In "This Week in California Education,” EdSource’s new podcast, Executive Director Louis Freedberg, and Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald talk about key issues in education that came up this week.  California considers new way of funding state's challenged special education system (read story) State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson files amicus brief against Pres. Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities (read story) How charter schools could benefit from Trump’s education budget (read story) And hear their predictions of the week ..read more

In "This Week in California Education," EdSource's new 15 minute podcast, Executive Director Louis Freedberg, and Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald talk about some of key issues in education that came up in California and nationally this week: Listen here to Louis and John discuss: The imminent release of the long-awaited California School Dashboard. The impact on California of the congressional vote to rescind accountability regulations governing the Every Student Succeeds Act (read more) How President Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are framing "school choice" as a civil ri ..read more

Hello to listeners of This Week in California Education. We’re pleased to introduce EdSource’s new podcast, Education Beat: Getting to the heart of California schools. Join us each week as we cover everything from preschool to college, bringing you the personal stories behind the headlines. As California students and teachers head back to in-person school this fall, we’ll be looking at how schools are preparing to help students with grief and loss caused by the pandemic, why it matters that California will be offering free school lunch to everyone and how teachers are preparing for their firs ..read more

This week, Anne Vasquez, EdSource’s new executive director, outlines her vision for the organization. She reflects on how growing up in Miami — the daughter of immigrants fleeing Cuba penniless under Fidel Castro — shaped her perspectives on education and the dual roles of equity and merit in providing opportunities for all of California’s children. The veteran journalist, newspaper executive and former chief digital officer for Tribune Publishing discusses how strengthening storytelling can widen EdSource’s audience of teachers and parents. She was interviewed by podcast host John Fensterwald ..read more

Louis Freedberg stepped down this week after serving as EdSource’s executive director for a decade. During his tenure, EdSource broadened its mission to include education reporting, expanded its coverage to include early education and higher education, and increased its audience and impact significantly. In his last podcast as co-host of “This Week in California Education”  – the 200th episode! – Freedberg reflects on  how growing up in South Africa shaped his views of race relations and education in America. He discusses  the challenges of education reporting in California duri ..read more

The U.S. is confronting the rise of white supremacy, disinformation, and extreme threats to democracy — while a global pandemic has created the worst health and economic emergency of our time. How can educators cultivate the informed, engaged, and effective citizenry we desperately need to ensure the strengthening of a socially just democracy?  Research shows that teaching controversial issues leads to students’ increased political knowledge, interest and engagement, but for a range of reasons educators often avoid it. We devote this week’s podcast to this critically important issue. Gues ..read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spark the higher education aspirations of all families by providing a $500 college savings account for all low-income 1st graders – 3.7 million over time — at a cost of $2 billion. The proposal was a surprise piece of his $20 billion, 5-year “transformational” package for K-12 in the May state budget revision that he presented this week. College savings accounts are not a new concept but they’ve never been done on this scale. We discuss the merits and specifics with two leaders of Oakland Promise, an organization that has an extensive college savings plan and college ..read more

Like a category 4 hurricane, Covid-19 has undermined the state’s newly built school accountability dashboard and system of state and county support for schools deemed to need help for poor performance. It could be a few years before the system is fully back up and running. Meanwhile, school districts and charter schools are getting tens of billions of dollars in state and federal Covid relief to spend. Advocates for low-income students are thrilled about the prospects for post-pandemic help for students but also worry a once-in-a-generation opportunity will be missed if money isn’t spent effec ..read more

This week, Los Angeles Unified Supt. Austin Beutner announced his resignation, effective June 30, after 3 years in charge. We discuss the pressures and tensions of leading the nation’s second largest school district during the pandemic and the challenges lying ahead. Also this week, California released data showing a 2.6% decline in K-12 enrollment, the largest drop in 20-plus years. More than a third was in kindergarten. We examine what districts must do to help our youngest students catch up with lost reading and socializing skills. John Fensterwald and Louis Freedberg are the cohosts. Our g ..read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week that school districts and the state’s 2- and 4-year colleges and universities should reopen to full, in-person instruction after June 15. The California Department of Public Health announced the state would end the color-coded tier system that restricted business and school openings based on infection rates. The combined announcements would be a big step toward normalcy. We explore the impact of Newsom’s pronouncement on the fall for K-12  and the state’s 115 community colleges. A key positive takeaway said the chief lobbyist for the organization represent ..read more