Author: Mary Ann Dewan (Mary Ann Dewan)

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies guns as the leading cause of death for children. National Gun Violence Awareness Day is June 2, a day set aside to raise awareness and promote positive change. Policymakers, community members, leaders and parents have taken steps to protect children from gun violence and keep...

A 2022 report, updated in March, found that firearms recently became the No. 1 cause of death for children and teens in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle deaths and those caused by other injuries. Additionally, child abuse persists, leading to injury, harm and sometimes death. National Child Abuse Prevention Month recognizes the importance of families...

Schools throughout Santa Clara County are looking for candidates to fill important positions for the upcoming school year. Working in education is incredibly rewarding. School personnel make a difference in the lives of children each and every day. The Santa Clara County Office of Education partners with local schools to recruit credentialed educators to fill...

Families with young children have a variety of early learning program options in Santa Clara County. Enrollment for next school year is already underway. Families who are interested in enrolling their child in preschool, transitional kindergarten (TK) or kindergarten can do so each year starting as early as December in some of Santa Clara County’s...

The recent winter rain offers potential drought relief, but the severity of the storms had detrimental impacts throughout the state, including power outages that disrupted learning. Locally, several schools experienced closures due to storm related power outages. Schools have faced several years of ongoing disruption to learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, poor air quality,...

The COVID-19 pandemic affected education services and student learning worldwide. It also interrupted the statewide data collection, assessment and accountability systems for our public schools. Last week, the California Department of Education released the 2022 California School Dashboard. The dashboard is one part of California’s comprehensive accountability system for schools. The dashboard reflects data from the...

Only about one in five California public schools have a full-time arts or music program, and these programs are typically the first to be reduced from school budgets during economic downturns. Prop. 28, the Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, is poised to change that. Beginning next year, the state will be...

According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), there is a 70% chance that one or more quakes of a magnitude 6.7 or larger will occur before the year 2030. In the San Francisco Bay Area region, a 6.7 or larger quake could originate from the Hayward fault, the Peninsula segment of the San Andreas fault,...

Last May, I wrote about the need to raise awareness and prevent fentanyl related deaths, especially among our youth. At that time, the first ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day was launched. An important goal of that campaign was to ensure communities knew about fentanyl and the dangers of illegally made counterfeit pills and other drugs...

The typical college costs including tuition, fees, room and board, transportation and supplies have increased over time. A recent report found the average cost of an undergraduate degree increased 169% between 1980 and 2020. Securing the necessary resources to pay for college and career training programs for children is a barrier for many families. It is...