Ali Tadayon
Ali Tadayon covers West Contra Costa Unified School District and other K-12 issues for EdSource. Prior to joining EdSource at the start of 2020 as a Journalism Resident, he covered the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Emeryville, El Cerrito and San Pablo for the Bay Area News Group. Tadayon cut his teeth as a crime reporter at the Press-Enterprise in Riverside, CA and the Post Register in Idaho Falls, Idaho. His work has earned several awards, including two John Swett Awards from the California Teachers Association for coverage of the Oakland Unified School District. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
All articles by Ali Tadayon
Layoffs for next year up for vote by West Contra Costa Unified school board
The district is proposing to lay off a yet-to-be-determined number of school workers next year, leaving union leaders confused.
Ali Tadayon
March 10, 2023
West Contra Costa Unified braces for more major budget cuts
West Contra Costa Unified will have to cut almost $20 million from its 2024-25 budget in order to remain fiscally solvent, according to a plan approved Wednesday.
Ali Tadayon
March 2, 2023
Astronaut-in-training infuses space science into West Contra Costa Unified middle school classes
Tobi Thomas incorporates the knowledge and research from his astronaut training into his middle school science lessons.
Ali Tadayon
February 23, 2023
Contract agreement between West Contra Costa Unified and teachers union avoids potential strike and immediate layoffs
United Teachers of Richmond will vote this week to ratify the contract
Ali Tadayon
February 13, 2023
Budget plan, possible cuts, required for West Contra Costa Unified to settle contract talks with teachers union
The Contra Costa County Office of Education downgraded West Contra Costa Unified's budget certification, requiring the district to develop a plan to cut costs
Ali Tadayon
February 9, 2023
California teachers call on their districts for contractual commitment to community schools
Local teachers unions in the middle of bargaining with their districts want to see community schools included in their contracts.
Ali Tadayon
January 27, 2023
Late-in-term shuffling of teachers harms classes, say faculty and officials
Los Angeles Unified and West Contra Costa Unified hope to move teachers earlier in future years if needed.
Ali Tadayon
October 21, 2022
Stanford admits to anti-Semitic admission practices in the 1950s
Stanford has apologized to the Jewish community and pledges to improve campus life for Jewish students going forward.
Ali Tadayon
October 13, 2022
Coalition says 'science of reading-aligned' core curricula barely used in California
Most districts used the same three core reading programs from the State Board of Education’s 2015 list of pre-approved curricula
Ali Tadayon
October 11, 2022
Healthier options on the menu as California begins providing free meals for all students
California districts are using increased state and local funding to improve the free school meals offered to all students
Ali Tadayon
August 16, 2022
Elementary students are recovering faster from Covid learning loss, research shows
Research shows students in elementary school are further along on the road to learning recovery than middle school students, but both groups are several years away from a full academic recovery.
Ali Tadayon
July 26, 2022
Advocates for community schools support more funding but call for fixes to program
Tight deadlines and rigid qualifications were among the concerns raised by supporters of the state's multi-year community schools initiative
Ali Tadayon
June 17, 2022
How an East Bay school turns into a community school under California's model
Hundreds of campuses are slated to become community schools over the next five years; Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration urges more funding to meet the demand
Ali Tadayon
June 10, 2022
Thurmond rejects any one reading strategy for California, sees phonics as playing "a key role"
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond says phonics is key to early literacy, but he wants districts to be able to choose their reading curriculum.
Ali Tadayon And John Fensterwald
June 3, 2022
Bay Area schools see families leave cities, flock to suburbs
While the Bay Area had modest school enrollment growth over the past 20 years, suburban districts saw an influx of new students while city districts lost thousands as families sought affordable housing.