Podcast appearances and mentions of mario koran

An extreme shortage of guards at Wisconsin's prisons slowed basic operations to a crawl. Inmates escaped, prisons locked down and conditions deteriorated. By New York Times Local Investigations Fellow and Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran and Justin Mayo of Big Local News. Originally published on Feb. 2, 2024.

Public schools must serve all students living within their boundaries, including those needing special accommodations. But not all neighborhood schools are to meet the needs of students with disabilities, Mario Koran reports for Wisconsin Watch. The state's biggest school choice program, open enrollment, allows students to apply to public schools outside of district boundaries. But those schools can limit or deny slots for out-of-district students with disabilities. Originally published on May 31, 2023.

We first welcome Jim Malewitz, Deputy Managing Editor of Wisconsin Watch, about Mario Koran's piece on the lack of choices families with children with disabilities have when it comes to school. While many students do have choices, between vouchers, charter school and open enrollment, students with disabilities can legally be expelled or denied from all three of those options based on the discretion of the school. Then we talk to Dr. Michael Tiller, assistant professor in forest ecology in the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point who focuses on fire ecology and fire management. We talk about the purpose of prescribed burns versus wild fires, what we all can do to prevent forest fires and what gets someone into the "fire" field. Guests: Michael Tiller, Jim Malewitz

In 2022, a small but well-organized Kiel citizens group pushed restrictions on library books, sought to block anti-racism training and helped flip the school board to a majority that criticized efforts for racial equity and LGBTQ rights. Political tensions boiled over when Kiel schools were forced shutter early due to bomb threats aimed at halting a probe into alleged transgender bullying. But moderates have since regained control of the school board, Wisconsin Watch's Mario Koran reports. Concerns that the school board would oust popular Superintendent Brad Ebert spurred residents to pack a Jan. 4 meeting in which they supported Ebert and rebuked school board members. Facing the public outcry, the board unanimously voted to renew Ebert's contract and two board members abruptly resigned. Originally published on January 24th, 2023.

Private bar criminal defense attorney, Jessa Nicholson, returns to the show to explain why she and Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers oppose the cash bail amendment that will be on your April 4th ballot. Then Wisconsin Watch reporter, Mario Koran, joins to break down his last year of reporting on the tiny town with an outsized reputation: Kiel, Wisconsin. Guests: Jessa Nicholson Goetz, Mario Koran

Wisconsin Watch's Mario Koran examines the coastline near Mequon, where Concordia University Wisconsin built a massive $12 million seawall 15 years ago. Although the seawall protected the private institution, it has exacerbated erosion along neighboring property, leaving bitterness among neighbors. And new evidence shows that the wall has inflicted more damage than originally thought. Reporting by Mario Koran. Originally published on August 13, 2022.

In this story by reporter Mario Koran, Wisconsin Watch takes a look at how Wisconsin tribes are contemplating a future beyond gaming after the pandemic showed a risk of overreliance on casinos. This story is part of a collaborative series, “At the Crossroads," from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Indian Country Today, Wisconsin Watch and eight other news partners, examining the state of the economy in Indian Country. Narrated by Wesley Lethem for Wisconsin Watch.

Mario Koran of Wisconsin Watch, in conjunction with Indian Country Today finishes his interview with Dan Brown and Jon Warner-“We've got to get gaming out of our blood”

Mario Koran sits down with Dan Brown and Jon Warner for the Wisconsin Watch and Indian Country Today interview. A free wheeling conversation covering all manner of topics concerning “ getting gaming out of our blood”

Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran explores how Milwaukee Area Technical College offers free tuition, debt forgiveness and early credit to make college more affordable and more available to a diverse student population. Narration by Wesley Lethem for Wisconsin Watch. Originally published Dec. 15, 2021 on wwww.wisconsinwatch.org

In the third installment from Wisconsin Watch's series "Imperiled Shores," reporter Mario Koran explores a fundamental question facing the state Department of Natural Resources: Preserve parkland affected by rising lake levels or let nature take its course? Reported by Mario Koran / Wisconsin Watch & WPR. Narrated by Wesley Lethem for Wisconsin Watch. Originally published on wisconsinwatch.org on Dec. 9, 2021.

Wisconsin Watch brings you a story exploring how Great Lakes shorelines have seen a surge in barriers built to slow lakefront erosion. But such structures are temporary and may harm downstream beaches. This story is part of the series Imperiled Shores and was reported by Wisconsin Watch's Mario Koran. It was originally published Nov. 4, 2021. Narration by Wesley Lethem.

Great Lakes shorelines have seen a surge in barriers built to slow lakefront erosion. But such structures are temporary and may harm downstream beaches. This story is part of the series "Imperiled Shores." Reporting by Mario Koran. Originally published Oct. 30, 2021. Narration by Wesley Lethem.

For the past few months the Peninsula Pulse has been working in support of the team at Wisconsin Watch on a series of articles examining how a climate “tug of war” is driving extreme shifts in Lake Michigan's water levels. Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran speaks to Myles Dannhausen Jr. about what he learned reporting on the issue from Door County. The first story is available here: “The Water Always Wins”: Calls to protect shorelines as volatile Lake Michigan inflicts heavy toll

Drug and alcohol courts allow defendants to minimize punishment if they remain sober, receive treatment for substance abuse and participate in a structured program. Outagamie County Circuit Judge Vincent Biskupic created a similar arrangement with defendants with a key difference: The defendants were answerable only to Biskupic, who set no date for the supervision to end. The atypical arrangement meant longer punishments for some who failed to meet shifting demands. Reporting by Mario Koran, Phoebe Petrovic, Madeline Fuerstenberg and Jack Kelly / Wisconsin Watch and WPR. This piece was produced for the NEW News Lab, a local news collaboration in Northeast Wisconsin. Story originally published (https://wisconsinwatch.org/2021/08/skipping-the-middleman-defendants-faced-shifting-demands-in-outagamie-county-judges-one-man-drug-court/) on Aug. 28, 2021.

Over the past seven years, in at least 52 cases involving 46 defendants, Biskupic has used “review hearings” to either monitor a defendant's behavior or to pressure them to pay court-ordered financial obligations. In at least one case, he went as far as ordering additional jailtime for the failure to pay overdue debts — a tactic the Wisconsin Supreme Court has warned could be unconstitutional. Reporting by Jack Kelly, Phoebe Petrovic, Mario Koran and Madeline Fuerstenberg in partnership with WPR. Originally published July 31st, 2021.

Voice of San Diego education reporter Mario Koran is leaving his post. His reporting on San Diego schools over the past five years has pulled back the curtain on several policies and practices that affect local families. He's tackled everything from school discipline, graduation rates, administrative scandals, bilingual education and more. Koran sits down with hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn to look back at some of his most impactful work and the hurdles he had to overcome to report those stories. Koran said one of the biggest challenges education reporters face is access to students and faculty. Having a good idea of what happens inside classrooms isn't just essential to knowing how a community can improve their schools, but it keeps those in power accountable. When local school districts start denying reporters access, transparency fades. After Koran unveiled a series of scandals involving former board trustee Marne Foster, the San Diego Unified School District began shutting out Koran, making it difficult for him to get the information he needed. “That was the moment where I had to sort of chart my own course,” he said. “I think that took me some time to try to navigate that, but eventually I think I found a way to keep reporting, to keep doing my job." Koran went on to break important stories, including the district's practice of sending parents to collections when they don't pay school bus fees, he covered an alleged rape of a student at Lincoln High and the torment it caused a teacher there, and he dug into how San Diego Unified counseled some struggling students to transfer to charter schools. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voice of San Diego education reporter Mario Koran is leaving his post. His reporting on San Diego schools over the past five years has pulled back the curtain on several policies and practices that affect local families. He’s tackled everything from school discipline, graduation rates, administrative scandals, bilingual education and more. Koran sits down with hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn to look back at some of his most impactful work and the hurdles he had to overcome to report those stories. Koran said one of the biggest challenges education reporters face is access to students and faculty. Having a good idea of what happens inside classrooms isn’t just essential to knowing how a community can improve their schools, but it keeps those in power accountable. When local school districts start denying reporters access, transparency fades. After Koran unveiled a series of scandals involving former board trustee Marne Foster, the San Diego Unified School District began shutting out Koran, making it difficult for him to get the information he needed. “That was the moment where I had to sort of chart my own course,” he said. “I think that took me some time to try to navigate that, but eventually I think I found a way to keep reporting, to keep doing my job." Koran went on to break important stories, including the district's practice of sending parents to collections when they don't pay school bus fees, he covered an alleged rape of a student at Lincoln High and the torment it caused a teacher there, and he dug into how San Diego Unified counseled some struggling students to transfer to charter schools.

The controversies surrounding Betsy DeVos' strong support for school choice hit home just as she took office as secretary of education. When Diane Ravitch, an education researcher, suggested that DeVos visit successful school districts like San Diego Unified, local teachers unions were furious to find out that the invitation was actually extended on behalf of the district's board of trustees. Outcry from local teachers eventually caused that invitation to be rescinded. In this week's podcast, co-hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn talk more about DeVos and concerns about funneling education funds from traditional public schools into private schools and charter schools. Voice of San Diego's education reporter Mario Koran also joins the podcast to explain how San Diego Unified's impressive 92 percent student graduation rate brings up concerns about the district's connections to credit-recovery charter schools. "If a kid is coming up to graduation time and they're not on track to graduate, we see a number of those same kids leaving the San Diego Unified schools and going to these credit-recovery high schools," he said. "It gets those students off the San Diego Unified graduation rolls. So they don't count anymore. They're virtually excluded when they go to the charter school." Koran said this leads to a bigger question – how prepared are students when they graduate and what is the district doing to help those who are struggling? Number of the Week Five: That's the number of states that provide school choice vouchers just for low-income students.

The controversies surrounding Betsy DeVos' strong support for school choice hit home just as she took office as secretary of education. When Diane Ravitch, an education researcher, suggested that DeVos visit successful school districts like San Diego Unified, local teachers unions were furious to find out that the invitation was actually extended on behalf of the district's board of trustees. Outcry from local teachers eventually caused that invitation to be rescinded. In this week's podcast, co-hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn talk more about DeVos and concerns about funneling education funds from traditional public schools into private schools and charter schools. Voice of San Diego's education reporter Mario Koran also joins the podcast to explain how San Diego Unified's impressive 92 percent student graduation rate brings up concerns about the district's connections to credit-recovery charter schools. "If a kid is coming up to graduation time and they're not on track to graduate, we see a number of those same kids leaving the San Diego Unified schools and going to these credit-recovery high schools," he said. "It gets those students off the San Diego Unified graduation rolls. So they don't count anymore. They're virtually excluded when they go to the charter school." Koran said this leads to a bigger question – how prepared are students when they graduate and what is the district doing to help those who are struggling? Number of the Week Five: That's the number of states that provide school choice vouchers just for low-income students. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a link between school discipline policies and students who enter the justice system. Folks call it the school-to-prison pipeline. Mid-City Community Advocacy Network, or Mid-City CAN, is a City Heights-based organization that advocates for restorative justice, a new approach to school discipline that hopes to disrupt that flow. On this week’s podcast, Diana Ross, executive director of Mid-City CAN, joined co-hosts Laura Kohn and Mario Koran, who sat in for Scott Lewis, to talk about the organization's efforts to keep more students in school. "The kids who continue to get expelled and suspended are still majority kids of color. ... There's a huge disparity," Ross said. She said San Diego Unified School District recently announced its plan for a districtwide rollout of a restorative justice program. Kohn and Koran also discuss a speech about school discipline that Nancy Hanks, chief of elementary schools in Madison, Wis., gave to Teach for America alumni. Got thoughts, opinions or experiences with this? Call 619-354-1085 and leave your name, neighborhood and story so we can play the voicemail on future episodes. Number of the Week 34 percent: That's how much suspensions in San Diego County dropped in three years, between the 2011-2012 school year and the 2014-2015 school year. What’s Working The National Conflict Resolution Center and the Old Globe Theatre partnered to bring Anna Deavere Smith to San Diego for a preview performance of her stage show about the school-to-prison pipeline. Also, a quick correction, Kohn says Deavere visited Lincoln and Crawford high schools. The visits actually happened at Lincoln and Hoover.

There's a link between school discipline policies and students who enter the justice system. Folks call it the school-to-prison pipeline. Mid-City Community Advocacy Network, or Mid-City CAN, is a City Heights-based organization that advocates for restorative justice, a new approach to school discipline that hopes to disrupt that flow. On this week's podcast, Diana Ross, executive director of Mid-City CAN, joined co-hosts Laura Kohn and Mario Koran, who sat in for Scott Lewis, to talk about the organization's efforts to keep more students in school. "The kids who continue to get expelled and suspended are still majority kids of color. ... There's a huge disparity," Ross said. She said San Diego Unified School District recently announced its plan for a districtwide rollout of a restorative justice program. Kohn and Koran also discuss a speech about school discipline that Nancy Hanks, chief of elementary schools in Madison, Wis., gave to Teach for America alumni. Got thoughts, opinions or experiences with this? Call 619-354-1085 and leave your name, neighborhood and story so we can play the voicemail on future episodes. Number of the Week 34 percent: That's how much suspensions in San Diego County dropped in three years, between the 2011-2012 school year and the 2014-2015 school year. What's Working The National Conflict Resolution Center and the Old Globe Theatre partnered to bring Anna Deavere Smith to San Diego for a preview performance of her stage show about the school-to-prison pipeline. Also, a quick correction, Kohn says Deavere visited Lincoln and Crawford high schools. The visits actually happened at Lincoln and Hoover. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The primary is right around the corner, so co-hosts Sara Libby and Ry Rivard tackle some of the biggest local races and issues that'll be on the ballot. VOSD staffers join the podcast this week to help break things down and give listeners useful information in advance of the June 7 vote. Andrew Keatts talks about a few of the San Diego City Council races and the five-way city attorney race. He also shares some important background and details about Rebuild San Diego, the measure put forward by San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey that promises to finally deal with the city’s large infrastructure funding dilemma. "Somewhere along the line someone dropped the ball or somebody lost their nerve," Keatts said of the measure, which the city's independent budget analyst has said lacks a new source of revenue to actually make a dent in the city's crumbling infrastructure problem. "One thing or another happened, but the plan that was sketched out never happened and instead what we have is Proposition H." Also on the podcast, VOSD's Ashly McGlone shares some insight about the city's raging debate over vacation rentals and what the candidates for City Council District 1 are saying the city should do to regulate them, education reporter Mario Koran discusses the unusually exciting race for the San Diego County Board of Education, Scott Lewis explains the lackluster mayoral race and other staffers discuss more races and measures. Favorite Things • Ry Rivard's favorite thing this week is "All the Way," an HBO movie based on the life of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his work on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rivard says the series takes a good look a a politician who decided to do something bold with his time in office. • Sara Libby's favorite thing this week is San Diego's growing love of cold brew coffee. She specifically names Barrio Logan cafe Por Vida's horchata cold brew and North Park's Holsem Coffee's  banana bread cold brew.

Damian checked a little box when he registered his son Ethan for kindergarten. It indicated that the family predominantly spoke Spanish at home. At the time, Damian had no idea his son would be classified as an English-learner, and that the designation would follow his son around, having a profound impact on his education. It's been difficult, Damian said, to get the school district to recognize that, although his son still speaks Spanish at home, he's a smart kid who's excelling in many ways. "That's my major concern is that I can't describe my kid to this bureaucracy in the right way," he said. This week, hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn take a new approach to the podcast by weaving Damian and Ethan's story into the larger question of how our city, state and country is educating English-learners. In November, voters will weigh the California Multilingual Education Act. The measure would essentially gut Proposition 227, the controversial statue that banned bilingual education in most classrooms unless parents specifically opt in. Conor Williams, the founding director of the nonprofit New America's dual language learner national work group, joins the show to provide some statistics and context on the issue. Williams drops a bombshell when he shares which state is actually leading the way when it comes to its approach to English-learners. "I'm amazed every time I say it – I can't even believe it myself," he said. VOSD's education reporter Mario Koran also makes an appearance to talk about his New America fellowship and the future of his weekly column, The Learning Curve. What’s Working We've mentioned duel-language immersion schools in the past. There are 82 schools in San Diego that educate students in two languages. Two schools doing it well are the EJE Academies Charter School in El Cajon and the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School. The two schools are recognized nationally for their efforts in providing a bilingual education to a diverse body of students. Number of the Week 75 percent: That's the number of California students in middle and high school who are considered long-term English Learners, which means they've been designated as English-learners for at least seven years. Got thoughts, opinions or experiences with this? Call 619-354-1085 and leave your name, neighborhood and story so we can play the voicemail on future episodes. Subscribe to Good Schools for All on iTunes or get the RSS feed here.  Stream it here.

Damian checked a little box when he registered his son Ethan for kindergarten. It indicated that the family predominantly spoke Spanish at home. At the time, Damian had no idea his son would be classified as an English-learner, and that the designation would follow his son around, having a profound impact on his education. It's been difficult, Damian said, to get the school district to recognize that, although his son still speaks Spanish at home, he's a smart kid who's excelling in many ways. "That's my major concern is that I can't describe my kid to this bureaucracy in the right way," he said. This week, hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn take a new approach to the podcast by weaving Damian and Ethan's story into the larger question of how our city, state and country is educating English-learners. In November, voters will weigh the California Multilingual Education Act. The measure would essentially gut Proposition 227, the controversial statue that banned bilingual education in most classrooms unless parents specifically opt in. Conor Williams, the founding director of the nonprofit New America's dual language learner national work group, joins the show to provide some statistics and context on the issue. Williams drops a bombshell when he shares which state is actually leading the way when it comes to its approach to English-learners. "I'm amazed every time I say it – I can't even believe it myself," he said. VOSD's education reporter Mario Koran also makes an appearance to talk about his New America fellowship and the future of his weekly column, The Learning Curve. What's Working We've mentioned duel-language immersion schools in the past. There are 82 schools in San Diego that educate students in two languages. Two schools doing it well are the EJE Academies Charter School in El Cajon and the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School. The two schools are recognized nationally for their efforts in providing a bilingual education to a diverse body of students. Number of the Week 75 percent: That's the number of California students in middle and high school who are considered long-term English Learners, which means they've been designated as English-learners for at least seven years. Got thoughts, opinions or experiences with this? Call 619-354-1085 and leave your name, neighborhood and story so we can play the voicemail on future episodes.Subscribe to Good Schools for All on iTunes or get the RSS feed here.  Stream it here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.