Small School Districts’ Association Executive Director Tim Taylor

T-Swift All the Way

Tim Taylor is the executive director of the Small School Districts’ Association. Before speaking at the Zócalo/California Wellness event “Can Rural Education Survive the 21st Century?,” he joined us in the green room in downtown Bakersfield to chat about his favorite places to go in California, his mom’s philosophy as an educator, and what the walls of small-town bars would say if they could talk.

California Collaborative for Educational Excellence’s Julie Boesch | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California Collaborative for Educational Excellence’s Julie Boesch

My Dream Is That Every Single Child Has a Safe Place to Learn

Julie Boesch is the assistant director of the State System of Support for the nonprofit California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. She was formerly superintendent/principal of Maple Elementary School District in …

tktk | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California’s Most Remote Classrooms Are Surviving—How Can They Thrive?

One in Four Attend Rural School. But Sacramento and D.C. Aren’t Giving These Students One-Fourth of Their Time

When it came to the title question of the Zócalo/California Wellness event, “Can Rural Education Survive the 21st Century?,” the panelists were of one mind. Speaking to the live audience …

How Rural Schools Survived the Pandemic | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How Rural Schools Survived the Pandemic

Educators in the Most Remote Parts of the State Have Faced Unique Challenges—And Found Some Silver Linings

In my 15 years researching and working in K–12 education, I haven’t seen anything like the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to education. This is especially true in rural areas, whose remote …

The 2023 Zócalo Book Prize Honors Explorations of Community | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The 2023 Zócalo Book Prize Honors Explorations of Community

We’re Looking for the Best Nonfiction Books on Human Connection

Since 2011, Zócalo Public Square’s annual book prize has recognized the U.S.-published nonfiction book that best enhances our understanding of community and the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness …

Where I Go: Your Doctor, My Car, Our Neighborhood | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

California’s Most Unlikely Philanthropist Is Starting a New Chapter

Fabiola Moreno Ruelas Is Graduating—And Sending More Students Off to College

Among the thousands of students graduating from San Diego State this weekend is one of California’s youngest and most unlikely philanthropists.

I first profiled Fabiola Moreno Ruelas, now 21, three summers …