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COVID-19 crisis offers chance to challenge the status quo, including the persistent lack of teacher diversity

Education leaders across the country are experiencing a summer like no other as they plan for what the school experience will be for millions of students and families in the upcoming academic year. In considering the wide range of reopening scenarios — such as whether all students can safely return to school, if a hybrid...
By Cassandra Herring | September 8, 2020
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Soares: Substitute teachers are unsung heroes in reopening schools. They deserve better pay and professional development

As President Donald Trump continues to demand that schools reopen and families across the country anxiously await decisions, districts are asking a critical question: Will teachers come back once the doors reopen? Early indications suggest that while many will, others fearful of COVID-19 won’t. Those absences will exacerbate a supply gap of some 110,000 teachers...
By Nicola Soares | August 24, 2020
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Boser: From math to music, there are great online supports for nearly every subject. So where are all the great writing apps?

When the coronavirus shut down school in the spring, my kids’ teachers spun out many impressive lessons. Their emails included links to travel videos on YouTube, math tutorials on Khan Academy, even parent-teacher video conferences. There was, however, one conspicuous absence from my kids’ e-learning: a feedback or support platform for their writing assignments. This...
By Ulrich Boser | August 20, 2020
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Cami Anderson: ‘Police-free schools’ vs. ‘chaos’ is a false choice. Here’s what districts must do to implement real discipline reform

This summer brought a long overdue national spotlight to the role racism plays in all aspects of American society, and education has not been spared — nor should it be. Around the country, schools are scaling back and even abolishing long-established systems of policing. Major districts like Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon, moved swiftly to dissociate their schools from...
By Cami Anderson | August 18, 2020
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A tutor’s view: 4 things I learned about my students, their families and myself during COVID-19 online learning

When the 2019-20 school year began, no one could have imagined that schools would sit dark and empty for one-third of the instructional year. COVID-19 left unprecedented disruption in its wake, laying bare inequities that existed long before living rooms turned into classrooms. Because Black and Latino communities have been hardest hit, we’re certain to...
By Kyle Forth | August 17, 2020
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Analysis: California’s state budget has big benefits for teachers union, stifles charter schools and funds phantom students

Students of civics might think the California state budget is crafted by the elected representatives of the citizenry, who debate and amend proposals working their way through various committees, ultimately leading to a spending plan with majority support and the signature of the governor. All that happens, of course, but no budget makes it to...
By Mike Antonucci | August 10, 2020
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Lewis: Students returning to school this fall will face a new, changed reality. 1 way to help — start classes later so they can get more sleep

Schools are still determining what changes they’ll need to make before reopening in the fall. Some, like LAUSD and San Diego Unified, have already determined they’ll remain online only for now, while others are still grappling with the complexities involved: How will they ensure social distancing in the classroom? Will face masks be required? What about...
By Lisa L. Lewis | July 28, 2020
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Board candidate Tanya Ortiz Franklin: With less than a month to go before school reopens for remote-only learning, LA Unified needs to act now to prioritize students’ needs

While we are all wading through the uncharted waters of a global pandemic interlaced with a racial justice uprising, one thing is clear — the clock is ticking towards back to school. Last week, Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest, announced what many had predicted: that because of the surge in coronavirus...
By Tanya Ortiz Franklin | July 27, 2020
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Fourth-graders’ tips for learning online: Go to bed early. Plug in your laptop. Try to find a quiet place to get focused. Don’t get frustrated

A version of this essay originally appeared on the KIPP.NJ blog. Remote learning is not what I signed on for when I became a teacher. The physical distance makes it very difficult for me to be there for my kids. But while this is an unpredictable and stressful time for everyone, helping students create new routines...
By Amanda Geiger | July 23, 2020
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As LA Unified shifts $25M away for its police budget, it should also make sure its restorative justice program is sound

Since the Los Angeles Unified School Board voted to cut its school police budget by $25 million, activists have been calling for more student support services, such as additional counselors and social workers. Meanwhile, restorative justice programs offer another strategy that could prove useful as we look to soften our schools and move away from...
By Josh Brown | July 20, 2020