Education Beat

By EdSourceNews Education

Education Beat episodes

December 21, 2023A principal at the heart of her school and her community
Estela López grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and she still lives and works just minutes from her childhood home. She has served in neighborhood schools for 30 years, first as a teacher and now as the principal of Dolores Huerta Elementary School.
She has made it her mission to make sure her school is a refuge for children in the neighborhood, and her reach extends far beyond the walls of her school to help families secure housing, healthcare, and food.
When she was grieving the loss of her oldest son, the children at her school helped her heal.
Guests:
Estela López, Principal, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, Los Angeles Unified School District
Mallika Seshadri, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: ‘My mission’: Dolores Huerta Elementary Principal Estela Lopez extends support to community
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
18 min
December 14, 2023Parents fight for special education documents in their own languages
It can be overwhelming for any parent to advocate for support in school for a child with a disability. But parents who don't speak much English face another major hurdle: getting accurate and timely translations of the documents and meetings so they can understand them.
Some parents report waiting months or even a year for translations of their children's special education documents. A bill in the California legislature could help, but its future is uncertain.
Guests:
Carmen Rodríguez, Parent, San Francisco Unified School District
Zaidee Stavely, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: Immigrant parents report faulty, slow translation of special education documents
Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource's Emma Gallegos and produced by Coby McDonald.
16 min
December 07, 2023Covid stress and violent threats driving school superintendents to leave
More California superintendents are leaving to go to other jobs, or retiring, than ever before. The stress of the pandemic, politics and even violent threats all play into superintendent turnover.
Why are superintendents leaving? And what are districts doing to try to retain and attract them?
Guests:
Chris Evans, former superintendent, Natomas Unified School District
Diana Lambert, reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource:
Threats, stress and politics pushing school superintendents out the door
Why five superintendents decided to walk away from their jobs
Superintendents: Well-paid and walking away
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
17 min
November 30, 2023Cultivating a sense of belonging to spark students’ enthusiasm for learning
Two years after schools returned to in-person learning, students are struggling to meet math and English standards on statewide tests. Their mental health is also suffering and they're missing lots of days of school.
EdSource brought together a panel of experts to discuss what schools and districts can do to re-engage students, and how teachers can energize and learn from each other. There was one very strong theme — the need for students to feel like they belong at school.
Guests:
Adalberto Hernández, Principal, George Washington Elementary School, Madera Unified School District
Chris Collins, Data and assessment coordinator, Cajon Valley Union School District
Yolie Flores, President and CEO, Families in Schools
Heather Hough, executive director, Policy Analysis for California Education
John Malloy, Superintendent, San Ramon Valley Unified School District
John Fensterwald, Editor-at-large, EdSource
Read more from EdSource and watch the roundtable:
Boosting student success after Covid is a team effort, panel says
Flat test scores leave California far behind pre-Covid levels of achievement
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
23 min
November 16, 2023How a California professor once coded secrets in music
As a saxophonist in Boston's Klezmer Conservatory Band in 1985, Merryl Goldberg traveled to the Soviet Union to meet up with another group of musicians, The Phantom Orchestra.
The Phantom Orchestra would be sharing more than good tunes with Merryl. They’d also pass along information, including the names of people who wanted to escape the Soviet Union, which Merryl and her friends would then smuggle back to the United States.
To do this, Merryl made up a secret code, hidden in sheet music.
Now Merryl's spy days are long behind her. But she is still passionate about how music and other arts can enrich other fields, including cybersecurity.
Guests:
Merryl Goldberg, Professor, California State University San Marcos
Karen D'Souza, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: Merryl Goldberg, a music professor on a mission to spread arts education
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
18 min
November 09, 2023How classes in Spanish are attracting nannies to community college
Bonnie Pérez took child development classes at night while working as a nanny during the day. But she didn’t see a lot of other nannies in her classes, largely because the classes were all in English.
Bonnie saw an untapped group of people with lots of hands-on experience working with kids and who could help fill a shortage of preschool teachers in the state.
A new California law removes barriers to allow more students to enroll in courses taught in Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Korean and other languages.
Guests:
Bonnie Pérez, Professor of child development, West Los Angeles College
Michael Burke, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource: Community college students can take classes in their native language under a new law
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
15 min
November 02, 2023How can California help teachers educate recent immigrants?
Students new to the country often find themselves in the classrooms of teachers with very little training or support in how to meet their unique needs.
Listen to veteran teacher Jenna Hewitt King describe how her first day teaching newcomers made her feel like a new teacher all over again — and how a new law, Assembly Bill 714, could begin to provide guidance and data for teachers like her.
Guests:
Jenna Hewitt King, Teacher, San Leandro High School
Zaidee Stavely, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource:
Teachers of recently arrived immigrant students to get help under new law
Commentary: Our newcomer students deserve better
Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource’s Emma Gallegos and produced by Coby McDonald.
0 min
October 26, 2023Could the Cal State tuition hike affect student enrollment, graduation rates?
The California State University board of trustees voted last month to increase tuition 6 percent every year for five years, beginning in the fall of 2024.
The rate increase will affect both undergraduate and graduate students, and there’s been vocal opposition from students, faculty and staff.
EdSource’s California Journalism Corps fanned out to ask students how they think the tuition hike could affect decisions to enroll at Cal State.
Guests:
Olivia Keeler, Journalism student and member, California Student Journalism Corps
Arabel Meyer, Journalism student and member, California Student Journalism Corps
Ashley A. Smith, Reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource:
Cal State students will see 6% tuition hike
CSU students sound off on impact of upcoming tuition increase
Cal State graduation rates remain flat for second consecutive year
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
17 min
October 18, 2023What a Fresno teachers’ strike 45 years ago can teach us today
Fresno teachers are voting this Wednesday on whether or not to strike, if the union and the district can’t come to an agreement on class size, teacher pay and benefits.
The first and only time Fresno teachers have been on strike before was 45 years ago, in 1978.
What can we learn from those who were involved in both sides of that strike?
Guests:
Barbara Mendes, retired teacher, Fresno Unified School District
Nancy Richardson, former school board president, Fresno Unified School District
Lasherica Thornton, reporter, EdSource
Read more from EdSource:
Lessons from the 1978 teachers strike in Fresno
Fresno Unified teachers very likely to strike. Here are the issues
Fresno teachers union rejects district’s offer of pay increases, expanded medical benefits
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
16 min
October 12, 2023A teacher removed, a play censored, and the chilling effect that followed
A high school drama teacher was removed from the classroom in Temecula Valley Unified, after a parent complained students were reading the Pulitzer-prize-winning play, “Angels in America,” about the AIDS epidemic in New York during the 1980s.
It’s the latest in a series of efforts by newly elected conservative school board members to change curriculum in the district. What happened in the months after the teacher’s removal? And how is it affecting other teachers and students?
Guests:
Greg Bailey, Drama teacher, Temecula Valley High School
Mallika Seshadri, Journalism resident, EdSource
Read more from EdSource:
Learning at Temecula Valley Unified suffers as censorship fears rise
LGBTQ+ students in conservative crosshairs
Temecula Valley Unified CRT ban has created a hostile school environment, lawsuit says
Temecula Valley Unified reverses course and adopts state-approved social studies curriculum
Temecula board again votes to reject textbooks, despite warnings from Newsom
Conservatives are waging a war for control over California school boards
Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.
16 min

About Education Beat

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A podcast that gets to the heart of schools in California and beyond, bringing you the personal stories behind the headlines, from preschool to college. Join the team at EdSource each week to hear the…