Latest news with #ReadyToLearn
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
The ‘Daniel Tiger' effect: How quality kids' TV impacts teen mental health—and why cuts to PBS could be disastrous
Parents used to be freaked out when kids were reading romance novels or Horatio Alger books. It seems quaint now, when so many parents (and teens!) are concerned about the effects of social media and screen time. But it speaks to a universal truth: The stories we learn have the power to shape our lives. Stories are among the oldest forms of teaching. They don't just shape our thinking, they actually affect us at a neural level. This is especially true for kids: The entertainment that children consume during their most formative years plays an important role in shaping who they become and how they relate to the world around them. Now, however, some of the most reliable sources for high-quality children's media are on the chopping block with the administration's threat to cut federal funding of PBS, accounting for 15% of its funding, which will only limit access to valuable programming that can impact future generations. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education recently notified the Corporation for Public Broadcasting about the immediate termination of its Ready to Learn grant, taking away the remaining $23 million of a grant that was set to end on September 30. PBS has received this grant every five years for the past 30 years, and it accounts for one-third of PBS Kids' annual budget. There have been many studies on the immediate effects of media on children, from specific learning goals to impacts on self-esteem. But one thing that hadn't been measured extensively was how much those learnings persist over time. That's why my colleagues and I at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied the long-term impact of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, a modern-day Mister Rogers-inspired program. The show, which we weren't involved with, was developed in close collaboration with child-development experts to purposefully and thoughtfully model social skills and emotional regulation tools for young kids. The final deadline for Fast Company's Brands That Matter Awards is this Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PBS Faces Crisis After Government Pulls Plug on Kids TV Grant
PBS has furloughed 25% of its PBS Kids staff after the U.S. Department of Education abruptly ended a key grant program that's funded educational children's television for over 30 years. Current reported that the move was announced by PBS President Paula Kerger during her keynote speech at the 2025 PBS Annual Meeting in Atlanta, just days after the Department pulled the plug on the Ready To Learn grant program for 2020–2025. That decision halted federal funding to PBS and 44 local public media stations mid-cycle. 'We've been forced to furlough really talented members of our staff at PBS as we figure out how to continue to advance the PBS Kids service,' Kerger said. 'We are going to keep fighting.' The Ready To Learn initiative has historically supported the creation of educational programming aimed at underserved children and families. Its unexpected termination now threatens the production of beloved PBS Kids shows and the jobs behind them—including freelance writers and producers whose contracts rely on episodic production orders. A PBS spokesperson confirmed the scale of the layoffs, citing the funding loss as a critical blow to the network's ability to deliver high-quality, accessible content. 'This decision removes a critical resource that for over 30 years has enabled us to create high-quality, educational PBS Kids content while opening up worlds of possibilities for millions of children across the country.' The Writers Guild of America East called the cuts 'an attack on children and families' and urged Congress to fully restore federal funding for public children's programming. "Our children deserve no less," the union said in a statement. Other grantees, including Minnesota-based TPT, have also cut staff as a result. TPT had received $4.6 million in Ready To Learn funds for the current grant cycle to support its animated series Skillsville. While PBS Kids remains a staple in homes across America, its future—at least in its current form—now hangs in the balance.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: Millions of Kids Learn Through Public Media. Why Take That Away?
For more than 30 years, the federal government made what some might call an unconventional investment in education: It funded television. Not just any television, but PBS KIDS programming. These are the kinds of popular shows that kids enjoy and parents don't fret about, like Molly of Denali, Peg + Cat, and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! — all programming backed by research, tested in classrooms and living rooms, and offered at no cost to families across the country. This investment, known as the Ready To Learn initiative, was designed to do something radical: meet young children where they are and get them ready to learn –- and thrive –-in the classroom from their first days. Now, that program is being eliminated. As someone who has spent two decades leading an independent evaluation of the impact of this initiative and the child-first media it produced — designing national surveys, conducting randomized controlled trials, and hearing firsthand from families in cities and towns across America, I can tell you this: Cutting Ready To Learn is not fiscal prudence. It's a step backward for our nation's children. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter What has made the program effective isn't just the beloved stories and characters. It is the ability to reach all children and to engage them as learners. Through local public media stations and community partners, Ready To Learn brought high-quality, curriculum-based learning to libraries, public housing, laundromats, afterschool programs, and, of course, home screens. For decades, if a child's family could turn on a television or access the internet, they could benefit from educational tools designed to build literacy, math, and science skills. In fact, in the most recent fiscal year alone according to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ready To Learn programming reached more than 1.8 billion video streams, 27.6 million digital game plays, 10.2 million television viewers, and 2 million mobile app downloads. And what we know is that when children tuned in, they learned. Children who engaged with Ready To Learn content consistently showed gains in early foundational skills, regardless of whether they were enrolled in preschool. They learned to interpret data on a map. They recognized geometric shapes. They began thinking like scientists and problem-solvers. And they acquired emergent reading skills. Just last week, one of our research teams was conducting an initial round of assessments focused on children's computational thinking skills as part of a study of Lyla in the Loop. And another study team was putting the finishing touches on a report on the resourceful ways families are engaging with podcasts and saw how the format expanded their children's imagination. These aren't just cute kids doing cute kid things; these are the building blocks of educational and economic opportunity. The building blocks of a great nation, you might even say. Related In an era where roughly half of young children in the U.S. are not enrolled in any formal early education program (a discussion for another day), Ready To Learn has served all children — especially in communities where access to quality preschool is scarce or nonexistent. It has offered a rare combination of scale, equity, and proven impact. So why are we making it harder for families to access free, educational resources that work? The decision to terminate this decades-long effort comes amid broader debates about education, culture, and spending. There are real discussions to be had. But this is a data-driven, cost-effective solution to one of those issues that's been working. Unlike many educational interventions that require the development of large-scale infrastructure or intensive professional development, Ready To Learn makes use of our nation's existing public media system. The research is independently conducted. The materials are publicly available. The value is clear. In communities all across the country — Tallahassee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cookeville, Tenn., and many others — I've seen what happens when you put the right tools in front of a curious child: They light up and thrive. And when they thrive from their earliest learning opportunities, their potential is boundless. Our country has spent decades building this infrastructure and then producing, testing and evolving meaningful content in partnership with families across the country. To dismantle this effort now is to break a promise to those families: that we'll do what we can, with what we have, to help every child get ready to learn. Let's not stop them now.
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
PBS Kids furloughs 25% of staff after Trump administration cuts grant
PBS Kids furloughs 25% of staff after Trump administration cuts grant A Department of Education spokesperson said the Ready To Learn grant was cut because it was 'not aligned with Administration priorities.' Show Caption Hide Caption President Donald Trump signs order to cut PBS and NPR funding President Donald Trump signed an executive order to stop directly funding PBS and NPR. PBS has furloughed some of its staff weeks after the Trump administration began a push to defund the public broadcaster. A PBS spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY that 25% of PBS Kids employees have been furloughed "because of the decision by the Department of Education to abruptly cancel the Ready To Learn grant." 'This decision removes a critical resource that for over 30 years has enabled us to create high-quality, educational PBS KIDS content while opening up worlds of possibilities for millions of children across the country," the statement said. PBS President Paula Kerger announced the furloughs during address at the PBS Annual Meeting on May 19. 'We've been forced to furlough really talented members of our staff at PBS as we figure out how to continue to advance the PBS Kids service," Kerger said. "We are going to keep fighting.' What is the Ready To Learn grant? On May 2, the Department of Education canceled the Ready To Learn grant, which helped fund educational children's shows, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) said in a May 6 news release. The Ready To Learn grant is a federal grant funded by the Department of Education and Congress that helps develop PBS Kids programming, according to PBS. It has historically helped fund a slew of popular shows, including "Sesame Street," "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and "Reading Rainbow," CPB said. "Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children," according to the Education Department's website. Ready To Learn grant Funding for PBS children's shows killed by Trump administration citing 'woke propaganda' The grant is renewed on a five-year basis, and the current cycle − which was approved by the first Trump administration − was set to expire on Sept. 30, according to CPB. The termination of the grant resulted in a loss of $23 million that would have gone to children's games and educational shows, CPB said. Why did the Trump administration cut the Ready To Learn grant? Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said in a previous statement to USA TODAY that the cuts targeted "racial justice educational programming." "This is not aligned with Administration priorities. The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda," Biedermann said. Sara DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager of PBS Kids, said in a previous statement to USA TODAY that the broadcaster "will continue to fight in order to maintain our essential service." Trump ramps up attempts to defund public media Earlier in May, President Donald Trump also signed an executive order pushing the CPB to cease funding to PBS and NPR. However, the CPB is not a federal agency subject to the president's orders. The corporation provides operational support for public television and radio stations. The CPB received $535 million in federal funding for 2025, according to its budget. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why the Internet Thought Elmo Was Laid Off From Sesame Street
Originally appeared on E! Online Elmo won't be getting unemployment benefits just yet. After President Donald Trump signed an executive order slashing funding to PBS and NPR, which could jeopardize the future of Sesame Street, a viral LinkedIn post shared that Elmo was out of a job. However, it was simply a parody account, Sesame Workshop confirmed to Deadline May 8. "Unfortunately, Elmo was recently laid off because of the federal budget cuts," the now-deleted post circulating on social media began. "Elmo worked at Sesame Street for 45 years. Elmo is sad. Elmo loved his time at Sesame Street." The fake Elmo also expressed how much he is "going to miss" his friends Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, Abby, Grover and Count because they "made Elmo's day so much better." Like any unemployed person on the networking app, the message went on to highlight Elmo's skills like being able to "recognize the letter E, spell his name, feel empathy, sing 'Elmo's Song' and ask how you are doing." The post also urged users to reach out to their "local congressperson to save Public Media." More from E! Online Pregnant Jessa Duggar Addresses Claim She and Ben Seewald Are 'Breeding Like Rabbits' Shirtless Jason Kelce Shows Off Almost 30-Pound Weight Loss Transformation Since NFL Retirement Rose McGowan Shares Life Update 5 Years After Leaving Hollywood for Mexico E! News has reached out to Sesame Workshop for comment and has not yet heard back. Following the LinkedIn update, a rep for the organization told Deadline in a May 8 statement, "Sesame Workshop and PBS have a shared commitment to using the power of public television to bring critical early learning to children across the country." "For more than half a century, we have been proud to partner with them to bring Sesame Street's beloved characters and research-based curriculum to families nationwide," the message continued. "We remain firmly in support of the vital public investment that allows PBS to continue this important work." Among the cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which backs NPR and PBS, included the termination of a federal grant program that provided $23 million for children's educational TV shows and games. "Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting's children's content," President and CEO of CPB Patricia Harrison said in a May 6 press release. "For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS KIDS content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children's learning." The message continued, "Ready To Learn has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for the last 30 years because of the programs' proven educational value in advancing early learning skills for all children." For the Trump administration's part, the spokeswoman for the Department of Education Madi Biedermann told The New York Times that the administration would not fund "divisive ideologies and woke propaganda." For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
