Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Golden State
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of California, grounded in California Department of Education data.
Interim Superintendent Audra Carr moves from curriculum director in a King City Union where two in three students are current or former English learners.
Sundale Union's new superintendent wants to keep the school's pride and build up career technical education. The district enrolled 849 students in 2025-26, its highest count in the state's records back to 2010-11.
Yuri Calderon became superintendent of Penn Valley Union Elementary on July 1 after a career in school finance, law, and small-district advocacy. He starts with 530 students and a community vision process he says should not come from his desk.
The new superintendent arrives after months of studying the district from the outside, with four priorities, a bond program to deliver, and a trend line that has just stopped falling.
The three-time superintendent arrives from New Jersey with a 100-day listening plan, a push for Algebra readiness and dual-language growth, and a goal she names outright: enrollment growing again.
Asian student enrollment rose 14% to 588,419 since 2008, reaching a 2008-2026 high as California lost more than 540,000 students.
Fresno Unified reached 90.8% in 2024-25, its highest rate across five California School Dashboard reports and 3.0 points above the state.
Angie Summers begins leading Standard with attendance improving, literacy still uneven and trust at the center of her agenda.
Upper Lake Unified's new superintendent centers collaboration, student support and financial stability in a small rural district.
Sonjhia Lowery begins leading Pittsburg Unified after chronic absence fell 9 points, with relationships, instruction and support guiding her agenda.
Tinisha Hamberlin starts Eastside Union's superintendency with four goals and a classroom-level test for whether the district's systems are aligned.
Among 1,004 stable-ID districts with published totals at both endpoints, 320 enrolled at least as many students in 2025-26 as in 2018-19. Statewide enrollment fell by 74,961 in the latest year.
California's special education graduation rate reached 77.1% in 2025, but the gap with the state average remains 10.7 points.
Twin Rivers Unified's non-charter chronic absenteeism rate was 30.4% in 2024-25, seventh highest among 59 California districts with at least 20,000 eligible students on that basis.
A spreadsheet expedition through 60,598 public schools ends in Bakersfield: gold for the Patriots of Independence Elementary, silver for the Stars of Freedom Middle, bronze for the Eagles of Liberty High.
