Mar 31

Mar 31 KVIE, public library, offer virtual learning resources for kids who are out of school

Investing in young people, Giving back to the community

Working with the Sacramento City Unified School District, Public Broadcasting Station KVIE Monday significantly expanded its educational programming to serve students who are out of school.

Channel KVIE World will now air expanded content for students in grades 6 through 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. KVIE PBS Kids is also offering anytime access to educational programming for kids ages 2-8.

The new offerings targeting middle and high-school students follow the rollout earlier this month of curriculum for grades pre-K through 12 on KVIE 2. The station has been airing programming for grades pre-K through grade 3 from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., grades 4 through 8 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and grades 9 through 12 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“While local school districts formalize distance learning plans, this partnership ensures that students will be able to access quality educational content regardless of whether they have a computer in their home,” said Sacramento Councilmember Eric Guerra, who has been representing the city in working with the district and media partners. “Once those plans are in place, the KVIE curriculum will remain an important source of enrichment content for kids in these weeks when they are outside of the formal classroom.”

Councilmember Guerra also noted that the Sacramento Public Library offers a wealth of educational resources for teachers and families on its website, including Spanish language content. The library also offers live online tutoring in math, social sciences, writing and other topics.

“While our schools are closed to slow the spread of Coronavirus, we are working hard to minimize the disruption in learning for our students,” said Jessie Ryan, president of the SCUSD Board. “This exciting partnership with KVIE gives all Sacramento area students access to free, standards-based instruction. We cannot let a digital divide or lack of access to in-person instruction set our students back during school closures.”KVIE President and General Manager David Lowe noted that the statement has been at the forefront of educational media since 1959.

“Now, through this public health crisis, we are pleased to be able to partner with the City of Sacramento and Sacramento schools to provide at-home learning for students throughout the region on both KVIE2 and KVIE World, in addition to our 24/7 preschool programming on KVIE Kids,” Lowe said. “This programming is aligned with state standards and can be supplemented with digital lesson plans and more at PBSlearningmedia.org."

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg thanked Councilmember Guerra for working to get quality resources up quickly both online and on television for Sacramento students. “I hope all of our districts will soon be able to offer teacher-driven, remote education plans for each child,” Mayor Steinberg said. “In the meantime, we have to offer online and television resources so our kids don’t lose weeks of valuable learning time.”