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Analysis: Teaching students in person and online at the same time is a huge challenge. 4 ways to bridge the home-classroom gap

Across the country, educators are working hard to support students learning in hybrid contexts, where students are attending school both online and in person. In many schools, staff availability to teach, attendance policies and a desire to have students working with teachers for as much time as possible mean many districts are pursuing a simultaneous...
By Beth Rabbitt | April 5, 2021
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Educator’s view: To dismantle structural racism, having school leaders who look like me matters

When you picture a public charter school teacher, what image comes to mind? Chances are, it doesn’t look like me: a Latino male. As a former public school student in south Texas, and a longtime charter school educator, I know how powerful it is when students learn from adults who look like them, who can...
By Freddy Gonzalez | March 29, 2021
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Analysis: Lessons from Spanish Flu — Babies born in 1919 had worse educational, life outcomes than those born just before or after. Could that happen with COVID-19?

I have some bad news: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to linger for decades. One mechanism is through education. As my series on educational disruptions has shown, children who miss school time suffer academic losses in the short run, and those effects are noticeable decades later in the form of worse economic outcomes and other...
By Chad Aldeman | March 23, 2021
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Redrawing NCAA brackets for income mobility: If March Madness were about moving students up the economic ladder, research says we’d all be celebrating Georgetown

For the hundreds of schools, thousands of students and millions of fans left dismayed by the cancellation last year of the NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament, the return of March Madness is cause for much celebration and, of course, much caution. The Big Dance comes at a time when vaccinations are leading the nation...
By Jorge Klor de Alva | March 18, 2021
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A student’s view: Teachers form unions to negotiate how their schools operate. Why shouldn’t students do the same?

This essay is adapted from posts that originally appeared on the New York School Talk blog. Every adult in a school building gets a union. In New York City, most are members of the United Federation of Teachers, and together they are incredibly powerful and effective. They negotiate all the rules. They can influence hiring and firing...
By Gregory Wickham | March 17, 2021
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Analysis: Remote or in person? Underspending or running deficits? What school reopening decisions mean for district budgets

How are school district budgets faring this year? That depends. Many districts are struggling financially. They have spent large sums of money dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic — buying technology, purchasing cleaning supplies, hiring more substitute teachers and attempting to address student learning loss and disengagement. This story, of districts in distress, is an easy...
By Chad Aldeman | March 15, 2021
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Analysis: Mentors, team teaching, 7-week class cycles 12 months a year — some school innovations in staffing and scheduling during COVID-19

An Arkansas school district has one teacher leading instruction for several classes while others support children in small groups. A suburban Cleveland elementary school teamed up teachers and restructured its school day to expand staff planning time. A St. Louis charter school is making sure every educator also serves as an education navigator or coach...
By Lynn Olson | March 12, 2021
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Blatz: Biden must make student loan forgiveness a priority — not just for graduates, but for the economy and for long-term fairness

There is a lot of talk about student loan debt forgiveness right now, but this is actually less about canceling debt and more about investing in workers and the economy while developing sustainable solutions to underlying, systemic problems. Education is a fundamental driver of economic development because it is all about investing in people, and...
By Jennifer Blatz | February 24, 2021
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An educator’s view: Virtual teaching takes work. 5 remote learning lessons from an online high school principal

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many educators learned very quickly that online learning takes work. In the spring, teachers and administrators had to take on the near-impossible task of moving all their classes and interactions online with no warning. Fall brought its own uncertainties, as districts around the country struggled to reconcile the need to...
By Megan Bowen | February 18, 2021
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What principals and school district leaders can do to support teachers with instructional materials

Even pre-pandemic, teachers were creative when choosing instructional materials to use with students. When presented with a recommended or even required curriculum, RAND research has found, teachers exercised great autonomy in modifying teaching materials and finding additional resources to supplement them. So, what do teachers want when it comes to instructional materials, particularly now? Knowing...
By Elaine L. Wang | February 15, 2021