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An educator’s view: After a year of disrupted learning, 7 things Black parents can do to make sure their child will thrive at school

As a Black educator and the mother of Black children, I can tell you that the last year of disrupted schooling has had a profound effect on all of the country’s children, and Black children in particular. It has disrupted the learning of my students, my daughters and my son — children who don’t have access...
By Isis Spann | May 10, 2021
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Otero: Decrepit schools make recovering lost learning even harder. Federal relief funds can pay for much-needed upgrades

Tackling learning loss that has resulted from the pandemic is today’s most pressing education policy concern. Critical remedies like intensive tutoring, added instructional time and early warning indicators have gotten a lot of attention. But there is another solution that is ripe for action, one that undergirds all other efforts to address learning loss: upgrading school buildings....
By Mildred Otero | May 6, 2021
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Q&A: National Parent Union’s Keri Rodrigues on public school disenrollment amid the COVID crisis

America’s education system continues to reckon with the enormous disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some students and families became well-acclimated with the distance learning process overall, many others found it challenging — and often impossible — to participate in because of persistent barriers like job losses, lack of stable housing, insufficient internet access...
By The 74 | May 5, 2021
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Analysis: 10 lessons from past educational disruptions, and how they can help students make up lost learning after COVID-19

Compared to a normal year, students learned less in 2020, were more likely to fail their classes and were less likely to be in school at all. Is this all just temporary? As we move further into 2021, will everything start returning back to normal? Based on the research on past educational disruptions, the answers...
By Chad Aldeman | May 4, 2021
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New poll shows nearly half of American parents rethinking value of four-year college; want additional alternatives for children

Many parents are rethinking the value of a traditional four year college education, opting instead for hands-on experiences for their children such as vocational education programs, joining the military or starting their own business, a new poll has found. Even without obstacles such as finances, nearly half of parents want alternatives to four-year college for...
By Meghan Gallagher | May 3, 2021
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Analysis: Kids are missing more than classroom learning due to COVID-19. Why states must also use relief funds to restore student engagement via in-person extracurriculars

We read daily about students’ missed classroom learning time due to COVID-19, but that is not the only thing students lost over the last year. A well-rounded education involves enriching experiences that happen outside of the classroom walls — be it sports, music and arts, travel, debate, or other extracurricular programs that build student engagement,...
By Peter Shumlin | April 29, 2021
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How a Snapchat post laden with F-bombs and teen angst could give schools broad power over students’ off-campus speech — and why young leaders are fighting back

In a major Supreme Court case that could grant educators the power to regulate student speech far beyond the schoolhouse gate, the nation’s highest court is preparing to weigh the merits of a high school cheerleader’s profanity-laden social media post. Though the Snapchat post central to the case was filled with F-bombs and laden with...
By Mark Keierleber | April 28, 2021
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Biden earns high marks from educators on his first 100 days, but some note there are still ‘kids sitting at home’

In February, the Baltimore City Public Schools allocated over $9 million for COVID-19 testing to ease the concerns of teachers and staff about returning to the classroom. But then President Joe Biden announced he would spend $10 billion for routine screening to help schools reopen as part of the American Rescue Plan. Baltimore CEO Sonja...
By Linda Jacobson | April 27, 2021
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Brenes & Buik: As students return to classrooms in LA, the voices of BIPOC families — too often absent from the reopening debate — must be heard

As the pandemic began last March, Reyna Frias of East Los Angeles didn’t have a laptop or internet connection for her middle and high school sons to participate in distance learning. Before long, both Reyna and her husband lost their jobs. Eventually, late last year, the whole family contracted COVID-19. It’s no surprise that Reyna’s...
By Maria Brenes and Elise Buik | April 27, 2021
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Study: Charter schools do not ‘drain’ funding from California’s traditional public schools

Last fall, Governor Gavin Newsom approved a new state law, Assembly Bill No. 1505, which gave local districts more control over the opening of new charter schools and the renewal of existing schools’ charters. In addition the new law revises the process for appealing rejected charter school applications. Although it remains to be seen whether...
By Michael J. Petrilli and David Griffith | April 26, 2021