The Annenberg Learner Podcast

This episode is a two-parter. The first half of the conversation features Beth Pratt, who serves as the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation. Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign and has worked in environmental leadership roles for over twenty-five years.   

The second half of this episode is with math interventionist Keri Brown, who tells us how she uses social media to connect with other teachers online. Brown has been teaching in central Alabama for 14 years and has experience in kindergarten, first, and second grade.  

The Annenberg Learner Podcast features Thai Buckman, Program Coordinator at the South L.A. Best Buy Teen Tech Center. In this episode, Buckman discusses her work with youth, the importance of nurturing positive relationships with students, and the role of the South L.A. Best Buy Teen Tech Center in igniting a fresh wave of creativity and innovation within the community. 

This episode is part II of the LA84 Foundation and College Football Playoffs – Champions Educate Here. In part I, we interviewed Renata Simril at President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, who spoke about the benefits of play and movement for our youth. Today, we welcome Jason Morgan, a recipient of the College Football Playoff Champion Educator Award. 

Renata Simril is the President and CEO of the LA84 Foundation, the youth serving organization committed to transforming the lives of youth in Southern California through sports and play programs, through ongoing investments, infrastructure, research, and education as a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Chemistry: Challenges and Solutions is a video course designed to learn general chemistry concepts using real-life challenges in energy, materials development, biochemistry, and the environment. 

Franny Reynolds is a Teen Advisor for Teen Talk App. Teen Talk App provides a free, anonymous, safe space for teens to request support from trained peers and learn from others with similar experiences. Franny Reynolds is a senior at Santa Monica High School and has been a Teen Advisor for over a year.

Josh Fryday serves as California's Chief Service Officer within the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom to lead service, volunteer, and civic engagement efforts throughout California. Since appointed, California Volunteers has launched the nation's first statewide Climate Action Corps, Californians for All Volunteer Initiative, a statewide neighbor-to-neighbor campaign, and the Californians for All College Program, which we'll dive into today to help thousands of Californians who commit to serving for a year pay for college.

Dr. Vivian Ekchian was named the 2022 Los Angeles County Superintendent of the Year. Vivian Ekchian is a lifelong educator, visionary leader, and champion for equity with a relentless focus on accelerating student outcomes. A longstanding Glendale resident, Dr. Ekchian is a 30+ year urban school district educator with a proven track record of implementing reform in complex systems.

The Annenberg Learner Podcast welcomes Michelle Stradford, the 2022 Teacher of the Year recipient, on today’s episode! Stradford is a fifth-grade teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School in Beverly Hills Unified School District.

The Annenberg Learner Podcast welcomes William Morejón, the 2022 Teachers of the Year recipient, on today’s episode! Morejón is a high school math teacher and chair of the mathematics department at Hawthorne High School.

Neuroscience & the Classroom: Making Connections - a video course designed to familiarize K-12 educators with current neuroscience research that could be used in the classroom.

Adam Lane is a principal at Haines City Senior High School in Polk County District, Florida. Adam Lane has worked in K-12 public education since 1995, ranging from high, middle, and elementary schools. During that time, Lane also held various positions as a teacher, department head, athletic coach, athletic trainer, assistant principal, and principal.

LabXchange is a digital tool with interactive, high-quality science materials widely and freely available. LabXchange resources invite learners to see themselves as scientists and make science fun, inspiring, and accessible, with the ultimate goal of making science more inclusive and diverse.

Matthew Woods is the author of the children's book series I Wanna Be, host of the K-12 podcast, Leading Out the Woods, and creator of a recently released online professional development course called Leading Out the Woods: Building Relationship in collaboration with School Rubric. Matthew Woods is a Discovery Education DEN Star educator, which means he was selected and is recognized for his deep knowledge of the platform and Discovery Education digital offerings.

Statistics in Schools (SIS) brings school subjects to life using real-world U.S. Census Bureau statistics to create materials for K-12 students. The SIS site includes engaging resources and activities in Social Studies, Math, English, Geography, Sociology, and more. Statistics In Schools is designed by teachers for teachers, and the resources are easily customized and completely free.

Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that provides students with proven, individualized reading support needed to read at grade level by 4th grade. CEO Adeola Whitney discusses the importance of reading and how the pandemic widened the gap for students in under-resourced communities.

Bruce Fuller is a professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He recently released When Schools Work, a book that looks at why student achievement climbed in Los Angeles between 2002-2019, and how a variety of reforms across the city were initiated by local civic activists.

Chheav Em joined the Best Buy Social Impact team. Now as Best Buy Los Angeles Community Impact Hub Manager, Chheav thrives to cultivate the relationships needed in Los Angeles County to develop tangible pathways into the creative economy for young people in disinvested communities.he majority of the 20 years Chheav has committed to youth work were spent at Bresee Foundation where she provided over half a million dollars in scholarships, established a robust college access retention program, expanded the workforce development programs available to young people, and supported the build out of Los Angeles’ first Best Buy Teen Tech Center.

Elmer Roldan is Executive Director of Communities in Schools Los Angeles (CISLA). Roldan is responsible for overseeing implementation of CISLA’s strategic direction and annual goals, collaborating with CIS national and CISLA board to ensure CISLA’s success, raising the annual operating budget, managing organization-wide budget, finances, and external relationships and partnerships. Mr. Roldan most recently served as Director of Civic Engagement in the Office of the Superintendent at LAUSD and brings experience from United Way of Greater Los Angeles, where he served as an Education Program Officer before being promoted to Director of Education, Programs, and Policy.

Haydee Rodriguez is a National Board-Certified teacher, and bilingual and bicultural high school teacher who received her Bachelor's in History from San Diego State University and earned a graduate degree in Education from Stanford University. As a graduate student at Stanford, she participated in the founding of East Palo Alto High School, an urban college prep student-centered, teacher-led school. In 2014, Rodriguez was appointed by Governor Brown to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, where she chaired the Educator Preparation Committee and served as a liaison to the Committee on Accreditation. She also served on the national board for professional teaching standards...

Rafael Cruz is a Los Angeles Unified School District Teacher at Hollenbeck Middle School and 2021-2022 Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year. Rafael has over 16 years of teaching experience and currently teaches STEM courses.

In 2020, a group of over 30 STEM organizations came together to provide coordinated learning opportunities for Los Angeles students. Over 80,000 and counting K-8 students have participated in live, online and in-person programs that engage students in STEM learning opportunities. We're honored to welcome Ben Dickow, the President and Executive Director of Columbia Memorial Space Center and Leader of Expand LA. Ben led the strategic vision, operations, and sustainability plan of the nonprofit space museum and hands-on STEM learning center to ignite a community of creative and critical thinkers.

Susanna Loeb is Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where she is also Professor of Education and Professor of International and Public Affairs. Her work has addressed issues of educator career choices, and professional development of school finance and governance, and of early childhood systems. She is the founder and acting Executive Director of the National Student Support Accelerator. Before moving to Brown, Susanna was the Barnett Family Professor of Education at Stanford University. She was the founding Director of the Center for Education Policy at Stanford and Co-Director of Policy Analysis for California Education.

Step Up Tutoring is a non-profit organization formed during the pandemic to deliver free, online tutoring. Since inception, Step Up Tutoring has served over 800 students and received over 3,000 tutor volunteer applications. Step Up Tutoring’s mission is to innovate and scale free online tutoring for families who cannot afford private tutoring, while providing mentorship and emotional support for students.

In March 2020, Annenberg Learner partnered with Two Bit Circus to provide FREE STEAM-based online projects for K-12 students. The Annenberg Learner site contains over 150 hands-on science, arts, and tech projects designed for educators, parents, and children across the country and around the world. Two Bit Circus Foundation serves children in all economic situations by creating learning experiences to inspire entrepreneurship, encourage young inventors, and instill environmental stewardship.