First day of school in San Diego (2023)

S1: It's time for the lunch edition on Kpbs. Today is the first day back to school for many students across San Diego, from K-12 through higher education. We'll talk about the news. I'm Jade Hindman. Here are talks that will inform, inspire and make you think. San Diego Unified's superintendent talks about the benefits of opening more public schools.

S2: Really, it's about bringing community resources into the school as a hub.

S1: Additionally, we will discuss statewide efforts to enroll more students in community colleges. We will discuss the programs offered by colleges in San Diego. It's ahead of the Lunchtime Edition. After a one-day delay due to Tropical Storm Hillary. The first day of school has arrived for much of San Diego, including the San Diego Unified School District. It is the largest school district in the county and the second largest in California with nearly 100,000 students. Kpbs education reporter MJ Perez spoke with San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Lamont Jackson to discuss the new school year and how the district is prioritizing a new approach to education by opening more public schools in the area this year . Here is part of that conversation.

S3: So this is the first day at school. I remember the excitement of my first day, especially the primary school supplies, the new teachers, the smell of the notebooks. Tell me about your favorite first day memory.

S2: Dr. Jackson This is an amazing day. Like me, we finished the course last year. I said, this is the second best day. The first day of school brings me a lot of hope and excitement. And I guess my best memory from day one is a brand new outfit. I know I don't have hair now, but a hairstyle, right? Just to get everything right so you can show up and hopefully do well in school. Law. It is also refreshing to be in classes with other students, with new students. So these are the best memories. It was for us too when we didn't have much money when you were going to school to buy, as you mentioned, school supplies. You had school supplies. Law. A new backpack, new pencils, if there was some excitement and some nervousness around it. I think there was also nervousness. Being new at a grade level, being new at a new school. When we were going from elementary school to high school and then high school. So I can't single out a memory. I think it's a combination of all the memories.

S3: Well, at this point, I'm personally going back to school, which is an achievement in itself. We've been through a lot.

S2: It is. And this is our second full year of personal learning. And we've seen an increase in our participation since last school year and we're really excited to see even bigger increases this year. There is nothing like personal learning. There is nothing like the humanity that comes from the connection between an educator, a campus security staff member, an undercover staff member, a support staff member greeting a student. There is nothing like the bond between a bus driver and a student riding the bus. There is nothing better than connecting a qualified doctor and a student with a disability. There is nothing greater than that human connection and love that happens when, when all goes well, our students make progress. And I'm really looking forward to it. And I'm a big believer in the personal connection that there's something about online learning, something about virtual learning. But for public education. And we in San Diego, you know, we want to get in front of our students. We want to be what they need. And we can only truly be that when we are in person. And I'm very excited about it. This year.

S3: We talked before about the mental health crisis we've seen in young people in recent years.

S2: I think many people lived in silence. They did not express themselves. They had no means. They had no room to show themselves as full. And in many cultures and climates, mental health was not something they talked about outside of the military and returning from war. PTSD was an under-discussed mental health issue. I think we're doing a much better job of exposing individuals, human beings to what they suffered in silence. And it's much more public. And with that comes self-referencing, right? So we have more referrals, you know, students articulate. What they feel. And I think that's really special. When students can find their voice and share and confide in us how they're feeling, and we're able to provide those resources. First of all, hats off to our educators. Who are the first counselors I know of that are not certified counselors or chartered counselors. They don't have degrees, but they are the first person a student can turn to. Our campus office staff, trusted adult, our adults create a space for students to tell them how they feel. And then we can connect them to our school counselor, the staff, the counseling center. We also have mental health doctors and then we can also refer students to outside resources, connect them with their own insurers, write them their own health insurance or we can insure them if they meet certain criteria. So we have internal and external support for our students. Above all, however, is the education of the students. It's about listening to our students and making sure we can offer them the right support. And we got engaged last year, my first year I should say, going back two years. This is the third year, $30 million for mental health, because it was so important. And thank you to Nicole DeWitt, who is leading our effort and our advisory team to actually bring in partners, mental health partners, to support our students. And we've seen an increase in referrals. We have seen an increase in support over the past year and look forward to being able to provide it. Although we don't say, you know, we want to have spaces in places where students feel hopeless. We want to make sure we're there to support them before they try to solve problems on their own.

S3: So to make sure you need staff. One thing that Covid has done is affect your staff.

S2: We certainly have some difficult challenges that fill all our resources for students with disabilities. This was a challenge. But when it comes to our hard stuff, like math and science, we do really well. And I want to publicly thank all the dedicated educators at San Diego Unified. And, you know, we focus on recruitment and retention. First of all, we have to pay people. And I'm so proud of what our team has done this year with our partners and the 15% pay increase for our teachers, our classical staff, our bus drivers, our security guard. So this is first and foremost. The other thing is the teaching guide and we're really working to recruit our students, the 11th graders and the 12th graders who are interested in becoming educators and we're also working with our college to make sure they can get into teaching. We also have a partnership where we employ some of our paraprofessionals who are currently providing support in another area to certify them so they can be certified. Teachers too. And the other part of Teach Lead is our student internship programs where we actually have high school students through the Extended Learning Opportunities program come into our classrooms in the summer and teach side-by-side with a certified teacher who teaches our young students. It happened in Canyon Hills, and it happened in Mira Mesa this year. And next year we will expand to San Diego.

S3: Let's not fool around. It was quite a feat to negotiate with the teachers union. What did these negotiations do to the relationship and trust? And honestly, how did you get there? 15% is a significant salary increase. It was your former teacher, you know, them.

S2: They deserve they deserve this and more. And we said we want to be the highest paying district in this county and we're very proud of the 100% benefits package that we have. You said it better. It is trust with partners. But at the core, it's a belief that our teachers, our staff, deserve it. This is first and foremost. As a district, we need to value our employees and be able to pay them. What is their value? And so, to me, it's not, you know, can we afford it? The question is, can we afford it? And the answer is no. You know, we used to be understaffed, right? We can't afford it. Our students, our parents, our families, our community, this great city deserves to show up for our students. And if we don't have the staff to do that, we're in trouble.

S3: I want to talk a little bit about your budget. Anti-Covid funds are running out and there is a $200 million budget deficit.

S2: All four year olds welcome. And so we were able to use the funds in these ways. And as those funds dwindle, we will find ourselves looking for ways to make up the shortfall. So as we plan for the coming years, we need to take that into account. Again, our commitment first and foremost has been to make sure our staff have a wage, a living wage, that gives them some comfort so they don't have to do a lot of work if they don't want to. And that was our priority. And it will be up to us as a community to call on the state to defend itself. And we will continue to do so. It's been years now. Several years have passed. We will start the preparations. We're going to start tightening the belt. But first and foremost, the resources must be in the schools. This is our commitment. And our students, with the support of their families, will get the support they need.

S3: Let's talk a little bit about what happens in the classroom in campuses, community schools. You're taking a big step this semester by opening more public schools. First of all, tell us what is a community school? I discovered that people are like a community school.

S2: You know, when I was accepted as a senior, the community spoke and the community said, we have to support the whole child. When we talk about the whole child, we're not just talking about academics. Social emotional needs, mental health needs, in fact, are about bringing community resources into the school as a hub. So when you talk about mental health, you have support there. When you talk about physical health, we have on-site clinics, and if you look at Hoover, they have dental facilities on campus. You talk about food and nutrition, where you have gardens, you have pantries, you have a place where people can come. And so you really have partners. When you say, how do you do it as a school district around mental health, it's community partners, right? They bring in community partners and really have a dialogue about what the community wants for their school. This is their school and it really has the resources where they need them, with students supported by their families at the center, at the heart, with staff closest to the students there. And the other thing is that we have coordinators, local school coordinators in each place, and they're the ones who can coordinate all these community partners to come and play a role in serving our students. And so going from five public schools to 15, tripling that number and really investing in our communities that need us the most, you.

S3: Ask for help from. Country.

S2: Country. We get help from the state. But again, working with our working groups is critical and we have a really strong steering group so that the site is really making decisions that it's not top-down, which is really key. And that's actually what we want for all schools. But often, as you mentioned, we don't always have the resources to coordinate partnerships. And, you know, over the last 20 years, we've seen a decline in public education. And which things go first? Community Coordinator. Law. Connections. We have reduced it further. Even now, we can take those resources back from the schools and really commit to it. And it needs leadership. You know, I take my hat off to the leaders of these community schools because they really say I'm not real. Law. We are the way. And it is precisely in this spirit of Ubuntu that they lead by recognizing that it is what it is because of the community. And that's, that's actually the basic model of community schools. It's about health, it's about safety, it's about academics, it's about wanting the best, it's about the whole child.

S3: The flip side of kids being in class and working hard is chronic absenteeism. Yes, Covid has kicked out a lot of students.

S2: We know we saw that attendance rates were low the first year we went back to the hybrid model as well. And then last year, we saw an increase, especially with our chronic absences. We also had the great privilege of welcoming our first students, transition students to the Catholic Kindergarten. And that enrollment, our commitment to our first students, has allowed us to maintain our enrollment because across the country we don't know where the students are going. However, we are seeing a decline in enrollment across the country. And so for us, we're seeing an increase in daily attendance. And I think that number is going to grow, and that's what we're very focused on. In fact, last year we hired 12, I mean 12 positions. It could be 15 posts going door to door, meeting with families, asking them what they need in terms of support so their children can go back to school on a regular basis and attend regularly. And it's a way, you know, an automated call, an email or even a text message is kind of archaic, and yet it's a new way. But I will say even more archaic. And as we must be, we must be, we must bring more humanity. We have to go door to door and we have to knock and say, we love you, we care about you, we have resources. How may we help you? Because that's the reality. There is not one reason for all students to be outside, there are others. And we must be differentiated in our approach.

S3:

S2:

S1: That was San Diego Unified Schools Superintendent Lamont Jackson speaking to Kpbs education reporter MG Perez. What resources do you think students need as they return to school? Call us at (619) 452-0228. Please leave a message or you can email us at noon at Kpbs. Org. The discussion continues with a look at how local colleges are working to get students back into the classroom.

S4: So this is the biggest drop in enrollment we've seen since 1992.

S1: You are listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. Welcome back to Noon Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. From schools to colleges, and especially colleges in San Diego, starting a new semester today. They are doing so with the challenge of restoring enrollments after falling during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the same can be said for community colleges across the state. But the challenge is being met with new marketing efforts and new program offerings. Adam Engelman wants to tell us more. Covers California colleges for Calmatters in partnership with Open Campus. Adam, welcome to the Lunch Edition.

S4: Thanks for having me, Jade.

S1: I'm so glad you're here. In your report, you write that California colleges have lost nearly 20% of their students since the start of the pandemic. That seems like a lot.

S4: So the first data we have is from 1992. So that's the biggest drop in enrollment that we've seen since 1992. I mean, there's a lot of things going on, but basically you can say the pandemic is, you know, a lot of students, their lives just disappear completely. Things happened. They should have stayed home. People didn't want it to be an online school. Many students have realized that they need to speed up and work, that they just can't be in school now. This is a major trend we've always seen with community college enrollment. When there are jobs in the market, people drop out of college and work. When the economy crashes, students flock to college. The pandemic was a little weird, you know, because there were jobs, but the economy was bad. It was a strange combination, but overall we saw a huge drop in community college enrollment, and now it's starting to come back.

S1:

S4: But you know, this transition from personal to online, it's a disruption. Whenever there is a shift, you lose students. So, you know, going from a community college to a four-year, you lose students whenever you have to go from one year to another, you lose students. There are only these drop-off locations at any given time. It's important for someone to say, you know what, I'm going back to work, or, Oh, I see a job for $15 an hour at the local grocery store. I will work there for a while and save money and maybe go to college later. And all of these small choices add up to a big decline in enrollment across the state.

S1:

S4: CSUs experienced a decline in enrollment. It depends what year it is. I mean, at one point during the pandemic, CSU actually had its largest enrollment ever. But over time they have now decreased by about a few percentage points. The UC system did not show the same reductions. Actually, there was more demand because, you know, they're generally selective institutions. Many people want to go to. The American system has some of the most selective institutions in the country. And that's why you don't see the same drops. But when you look at the number of students in the state at CSU and UCS, you know, the numbers haven't grown the way that maybe some legislators could or would like.

S1:

S4: One of the prominent jobs of a community college is to prepare people for four-year institutions. You can get a two-year associate degree and then you can use it to transfer to a CSU. Or you see, it's a cheaper way to get a four-year degree and a more local way. You know, these community colleges, they're just more than CSUs or UCSs. There are 116 community colleges across the state, but community colleges do a lot of other things, too. You can get a career certificate, like if you want to be an EMT or if you want to, you know, get a certificate, auto mechanic certificate or something like that. There is a lot of professional training. Also, community colleges offer English language courses. I mean, really, there are a lot of different missions and objectives. And so the general problem is when you're trying to evaluate the success of community colleges, you have to ask, well, you know, what are we evaluating here? Because there are many different types of students. There's a joke that community colleges tell and they say that. So often it's not really funny anymore. They like to say they accept 100% of the best students. And it is true. Everyone comes in, which means you're serving a really, really diverse population.

S1:

S4: There is a lot of research showing that the two are always inversely related. More jobs means fewer community college students and vice versa. Like during the financial crisis, you know, in 2008, community colleges saw a jump in enrollment because there were fewer jobs. People said, okay, it's time to go back to school when there's more work. And there are still plenty of jobs available right now. Students say, you know what, I'm going to be late for college. I will do that later, especially when we look at certain industries like logistics, for example. So in places like Amazon that have pretty high starting salaries, you don't need an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree to work as an Amazon associate. You can make $16, $17, even $18 or $19 an hour depending on where you are. That's pretty good pay for someone without an associate's or bachelor's degree. And a lot of students say, You know what, I'll do it for a while. But colleges will say, you've maxed out, you need training or career development. So there's always that back and forth.

S1:

S4: A big thing is something. This is called double registration. So the new chancellor of the community college addresses the high school students and says they should start college. Now we should be offering community colleges to every community college class, I would say, to every high school student in California. And they do. And so, a large number of public colleges have seen an increase in enrollment this year. The students return, but the students are actually high school students. That's a big thing we see. But there are other things that colleges do too. For example, the state has put a lot of money into marketing and helping community colleges put up ads and you'll see them walking around. So San Diego has this really funny ad campaign. They're basically trying to screw things up this time. You know, usually when you think of an ad for college, you're going to see a student with a book that says you can go to college or something. Not in San Diego, in the San Diego Community College area, they have a whole series of campaigns. And as one of the commercials says, for example, that San Diego is famous for its tacos or it's famous for its food, I think that's what it's saying. And they have the word food crossed out. And instead of saying primary schools. So it reads that San Diego is known for its community colleges. And there's a picture of the tacos next to it. And there's a little line, Are you ready to talk about your education? I mean, it's so cheesy, but like, hey, if it gets your attention, it gets your attention.

S1: Food has a way of doing that.

S4: There is definitely food. They have another ad with surfers. Same idea. You know, San Diego is famous for surfing. Cross it. It is known for its community colleges. So the state has put a lot of aid dollars into community colleges to help them get people back to school, because we know that's good for the economy in the long run. And a lot of colleges said, okay, we're going to do a lot of things. We will put up billboards everywhere. San Diego, colleges are calling students left and right. So they get a call from someone who may have filled out an application but never showed up for the first day of class. They text them, saying, what happened? And there's research that shows that in some cases that can be the impetus for someone to say, oh yeah, I have to go to college.

S1: You are listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. I speak with Calmatters reporter Adam Eshelman about the California college's efforts to increase enrollment. Well, Adam, in addition to the issue of declining enrollment, your report also says that California colleges are also failing to make the grade in terms of the number of students who end up transferring to four-year colleges and universities.

S4: There are many different ways to measure bitrates. But, you know, in an analysis that we did, it was under 10% statewide. In other words, less than 10% of students who. Enroll in community college. He actually ended up transferring to a four-year institution. Part of the reason these numbers are low is that students have a lot going on. Many students work full-time. Students have children. It takes a long time to get to school. The other thing is, in the data set that we looked at, you know, we looked at students who said at the beginning of the community college that they wanted to transfer to a four-year institution like UC San Diego or another four-year institution. And some students change their minds in the middle of their college journey. So there are many different reasons why the numbers are low. I think the number itself, below 10%, is alarming, but at the same time it does not reflect the full picture. Another example of other things you see in community college is that many people go to community college just for career development. And so they might, you know, be there to get their auto mechanic certification or get their sign language interpreter certification. So there's a lot going on. One of the things that interested us the most is not just the fact that transfer rates are low because it's a common thing. We really looked at the differences between community colleges because even though in general, you know, very few students end up transferring from a community college to a four-year college. We have noticed that there are some differences. In particular, rural colleges had very low transfer rates compared to urban schools. We also noticed that even within the same college district, like Orange County, we saw some areas where a college would have a much higher transfer rate than a college just a few miles away.

S1:

S4: A lot of community college students just don't seem to understand how to bridge the right gaps, and they all go through all the right hurdles to make sure they actually get accepted and that their classes meet the right requirements. At the big ones, at CSU, where you see the campus is where they ultimately want to go. And so lawmakers and higher education administrators have been working together for some time, trying to streamline the process. That's the key word, rationalize, rationalize. They make the numbering more concise. They guarantee admission to, you know, CSU and some UC campuses. So it's kind of all this effort to simplify and facilitate so that those points where a student can drop out are fewer and farther between.

S1: A recent law passed last year allows community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees in certain fields. And San Diego Community College offers a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, for example. But there are some limitations to the programs that can be offered.

S4: And it actually goes back to 1960. So in 1960, the state of California came up with this plan that basically spelled out what each part of the higher education system was supposed to do. The joint colleges were to award two-year associate degrees and provide vocational and vocational training at CSUs. We should award four-year bachelors and masters degrees and the US should do research and PhDs among other things, of course. Now, over time, those specific roles have started to blur a bit. The CSU system has started awarding many Ph.D.'s or Ph.D.'s or whatever you want to call them. And the community college system has a really, really limited way. We have started offering your degrees. Basically, a law went into effect last year that allowed a growing number of community colleges to award bachelor's degrees. So that's been a pretty slow change, but it's really important because it's realizing the real purpose of a community college or a CSU or a UC and what kind of degree, what kind of education those institutions are supposed to offer. Now, in San Diego, there is this cybersecurity program that you mentioned. You know, the total number of students in these degree programs at community colleges. It is quite small. We're talking about 20, 30, maybe 50 students, at most, although I don't think it's that many. So the number of students affected is still not very high, but what the community college system would claim is that they want to slowly offer more and more of these degrees over time so that at some point it will affect many people.

S1: Okay. Adam Ackerman, covers California community colleges for Cal Matters in partnership with Open Campus. Adam, thank you so much for joining us today.

S4: Thanks for having me, Jade.

S1: Next, hear about new programs offered at San Diego community colleges.

S4: We are very excited.

S5: We are starting school year 2023, 2024. Enrollment is up 12% for this term last fall.

S1: You are listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. Welcome back to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Today we are talking about schools. We've just heard about some of the recent challenges facing California community colleges as they try to recover from enrollment declines in recent years. We continue this discussion with Gregory Smith. He is the associate chancellor of the San Diego Community College District. And Luke Munchak, is the dean of community affairs outreach at the San Diego Community College Area. You are both welcome.

S5: Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us.

S1: I'm glad you both are here. Greg, I'll start with you. We just heard from Calmatters reporter Adam Engelman about how California colleges are seeking to restore enrollment to pre-pandemic levels.

S5: Enrollments are up 12% compared to this time last fall. What we saw was that during the pandemic, especially among working adults who prioritized health and safety, caring for children, family members and work demands, they were unable to continue their education. Now that they're there, they're coming back to us and we're seeing enrollments increase. Overall, we are very excited as we enter this year to see many students continuing their academic journey and new students starting.

S1: In Louka, except for registration.

S6: Obviously coming back in person opened the door for students to be on campus. A big welcome, holidays. But we also have the ability to meet students who don't have access to transportation, and that gives them equal access to online classes, even in-person classes or even online services. And that was a huge, huge advantage for our students when they came back to the San Diego Community College area. Law.

S1: Right. And in this program, we've talked a lot about how workplaces have moved from face-to-face to fully remote and everything in between starting in 2020. It seems that flexibility is really something that's important to a lot of busy people.

S6: I mean, you know, I go out into the community and I hear the usual concerns, I can't go to class in the morning because I work, or I can't do class in the evening because I have kids. Sometimes we see these busy adults having to do their homework on weekends. And that really adds to our multiple learning methods, where we have online classes, live online classes, where students can consume content on their own schedule. So that was a huge plus for the students, and these are things that the students hadn't even heard of before. So in our practices, as we go out and meet new students, reach out to those students in our community, that's been a huge, huge plus for the students. And also our campuses are doing a tremendous job offering non-traditional service hours like last weekend. Many of our campuses are open on weekends to help students prepare for the fall semester.

S1:

S5: Then we have a core of students who work exclusively online and want that asynchronous flexibility to engage in their studies around their schedule. However, we see that most enroll in-person for certain types of classes, for example, science labs, which are more difficult to transition to an online environment, while viewing more traditional classes as a better experience to be able to do online in their own their program. So we're really seeing students tell us the kinds of classes they want to take online, the kinds they want in person. And as we expand our methods and look at how we can engage students using new technologies, that will be a key driver for us as we look at how we can incorporate virtual reality. The artificial intelligence of augmented reality ensures that it fits a way of teaching that students really feel they can best adopt and that balances their work and personal needs.

S1:

S6: And I think supporting students through the admissions process to find those 12 modules that work with their schedule really helps reduce the stress of going back to college for the first time or going back before the pandemic. I also think in this sense. I think the support services that are available to all these people that are coming to our campuses right now, whether it's mental health services, you know, support for basic needs, whether it's clothing, food. We try to remove every barrier that exists for students so that we can keep them in the classroom, keep them learning so they can reach their goal of ultimately graduating from San Diego Community College Area.

S1: You know, we heard earlier from the Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, Lamont Jackson. And in that conversation, Kpbs education reporter MG Perez asked the superintendent about dual enrollment, how San Diego Unified schools incorporate college courses into their curriculum. Here's a little he had to say about it.

S2: We believe students are better prepared when they can access and prepare for college by taking college courses. And so dual enrollment is a great way to provide our students with access to college courses.

S1: So Greg, why are you bringing the classes to San Diego College? High school is important.

S5: They have a higher level of support around them. And for anyone who has said college isn't for them or has life experiences that suggest higher education isn't the way to go, this can help them realize that it absolutely is. And so, I completely agree with Chief Jackson that our ability to come in and work with our K-12 partners to offer high school students the opportunity to earn college credit, to be exposed to college-level work and to realize that they are fully capable Success in this environment is helping many people in communities that have been underserved by higher education for too many generations.

S1: And Greg, also colleges in San Diego have recently started offering limited four-year programs.

S5: Our educational master plan has designated our systems as community colleges, primarily as an extension of the K-12 experience that prepares students who are not ready to transfer directly to a four-year college or university. In many other states, we have seen tremendous success in offering degrees and community colleges. So many of our students are engaged. Thus, enrolling in a four-year university that offers a degree program they are interested in may not be an option for them due to work and family needs. We've seen many programs we can offer at community colleges that directly respond to the needs of local industry and changing workforce dynamics. Thus, students must maintain relevance in their field. We can create a curriculum package and run a curriculum with great flexibility. And finally, I would say that we can do this at a much lower cost than traditional four-year colleges and universities. So when we think about access to a degree for some of our students most directly affected by poverty, we're taking a path like no other. And we do, as Luke mentioned earlier, with a lot of support for students around basic needs. And we work very hard to work with local non-profit government and private industries to address the full range of needs, the student space, address any sticking points that may arise and then ensure their success on the other side of the page .

S1:

S6: I would say login and what I mean, log in log in to our social networks, log in to our websites. There are so many amazing support programs and service professionals, faculty members, administrators who want to help. And for any problem, any problem a student may face on their first day, first month or first week, there will be someone to help them. So my best advice is to get involved, sign up, ask for help, raise your hand and someone will be there to help. There are so many smiling faces, willing faces who will really welcome you and support you in whatever you need. So, you are successful in the San Diego Community College area.

S1: Okay. Good luck to everyone currently in college. I spoke with San Diego Community College District Vice Chancellor Gregory Smith and Luqman Chaka, San Diego Community College District Dean of Public Affairs. Thank you both for being here today.

S5: Thank you for having us. It was my pleasure.

S6: Thanks again.

S1: What programs would you like local colleges to offer? Call us at (619) 452-0228. You can leave a message or email us at noon at pbs.org. We'd love to share your ideas here on the show. If you ever miss a show, you can find the Midday Edition podcast wherever you listen. I'm Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in.