On this Monday, April 20, episode of Sundial:
Miami-Dade Students Struggle To Log On For Virtual Learning
Governor Ron Desantis announced Florida K-8 students won't be going back to their classrooms this school year.
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For more than a month now, schools in Miami-Dade County have been closed and students have been engaging in distant learning or online learning and because of it attendance rates at schools where students come from low-income and first-generation immigrant families are suffering.
“Their parents are essential workers. They’re in the fields harvesting food and they are not able to be home helping students get connected and stay online for their virtual school,” says WLRN education reporter Jessica Bakeman.
WLRN host Luis Hernandez spoke to Bakeman and they broke down the data and found out more about what the school district is doing to get kids connected.
Domestic Violence In The Time Of Coronavirus
Stay at home. Social distance. Stay 6-feet away.
These actions are essential to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, but for some people these guidelines mean being trapped in unhealthy and abusive circumstances, creating a devastating impact for victims of domestic violence.
“We are really worried about the survivors. Prior to the virus we were receiving 20 calls, now we are receiving about 50 a day,” says Somy Ali, founder of No More Tears, a domestic violence and human trafficking non-profit.
Ali, a survivor of domestic violence, has been rescuing victims of human trafficking and domestic violence and providing them with resources like housing, legal counsel, and therapy. She joined Sundial to talk about how economic strains, work, and schooling from home may add stressors that lead to more domestic violence and the importance of reaching out for help.
The Florida Domestic Violence 24-Hour Crisis Hotline is 1-800-500-1119.
Welcome, Wilkine Brutus.
WLRN News welcomes Palm Beach County Reporter Wilkine Brutus to the team.
Wilkine is a Miami-Dade and Palm Beach native who most recently was a multimedia reporter for the Palm Beach Post, where he reported, shot and edited video about the arts, issues, and sports.
“It's hard to igonore Palm Bech County's entrepreneurship identity. The rising art scene,” says Brutus. "Lake Worth Beach is very different from West Palm Beach. My job is to highlight what makes each city different."
Prior to making the jump into radio journalism he spent the past two decades traveling Europe, teaching English in South Korea and working in Philadelphia with a new media start-up. Brutus joined host Luis Hernandez last week to talk about his passion for travel, storytelling and understanding diverse cultures through lived experiences.
Will South Florida Beaches Reopen?
Beaches in Miami-Dade County will not be opening, according to Mayor Carlos Gimenez, but the county is floating the possibility of opening public places like parks.
The city of Miami Beach says it will follow the county's guidelines. “To a certain extent we follow, we don't duplicate,” says Miami Beach mayor Dan Gelber. "The worst thing that can happen to our community is if we rush to open."
He joined Sundial to talk about the city’s strategies for reopening beaches and public places.