This month, the Community Schools Resource Library features a new book focused on the future of teaching, learning, and system transformation in public education.
📘 “The Future of Public Education” by Barnett Berry, Mike Matsuda, and Michael Fullan explores how school systems can better prepare students for a rapidly changing world through collaboration, innovation, and community-centered change.
Drawing from the decade-long transformation journey of Anaheim Union High School District, the book presents the “8 Factors for System Change” as a roadmap for redesigning teaching, learning, and leadership in the age of AI. Centering educators, students, and families, the authors offer both practical strategies and a compelling vision for creating more responsive, equitable, and future-ready schools.
The book reinforces many of the core principles of community schools, including local engagement, cross-sector collaboration, and system-wide approaches that support student success and well-being.
Explore our Community Schools Resource Library and read the first chapter of the book at the link in bio.
#CommunitySchools #EducationLeadership #PublicEducation #EducationEquity #SystemChange #StudentSuccess #TeachingAndLearning #SchoolTransformation #EducationPolicy #FutureOfEducation
“Student homelessness is not a choice.”
It is shaped by systemic barriers that require coordinated, sustained solutions across systems. CTS Research Analyst Adriana Jaramillo Castillo discusses our recent research on student homelessness in LA County, a two-part series examining the characteristics of students experiencing homelessness, how they are faring in school, and how stigma, fear, and fragmented systems contribute to underidentification.
Explore both briefs at our links in bio.
#StudentHomelessness #EducationEquity #HousingInsecurity #K12Education #EquityInEducation #StudentSupport #EducationPolicy #LACOE
What does meaningful systems change look like in practice?
CTS Project Director Brian Huff shares insights from his research at AERA 2026. Building on work from the California Multi-Tiered System of Support (CA MTSS) pilot program to community schools, he emphasizes that lasting change requires a sustained focus on equity.
Addressing disproportionality takes intention. Equity must be prioritized at every level and embedded into both program design and implementation. He explains the role of research in moving this work forward, and the need to continue investing in the funding and resources that make it possible.
Explore our work on CA MTSS and Community Schools at the link in bio.
#AERA2026 #EducationResearch #EquityInEducation #CommunitySchools #MTSS #ResearchMatters #EducationEquity #StudentSuccess #PublicEducation #EquityFocused #K12Education #SchoolTransformation
Who is leading California’s schools, and how are pathways into leadership changing?
Our new research on the California administrator workforce was recently featured in The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, highlighting findings on racial representation in school leadership.
The analysis shows a small but meaningful increase in the share of Black administrators, rising from 7.62% in 2019–20 to 8.04% in 2023–24. Black administrators are represented at higher rates than both Black teachers and Black students across the state. This raises important questions about educator retention, career mobility, and the pathways that lead from the classroom into leadership.
Read the article and our brief at the link in bio.
#EducationEquity #BlackEducators #SchoolLeadership #K12Education #EducationPolicy #CaliforniaSchools #EdResearch #EquityInEducation
What challenges do over 150K California students in non-traditional schools face?
Our new report explores alternative education settings, their student characteristics, and educational and school climate patterns, finding that students from historically marginalized communities including Black, Latine and Indigenous youth, English Learners, students with disabilities, highly mobile youth and more tend to experience poorer educational outcomes in alternative schools.
These schools serve students facing the most complex challenges, yet remain under-resourced and misunderstood. Strengthening alternative education means investing in the structures, staff, and funding that create supportive pathways forward for every student, including:
☑ dedicated #LCFF funding
☑ a specialized workforce
☑ targeted #TechnicalAssistance
☑ accountability systems
☑ differentiated instruction
Read the report at our link in bio.
#AlternativeEducation #EducationEquity #StudentSuccess #SchoolTransformation #EducationPolicy #K12Education #EquityInEducation #StudentSupport
Student homelessness in Los Angeles County is rising. What’s driving the increase?
New UCLA CTS research featured on the front page of the Los Angeles Times shows a 28% increase in students experiencing homelessness — from 47,689 in the 2022-23 school year to 61,249 in 2023-24 — the largest rise in the past five years.
The data points to housing shortages, expiring funding, and systemic inequities disproportionately impacting communities of color. We need urgent, coordinated action to better support students in LA County.
Read the LA Times article and research briefs at our link in bio.
#EducationResearch #StudentHomelessness
With women in the majority of roles and diversity increasing, what’s changing across California’s administrator workforce?
Our recent research on California’s school administrator workforce was featured in EdSource highlighting key recent trends in education leadership. The article explores how administrators are becoming more diverse with increases of Latine, Black, and Asian administrators. While the trends are promising, the research emphasizes that with current gaps in data, it’s difficult to analyze who is leading in the variety of different job levels and how to strengthen those pathways. There are also consistent and rising challenges that include increased turnover and the need for better systems to track and support administrators over time.
Dedicated and well-supported leadership play a critical role in teacher retention, school stability, and student success. Building a more representative and sustainable administrator workforce is essential to strengthening education systems.
Read the EdSource article and the California Educator Workforce Data Briefs at our link in bio.
#EducationLeadership #K12Education #EducationPolicy #SchoolLeadership #EquityInEducation #TeacherRetention #EducationResearch #CaliforniaSchools #EdLeadership
What can other school districts learn from Livingston Union School District’s approach to school counseling?
In a recent episode of @edsource ’s Education Beat podcast, Livingston USD Lead Counselor Alma Lopez shared that the success of theirs comprehensive school counseling program shows what’s possible when districts intentionally invest in student support. While Livingston USD is a smaller district, its work demonstrates that meaningful change is achievable and that all districts can learn from and adapt these strategies, even if implementation happens more gradually.
5 Recommendations:
- Prioritize sustained funding for comprehensive counseling programs statewide.
- Establish and strengthen school counselor role clarity and collaborative structures.
- Implement data-driven counseling models responsive to school & community needs.
- Promote adaptability and equity-focused practices within counseling programs.
- Establish formal state mechanisms for scaling up promising student-centered strategies.
Listen to the episode and explore our case study at the link in bio.
#SchoolCounseling #StudentSupport #EducationLeadership #K12Education #EducationResearch #EducationPolicy #SchoolWellbeing #StudentSuccess #CounselingMatters #EquityInEducation #EducationEquity #EducationInnovation
When students can culturally identify with their teachers, it strengthens their engagement with academic subjects like STEM.
CTS Senior Project Scientist Stanley L. Johnson Jr. spoke with us at #AERA2026 about his research on educator diversity and the importance of social-emotional development as students form STEM identities.
Head to our link in bio to access our new California Educator Workforce Data Briefs or learn more about our Computational Thinking Equity Project Research Practice Partnership. 👩🏾🏫
#STEMEducation #TeacherDiversity #EducationResearch #StudentWellbeing #SchoolClimate #EducationEquity #BelongingInSchools #StudentSupport #WholeChild #K12Education #EquityInEducation #MentalHealthInSchools #EducationMatters #InclusiveSchools #TransformEducation
What is the current state of student homelessness in L.A. County?
April’s Community Schools Research Library feature highlights two new UCLA CTS briefs that analyze both broader systemic trends and lived experiences behind the data. More than 61K students were identified as experiencing homelessness in the 2023–24 school year and many more remain uncounted due to fear, stigma, and gaps in identification.
🗣️“Hidden in Plain Sight” centers the voices of district and county staff that explain how underidentification and fragmented systems make it difficult for housing-insecure students to access support.
↗️“Rising Numbers, Fading Resources” reports increasing rates of student homelessness and declining resources with impacts on attendance, engagement, and disparities across student groups.
The findings point to the urgent need for coordinated, equity-centered supports, stronger cross-sector collaboration, and data-informed decision-making. Strengthening how we identify and support students experiencing housing instability is essential to advancing whole-child approaches within community schools.
Explore our Community Schools Research Library and the new briefs at the link in bio.
#CommunitySchools #StudentHomelessness #EducationEquity #WholeChild #LosAngeles #K12Education
More than 61,000 students in Los Angeles County experienced homelessness in the 2023–24 school year—a 28% increase.
New research briefs from UCLA CTS examine this growing crisis through interviews with district and county staff, combined with district-level and statewide data. “Hidden in Plain Sight” highlights how stigma, fear, and fragmented systems make it difficult to identify and support students. “Rising Numbers, Fading Resources” shows homelessness rising as resources decline.
The research sheds light on who is most impacted, with disproportionate effects on Black students, Latine students, and English Learners, as well as challenges like chronic absenteeism and growing disparities across districts. The findings point to urgent needs: stronger coordination, improved data, and sustained, equity-centered support.
Read both briefs at @transformschoolsucla link in bio.
#StudentHomelessness #EducationEquity #VoicesFromTheField #K12Education #HousingInsecurity #EducationResearch #EquityInEducation #California
Research plays a critical role in shaping the future of our schools and systems.
📍AERA 2026 | Los Angeles 📅 April 8–12
At this year’s American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, UCLA CTS is proud to present in multiple sessions exploring how research can drive more equitable outcomes for students.
Our work spans key issues:
• Strengthening STEM identity development and access to career pathways for historically underrepresented youth
• Evaluating large-scale education reforms including California’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports and the California Community Schools Partnership Program
• Supporting and understanding teacher retention and well-being through positive school climates
Join us in Downtown Los Angeles as we share our research and learn from leading scholars around the country.
#AERA2026 #EducationResearch #STEMEducation #TeacherRetention #EducationPolicy #EquityInEducation #K12Education #EdResearch #UCLA #CTS
