PBS SoCal Kids 24/7 Channel!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/sxO6Jnt5hiM

I am excited to announce the launch of a brand new service – PBS SoCal KIDS.

It’s a 24/7-television channel dedicated to fun and exciting PBS KIDS programs your children love – like Daniel Tiger, Ready, Jet, Go!, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, and Dinosaur Train. That’s 24 hours of award-winning educational PBS KIDS programming developed from a tested curriculum in literacy, STEM and social-emotional development.

We know that well-designed media can improve cognitive, literacy and social outcomes for young children, and the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. Their recent guidelines for media use even cite PBS programs and apps as proven to have a positive impact. Which is especially helpful during the early years of life when children’s brains are developing and forming important cognitive capacities.

That’s why our early education services – like PBS SoCal KIDS – are important. While research consistently shows that quality early education can have life-long benefits, many children in Southern California don’t have access to it. In fact, only 52 percent of L.A. County children aged three to five are enrolled in preschool, which means many of our region’s children will start kindergarten without basic learning skills.

In this environment, we believe it’s important that we continue to expand our early education work across Southern California. Our main channel PBS SoCal 1 already offers more than 12 hours of educational kids’ programming. Our new channel PBS SoCal KIDS importantly expands access to this resource to more kids, for free, all day and every day. Plus, we will continue to expand our outreach to parents and caregivers in partnership with dozens of community organizations, with the goal of providing more educational tools, training and workshops for parents, families and teachers.

Our community’s achievement in early learning defines our future for Southern California. Today’s preschoolers are tomorrow’s workforce and leaders, and we are deeply committed to ensuring they are prepared for school and life. We believe this is one of the best ways PBS SoCal can use the power of public media to serve Southern California, giving the children in your lives the gift of fun and educational entertainment, in a safe, commercial-free place.

- Andrew Russell is President and CEO of PBS SoCal.