LISTEN: Young people who’ve been in the foster care system often struggle to get to and through college. Some studies show that programs designed just for supporting these students — with scholarships, counseling and peer support, for example — can make a big difference.
In this episode, we bring you the story of one student who dropped out of college, then returned years later with renewed resolve and the support of a program for former foster youth.
Full episdoe: https://bit.ly/410oP3u
Guests:
• Faylen Bush, Student, Río Hondo College
• Betty Márquez Rosales, Reporter, EdSource
How Compton Unified boosted its standardized test scores
Between 2022 and 2024, Compton Unified School District has seen a steady rise in students’ performance on standardized tests in math, and their reading scores saw a jump post pandemic — an improvement that doesn’t surprise district Superintendent Darin Brawley, who has been leading the district since 2012.
Brawley attributes the district’s growth to ongoing diagnostic assessments in both English language arts and math, allocating resources based on students’ performance and aligning district standards to the state’s dashboard. Learn more: https://bit.ly/42LEN3X
LISTEN: A school board meeting in Palo Alto Unified offers a peek into an argument brewing in some school districts statewide over whether ethnic studies should be a requirement for all high school students, and what the course should — or shouldn’t — teach.
Students say the courses opened their eyes to inequities in their own communities and taught them history about African-Americans, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans that they hadn’t learned in other classes.
Some parents and school board members in the community argue that courses in some districts take a one-sided view that stresses white supremacy, colonialism and capitalism are the obstacles to racial justice. Full episode: https://bit.ly/3WGK8Wn
Tanya Reyes, a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, initially tried to befriend her reality.
But when her husband sent her a video of her Altadena home up in flames, and she heard him cry, she had to press pause.
“I’ve only watched parts of it, but I know at one point he starts crying. … It just felt surreal,” Reyes said. “We’re worried about our neighbors, worried about who’s safe, the peacocks that lived on our street.” Read more: https://bit.ly/3E3JWdb
LISTEN: The new year is a time of rituals and traditions. Some people swear by eating black-eyed peas or lentils every January 1st to bring good luck. Others eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. At EdSource, we turn to John Fensterwald and his annual predictions column.
Every year, John tells us what he thinks might or might not happen in California education this year. Sometimes he’s wrong. But he often gets more than a few things right. Listen in to find out what he foresees for 2025.
Full episode: https://bit.ly/4229W2J
When Gabriela Rodriguez was in third grade in San Jose Unified, her teacher recommended her for a scholarship to join the New Ballet school.
Now, at 19, she is starring in The San Jose Nutcracker and dreams of teaching others the joy of dance.
How can dance and other arts inspire and impact students’ education and life trajectories?
Full episode: https://bit.ly/3BGCJ23
Should colleges give credit for learning outside the classroom?
LISTEN: Alice Keeney had to study for months in the Navy to learn how to operate nuclear reactors that power submarines and aircraft carriers. But when she tried to transfer her classes over to Cal Poly Pomona, they wouldn’t give her credit.
Why is credit for learning outside the classroom important? And how did Alice — and her allies — eventually change how CSUs evaluate transcripts? Full episode: https://bit.ly/4iBMcIr
Ballet opens doors for children to chase the joy of dance
Gabriela Rodriguez first glimpsed the magic of ballet in the third grade. The 7-year-old didn’t know a pirouette from a puppet when she first got tapped for the New Ballet School’s First Step program, which brings the joy of dance to low-income students in the San Jose Unified school district.
As a tiny tot, she loved to dance with her Wii every day after school. Now she’s 19, studying Level 6, the highest level at the ballet school, and is also a member of the studio company, a stepping stone to becoming a professional ballerina. The supple dancer with a sunny personality seems to float across the studio at a recent “Nutcracker” rehearsal, twirling like a spinning top.
Dance has changed her life forever, she says. She’ll never forget the first time she watched the beauty of “Swan Lake” unfurl on stage. Read more: https://bit.ly/4f3QTYD
Hi, I’m Emma Gallegos, and I report on equity in education at EdSource.
Today is #GivingTuesday, and it’s a big day for nonprofits like us. We rely on donations from readers to produce the education journalism that paves the way for a more equitable future for all students.
If you believe in our mission of equity, I’m asking you to show your support by making a donation today. We have a one-day fundraising goal to raise $4,000 on Giving Tuesday.
I also want to share with you, in my own voice, about what it’s like covering a topic that is central to all of the journalism we produce at EdSource.
I hope you’ll take a minute to watch the video below to learn more about our commitment to covering historically underserved students — and to learn more about what your donations would directly support. Donate today: bit.ly/3D1eFHt
Search your school: https://bit.ly/3V09ZYt
Take a look at this map, which shows active lead levels at school sites as well as the number of fixtures that have been tested.
This November for the first time ever in California, some 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote. Full episode: https://bit.ly/4e53cn6
Voters in Oakland and Berkeley both passed measures years ago to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections, but it took four and eight years, respectively, for the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to implement the law.
A high school junior reflects on the significance of this moment and the importance of civic engagement for teenagers.
What is California doing — or not doing — about lead in school drinking water?
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.
Full episode: https://bit.ly/4eVRIn1
