As many schools and districts in the Bay Area and across California suspend classes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the San Francisco-based PBS and NPR member station KQED announced an ambitious plan to support at-home learning for students by delivering a new weekday television schedule of educational programs aligned to state standards and by creating a suite of free digital learning resources accessible from home.
“These school closures bring unique challenges for teachers, parents and caregivers in how to keep teenagers and kids engaged and learning,” says KQED President and CEO Michael Isip. “As a community-based public media station and as a hub for digital learning resources, KQED can play a critical role in helping create a learning environment with trusted and quality resources outside of the classroom and at home.”
KQED will dedicate the daytime weekday schedule on KQED Plus to California state standards-aligned educational programming provided by PBS SoCal and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The new 6am to 6pm schedule includes specific blocks of time for pre-K through 12th grade levels and covers subjects, including English language arts, social studies, science and math.
“Teachers across California are concerned for their students who will not have easy access to online learning at home," says Robin Mencher, KQED’s Executive Director of Education. “The new daily TV programming will help bridge the digital divide for these students and provide equitable access to learning for all students.”
As part of this unprecedented collaboration with PBS SoCal / KCET, KQED has developed corresponding free digital content for at-home learning and support for teachers navigating this new learning landscape. Aligned to the same California content standards and topic areas as the broadcast service, KQED is creating and sharing the following free resources for teachers here: