and secure future. this is abc 7 news. hi, there. thanks for joining us. i'm kristen sze. welcome to our daily program called getting answers." . we ask experts your questions everyday at 3:00 to get answers in realtime. we have a really special show coming up for you at 3:10, someone who is really ahead of his time, sell con, the founderr of khan academy, will talk about how to use and khan's take on what we can do as abc 7 news addresses learning loss this week. but first you heard today governor newsom announced that former mayor of stockton michael tubs will be his special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity. now tubbs was one of the face us

behind the mayors for guaranteed income program. that's basically like uniform basic income. they tested it out in stockton as a pilot. so no doubt that experience has something to do with him stepping into this role from the newsom administration. now today we did talk to oakland mayor libby schaaf who supports the guaranteed basic income concept about this appointment on midday live. this week focuseding on building a better bay area in the efforts to address learning loss. let's check in on the latest when it comes to getting kids back in class in oakland unified, not just the elementary -- of course that's where it starts. but what are the plans for middle and high school kids too. >> well, i have been unequivocal in saying our kids need to get back to learning. and with alameda county now firmly in the red tier it makes it all the more appropriate that we get our teacher unions and district to the table together, so that we can get these schools

reopened. i know that there is encouraging progress. i know gnats our vaccinations of teachers are actually ahead of schedule. and thanks, of course, to the federally supported coliseum site. i was there on friday, which was actually teacher day. so thursday and friday at the coliseum most of the slots were reserved for our education workers. it was great to see shots go in the arms of our beloved educators. we miss you. we want our kids back with you. >> so we talked a lot about learning loss during this week. and is there a plan that you've heard of in oakland that is going to try and compensate for that? >> at this time i have not heard plans for any sort of extraordinary summer school program. but that doesn't mean that that can't still happen. right now the focused is reopening schools. there is of course a lot of money on the table from the

state deal that was reached between governor gavin newsom and the legislature. but that requires that elementary schools and at least one grade of middle through high school has to be reopened at least in a hybrid model by april 1st. well, i hope we don't leave that money on the table. our kids need all the resources they can get. and stay tuned next week. we're going to have a very exciting announcement about oakland's efforts in closing the digital divide which have rl been accelerated in the moments. we are getting computers and hot spots into houses so not only kids can do distance learning this school year and continue the learning over the summer. >> are you ready to reveal the details here on abc 7 news and break it on midday live? >> come on. >> reggie is looking at you. >> let's do it. >> i can't break that good news. that's going to have to wait until tuesday. but there will be lots of cute kids. but, you know, the big news for us is the president just signed

the american rescue >> yes. >> $$19.9 trillion. and get ready the money coming to the city of oakland to address our horrible revenue short falls is $192 million. and that's just to address city budget issues. obviously our restaurants are going to be in line for the 29 billion for restaurant aid. our restaurants will be available for the rent relief and the $1400 direct checks. this is such a huge deal. i'm ecstatic. the american rescue plan is the oakland rescue plan as far as i'm concerned. >> well, this is what you've been asking for for months, mayor schaaf. >> yes. >> we've been talking about federal help. when was it going to come? was it going to come? as we were -- i'm just kind of curious what your thinking was. as we were going through the

election process, you know, had we had another term of president trump, do you think that oakland would be getting any money at all federally? >> i think if we had had another term of president trump i would be talking to you from my jail cell. and the money that the city currently gets through federal programs would be stripped. we had to go to court several times to defend federal funding for sanctuary cities like oakland. and so this is a world of difference. and then of course georgia. god bless the voters of georgia, because having a democratic majority in the senate is what made the american rescue plan possible. >> all right. so a lot of people are expecting their $1,400 checks to be coming within the month. again, president biden will be talking about this in an address to the american people at 5:00 p.m. tonight. now, we are having some trouble connecting with former mayor

michael tubbs. we'll hope to bring him on toward the end of the show. but also, as you know, this week abc 7 news has been focusing on learning loss. a year in the distance learning experience or experiment. so joining us today is sal khan, founder of khan academy to talk about the issue. sal, good to see you again. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> you know, it's time. because i think we've been seeing a lot of of studies in the past few weeks about how student engagement is really falling off a cliff. oakland unified data shows about 20% of high school students are not showing up to class. over 30% of forest youth not logging in daily. engagement seems to be at a low. do you see that? >> yeah, you know, i think engagement has always been the key question even before covid and and any time of thing before education if you have the stunlts engage they will learn. we know when schools are in session physically there is also all sorts of intangibles there keeping them there, the friends, being able to talk and socialize. and just being physically

present makes it more likely you will be mentally present. not always the case but makes it more likely. it's been a hard year where we've had the hard constraints put on us. >> true, engagement is always an issue. but specifically i want to look at learning online because a lot of kids are doing it especially the older kids. are they sick of it? i mean, your platform saw a huge surge when the pandemic began? what about now? are kids visiting as much, spending as much time on it or have they fallen off. >> we're seeing a combination. we saw our traffic go about 3 x almost a year ago when the physical schools shutdowns happen. we normally have about 30 million learning minutes we saw that 85, 90 million learning minutes a day. we have seen phenomenon into this school year, more schools have been able to step up and do some form of distance learning over video conference or whatever. so the pure i would say askron us learning on khan academy

tapered off although still elevated. but tourmt there is fatigue. people miss friends, the in person, the prom, graduation all the really important things. so, you know i'm considered something of a post-er child for ed tech but i'll be the first tost it should never be pure technology and distance learning it should be combination of online and distance learning and get the best of both. >> i will tell you my kid in high school. said i started virtual learning paying attention, wanting to do well. but now i'm sick of staring at a screen. i finds myself zooming out or tuning out. i think that's common. what are the solutions? because after all that's what we're here to do is to address if your kid is experiencing either learning loss, right, or just engagement loss, what can you do? >> yeah, and they're related. on the learning loss side, it depends on the context that families are in. . but there are obviously tools like khan academy everything free not for profit in math and

science. and sat prep if students put in 5, 20 minutes a day. it makes a kirchs difference. mcmahon academy is alms designed for personalized students. ready for any learning loss. started another not for profit for free tutoring. you're able to engage with real people for free around the world to work on concepts. but the other thing we tell family members i tell myself with three young kids at loem is to plak sure that if your schools aren't open and hopefully open sooner than later. but if they aren't open yet but make sure the kids get quality time outdoors, able to have covid safe play dates. able to have time with the family where everyone is able to sit and have conversation. those times are more important than ever. >> all right. sal, don't go away we'll continue the conversation on facebook live. i want to hear more about tha

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all right. we are back with sal khan, founder of khan academy, the online platform so many are using now to get lessons. sal, i want to ask you this. because your lessons are grade based you probably have better data than everyone or anyone out there with regard to whether kids are still learning at level. so does a first dwrader or fifth grader now have the knowledge they're supposed to have for the grade level? what are you seeing? >> we are seeing a drop off in certain cases it's not as severe as what people expected. in certain cases more severe. fending on the air 10, 15% of kids aren't measure ds, the nwea does the math growth assessment she they issued a report. in math 5 to 10% learning loss. and khan academy in normal times

we see one third of students operating ahead of the curve. one third at grade level. one third behind. we're definitely seeing that there is more need for what we could call unfinished learning or gap filling now nan ever. and you know the big topic especially with the relief package coming down, a big chunk is going towards learning loss. the question is how are we doing that? treat this like a disaster recovery and make sure the losses don't persist? >> disaster recovery is right. because it is a disaster for so many kids. and especially at a time when you have some kids who have been going to school in person all this time. not seeing really a drop off like some of the private schools or smaller school districts. then you have the widening gap. how do you address a widening gap, right, when all those kids will be moving up at the same time and eventually applying to college at the same time? >> yeah, you know, this is -- the school districts are trying to do what they can. but as -- speaking directly to families and speaking directly to students, this is a time where there are more supports

available online, non-profit free supports than ever. some of it is taking the agency leveraging your breaks, leveraging the coming summer vacation to try to get up to speed and i'd ideally get a bit ahead so you build a cushion. . that's where platforms like khan academy. schoolhouse dot world free tutoring grat great ways to get up to speed so you'll be ready to be at grade level or frankly beyond when you get back. >> okay. what advise do you have for teachers? what can they do to keep kids engage, especially knowing that many districts stay remote or half the kids choose to stay remote the rest of the school year? we have about three months. >> yeah, the teachers who we have seen doing it best i visited a lot of classroom precovid and now virtually are the ones made it highly interactive. sometimes there is a fallacy in education that it's all about volume. more instruction is better. but it really matters on the interactivity how much we have talked about engagement how much you engage the students. sfo instead of a 60 minute session with 30 students.

think about doing six ten minute sessions with -- with five students each. so that you can make it more engaging. however many students are in the zoom so to speak, make sure you call on them. leverage breakouts but because the breakouts not only is it a way to get them thinking about the academic topic it's a way to get socializing in a time that all of us feel a bit isolated. >> all right. can we explore what to do afterwards when i say afterwards i mean when the pandemic is over, when the kids are back in school snt you talked about the gap. so what do we do? what is the big picture here? >> i think we need to experiment with things like treating the summer not as an optional time but a somewhat mandatory time to do tutoring, try to finish some of the unfinished learning or tackle some of the learning loss. we're starting to work with districts on can we create formal programs that leverage things like schoolhouse dot world, leverage khan academy. it could be place based to major make sure there is najts

engagement could be the computer labs open during the summer or after school. could be local libraries, boys and girls centers or cmcs. it has to be full court press to make sure there were surrounding the supports for families so that they can get this type of address the learning loss issue. >> yes, because learning is everywhere. it could be done everywhere, not just in coolo school, right. sal khan of khan academy thank you for sharing your expertise insight and resources and hope to see you again soon. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you. coming up next we talk to former stockton mayor and new governor newsom appointee michael tubbs joining us to talk about guaranteed basic income. we're taking a break on the

all right. welcome back. governor newsom announced today former mayor of stockton, michael tubbs is his special adviser for economic mobit and opportunity. tubbs was also one of the faces behind the mayor's for guaranteed income program.

joining us now former mayor tubbs. congratulations. >> thank you. >> yeah, no, it's great to hear this now in his state of the state tuesday governor newsom committed to fight equality -- or inequality or fight for equality on many fronts. income is definitely front and center. today he made you the point person as his non-paid special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity. what will you do in that role? >> it's a huge mandate as you mentioned. a lot of it is building on the success we have seen. the governor has shown great leadership with the earned income tax credit with the golden state stimulus. a lot of the work will be building on the existing work. supporting the work of mayors throughout the state including the eight mayors in california mayors of guaranteed income. working close will go business and state department and how we can use the resources of the state to make sure economic gains are spread throughout the state. how to be supportive of of small businesses and make sure the business under the letteredship

of db myers fill of lot they have in california and working with advocates like the in child poverty now aluns and others to make sure california is california for all. as the governor has been saying throughout his time in office. >> now, you know something about mobility and opportunity. you were born to a teenage mom. dad was in prison. you grew up poor in stockton went to stockton on a scholar high pressure ran for city councils after your cousin was sadly shot to death. do those persons shape you and influence you as you tackle the new chlg. >> a million percent. i think the experiences spadly are quite normal in parts of the state. and they have really important experiences to realize the issue isn't with people. that the issue with the povrpt isn't the people in poverty. it's the fact that we have structures that allow so much wealth and so much poverty. it's those persons and lessons that really motivate the work and let me know that it's important that we invest in all people and that we give people an opportunity, all people need is a chance, a shot, a level

playing field. and they'll do amazing things provided that floor. >> now a friend of the yours soo who sees eye to eye on that. had something to say tad about your appointment. >> michael tubbs is one of the most inspirational leaders that i have ever seen. and he combines this kind of heart for the people with a sharp policy wonky mind and an actual plan for moving things from kind of innovative pilot to policy. >> hey, did you know oakland mayor libby schaaf said that about you today. >> i had no idea. she is too kind. i love mayor schaaf. and that's way too kind. >> she was on our midday live show. and, look, you and mayor schaaf are united in your support of the concept of guaranteed basic income. and a version of universal basic income, which is kind of the better known name. it's something you started in stockton when you were mayor a pilot program gichgt low income

residents $500 a month to spend freely in stipends. any data to show what whether that paid off. >> it was released last webb. folks go to stockton demonstration.org to find out people did not stop working. in fact, people were able to find full-time jobs more so than people who didn't receive the guaranteed income. number two people were healthier, stress levels and depression levels went down comparable comparable to clinical trials on pro zach. and number three people were able to novgt income volatility, navigate for the $500 emergency because we know before covid one in two americans could not afraid the one $500 emergency. >> so will you try -- this is the big question, what i've been building up to. will you try to get the governor to enact a guaranteed basic income on the state level now in your new position? >> so at the state -- the state could do deficit spending i would definitely spending 100% of my time making sure we do

that. but the state has to balance the budget every year. but i will be working with the governor and pushing legislatures and others to at least provide support to the mayors throughout the state saying we are going to pilot this idea in california with the hopes that the federal government will do the policy. i think gor newsom has shown great leadership on this and a in picking me to be his adviser on economic mobility and opportunities but also in things like the golden state slim stimulus. $600 direct checks to folks in the state. the earned income tax credit expansion he did last year and i expect that work to continue and be built upon. >> well couldn't the state also get private partnerships like stocken had to start its program? after all we have a lot of big tech here that's profited if you will that could help out. >> no, absolutely. i think there is about ten mayors in two counties that are thinking about doing the guaranteed income. i know in my role as a special adviser i'll be doing everything i can to support them and in

their work. and if there is ways the state can support i'm shurp at least there will be a conversation to be had. >> yeah, well this concept was pretty far left at the time it was launched in 2019. but then picked up by democratic presidential candidate now new york city mayoral candidate andrew yang. there is the packet of cities and mayors that signed on as you mentioned oakland included. pope francis included support for the ubi. are you surprised by the mainstreaming of the concept. >> i'm not because economic insecurity is so mainstream. and so so many people are one paycheck away. i'm a bit surprised at the speed but covid-19 has made it a necessity for to us realize that we have to build back better but we have to build back in a way that acknowledges the dignity of all people and provides people not with a crutch but with a ladder, with an income floor with, again, which it provided that folks can do all the things necessary to be creative and to be innovative.

>> um-hum. well, mayor tubbs, you gained national fame, featured it in hbo special, stockton on my mind. yet in a surprising upset you lost your re-election bid in november. i wonder, what do you attribute that to? >> i attribute that to what i think has been like five different stories about it now. all centered on the power of social media and disinformation. so despite the fact that stockton had a $13 million is your pursue when i left a lot of the voters believed i was stealing money from the city many despite the fact that 2018, 2019, 40% reduction in homicides a lot of people thought homicides were up in the city. given all the great work and innovative work it attracted a lot of enemies and detractors but now i'm it it excited and time's up. >> what do you say to people who say your ideas were too progressive for the city. not a lot benefitted from the guaranteed basic income but a

lot of people had potholes and job losses. >> there was a bunch of think we pilot that can't help everyone. that's the point of a pilot to get to scale. but if you look at every other dimension in the city from our second physically healthy city in the nation to to the 6 million i brought for homelessness and the $20 million i brought for scholarships it's well we governed well on other indicators and being innovative and basic income. >> mayor tubbs since you mentioned social media, and misinformation, how important is it to our society that we have, you know -- we can stem the tide of vanishing local news? >> that is issue number one two within three. we can't have a democracy when folks are fed poisonous disinformation. it makes it impossible to do things like ensure everyone gets vaccinated. make it difficult to answer challenges like climate change and gun reform. we have to support local news even though local news isn't

perfect. we have to support objective journalists folks like you who ask the tough questions, push and challenge and be objective and just have a baseline level of facts and then people can draw their own conclusions from that. but people limping in two different realities it's impossible. i think we see a lot of it in this crazy recall campaign. we have folks saying things about the governor and his administration that just aren't true and are pro liver eighted again by social media sites. >> michael tubbs, the governor newsom's special kbirz for economic mobility and opportunity. thank you don't go

thanks so much for joining us on today's interactive show "getting answers." today talked about learning loss with sal khan, the founder of

khan academy and former mayor michael tubbs, n tonight, president biden set to address the nation with major news tonight. the next chapter for america. the president expected to direct states to make all american adults eligible for a covid vaccine by may 1st, the latest. the president is expected to tell the country if everyone does their part to slow the spread and get vaccinated, that there's a chance that families, loved ones, neighbors, will be able to gather in small groups by the fourth of july. the news comes as the nation and the world marks one year since the world health organization declared the global coronavirus pandemic. but as america prepares to turn the corner, are these new goals from the president doable? dr. jha standing by, answering your questions tonight. also tonight, how soon could economic help arrive for struggling american families? tonight, with the president