Oakland Unified School District began this school year with some unsettling news: the drinking water in the district’s schools had tested positive for dangerously high levels of lead.

The district had found high levels of lead in the water during tests conducted over spring and summer, but it didn’t share those results with parents and staff until this August.

Lead testing hasn’t been required in California schools for the last five years. That means Oakland Unified is unusual among California school districts in that it knows that there’s a lead problem at all.

Guests:

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Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource's Emma Gallegos and produced by Coby McDonald.

Many school buildings in California are in dilapidated conditions, with leaky roofs, broken concrete, moldy walls or crumbling foundations. Some students suffer without air conditioning even as temperatures soar.

This year, school districts and community colleges are putting an unprecedented $50 billion in construction bonds on local ballots. A $10 billion statewide bond to supplement that money is on the ballot, too.

What's at stake? What do voters need to know about school bonds?

Guests:

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

California made strides attracting new teachers before the pandemic, but the number of new teaching credentials went down 16% in 2021-22 and 14% in 2022-23.

In a 2022 UCLA study, one in five California teachers said they would probably or definitely leave the profession in the next three years — because of burnout, low pay, student apathy and behavioral issues.

Still, thousands of people earn their credentials each year, and thousands of students are passionate about becoming teachers and are working toward that goal. Student journalist Clara Brownstein set out to find out what motivates them to enter the profession.

Guests:

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

California State University and the University of California are revamping protest rules and banning encampments, barriers and, under certain circumstances, the wearing of face masks.

They join a wave of other colleges across the country that have revisited rules about how and where people can demonstrate on their campuses in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests last spring.

The changes have sparked criticism and protest from many students and faculty, who say some of the new restrictions could limit free speech rights.

Guest: Amy DiPierro, Reporter, EdSource

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

When Lenore Skenazy let her nine-year-old son Izzy find his own way home by subway in New York City, she was reviled by some as "America's Worst Mom." But Lenore feels that as a society, adults have taken away freedom and autonomy from children, leaving in their place anxiety and passivity. The organization she co-founded, Let Grow, encourages parents to give their children the kind of small freedoms their generation had enjoyed  as children, such as walking alone to school or to the park, and playing  freely with other children, without being directed by adults.

How can schools and parents give children more free play, independence and responsibility? Is there evidence this can boost mental health and wellbeing?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Free-range parenting: A chat with Lenore Skenazy

If Jennifer Hwang’s son made it to his first grade classroom, it was rarely without a fight. He was having violent outbursts and refusing to go to school many mornings.

University of Southern California researchers recently found that students who are chronically absent from school are much more likely to struggle with mental health challenges.

What can schools do to get these students back in class?

Guests:

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

Rigoberto Sánchez-Mejía has been taking music lessons with Harmony Project, a nonprofit music education organization in Los Angeles, for 12 years, since he was 5 years old. He credits them with putting him on a path to college and giving him a tool to calm down when life is too stressful.

Harmony Project serves about 4,000 kids from low-income communities across Los Angeles and Orange County, giving them free music lessons, instruments and the opportunity to play in orchestras, big band, mariachi groups and more. A staggering 97% of participants graduate high school, and close to 80% go on to college.

What's their secret? How does music education like Harmony's help students in school and life?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: Harmony Project: Harnessing the power of music to boost LAUSD students

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

Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom urged school districts to take steps to restrict cellphone use, and state lawmakers are considering a bill that would restrict student cellphone use at all public schools statewide.

What's it like in school districts that have already taken steps to ban or restrict cell phones and smart watches in the classroom? How do these policies curb bullying, classroom distractions and addiction to mobile devices? What do parents think?

Guests:

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

As students and teachers head back to school across California, they might notice some changes because of a number of new laws that go into effect for the 2024-25 school year. Students will have easier access to mental health care and free menstrual products.

All students will be learning about climate change, beginning in first grade. College students will get more transparency about the cost of books and other materials they need to buy for their classes.

What do these and other laws that go into effect this school year do and why were they enacted? How will students, teachers and parents be affected?

Guests:

Read more from EdSource: New laws impacting education go into effect as the school year begins

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

August 15, 2024

When a parent meets Alisha Schoen in court, it is always a last resort. Schoen is a Santa Clara County prosecutor tasked with bringing the parents of habitually truant students to court. At this point, both the school and district have tried and failed to improve a students’ attendance. 

Parents of habitually truant students risk criminal charges under a 2010 law championed by Kamala Harris, then the San Francisco District Attorney.

But most prosecutors, like Schoen, are not interested in getting a conviction and punishing parents. Instead, Schoen said, they want to find out why a student is missing school and what kind of support or government services might actually help improve their attendance.

Guests:

Education Beat is a weekly podcast. This episode is hosted by EdSource’s Emma Gallegos and produced by Coby McDonald.