where 70 percent of students come from low-income families, ranks with high schools in wealthy Silicon Valley communities on the Washington Post’s Challenge Index, which looks at the number of college-level tests taken by students.
Inspired Middle School teachers
My son is in middle school, so this short article by a middle school teacher grabbed my attention. Ryan Tahmaseb writes about how he found an interesting and appropriate way to teach his students an essay by Junot Diaz, one of his favorite writers, but one who generally writes about adult themes.
LUCHA: A School with Parent Engagement at its Heart
At LUCHA elementary, a small public school in east San Jose, parents are not just welcome – they are deeply engaged in supporting their children’s education. That is little surprise given that it was parents who fought for the creation of the school 11 years ago. Those efforts paid off – as of 2012-13, LUCHA was identified as a “rising star,” one of a small number of Silicon Valley schools that are beating the odds for low-income students.
“Parents feel they have a voice here. They’re held accountable for doing their part to help their children succeed.” – Principal Kristin Burt, LUCHA school in San Jose
Cornerstone Academy: Pushing to Do More
“Excellent teachers” and a culture of high expectations are the keys to success at Cornerstone Academy Preparatory School in east San Jose, says the school’s founder. Cornerstone is a Silicon Valley school that is beating the odds for low-income students – serving a majority of high-need students and achieving high levels of academic performance. Learn how they do it!
Finally some good budget news for schools!
Last week, Governor Jerry Brown released the latest state budget projections showing that California will get $6.7 billion more in revenue than originally anticipated.
Parent Guide: What are the A-G Requirements?
Did you know it’s possible to graduate from high school, but not be eligible for a California state university? Find out what you need to know to stay on track!
Parent Guide: What is competency-based learning?
Some Bay Area schools, such as Summit Schools and San Jose Unified’s Burnett Middle School, are doing away with traditional grades and assessing students based on “competency.” Learn more about this innovation and how it’s being piloted.
Going straight to 4-year colleges = big pay-off for marginal students
We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom: “He’s just not ready for that college. If he went now, he would fail – he can’t cut it there.” Two recent studies challenge this thinking, looking specifically at students that are right on the cusp of eligibility for four-year schools.
Parent Guide: What is the Common Core?
In the news, on social media or from your child’s school, you might be hearing a lot of talk about the Common Core. What’s it all about?
More districts are extending learning time…but not many in California
A very interesting new report is out that finds that districts across the country are increasingly lengthening the school day and the school year – practices that have previously been far more common in charter schools. High-poverty students benefit the most from extended learning time.
Innovate Parent Leaders Honored as Statewide Volunteers of the Year
Congratulations to Enrique Esparza and Maritza Leal, who are part of a group of parents who have been working to bring new school options to their community for over two years.
GreatSchools CEO on the need for public data on how schools are doing
Bill Jackson of GreatSchools makes a case for why publicly available test scores are an important measure for parents to have.