Daniels awarded with national advocacy award California principal Dr. Terri Daniels was selected as the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ 2025 Advocacy Champion of the Year.

Daniels, the principal of Folsom Middle School in the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District, was announced as the winner at the National Education Leadership Awards gala in Washington, D.C., on April 11.

Daniels has made significant contributions to education advocacy over the past year, leveraging over 40 years of experience in both private and public schools to improve education policy, support school leadership and enhance student outcomes. Her leadership and advocacy have had a profound impact on educational policy at the state and national levels. She was instrumental in the early development of the Local Control Accountability Plan and the implementation of Common Core, ensuring these initiatives aligned with the diverse needs of students and educators. She has also been a steadfast advocate for students with disabilities, working to strengthen protections under IDEA and Section 504, and ensure equitable access to quality education for all students.

One of her most notable achievements is her work to elevate student voices in education policy. Daniels has actively advocated for increased student perspectives at a local level with school boards and at the State Board of Education, ensuring their needs are central to policy development. Additionally, her advocacy for mental health services in schools and greater resources to address student mental health challenges has been critical.

She has also been a leader in promoting restorative justice and Multi-Tiered System of Supports. As the California state coordinator for NASSP, Daniels has worked to maintain and increase federal funding, support mental health initiatives, and strengthen the teacher-administrator pipeline.

CA students missed out on $557M in Pell grants California students left more than half a billion dollars of college aid on the table according to a national advocacy association that tracks access to higher education.

According to the National College Attainment Network, California’s high school Class of 2024 missed out on $557,246,698 in Pell grants — free federal money for students with exceptional financial need to go to college. Nationwide, students left $4.4 billion dollars in grants on the table — the most in the last four years — due to lower completion rates of the FAFSA, as well as increases in the average award.

The report attributes lower FAFSA completion rates nationwide to the delayed opening and technical issues surrounding the rollout of the redesigned FAFSA in 2024. By the end of summer 2024, only 51 percent of high school seniors across the country had completed the FAFSA, compared to nearly 58 percent for the class of 2023. California’s 62 percent FAFSA completion rate in 2024 was also lower than the previous year, which was 65 percent. NCAN calculated the amount states could gain if they raise their FAFSA completion rate by 10 percentage points. California would gain the most of any state at $145 million.

According to the report, “Student aid is a ladder to postsecondary attainment for millions of students every year, helping them achieve their education and career goals after high school.”

Read the full report at www.ncan.org/news/698621/New-Report-Highlights-Benefit-of-Pell-Grant-for-Students-and-States.htm.

EdSource: Some CA counties at risk for measles outbreak Sixteen California counties have kindergarten measles vaccinations rates that could put them at risk for an outbreak, according to reporting from EdSource.

Herd immunity is reached when 95 percent of a population is vaccinated, and while California vaccination rates remain high, 16 counties in the state have kindergarten measles vaccination rates below that threshold. The reporting finds that most of those counties are in Northern California and that charter schools tend to have lower vaccinations rates. Concern is growing about measles, a highly contagious disease that was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, after outbreaks occurred this year in Texas and New Mexico.

“Given the ease of transmission with measles, which lingers in the air, some education experts worry what may happen to classrooms, where children often huddle together in tight spaces, should vaccination rates continue to fall,” according to the article.

EdSource has also produced an interactive map showing MMR and full vaccinations rates for kindergarteners at the school site level. Read the full story at edsource.org/2025/amid-deadly-measles-outbreak-californias-childhood-vaccination-rates-are-falling/730180.

SPI and governor announce final round of community schools grants State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Gov. Gavin Newsom have announced that the fourth and final round of community schools implementation grants — totaling more than $618 million — was unanimously approved at the May meeting of the State Board of Education. The $4.1 billion California Community Schools Partnership Program is the nation’s largest investment in dismantling barriers to learning that lead to inequitable student outcomes. Community schools partner with education, county and nonprofit entities to provide integrated health, mental health and social services alongside high-quality, supportive instruction with a strong focus on community, family, and student engagement. “I am proud to see our community schools initiative continue to grow as the final cohort of grantees receive funds. These grants support our schools to address foundational needs for learning, making sure that our students are healthy and able to learn,” said Thurmond, in a news release. “Our community schools continue to serve as exemplars of programs that activate resources across the whole school community to educate the whole child. I am proud to see California continue to be at the forefront of recognizing that student wellness is a cornerstone of learning.” “California continues to find and support innovative ways to make schools a place where every family and student can succeed,” said Newsom, in a news release. “Today, we build on our nation-leading community schools program — more than 450 additional schools, offering everything from free meals twice a day to mental health counseling to before, after, and summer school programs to thousands more students.” With the addition of this allocation, California is now funding a total of nearly 2,500 community schools to leverage community resources in support of student well-being and academic success. These schools represent some of the highest need school communities in the state. “Well-resourced community schools have proven to increase attendance, achievement and attainment for students, transforming their lives and improving the well-being of families, thus uplifting entire communities,” said State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond, in a news release. “Children succeed in the classroom when they are healthy, happy, and in a learning environment where they are surrounded by knowledgeable and caring adults attuned to their needs. I appreciate Governor Newsom for continuing to prioritize the community school approach in California.” Established in 2021 when the California Legislature passed the California Community Schools Partnership Act, and expanded in 2022, the CCSPP statewide technical assistance infrastructure supports schools and LEAs to coordinate the implementation of these initiatives for maximum impact and sustainability. The board’s action awards more than $618 million to 121 LEAs across the state. Those funds will support a total of 458 schools in implementing a community schools approach at their sites. The list of awardees is available through the May 7, 2025, SBE Agenda (see Item 9, Attachment 1). This allocation builds on nearly $1.3 billion that the SBE approved last year to support 998 school sites, the $750.5 million approved in 2022-23 to support 570 school sites, and the $625.5 million approved to support 458 school sites in 2021–22 — the first year of the program.