Annual reports given to the Santa Clara County Board of Education this past weekend show that local charter schools are not reflective of their communities when it comes to accepting special education students.

An Atlanta judge last week sentenced eight public school teachers, principals and administrators to jail for conspiring to inflate students' state test scores. The sentencing was a tragic end to the Atlanta testing scandals that began in 2009.

Spring can be a period of new beginnings for all of us. Or it can be more of the same: a war of words and posturing while some of our children fail to achieve their academic potential.

The inflammatory rhetoric, misguided leadership and pro corporate charter school stance of county education trustee Joseph Di Salvo and others has set the stage for the current battle being waged in local school districts.

Trustee Leon Beauchman will step down at the end of this month from his elected seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education. I first learned of his decision during a call from him in February. It was a bittersweet moment.

Last week I attended the Children's Summit 2015 at Microsoft’s offices in Mountain View. In the packet for the workshop, I found a state budget analysis with the provocative headline, "Proposed State Budget Doesn't Do Enough For Kids.” When will we ever learn? Before it’s too late, I hope.

Can likely Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton show true authenticity on the campaign trail while also exhibiting a commitment to early childhood education?

Why have we not placed more emphasis on Career Technical Education (CTE)? It’s not an easy question to answer.

Healthy meals equal healthy minds, and as the caretakers of young minds we have a duty to ensure that the nutritional needs of all students are being met right alongside their educational requirements.

There has been a considerable amount of angst created by a controversial facilities plan in San Jose Unified School District. Unfortunately, it did not have to be this way.

Serious health issues can play out in schools every day, sometimes in life and death ways. Yet few schools in California have a credentialed school nurse at the ready to appropriately address the problem. The school nurse ratio is a troubling one for every 2,240 students.

I am thankful that my current work—in my seventh decade of life—has given me a rich opportunity to work with amazing people. I am particularly thankful for the educators, policy makers and community leaders who work tirelessly to promote equity.

Houston, we have a problem. Public education is facing its own Apollo 13 moment. If fundamental issues are not addressed an inevitable catastrophic ending will occur.

The San Jose mayor’s race has been unfortunately distilled down to a contentious debate on public safety, crime and pension reform. But if the next mayor focuses on one different issue, he will be able to address all of the aforementioned topics.

It is curious that three local school boards viewed petition’s from two charter institutions as educationally sound programs, but Morgan Hill Unified School District continues to resist.

The 2014-15 school year has just begun and rapid change is the new constant. The mantra of "wait a few years and the pendulum will swing back" no longer holds true.