A in-depth look at Florida's education system during the coronavirus pandemic is the focus of a new journalism project from Florida Public Media. WUSF 89.7 will launch “Class of COVID-19: An Education Crisis for Florida’s Vulnerable Students” with a one-hour special on Sunday, followed by an edition of Florida Matters on this topic on Tuesday.
This statewide project explores the high costs of the pandemic for children and young adults who faced some of the greatest obstacles to success in school well before COVID-19 upended public education.
CLASS OF COVID-19: An Education Crisis for Florida’s Vulnerable Students
“This uniquely comprehensive look at how the pandemic has exacerbated educational inequity in Florida comes at a critical time,” said Jessica Bakeman, WLRN’s education reporter, who edited the project. “Our series will inform the conversation about solutions to some of our state’s most pressing problems during the Legislature’s first law making session since COVID-19 has transformed the lives of Floridians.
“‘Class of COVID-19’ also assesses the educational damage of the pandemic near the one-year anniversary of widespread school closures.”
The project will kick off with a magazine-style narrative radio program, airing Sunday at 3 p.m. It will also be featured on Florida Matters on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
A series of stories and interactive multimedia content will be posted on our Class of COVID-19 special report page.
WUSF will also be featuring individual stories from the series for the next several weeks, airing during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
This story is part of the Florida Public Media series, "Class of COVID-19: An Education Crisis For Florida's Vulnerable Students." Find the whole project — and sign up for our limited-run newsletter — at classofcovid.org.
“Class of COVID-19” is being produced through a partnership with the following public media organizations: WLRN (Miami), WGCU (Fort Myers), WFSU (Tallahassee), WUSF (Tampa), WMFE (Orlando) , WUCF (Orlando), WPBT/WXEL (Miami/Boynton Beach), WJCT (Jacksonville), WEDU (Tampa) and WUWF (Pensacola).
The project is supported in part by the Hammer Family Charitable Foundation and the Education Writers Association.
