November 9, 2023

Bonnie Pérez took child development classes at night while working as a nanny during the day. But she didn’t see a lot of other nannies in her classes, largely because the classes were all in English. 

Bonnie saw an untapped group of people with lots of hands-on experience working with kids and who could help fill a shortage of preschool teachers in the state.

A new California law removes barriers to allow more students to enroll in courses taught in Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Korean and other languages.

Guests:

  • Bonnie Pérez, Professor of child development, West Los Angeles College
  • Michael Burke, Reporter, EdSource

Read more from EdSource: Community college students can take classes in their native language under a new law

Education Beat is a weekly podcast hosted by EdSource’s Zaidee Stavely and produced by Coby McDonald.