California is expanding dual immersion programs statewide, after repealing a law that limited bilingual education. A Hmong-English dual language immersion program in Fresno Unified helps children learn their grandparents’ language and culture, and it promotes cross-cultural understanding. This episode includes a visit to Vang Pao Elementary School in Fresno Unified and audio from a teacher, a student and the principal.

Guests:

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

About 3 in 5 third graders in California don’t meet state standards in reading and writing. To try to help more kids learn to read, some districts are shifting their strategies. In Oakland, parents and other family members have taken a frontline position as literacy tutors. What’s the advantage of using family members as tutors? And how can they help boost children’s reading skills?

Guests:

Ruelvis Alonga, Uncle and early literacy tutor, Oakland Unified School District

Karen D’Souza, Reporter, EdSource

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

Black students face ever-increasing rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. But one group of young people in California is working hard to reverse that – one personal connection at a time.

Bennie Williams was one of only a handful of Black students at his high school in Stockton. This statewide coalition of Black students gave him a place to share experiences, learn about Black history and advocate for improved mental health and educational opportunities.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: ‘This is who I am’: Black students find support, culture, purpose through peer group

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

A coalition of Black education and civil rights organizations have pressed for extra state funding to help Black students, because they’re the lowest performing students in California. But a long-awaited proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t target Black students, instead focusing additional money on schools with the highest concentration of poverty and increasing oversight of services for all low-performing student groups. Would the new program benefit Black kids?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Critics say Newsom’s proposal for low-performing students fails most Black students

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

Joshua Brown is prioritizing special education in his rural Northern California district. But his perspective is unusual: He has firsthand experience with the district’s special education program — as a student. Brown has autism and is one of only a handful of people known to have autism nationwide to serve in public office. Can schools benefit from having neurodivergent members on school boards?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Former special education student joins school board in Shasta

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

The largest academic strike in U.S. history ended last month with a landmark agreement between the University of California and graduate student teaching assistants and graduate student researchers.

How significant is this agreement? What might it mean for students and colleges outside of the UC?

Guests:

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

It’s January, time to reflect on the past months and look ahead at the coming year. At EdSource that means veteran reporter John Fensterwald is making predictions. Every year, John gets out his crystal ball and tells us a fortune – what he thinks might or might not happen in California education in the new year. We also check in with some other reporters about what stories they will cover this year.

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: California education issues to watch in 2023 — and predictions of what might happen

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

David Tellez had to make a tough decision — continue attending community college full-time, or focus on making money at work for his family. Like thousands of others in the last few years, he chose the latter. Just how many students left California’s community college system? And what are those colleges doing to win them back?

Guests: 

Read more from EdSource: California community colleges eye a different future amid pandemic disruption

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

Victor Contreras is not looking forward to his first college math course. After distance learning, his high school math grades tumbled from A’s and B’s to C’s and D’s. And he’s not alone. Many college freshmen are struggling with math. What are colleges doing to help?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: First year college students facing what Covid cost them, especially in math

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

Some school districts raise extra money through parcel taxes for highly qualified teachers and for enrichment classes like art, music and technology. But parcel taxes — which require approval by a two-thirds “supermajority” of voters — are hard to pass, and only a handful of school districts, most of them small, high-income districts, have ever passed one.

A little-known court decision from last year lowered the threshold to pass parcel taxes to a simple majority, as long as citizens put the measure on the ballot and not the government. Could this be a game-changer for low-income school districts?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: California court decision ups the odds for passing school parcel taxes

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