It was a double victory for the Park Middle School Spartan Cheer Team this weekend. The girls achieved their first victory by winning 1st Place at the 2024 JAMZ Cheer & Dance NorCal Challenge Cup Championship in the Middle School Level 2 Division. This competition took place in Stockton, CA.
The second victory was via Virtual Submission to the Full Out Combat Cheerleading Competition which took place in Missoula, Montana. The Spartan Cheerleading Team won 1st Place in the Middle School Division for the Northwest Region.
The victories follow last month’s first place at the Rockstar-Justice League National Cheer and Dance Competition, last month. (See related article)
What an amazing weekend for our Spartan Cheerleaders! We are proud of YOU!
We have had an incredible competition season, bringing three Cheer Championship wins back to Park Middle School this year. We are so proud of all the time, energy, hard work and dedication our girls have put into making this team amazing.
If you know any local businesses that love supporting our schools and the youth in our community, please reach out to us. Go Spartans!
Teacher Jennifer Dare Sparks conducts a reading lesson in her 3rd/4th class at Ethel I. Baker Elementary School in Sacramento, Calif. Thursday, Jun. 2, 2022. Photo credit: Randall Benton / EdSource
Part of nationwide push to bring back phonics, sponsors seek compromise, CTA refuses to negotiate
California’s largest teachers’ union has moved to put the brakes on legislation that mandates instruction, known as the “science of reading,” that spotlights phonics to teach children to read.
The move by the politically powerful California Teachers Association (CTA) puts the fate of Assembly Bill 2222 in question as supporters insist that there is room to negotiate changes that will bring opponents together.
CTA’s complaints include some recently voiced by some advocacy organizations for English learners and bilingual education that oppose the bill and have refused to negotiate any changes to make the bill more acceptable.
The teachers union put its opposition to AB 2222 in writing in a lengthy letter to Assembly Education Committee Chairman Al Muratsuchi last week. The committee is expected to hear the bill, introduced in February, later this month.
The letter includes a checklist of complaints including that the proposed legislation would duplicate and potentially undermine current literacy initiatives, would not meet the needs of English learner students and cuts teachers out of the decision-making process, especially when it comes to curriculum.
“Educators are best equipped to make school and classroom decisions to ensure student success,” the letter said. “Limiting instructional approaches undermines teachers’ professional autonomy and may impede their effectiveness in the classroom.”
Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, an advocacy nonprofit co-sponsoring the bill, said he was surprised that CTA would oppose legislation that would ensure all teachers are trained to use the latest brain research to teach children how to read.
“Unfortunately, a lot of folks in the field haven’t actually been trained on that, and a lot of the instruction materials in classrooms today don’t align with that,” Tuck said.
Tuck said CTA appears to misunderstand the body of evidence-based research known as the science of reading. It “is not a curriculum and is not a program or a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said. “It will give teachers a foundational understanding of how children learn to read. Teachers will still have a lot of room locally to decide which instructional moves to make on any given day for any given children. So, you’ll still have significant differentiation.”
A nationwide push
California’s push to adopt the science of reading approach to early literacy is in sync with 37 states and some cities, such as New York City, that have passed similar legislation.
States nationwide are rejecting balanced literacy as failing to effectively teach children how to read, since it trains children to use pictures to recognize words on sight, also known as three-cueing. The new method would teach children to decode words by sounding them out, a process known as phonics.
Although phonics, the ability to connect letters to sounds, has drawn the most attention, the science of reading focuses on four other pillars of literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, identifying distinct units of sounds; vocabulary; comprehension; and fluency. It is based on research on how the brain connects letters with sounds when learning to read.
Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would require that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour-minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.
The legislation goes against the state policy of local control that gives school districts authority to select curriculum and teaching methods as long as they meet state academic standards. Currently, the state encourages, but does not mandate, districts to incorporate instruction in the science of reading in the early grades.
“It’s a big bill,” said Yolie Flores, president of Families in Schools, a co-sponsor. “We’re very proud that it’s a big bill because that means it is truly consequential in the best way possible for children. It’s not a sort of tweak around the edges kind though, it’s the kind of bill that really brings transformation. So we are hoping that the Legislature sees beyond the sort of typical pushback and resistance, and in the end, I think, teachers will see that this was a huge benefit for them.”
Seeking compromise
The bill’s author, Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, said she took CTA’s seven-page letter not as an outright rejection but as an opportunity for negotiations.
“I’m glad they sent this letter,” she said. “They outline their objections and the reasons why, and that’s something I can work with. It’s not a flat, ‘No, we don’t want you to do it.’ They gave me specific items that I can look at and have a conversation about.”
She said that Assemblymember Muratsuchi asked her to work with the CTA on a compromise. She is also meeting with consultants for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, “to look at the big picture,” she said.
But Flores says the state’s budget problems, with predictions of no money for new programs, may be a bigger hurdle to getting the bill passed than the CTA opposition. The cost of paying for the required professional development for teachers would total $200 million to $300 million, she said. Because it is a mandate, the state would be required to repay districts for the cost.
“That is a drop in the bucket for something so transformational, so consequential,” Flores said. “I hope that the Legislature really comes to that realization. We’re in a budget deficit, but our budget is a statement of priorities.”
Advocates say that it is imperative that California mandate instruction in the science of reading. In 2023, just 43% of California third graders met the academic standards on the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Latino students and 35% of low-income children were reading at grade level, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.
“It’s foundational,” Flores said. “It’s not the only thing teachers need to know. It’s not the only thing that teachers will need to do and to adhere to, but it’s sort of the basic foundational knowledge of how children’s brains work in order to learn to read.”
The bill would sunset in 2028 when all teachers are required to have completed training. Beginning in July, all teacher preparation programs would be required to teach future educators to base literacy instruction on the science of reading.
Needs of English learners
The CTA and other critics of AB 2222 charge that it ignores the need of English learners for oral language skills, vocabulary and comparison between their home languages and English, which they need in order to learn how to read. Four out of 10 students in California start school as English learners.
Tuck disputes this. “We actually emphasize oral language development,” he said. “This would be the first statute that would say when instructional materials are adopted, and when teachers are trained in the science of reading, they must include a focus on English learners and oral language development.”
Representatives from Californians Together, an advocacy organization for English learners and bilingual education, applauded the CTA’s opposition to the bill. They oppose the bill, rather than suggest amendments, because they disagree with its overall approach.
“We just don’t think this is the right bill to address literacy needs,” said Executive Director Martha Hernandez. “It’s very restrictive. We know that mandates don’t work. It lacks a robust, comprehensive approach for multilingual learners.”
Instead, Californians Together and the California Association for Bilingual Education have both said they would prefer California fund the training of teachers and full implementation of the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework.
The framework was adopted in 2014 and encourages, but does not mandate, explicit instruction in foundational skills and oral language development for English learners.
The California Language Teachers Association has requested the bill be amended to include information about teaching literacy in languages not based on the English alphabet, such as Japanese, Chinese or Arabic, according to Executive Director Liz Matchett. However, the organization has not yet taken a position on the bill.
“I agree that we want to support all children to be able to read. If they can’t read, they can’t participate in education, which is the one way that is proven to change people’s circumstances,” said Matchett, who teaches Spanish at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. “There’s nothing to oppose about that. I’m still a classroom teacher, and all the time, you get kids in high school who can’t read.”
Education Trust-West urges changes in the bill to center the needs of “multilingual learners” — children who speak languages other than English at home — and to include more oversight and fewer mandates, such as those that may discourage new teachers from entering the profession.
“If our recommended amendments were to be accepted, EdTrust-West would support it as a much-needed solution to California’s acute literacy crisis.”
Claude Goldenberg, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, said “it was disappointing” to see CTA’s opposition, particularly because the union did not suggest amendments. He said he had met with representatives from CTA and urged them to identify what could be changed in the bill.
In a recent EdSource commentary, Goldenberg urged opponents to “do the right thing for all students. AB 2222’s introduction is an important step forward on the road to universal literacy in California. We must get it on the right track and take it across the finish line.”
Referring to the CTA’s opposition, Goldenberg said, “Obviously my urgings fell flat. They identified why they’re opposing, but there’s no indication of any possible re-evaluation.”
Goldenberg, who served on the National Literacy Panel, which synthesized research on literacy development among children who speak languages other than English, has called on the bill’s authors to amend it to include a more comprehensive definition of the “science of reading” and include more information about teaching students to read in English as a second language and in their home languages.
The CTA has changed its position on bills related to literacy instruction in the last two years. It had originally supported Senate Bill 488, which passed in 2022. The legislation requires a literacy performance assessment for teachers and oversight of literacy instruction in teacher preparation. The union is now in support of a bill that would do away with both.
The change of course was attributed to a survey of 1,300 CTA members, who said the assessment caused stress, took away time that could have been used to collaborate with mentors and for teaching, and did not prepare them to meet the needs of students, according to Leslie Littman, vice president of the union, in a prior interview.
Veteran political observer Dan Schnur said he’s not surprised CTA would oppose the bill since some of its political allies are against it; the question is how important CTA considers the bill.
“If it becomes a pitched battle, CTA will have to decide whether it is one of its highest priorities in this session,” he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t indicated his position yet, but Schnur, the press secretary for former Gov. Pete Wilson, who teaches political communications at UC Berkeley and USC, said, “This is not the type of fight Newsom needs or wants right now. If he has strong feelings, it’s hard to see him going to war for or against.”
By Juliet V. Casey, Director of Marketing, Los Medanos College
Pittsburg, Calif. – Los Medanos College (LMC) this year celebrates its golden anniversary, and to kick off recognition of its 50 years of excellence in education, workforce training and innovation, the college released its 50th Anniversary logo.
The golden logo harkens back to LMC’s retired brand. At the center, the stylized compass rose in which each direction spells LMC is indicative of its mission to help students find their future. While that mark has gone out of use, it remains a sentimental favorite among alumni and long-time residents of the East Bay community.
The anniversary logo’s looping five and zero of the 50 touching the inner golden circle conveys the infinite search for knowledge and truth, and unwavering service for the greater good. The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) opened Los Medanos College in Pittsburg in 1974 to serve east Contra Costa County. Today, its service area includes Pittsburg, Antioch, Bay Point, Clayton, parts of Concord, Brentwood, Oakley, Knightsen, Bethel Island, Byron, and Discovery Bay. It is the third of three colleges within 4CD.
“Over the past five decades, LMC has grown and adapted to the needs of our students and the greater community,” President Ralston said. “Our program offerings have grown to over 90, we’ve added the new state-of-the-art Brentwood Center, and we have established ourselves as a cultural focal point for the community. Looking ahead to the next 50 years, we are focused on continuing this legacy with our alumni leading, innovating and shaping a sustainable and equitable future for generations to come.”
For LMC, 2024 will be a golden year of celebrating its collective successes and achievements. LMC in the past year has emerged in the Top 150 U.S. Community Colleges for the fifth consecutive time. The college is among the best community colleges for math, according to BestAccreditedColleges.org, and LMC athletes consistently win the conference and make it into post-season play.
Stay tuned for upcoming events throughout the year.
About Los Medanos College (LMC): LMC is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District, serving the East Contra Costa County community. Established in 1974, LMC has earned federal designations as a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving institution. It offers award-winning transfer and career-technical programs, support services, and diverse academic opportunities in an inclusive learning environment. With exceptional educators, innovative curriculum, growing degree and certificate offerings, and state-of-the-art facilities, the college prepares students to succeed in their educational pursuits, in the workforce, and beyond. LMC’s Pittsburg Campus is located on 120 acres bordering Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.
Award for Exemplary Community Service, East County Educator Award, Spirit Award
By Juliet V. Casey, Director of Marketing, Los Medanos College
Los Medanos College (LMC) is pleased to announce the honorees of the 2024 César Chávez: Honoring a Legacy Awards Celebration. Honorees will receive recognition at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 5 in the Student Union Conference Center, 2700 E. Leland Road in Pittsburg.
This event celebrates the life of labor leader and human rights activist César Chávez and recognizes East Contra Costa County community members who follow his example of service, activism, and non-violent social change. Event details are posted at www.losmedanos.edu/chavez.
This year’s honorees:
Concepcion James, chair of United Latino Voices of Contra Costa County, earned the César Chávez Award for Exemplary Community Service, established in 1995, for her long-standing commitment to service and for demonstrating the core values modeled by César Chávez: Service to Others, Sacrifice, Help the Most Needy, Determination, Non-Violence, Acceptance of All People, Respect for Life and the Environment, Celebrating Community, Knowledge, and Innovation.
Rosa Armendáriz, interim dean of Equity & Inclusion at LMC, and Jessica Linares Boyle, Puente counselor at LMC, earned the East County Educator Award for demonstrating the qualities of César Chávez and a commitment to student success and equity, particularly for students of color and those from low-income families.
Teyoltlahui Gonzalez, a student leader from Pittsburg High School and Gabriel Perez-Cano, a student leader from LMC, earned the César Chávez Spirit Award in recognition of their efforts over the past year to affected change through advocacy and social justice.
About Los Medanos College (LMC): LMC is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District, serving the East Contra Costa County community. Established in 1974, LMC has earned federal designations as a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving institution. It offers award-winning transfer and career-technical programs support services, and diverse academic opportunities in an inclusive learning environment. With exceptional educators, innovative curriculum, growing degree and certificate offerings, and state-of-the-art facilities, the college prepares students to succeed in their educational pursuits, in the workforce, and beyond. LMC’s Pittsburg Campus is located on 120 acres bordering Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.
Get free passes for donatingto Maya Community Foundation
By Greg Heckman, Director of Marketing, Maya Cinemas
Maya Cinemas, known for developing movie theatres in underserved communities with state-of-the-art presentation, first-class amenities and community involvement, is offering free movies passes for donations to the Maya Community Foundation. Beginning on April 1st and running through April 15th, movie-goers can make a donation at any Maya Cinema and receive 1 free movie passes (valid 4/1/24 – 5/15/24) for every $10 they donate and 3 passes for every $25. One hundred percent of donations will be granted as college scholarships to members of the communities surrounding the theaters. Scholarship applications are live at wearemaya.org/scholarship-applications.html and will be open until May 30th.
The Maya Community Foundation is dedicated to the development and enrichment of the lives of people in the community in which Maya Cinemas’ theatres serve. The foundation is dedicated to fostering and supporting under-served, low-income communities through a variety of programs.
Donations can be made in-theatre at any of Maya’s six locations:
Pittsburg, CA – 4085 Century Boulevard
Salinas, CA – 153 Main Street
Bakersfield – 1000 California Avenue
Delano, CA – 401 Woollomes Avenue
Fresno, CA – 3090 East Campus Pointe Drive
North Las Vegas, NV – 2195 North Las Vegas Blvd.
“Support of higher education is an important building block. The Maya Community Foundation and Maya Cinemas endeavors to enrich the community through several efforts with education being a primary focus.” said Heidi Garcia, Maya Community Foundation.
ABOUT MAYA CINEMAS
Maya Cinemas was chartered in 2000 with a mission to develop, build, own and operate modern, first-run, multi-plex movie theaters in underserved, family oriented, Latino-dominant communities. Maya Cinemas offers first-run Hollywood movies and unique content through its Canal Maya program in high-end theaters focused on quality of design, state-of-the-art film presentation technology, and providing first-rate entertainment with superior customer service. The Maya Community Foundation is dedicated to the development and enrichment of the lives of people in the community in which Maya Cinemas serve.
Antioch’s Morelia Gil-Cubillo (center) with members of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (L-R) Ken Carlson, Diane Burgis, Chair Federal Glover and Candace Andersen, during the 2024 Youth Hall of Fame honors on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Source: Office of Supervisor Diane Burgis
Morelia Gil-Cubillo recognized for Leadership and Civic Engagement
By Allen D. Payton
Morelia Gil-Cubillo. Source: Antioch High School
Antioch High School junior Morelia Gil-Cubillo was recently chosen as one of the 2024 Contra Costa Youth Hall of Fame award recipients. She earned the Leadership and Civic Engagement title.
“It is an immense honor to receive this award. I’m grateful to have been recognized for my hard work and determination in the community,” she said. “I will continue to give my best through service and spirit.”
“We honor César E. Chávez and recognize his legacy of fighting injustice and improving the lives of farmworkers, their families, and so many others. We are inspired to once again commit ourselves to service to others,” said Board Chair Supervisor Federal Glover. “We also recognize our 2024 Youth Hall of Fame awardees whose commitment to service and community are to be celebrated and are the force moving forward Cesar Chavez’s legacy.”
At Antioch High, Gil-Cubillo created a documentary trailer for her English class, on the topic of immigration. Her trailer was heartfelt, informative, and clearly personal. Her teacher now uses her trailer as the model for other students that are working on this assignment.
In addition, Morelia’s activities include Earth Team, Girl Power, BATS Scholars and is Vice President of the Key Club.
Always wanting to support her peers, Morelia is on the Board of Directors for an SAT Prep seminar for under-resourced students. Their goal is to open doors for students to selective colleges and prepare them to thrive once they are there.
Morelia has served as a Resource Recovery Ambassador for the City of Antioch, where she played a crucial role in educating her peers on adopting environmentally sustainable practices in waste management. This experience led Morelia to become an integral part of the City of Antioch’s leadership group, the Antioch Council of Teens. In this role, she actively participates in community service projects, engaging in civic initiatives, and coordinating enjoyable social activities for teens in the City of Antioch and East Contra Costa County.
Most recently, Morelia participated as a panelist during the interviews for the newly established Antioch Police Oversight Committee. Her ability to engage in meaningful dialogue, ask insightful questions, and contribute constructively to the selection process highlighted her dedication to fostering positive change within her community. In tribute to her grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, Morelia plans to pursue an education in pathology, where she can search for a cure to this tragic disease.
About Gil-Cubillo, District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis said, “The newest recipient of the Leadership & Civic Engagement Youth Hall of Fame award is District 3’s Morelia Gil-Cubillo. I’m humbled by how young women like Morelia and so many Contra Costa County staff continue the legacy of Cesar Chavez every day. ¡Sí se puede!”
Musicians and dancers from Mariachi Monumental and Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl performed throughout the César E. Chávez Commemorative Celebration on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Source: Office of Supervisor Diane Burgis
The theme for this year’s celebration César Chávez was Perseverance & Progress – Perseverancia y Progreso. The festival featured keynote speaker Contra Costa Community College District Trustee Fernando Sandoval who was raised in the City of Pittsburg where he also attended school. Fernando joined the U.S. Navy like Cesar Chavez. Fernando played an instrumental role aboard the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam War, where his expertise in data systems previewed the vital importance of STEM education, a field he continues to support passionately. Fernando’s book, “From Tortilla Chips to Computer Chips,” is a testament to his life’s work and an educational and motivational touchstone for students and educators alike. Fernando continues to embody the value of education, community, and family like Cesar Chavez.
The event also included live performances by Mariachi Monumental and Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl, spoken word performance by Jose Cordon, and celebratory remarks from members of the Board of Supervisors.
“Cesar Chavez was a tireless advocate for farmworker rights, and farmworkers are a crucial part of our East County community,” Burgis shared after the event. “We declared this week as National Farmworker Awareness Week in recognition to their huge contribution to our food supply and well-being, while also recognizing the unsafe work conditions they are sometimes subject to and the labor protections that farmworkers are not afforded.”
“The County and my District 3 office worked hand-in-hand with East County’s farmworker communities to make sure farmworkers were counted during the 2020 Census and kept healthy during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the supervisor continued. “Contra Costa Health has also started partnering with nonprofit Hijas del Campo to provide a weekly mobile health clinic.”
Over 3.6 million school-aged children across the state qualify for at least $500 in savings with the California Kids Investment and Development Savings program (CalKIDS), a state initiative to help children from low income families save money for college or career.
Just 8.3% of eligible students, or 300,000, have claimed their accounts as many families are unaware of CalKIDS or face challenges accessing the accounts once aware. The money is automatically deposited into the savings account under a student’s name, but families must claim the accounts by registering online.
Here is information you should know about the state-funded accounts:
What is CalKIDS?
The CalKIDS program was created to help students, especially those from underserved communities, gain access to higher education. It helps families save for post high school training by opening a savings account and depositing between $500 and $1,500 for eligible low-income students in the public school system. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who launched the program in August 2022, invested about $1.9 billion in the accounts.
Who qualifies?
Low-income students and all newborns qualify.
According to program details, low-income public school students are awarded $500 if they:
Were in grades 1-12 during the 2021-22 school year
Were enrolled in first grade during the 2022-23 school year, or
Will be in first grade in subsequent school years.
An additional $500 is deposited for students identified as foster youth and another $500 for students classified as homeless.
For newborns,
Children born in California after June 2023, regardless of their parents’ income, are granted $100.
Those born in the state between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, were awarded $25 before the seed deposit increased to $100.
Newborns get an additional $25 when they claim the account and an additional $50 if parents link the CalKIDS account to a new or existing ScholarShare 529 college savings account.
The California Department of Education determines eligibility based on students identified as low income under the state’s Local Control Funding Formula or English language learners. The California Department of Public Health provides information on newborns.
How can students use the money?
The money can be used at eligible higher education institutions across the country, including community colleges, universities, vocational or technical schools and professional schools, according to CalKIDS.
The funds can be used for: tuition and fees, books and supplies, on or off-campus room and board as well as computer or other required equipment, according to the CalKIDS program guide.
Click hereto search for schools that qualify as an eligible higher ed institution.
Does the CalKIDS account have restrictions similar to those for a 529 savings account?
CalKIDS accounts are a part of the ScholarShare 529 program — California’s official tax-advantaged college savings plan — and administered by the state’s ScholarShare Investment Board.
Transportation and travel costs are usually not considered qualified expenses for 529 savings accounts.
According to the guide for CalKIDS, if a student has no account balance with their higher education institution — which receives the CalKIDS distribution check — the institution can pay the funds directly to the student.
Does the money in the CalKIDS accounts earn interest?
The deposits grow over time because CalKIDS accounts are interest-bearing.
How aggressive that growth is depends on the age of the student, said Joe DeAnda, communications director with the California State Treasurer’s Office, which oversees the CalKIDS program.
“If it’s a newborn, (the seed deposits are) invested in a fairly aggressive portfolio that assumes 18 years of investing time,” DeAnda said. “If they are school-aged, they’re invested in a more conservative portfolio that assumes a shorter investing timeline and is a more secure portfolio.”
Even among students, the younger a child is, the more aggressive the savings portfolio will be. The investment provides “opportunity to grow savings while the child is younger and better safeguard savings against market fluctuations when the child nears college age,” according to the CalKIDS program guide.
Specifically, accounts for newborns, each new class of first graders and students in grades 1-5 during the 2021-22 school year are invested in a portfolio that corresponds to the year that they’re expected to enter a program after high school, or at age 18. The portfolio will become more conservative as the child gets older.
For students in grades 6-12 during the 2021-22 school year, the accounts are invested with a guaranteed, or fixed, rate of return on the investment.
Can I add to the account?
No, you cannot add money to the CalKIDS account. Parents or guardians can open a ScholarShare 529 account, which can be linked to the CalKIDS account so they can view the accounts in one place.
In fact, CalKIDS encourages families to open a ScholarShare 529 college savings account, which is a way for families to save even more money for their children, DeAnda said.
What if my student already graduated? What happens to unclaimed money?
The accounts remain active under a student’s name until the student turns 26 years old. Up until that age, students can claim the money.
If the account is not claimed by age 26, the account closes, and the money is reallocated to others in the CalKIDS program, DeAnda said.
What if I’m not sure if my child is considered low income?
CalKIDS has sent notification letters of program enrollment to over 3.3 million eligible students and nearly 270,000 students in last school year’s class of first graders.
Without the letters, to check student eligibility, families must enter students’ Statewide Student Identifier (SSID), a 10-digit number that appears on student transcripts or report cards, according to the CalKIDS website.
The California Department of Education provides CalKIDS with data on first graders in the late spring or early summer and asks parents to wait until then before checking for their child’s eligibility.
How do I access that SSID number to check eligibility or to register the account?
The SSID may be found on the parent’s or student’s school portal, transcript or report card.
The CalKIDS website instructs families to contact their child’s school or school district if they’re unsure of how or unable to locate the number.
How do I access or ‘claim’ the account?
The notification letter that CalKIDS sends families contains a unique CalKIDS Code that can be used to register the accounts. Even without the code, families can register the accounts.
Enter the county where the student was enrolled (for a student in grades 1-12 in the 2021-22 school year; for a first grader, where the student was enrolled in 2022-23 or subsequent years)
Enter student’s date of birth
Enter the SSID or CalKIDS Code from the notification letter
Click Register
Set up the account, either as the child or as the parent/guardian, with a username and password
To claim the newborn account, which should be available about 90 days after birth:
Visit the CalKIDS registration page to claim the account.
Enter the county where the child was born
Enter child’s date of birth
Enter the Local Registration Number on the child’s birth certificate or CalKIDS Code from the notification letter
Click Register
Set up the account, either as the child or as the parent/guardian, with a username and password
I still need help. How do I get additional support?
The CalKIDS team is also hosting an April 17 webinar to outline the program, eligibility, account registration, fund distribution and benefits. To sign up for the webinar, click here.
How does my high school graduate make a withdrawal to use the money?
According to the CalKIDS program guide, to request a distribution, log into the claimed CalKIDS account and request a distribution, which doesn’t have to be for the entire amount. The funds are tax-free for the qualified expenses of tuition, books, fees, computers and equipment.
The student must be at least 17 years old and enrolled at an eligible institution.
The CalKIDS money, which will be sent to the institution, is considered a scholarship from the state of California.
