Joe Hong
Education ReporterJoe Hong covered education stories across KPBS platforms. Prior to joining the KPBS newsroom, he covered three school districts for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs. He has written about school finance, negligence in special education, and school board misconduct. Previously, he covered equity issues and historically black colleges and universities for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine based in Fairfax, Virginia. Before a career in journalism, he was pursuing a doctorate in comparative literature at Rutgers University. He pivoted to journalism in 2016 and earned a master's degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2017, specializing in investigative reporting. In September 2019, he completed The Data Institute, a two-week workshop for journalists of color taught by ProPublica in collaboration with the Ida B. Wells Society.
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San Diego County public health officials Wednesday reported 247 new COVID-19 infections and 12 additional fatalities, raising the region's totals to 41,324 cases and 721 deaths from the coronavirus. -
KPBS Midday EditionThe Valley Fire in Japatul Valley near Alpine continued to burn on Labor Day, scorching 17,345 acres with just 3% containment, and causing four new evacuation orders. -
The parts of San Diego County that have seen the highest rates of COVID-19 infection also contain the schools serving the vulnerable student groups who need in-person learning the most. -
With Monday marking the all-virtual start to the school year in the county’s largest district, students grappled with unfamiliar class schedules and wondered how they would meet new friends. -
Administrators in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District terminated the contract days before the new school year after hearing reports about the content from districts in other states. -
KPBS Midday EditionSan Diego State University started the new school year with 90% of courses being online-only and dormitories filled to just half capacity. Students must wear masks both inside and outside.
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KPBS Midday EditionThree San Diego Unified educators will be honored Tuesday as the school district's 2021 Teachers of the Year following a school year filled with unprecedented challenges. -
KPBS Midday EditionProtesters gathered outside the San Diego Police Department headquarters Wednesday night after video surfaced that appears to show an officer pointing his gun at a young boy during a traffic stop in Hillcrest this week. -
KPBS Midday EditionCalifornia’s public schools could get $6.6 billion from the state Legislature if they return to in-person instruction by the end of March, according to a new agreement announced Monday between Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s legislative leaders.
- Study: Half of San Diego County families with young kids struggle with costs
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- 50 years later: San Diego’s USS Midway and the fall of Sàigòn
- La Mesa-Spring Valley, Lemon Grove school mental health grants cut early by Trump administration
- Two San Diego nonprofits are poised to lose promised environmental justice grants — but the EPA has yet to tell them