June 2021
News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
How Bullying Affects Academic Performance
Echo Carter was always a bright, happy and outgoing child, but when she got to junior high, she became the target of bullies. “I was always a good student -- the problem was the social environment for me. Kids would bully me constantly and it got to the point where I was depressed, didn’t want to go to school and almost flunked 8th grade,” Echo said. “The good news is that it led me to Learn4Life, where I could be myself again.” 
Instead of Suspending Students,
Let’s Understand Them Better
Learn4Life schools reported a “very low” suspension rate of 0.2% in the 2019-20 school year compared to a “medium” suspension rate of 2.5% reported by all California schools and much lower than other Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) schools serving high-risk students at 4.2%.

Suspensions can have a negative impact on student outcomes, both short- and long-term.
Studies show that students in schools with higher suspension rates were more likely to experience negative impacts on educational attainment and be arrested and incarcerated as adults. 
What You May Not Know About
Nonclassroom-based Schools
California legislators are constantly being swayed by the teachers’ unions to greatly limit nonclassroom-based (NCB) charter schools – yet it turns out that most politicians and parents don’t understand the NCB model. 

What is a nonclassroom-based charter school?
First, what it is not. Nonclassroom-based does not mean online only. In fact, only about one-third of nonclassroom-based charter schools are primarily or exclusively virtual.