When Nevada’s school buildings closed in March 2020, the state’s 17 districts had varying abilities to support distance learning. A couple were well on their way, with quality instructional materials, access to devices and connectivity for students. But an overwhelming number of districts, including the largest one, Clark County School District, just didn’t have the...

COVID-19 disruptions gave parents and families unprecedented views into their children’s schools, classes and teachers, and deepened insights into their children’s learning styles, interests and challenges. Whatever they thought of their schools before, many parents now have strong opinions about what they want them to provide. They are looking beyond fall reopenings to rethink schooling,...

With a second disrupted school year in the books and what one hopes will be a more “normal” year ahead, America’s K-12 students stand at a crossroads. More kids have dropped out of school during the pandemic than in previous years. College applications among first-generation and low-income students are down. One study even suggests kids will continue to experience...

On June 8, I delivered comments during session 3 of the public hearings on Title IX before the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. This was a much anticipated and long-awaited opportunity to re-engage with the department, under new leadership, to participate in the thinking about changes to Title IX regulations that can...

There’s a lot riding on this summer. Schools are reopening their doors to in-person learning in the fall, and many see this summer as a chance to address the unfinished learning the pandemic leaves in its wake. But no matter how successful summer programs are, schools can’t expect to operate business as usual this fall....

If we have learned one thing from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that a one-size-fits-all approach to education doesn’t cut it. While many students struggled with the transition from in-person learning to emergency remote instruction, others have thrived using some of the new and innovative models implemented during the pandemic. As education continues to evolve and...

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” —Aboriginal rights leaders A McKinsey & Co. study on the impact of COVID-19 has told the nation that “the pandemic has set back learning for all students,...

When I was in high school I worked part time at a dry cleaners. One day, a regular customer came in and asked to speak with me privately. He was, he told me, about to undergo a process to change his gender that involved some physical changes and was concerned that because the legalities would...

A version of this essay first appeared on The Kresge Foundation. Making community college tuition-free should be a national priority. It would help counter recent enrollment declines at our nation’s community colleges. It would help produce the trained employees businesses say they are lacking. Most importantly, it would bring low-income students and students of color into higher education,...

After more than a year in which the majority of students attended school fully or partially remotely, districts nationwide are contemplating how to meet children’s present academic and social needs and prepare them for the 2021-22 academic year. A slew of policies and practices are on the table for the summer and coming year, bolstered...