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.

Guests:

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

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a plan to eliminate a large part of student debt and banned colleges and universities from considering race in admissions. Both decisions will have a disproportionate effect on Black and Latino students.

An advocate for youth and a reporter discuss the rulings and what they mean for Californians.

Guests:

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

California State Preschools are asking new questions of families about the languages their children speak at home.

Fresno Unified has been doing this kind of family interview for almost a decade. Preschool teachers use the information to help plan curriculum and incorporate songs and books in children’s home languages, including Spanish and Hmong.

How does including home languages enrich preschool classrooms and help children become bilingual?

Guest:

Read more from EdSource: Does your child speak a language other than English? California preschools want to know

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

Nearly three years ago, the Creek fire devastated the community of Big Creek and the town’s only elementary school.

Since then, rebuilding has been a long, arduous and frustrating process as some families remain homeless, cope with their mental health and face barriers to seeing their community rebuilt.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Frustration after a fire: Recovery for rural schools can be long and complex

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

When Ana Franquis’ family was evicted, they had nowhere to turn. Their local school district helped them out, with food, diapers, even hotel vouchers.

How are school districts using pandemic funds to find and support homeless students? And what will happen when the funds run out?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Amid pockets of rising student homelessness, California districts tap Covid funding to help families

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

In Selma Unified School District in the Central Valley, two therapy dogs are helping destigmatize mental health services. Jeter and Scout help identify students who need help, and they give students a soft, cuddly entry to therapy.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Therapy dogs changed the culture of mental health in this Central Valley district

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

A school lunch lady’s response after the Oklahoma City bombing sparked a new understanding of how teachers and school staff can help students recover from traumatic events, from wildfires and floods to school shootings.

As wildfire and flood season approaches in California, leading experts in childhood trauma and school crisis and disaster recovery discuss how schools can best prepare for natural disasters and other traumatic events, and what happens if they don’t.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Fires, floods, shootings: How schools can help students thrive after traumatic events

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

At El Cerrito High School, in West Contra Costa Unified, students produce and host their own radio shows. Some DJ their own music shows, while others host talk radio programs, with topics ranging from political affairs to chess to dating advice. There’s even an old-time radio drama, based on original scripts from the 1950s.

What does it take to produce high school radio? And what are students getting out of it?

Voices:

With clips from radio shows, including “Confused Chess,” “Insert Title Here,” “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar,” “Togomexsalvi,” and “EC Talk Show.”

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El Cerrito High School students run their own radio shows as part of class

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

The University of California is considering a proposal this week to allow hiring undocumented students for jobs at any of its 10 campuses. The proposal is based on a legal theory that a federal ban on hiring undocumented immigrants does not apply to states.

Proponents say it would allow undocumented students to have the same access as other students to research and other campus jobs. Critics say it would encourage unauthorized immigration.

What’s motivating this UC proposal?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: University of California’s undocumented students push for right to campus jobs

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

California schools in communities from Pajaro in Monterey County to Planada in Merced County were flooded earlier this year by torrential rains, causing major damage.

The flooding isn’t over yet. A record snowpack is poised to melt and send rivers surging over their banks. And according to an EdSource analysis of federal data, more than a fifth of the state’s K-12 schools are at a high or moderate risk of flooding.

What can school districts and state government do to prepare, and to help reduce the risk of flooding?

Guests:

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