On Monday, May 11, 2020, KMTP TV 33, San Francisco, launches Learning Continues, a broadcast initiative enabling tens of thousands of K-12 students in the Bay Area without computers or access to broadband or premium cable channels to have access to instructional and educational programming while schools are closed amid coronavirus concerns. The programs are broadcast free-to-air. Most of the intended students are from low-income households. Many are minorities.

The participating educational program sources will provide the course content curated from their archives, or original educational materials, tailored to try to ensure students do not suffer a penalty from school closings, and to provide an opportunity for enrichment by utilizing advanced innovative learning support.

Local educators will supplement the course content with relevant and culturally centric continuity, explanations, and local color. KMTP producers seek to recruit Bay Area K-12 teachers to source and present on camera high-quality, culturally relevant educational video content. Contact Lorna Jones at 209-640-0082.

Learning Continues will continue through the summer to guard against “summer slide” and to further enhance and enrich students’ learning capacities. Classes are offered Monday through Friday on the station’s primary channel as follows:

• 9.00 a.m. – 10.30 a.m., elementary
• 10.30 a.m. – 12 noon, middle school
• 12 noon – 2.00 p.m., high school

Learning Continues is part of an unprecedented collaboration between:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies (MIT Blossoms), which produces and distributes video lessons covering topics including math and science to high school students around the world.
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
• CPALMS, an educational initiative created by the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (FCR-STEM) at Florida State University. It provides online access to high-quality instructional/educational resources that have been developed specifically for state course standards.
• WatchKnowLearn.org, a platform of thousands of teacher-vetted videos organized by subject matter.
• Ammarra, a Nigerian-based streaming children’s educational resource and animation company, which produces fun and educational material that improves kids’ school readiness and learning outcomes.
• SuperEasyMath.com, which produces a collection of math videos for teachers, students, homeschoolers and parents. It places a focus on help with homework and reinforces previously taught skills.
• Local teachers and educators, producers and poets. Oakland poet Tyson Amir, the son of the former heavyweight boxing champion, is renowned for his Black Boy Poems.

Featured image credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters/Unsplash