What We Learned This Year About Schools, Students, And The Systems That Support Them

Every year we look back on the important stories of the past 12 months — and look ahead to the stories in the new year.

This year, the LAist education team also reflected on what we learned about students, educators, schools, and the systems that support them.

Early childhood education

The foundation for learning is built before children step into a classroom. Events that happen even before birth can change the trajectory of their lives.

In January 2023, mom-to-be April Valentine, a Black woman, died during childbirth at Centinela Hospital. State investigators said the hospital failed to take steps that could have prevented her death. The California Department of Public Health fined the hospital, but this doesn’t change the negative experiences Black people often face when giving birth.

This same year, a report from the California Department of Public Health found that more than 40% of Black birthing people in the state lived in neighborhoods with low access to health care. Infant mortality also ticked up in California.

What does give hope is that many people on the ground are actively working on solutions. One example is this year’s California Black Birth Equity summit, where close to 500 people discussed many ideas, like how to train medical professionals and get better access to doulas.

And parents with older children face problems too: It feels like it’s just normal for our early education system to be the way it is — expensive, low paid, complicated.

And yet, other cities and states do things differently.

For example, New Mexico has a right to child care written into its state constitution. And the U.S. Department of Defense has a child care program that many see as a model for what’s possible.

We’re hoping to see more solutions in 2024.

—Stefanie Ritoper, early childhood engagement producer

K-12 education

I started on the K-12 education beat this summer and quickly realized that as only one reporter in a region where more than 4.2 million kids live, I cannot tell every story, but I can choose to focus on communities that have often been underrepresented and need more support to grow and learn.

The strike that shut down Los Angeles Unified schools for three days in March collided so many issues together — pandemic academic recovery, child care, the needs of the most vulnerable students and of course, labor. Ultimately school support staff, including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and classroom assistants reached a deal with the district to increase salaries 30% and provide health care to more members.

I spent much of my time talking to families of students with disabilities. Sometimes these students work with multiple people during the school day, from aides to speech language pathologists. San Fernando Valley mom Kathy L. said none of this support was available during the strike.

“It's a public school system, and my daughter is part of the public, and I would like them to treat her like she was a valued member of this school system,” she said.

Next year, I want to keep exploring how what happens outside of the classroom can have a profound effect on learning.

I talked to Pasadena mom Anne Marie Molina while reporting on the ongoing impact of the pandemic. She told me about how she waited almost a year for her son, who has autism, to be connected with a therapist — but also how he’s flourished after getting access to specialized swimming lessons.

“He's building up his self esteem to try different things that he's uncomfortable with,” Molina said. “He's really shooting for the stars. It does make me extremely proud.”

—Mariana Dale, K-12 education senior reporter

Community colleges

What I’ve learned time and again is that community colleges are a lot more than pathways to a university, though that is an important part of what they do.

Community colleges are also a place to learn a trade, launch a career change, or simply learn something new. One of our colleagues at CalMatters, for instance, recently wrote about an 80-year-old woman who’s taking English classes. She’s doing this in part to hone her skills, but also because the classes give her a chance to socialize and not feel alone. Community colleges also address a lot of basic needs, like access to food and transportation.

This is also why access to this kind of education is a priority for state and higher education leaders.

Across the state, community colleges have worked hard to attract more students, and this past academic year was the first to see wide-ranging enrollment gains since the pandemic began. Colleges have paid for billboards and bus ads, and set up call centers to reach out to those who quit. School representatives have also held information sessions just about everywhere, from local churches to farm fields.

—Julia Barajas, community colleges reporter

Four-year higher education

Southern California’s public colleges and universities continue to be important intellectual, economic, and cultural engines for the region. There’s a lot of change underway in response to demographic, economic, and political forces. All this affects students for better and for worse — and still, students keep pushing ahead to graduation. There’s a lot of resilience out there.

Graduate students and postdocs at University of California campuses received pay increases in 2022 after a major strike. A year later faculty and students say the strike changed working relationships on their campuses, although others say things have been just fine.

And the California State University campuses are working to give Black students and Latino students, and low-income students greater connection to their schools. At Cal State LA, “belongingness” coordinators in English and math classes support students, and instructors are advised on ways to help first-year students persevere through challenges on and off campus.

This past spring’s graduation ceremonies included many students concerned about turmoil in the job market, such as students who closely watched the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes. These acting school graduates sought out independent work, founded theater groups, and started doing voiceover jobs.

Universities haven’t been immune from sexual assault in society at large. Students say policies to prevent attacks and hold those who assault to account are not enough. Some colleges have hired “assault advocates” to help people who’ve been hurt navigate the procedural and emotional hurdles, all to help students stay in school.

This year I’ve learned from speaking to college students that there are so many paths to success and that the most rewarding one, students say, is the path that is left behind to help the next person reach that graduation day.

—Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, higher education correspondent