When Natale Canepa was stuck at home to take college classes online in 2020, he was miserable. He couldn’t get outside as much to see nature, and he couldn’t whistle, his favorite pastime.

So when in-person classes returned to San Diego State, Natale celebrated by whistling at his favorite pocket of nature on campus — the turtle pond.

Now known as the Turtle Pond Whistler, Natale spreads joy and has attracted more students to the turtle pond.

How can green spaces like the turtle pond raise students’ spirits and improve mental health?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: More college campuses leveraging the outdoors to support student mental health

Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

There’s a glaring problem since schools reopened for in-person instruction post-pandemic — lots of kids are missing class.

The number of students in California absent for 10% or more of the school year has more than doubled since before the pandemic. Almost 2 million California students were chronically absent in 2021-22, the most recent year for which data is available.

What are the root causes of students missing school? And how are school districts addressing this problem? Hear from a parent, school leaders and researchers from around the state.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

Arts and music have long been slashed from many school budgets, but all California schools are about to see new, ongoing investment in the arts — equal to about $1 billion this year. 

Listen to the story of one arts teacher and hear from our reporter about how art can help students grow, and what students and parents can expect to see at their schools.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

When anti-Asian hate crimes began to spike in 2020, world history teacher Jeff Kim searched for a way to respond “with love and wisdom.” His answer: to help students to know and tell their own stories of resilience through a Korean American studies course.

Listen to how this course — the first of its kind — began at Anaheim Union High School District, and what it aims to teach students.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Orange County district pioneers new Korean American studies course for high school

Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

The last couple of years have seen an expansion of bachelor’s degree programs in prison.

Inside the first women’s program at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, incarcerated women are working to rebuild their lives by pursuing these higher degrees.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource’s Ashley A. Smith and produced by Coby McDonald.

A new program in Los Angeles County helps low-income parents take the early childhood education classes they need to become preschool teachers. The program aims to both help fill a shortage of early educators and help parents build their careers.

Listen to how one mom fulfills a childhood dream to become a teacher, even joining classes from a hospital bed.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Nearly 100 parents in LA County are on the verge of becoming teachers through a new collaborative program

Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

When teachers and administrators return to their rural hometowns to work in the schools, they can make a huge impact. They understand what it’s like to live in remote areas, everybody in the community knows them and they often stick around.

In one superintendent’s case, he’s increased the number of high school graduates and students who attend college.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

The Covid-19 pandemic shaped the graduating class of 2022 in many ways. They’re adaptable, able to learn online or change their college or career paths when needed.

EdSource followed 12 graduates from the Class of 2022 through their first year after high school. In this episode, three of them share how the pandemic helped them learn how to make the most out of life, and strive for their goals.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

The California State University system’s handling of sexual and gender misconduct complaints has been under the spotlight for more than a year.

In this episode, EdSource reporters Thomas Peele and Ashley A. Smith discuss their reporting examining the outcomes of sexual harassment and misconduct complaints at CSU. They also discuss a new report from an independent law firm and a state audit of CSU’s handling of Title IX complaints.

What do those reports reveal and what might come of them?

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.

California has a new math framework that stresses making math relevant to all students’ lives and teaching big ideas and concepts.

Critics say it will cause more students to fail, by de-emphasizing math operations, discouraging districts from giving advanced students algebra in eighth grade, and for its approach to data science in high school.

Listen to how one teacher thinks the framework will bring math alive for her students, and to our reporter on the controversies surrounding it.

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.