Reporter

Ricardo Cano

Ricardo Cano covers California education for CalMatters. Cano joined CalMatters in September 2018 from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, where he spent three years as the education reporter. Cano has been a finalist for three awards, a Livingston Award for Young Journalists honoring outstanding achievement by professionals under the age of 35, an Education Writers Association award for data journalism and two consecutive Arizona Press Club awards for public service journalism.

Mario Ramírez Garcia, 10, listen as his teacher addresses the class during distance learning in the bedroom he shares with his sister on April 23, 2021. According to their father, the internet connection at their Oakland home cuts out about twice a week, which is especially frustrating to the kids when they are taking tests. (Anne Wernikoff — CalMatters)

The wires may be there, but the dollars aren’t: Analysis shows why millions of California students lack broadband

April 28, 2021 at 11:43 a.m.

Depending on a student’s access to reliable internet, the last year of virtual school has ranged from enriching to impossibly discouraging.

Two students wearing face masks at All Saints' Day School work independently as one student studies behind a plexiglass screen in Carmel, Calif., .late last year.

California students in richer areas far more likely to be back in classrooms

February 25, 2021 at 6:13 a.m.

A CalMatters data analysis reveals a wealth gap between students more likely to receive in-person instruction and those less likely to have that option.

Parents and students gather for a quiet protest and sit-in at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif., last month. Berkeley Unified School District parents are calling for schools to reopen for in-person learning in accordance with public health guidelines. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Lawmakers blitz governor on school reopenings

February 20, 2021 at 6:05 a.m.

Members of the Legislature put forward a bill today that would require schools to reopen by mid-April and guarantee that teachers get offered a COVID-19 vaccine beforehand. The lawmakers have...

Teacher vaccines in California determined by location, luck

February 10, 2021 at 6:56 a.m.

Vaccinating teachers has become a central sticking point in talks between districts and unions for returning students in person. Limited vaccine supply and a rapidly approaching end of the school...

(Istock photo courtesy: EdSource) The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a record one-year enrollment drop of 155,000 students in the state.

California public schools suffer record enrollment drop

January 27, 2021 at 6:58 a.m.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a record one-year enrollment drop of 155,000 students, according to state projections.

Second and third grade teacher Kylie Shannon, center, answers questions from students during the first day of school at Sunnyvale Christian School in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. (Randy Vazquez/ Bay Area News Group)

Newsom’s school reopening plan puts tight deadlines on districts, legislature

January 13, 2021 at 6:33 a.m.

Schools would have to offer in-person learning for primary students starting Feb. 16 in order to get the full funds under the governor’s $89.5 billion education budget. Lawmakers would need...

Kristin Bailey, left, a demonstration organizer, carries a sign in favor of giving parents the option of in-person instruction for their children during a rally in favor of reopening Brentwood schools on Sept. 15, 2020. Bailey, who has a child on the Autism spectrum, says her son has been struggling without the services normally provided to him through his district school. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Legislators increase pressure to open schools as most stay closed this fall

December 10, 2020 at 6:33 a.m.

A phalanx of assemblymembers have co-authored a bill that would require schools to at least partially physically reopen next Spring if their county escapes the state’s purple tier.

Special education instructor Liz Duffield sprays down the tables in her pre-k and kindergarten classroom at the end of the school day on Oct. 26, 2020. Duffield says that sanitizing and hand washing has become an important part of keeping herself and her students healthy and she intends to continue with them after the pandemic. (Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters)

What we know so far about school reopenings in California

November 4, 2020 at 6:14 a.m.

Despite limited testing requirements, California schools that have reopened for in-person instruction have largely avoided COVID-19 outbreaks. Still, some teachers and legislators say large scale surveillance testing is necessary to...

Watsonville resident Antoinette Martinez uses CalFresh to pay for her groceries at FoodMaxx. Pending legislation would create a new disaster food assistance program that could be distributed immediately. (File photo by Anne Wernikoff/CalMatters)

On the verge: Pending legislation for 2020

September 8, 2020 at 6:12 a.m.

It’s up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to decide if these ideas, generated during a session impacted by an unprecedented two-month pause during the spring because of COVID-19, should become law.

(Courtesy Lakeport Unified School District) The staff at Lakeport Elementary School last month at the beginning of the new school year. A still rampaging coronavirus pandemic means schools in California have spent gobs money just to add the necessary protective equipment and cleaning staff necessary for a safe and effective school reopening.

Behind the ‘Wild West’ of school reopenings

September 5, 2020 at 6:34 a.m.

An academic year in which public education will intersect with public health has created back-to-school shopping lists unlike any other for California’s schools as they attempt to transition toward in-person...

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