After a year of distance learning, the range of skill levels in math class is very wide, with some students still learning concepts from several grades behind. That means teachers have to get creative to get students excited about math and make up for lost time, now that they are back in school in person.

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

The number of students missing class has spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic, compounding a larger problem of decreasing enrollment. As California school districts face the prospect of a precipitous drop in funding next year due to these trends, we talked to administrators about  the ways they are trying to increase attendance and enrollment — whether by engaging families through porch visits or creating a homeschooling option through the district.

Guests:

Watch the roundtable here. 

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

When staff at New Haven Unified School District began investigating why so many students had stopped coming to class, they realized that rent hikes had forced many families to live in their cars. So officials in the district, which is some 20 miles south of Oakland, helped set up a program to offer homeless families with children a place to park.

The program gives families safety and stability so that students can do homework and get to school on time. One mom who lived in her van for almost a year shares how this program helped her get back on her feet, and how she now helps feed her neighbors still living in their cars.

Guests:

Read more about Tami’s story: After living in her van in a city lot, she now feeds others who park there

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

As an immigrant and the head of Miami-Dade public schools for nearly 14 years, Los Angeles Unified’s new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, intimately understands the challenges and promises of families who speak languages other than English at home.

As a product of Miami-Dade public schools, EdSource Executive Director Anne Vasquez shares a common understanding with the superintendent. This episode includes excerpts from a recent conversation they had about their time in Miami, the advantages of bilingual education, and some of the key similarities and differences between the districts.

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Read the EdSource story:

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

The pandemic has worsened working conditions for child care workers, who have long been among the lowest-paid workers in the country. Some child care workers are leaving the profession. A recent report found that those who have stayed are feeling crushed and frustrated by their circumstances, dealing with food insecurity and lack of health insurance and retirement funds.

Guests:

Read the EdSource story:

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

Among the most difficult pandemic-related staff shortages is a lack of school bus drivers. It’s an important job, ensuring kids who might otherwise lack a ride get to school on time. But in many places there just aren’t enough drivers willing to work for what districts will pay them. How can California school districts attract and retain enough bus drivers?

Guests:

Read the EdSource story:

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

More than 2 million students attend California’s community colleges, which are billed as a good place for students to start a path to a bachelor’s degree.

But when it comes time to transfer to a four-year college, too few are successfully making the jump. What’s keeping California’s community college students from transferring?

Guests:

Watch EdSource’s roundtable discussion about this topic:

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

For students who are leery of adults, peer counseling can provide a safe place to work through difficult family problems, stress, and depression. California has urged schools to invest in mental health programs, like peer counseling.

What are the benefits and pitfalls of programs where students counsel students?

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Read more about this topic at EdSource:

California’s community colleges increasingly rely on adjunct professors as low-paid replacements for full-time faculty. Rather than a side gig, many adjuncts cobble together part-time work at multiple colleges or in multiple districts. Many don’t have health insurance. Often they are hanging on, hoping for a full time job, that never materializes. 

It can be a precarious living, one that shortchanges the adjuncts and their students.

Guests:

Read EdSource’s three-part series about adjunct working conditions:

In the midst of a pandemic that has been hard for teachers, parents and students, principals are burdened with keeping the whole thing together, maintaining functioning schools amid chaos and constant change.

In this episode, we hear from principals across the state who participated in a recent roundtable with EdSource. They share how they’re coping and what they think would help them and their teachers stay in the profession.

Guests:

Watch the EdSource roundtable: