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MindShift Podcast

MindShift Podcast

Written by: KQED
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About this listen

 It’s easy to see a child’s education as a path determined by grades, test scores and extra curricular activities. But genuine learning is about so much more than the points schools tally. MindShift explores the future of learning and how we raise our kids. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us @MindShiftKQED or visit us at MindShift.KQED.org. Take our audience survey! https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7297739/b0436be7b132Copyright © 2019 KQED Inc. All Rights Reserved. Parenting Relationships
Episodes
  • Who Misses Out When Tutoring Starts Too Late?

    Who Misses Out When Tutoring Starts Too Late?
    Apr 14 2026
    KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo reports from Bellevue Elementary in Santa Rosa. Abrupt cuts to AmeriCorps funding last year impacted the school-based tutoring there. Principal Nina Craig explains how the loss of tutors affected instruction and student relationships, while new AmeriCorps members, Maya Nurse and Elena Zeoli, describe stepping into classrooms with limited time and resources. This episode explores how even a few missed months of literacy support reduces how many students can be served.
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    16 mins
  • Randy Porter’s Middle School Jazz Band

    Randy Porter’s Middle School Jazz Band
    Mar 10 2026
    In this episode, KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo visits the band room at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland and speaks with longtime music teacher Randy Porter, who is retiring after 40 years in Oakland Unified schools. Porter shares how introducing students to experimental jazz, including the music of Sun Ra, helps young musicians explore creativity and possibility.
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    18 mins
  • Scott R. Levy: How School Boards Can Strengthen Our Democracy

    Scott R. Levy: How School Boards Can Strengthen Our Democracy
    Feb 10 2026
    In this episode KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo speaks with Scott R. Levy, adjunct lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and a former school board member, about why school boards matter more than ever. Levy’s new book, Why School Boards Matter: Reclaiming the Heart of American Education and Democracy, explains how school boards function, how their power has shifted over time and how school boards can serve as a rare space for civic engagement and democratic participation.
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    28 mins
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