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As distance learning pushes parents into pods, some look for ways to make the model more inclusive

Tyneisha Gibbs and a few friends in East Orange, New Jersey, were in the midst of organizing a child care co-op called Umi-verse when the coronavirus hit the U.S. But this summer, when it became clear that families were facing the prospect of another three months or more of school closures, they saw an opportunity....
By Linda Jacobson | August 12, 2020
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Amid pandemic downturn, new research shows Great Recession hurt student test scores, widened achievement gaps & reduced college attendance

Despite a boost from federal stimulus funds, drops in state funding for education during the Great Recession effectively ended a 50-year upward trend in national reading and math scores, according to a paper appearing Tuesday in the journal Education Next. A $1,000 cut in per-pupil spending also led to a decline in the college enrollment...
By Linda Jacobson | August 5, 2020
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New study reveals ‘devastating learning loss’ for youngest children, showing that preschool participation has fallen by half during pandemic — and may not improve in the fall

Preschool participation has fallen by half during the pandemic, according to new data from the National Institute for Early Education Research. And even with early educators’ efforts to connect with students remotely, few families have remained consistently involved. This “massive reduction in preschool attendance,” the report shows, affected all families regardless of race or ethnicity, parents’ educational...
By Linda Jacobson | August 3, 2020
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Parents (and lawyers) say distance learning failed too many special education students. As fall approaches, families wonder if their children will lose another school year

Georgianna Kelman’s phone doesn’t stop ringing nowadays. A special education attorney in Los Angeles, Kelman currently represents 60 families in southern California with complaints that their children didn’t receive services they were entitled to when schools closed in the spring. “I can only imagine the bottleneck of litigation that is coming,” Kelman said. “I have...
By Linda Jacobson | July 30, 2020