Reporter

Kristen Taketa

Kristen Taketa is an education reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune who covers school districts, charter schools and early childhood education across San Diego County. Her last job was covering education for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Missouri. Before that, she worked stints at The Dallas Morning News and The Orange County Register. She first started working in journalism at The Daily Bruin at UCLA.

The gym (center) at Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley on Dec. 8, 2025 in San Diego. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

California high school gym rented out for 24-hour ‘highly inappropriate’ game show

December 9, 2025 at 12:06 p.m.

San Diego Residents are in an uproar after San Diego school foundation rented out its school gym as a commercial filming location for an adult game show that featured racist,...

A teddy bear is seen inside an area where patients are given vaccines at the North Central Public Health Center on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 in San Diego. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

In one California county, kindergartener vaccination rates dip below herd immunity levels for measles

October 27, 2025 at 5:48 a.m.

Childhood vaccination rates have received heightened attention in recent months, as the country grapples with its highest level of measles cases in 33 years, with total U.S. cases already up...

The California Capitol building on Sept. 10, 2021, in Sacramento. (Xavier Mascareñas/The Sacramento Bee/TNS)

California’s latest attempt at charter school reform dies with Gov. Newsom’s veto

October 17, 2025 at 5:35 a.m.

The failure of SB 414 comes as state leaders have struggled for years to address weaknesses in education laws highlighted by high-profile charter school cases.

Lifelong Learning headquarters in Lancaster on Sept. 29, 2025. (Miguel Vasconcellos / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

In Learn4Life charter school network, millions of California taxpayer dollars get spent by one private corporation

October 7, 2025 at 6:31 a.m.

Lifelong Learning operates outside California transparency laws, despite its outsize role in managing the schools and despite the millions it reaps in public funding.

Retired English teacher Patrick Wright worked for a Learn4Life charter school for 18 years before retiring in 2023. He said the school seemed to care more about attendance numbers than student success. “We didn’t treat them like we should’ve,” he says. (Miguel Vasconcellos / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

‘This isn’t right’: California teachers question priorities, track record of Learn4Life charter schools

October 6, 2025 at 6:30 a.m.

The network’s model has drawn criticism of its effectiveness, and some teachers described its schools as more focused on funding than on results.

Students and faculty flood the campus during USCD’s first day of classes on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 in San Diego. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

UCSD faculty fear student, employee information may have been shared with Trump administration for investigation

September 28, 2025 at 4:39 a.m.

The UC said this month that it shared information about UC Berkeley students and employees to comply with a federal investigation.

San Diego Unified School District buses are parked at the district’s Transportation Services Department parking lot on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 in San Diego. (Michael Ho / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

A California law to help sex-abuse victims is creating an insurance crisis for public schools, local agencies

August 18, 2025 at 5:12 a.m.

It's not just the lawsuits themselves costing governments. Insurance for them is also getting harder to find and more expensive.

George Lucas walks onstage at the Sneak Peek: Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art panel during Comic-Con International on July 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

George Lucas makes Comic-Con debut to discuss his upcoming museum

July 28, 2025 at 5:03 a.m.

Sunday’s popular panel also featured filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Star Wars designer Doug Chiang

‘Money in the pockets of administrators’: California charter school network steers millions in taxpayer money to opaque firm tied to execs

May 27, 2025 at 5:57 a.m.

Elite charter schools' close relationship with a third-party provider raises questions about transparency and potential conflicts of interest.

Former A3 charter school leader Jason Schrock (middle) sits with his defense team while being sentenced in court for his part in a fraud scheme at San Diego Superior Court on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, in San Diego. (Jarrod Valliere / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

California lawmakers are trying once more to pass sweeping changes to charter school oversight. Here’s what they want.

May 5, 2025 at 6:23 a.m.

AB 84 is meant to address myriad issues exposed by cases of fraud, but charter schools say it goes too far.

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