Education Beat

Mar 13 2025 172 ep. 18 mins 15

Education Beat Podcast artwork

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 voices that are too often drowned out in the broader conversation: parents, teachers, and the students themselves.

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Undocumented student civic engagement in the Trump era (Live at SXSW EDU)

Undocumented young people risked everything decades ago to "come out of the shadows” and push loudly and proudly for their right to stay in this country. That movement is, in large part, the reason that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) exists. Yet there is still no path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants and DACA has not accepted new applications since 2

Is LAUSD misusing its money for arts education?

In 2022, California voters passed Proposition 28, a law meant to address the paltry and inequitable arts education funding in most schools. Vicky Martinez, a parent of three sons in Los Angeles Unified School District, says her children need a robust arts education in the wake of the pandemic, but the district isn’t providing that. Martinez and other parents joined a lawsui

Former foster youth often struggle to get through college. Here’s how some programs help

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

This curriculum helps immigrant students fill learning gaps

When immigrant students have missed years of school in their home countries, they not only have to learn English, but also the basics of how to read and write in any language and the math and science they missed. But the materials to cover that knowledge can often seem boring or childish to older students, causing them to disengage. Oakland Unified School District is now pilotin

Ethnic studies requirement sparks debate in Palo Alto

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-Amer

California is preparing more Latino teachers than before

The majority of students in California schools are Latino, while the teachers are mostly white. But that could now be changing, as more people of Latino heritage enroll in teacher preparation programs in the state. How can more Latino teachers change California education? Guests: Zulya Nunez, Teacher candidate, San Diego State University Diana Lambert, Reporter, EdSou

Teachers, students reel from Los Angeles fires

The firestorms in Los Angeles have destroyed at least nine schools and displaced hundreds of teachers and students. A teacher shares the story of her family's escape, and a reporter describes the physical and emotional damage to schools and communities. Guests: Tanya Reyes, teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District and parent in Pasadena Unified School District M

What to watch for in California education in 2025

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

Bachelor’s degrees in prison offer incarcerated students a second chance (Re-broadcast)

This week we’re re-running a special episode from 2023 that recently won 1st place for best longform storytelling in audio from the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California. The last couple of years have seen an expansion of bachelor’s degree programs in prison. Inside the first women’s program at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla

Family reunited after four years separated by immigration policy (Re-broadcast)

This week we’re re-running an episode from 2023, that won several awards this year, including a 1st place in immigration reporting and one of the best podcasts in the state from the California News Publishers Association, and 3rd place in immigration and border reporting from Best of the West. About 1 in 10 children in California have at least one undocumented immigrant parent