The Education Policy Hotlist
Top News in U.S. Education Policy for the Week of December 6
Schools are making contradicting asks of parents and teachers, right now. We want kids and teachers to remain in school buildings, but the necessary components for safe school climate are missing.
In my own city, we are asking teachers to commit to in-person learning this year in the face of challenges in addressing students’ disengagement and mental wellness. And, we want parents to feel confident that sending their kids to school is welcoming, caring, and safe.
But, it all feels scary and uncertain.
Addressing school climate requires an unwavering commitment to rebuilding relationships and trust. The most important thing we can do right now is recommit to a path forward together.
Community-based non-profits, often overlooked, are integral to build connective tissue within schools and between school and home. Since this is the season for gratitude and giving I’d love if you explored one of these orgs to give to this month. These are organizations who I’ve witnessed rebuilding trust and relationships for kids:
The Oakland REACH The Oakland school system has failed Black and Brown families for generations. We refuse to let it fail our children. The Oakland REACH is a parent-run, parent-led powerful force for radical change. We educate and empower parents to demand high-quality schools for their children.
KairosPDX KairosPDX is a non-profit organization focused on delivering excellent, equitable education to underserved children, their families and their communities. Through innovative pedagogy, community collaboration and family partnership we are closing Portland’s persistent achievement gap in measurable, sustainable ways. Our mission is to eliminate the prolific racial achievement and opportunity gaps by cultivating confident, creative, compassionate, leaders who exceed expectations at each milestone ages 0-10.
Portland Backpack Portland Backpack serves children who are at risk of hunger by providing food sacks for weekend days when food scarcity is higher. We believe that engaging the community in our efforts creates a greater impact that reaches beyond reducing hunger.
And, in your own community, consider how systems can invest in culturally and racially affirming organizations who are best positioned to bring safety, security, and strength back to our schools.
FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY
GovTrack | A new bill proposed by Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) will require public school students read “foundational” American documents and ban federal funding for a public school that teach these documents are a result of white supremacy.
NYT | White families in Minneapolis schools are forced to wrestle with their own progressive values in an effort to integrate with students of color. The new policy is a challenge for everyone and one leader is focused on “affirming the students who already walked her halls.”
GAO | The GAO released a summary of students’ experiences in K12 schools with bullying, harassment, and hate speech.
USED | The US Department of Education is launching a series of inter-state communities of practice to promote evidence-based strategies and learn from one another.
ExcelinEd | The 2022 Education Policy Playbook launched this week, including recommendations like “fewer, better tests” and “education to workforce pathways.”
POLITICS IN EDUCATION
K12Dive | An opinion piece covers ways to depoliticize school boards.
The74 | Heath Brown covers how the plasticity of parents’ opinions may be difficult for political constituents to nail down.
“Once, the most active and vocal homeschoolers were conservatives, ready to arrive at state capitals to counter any perceived threat. Today, the consensus within this movement is not so solid.”
PANDEMIC RELIEF FUNDING
The Recovery Hub | The Collaborative for Student Success, CRPE, and Edunomics will release a new state-by-state hubs highlighting promising and innovative uses of pandemic relief funds.
K12Dive | Nearly half of the states have allocated a portion of federal relief funds, aside from the education-specific buckets, to education priorities.
Edunomics | Chad Aldeman covers the choice districts have to use federal funds to keep under enrolled schools afloat or make strategic downsizing decisions.
COVID HEALTH AND SAFETY
LA | Louisiana children are far behind the national average for vaccination rate.
Head Start | The US Department of Health and Human Services is requiring Head Start Performance Standards include masking and vaccination requirements.
NGA | The National Governors Association released resources to help states support vaccinations for children under 12, including a communications strategy and community supports
“Governors can lean on trusted messengers who are considered impartial, transparent and consistent to share facts about the vaccine and address peer concerns. For most Americans, especially parents, health care providers are the most trusted sources of information about vaccines. The acceptability of a message is also dependent on the content and context, meaning campaigns are more successful when tailored to a specific audience.”
EdWeek | Sarah Sparks writes about the potential for a pandemic winter and what that might look like for schools.
OK, PA, TX | States will have to make difficult decisions about how to move forward with health and safety precautions in winter.
OR | Great piece on the opportunity for transparency and leadership in Oregon COVID relief spending for schools.
RESEARCH AND DATA
AERA | Cara Jackson provides a theoretical framework for democratizing the development of evidence. This is a critical model that centers reciprocity between researchers, practitioners, and communities.
C4C & DQC | A new report provides four recommendations for states to prioritize data across early and postsecondary learning, including governance and infrastructure.
Urban Institute | A new series of Urban Institute essays will document data and analysis on PK-12 and postsecondary education. The essays use the Education Data Portal and other datasets not featured anywhere else. The goal: to provide timely, rigorous, accessible research to education decision makers.
Brookings | Child care is a real economic lever for family stability in the long term (ie., decades out). Early childhood experts outline more of the data on this case.
IES | A new study using NWEA MAP data from 17 districts in Illinois provides further evidence of unfinished learning, especially for middle grade mathematics. Recommendations include strategic investments in mathematics education for English learner students and special education students in higher grades, as well as further exploration into why unfinished learning occurred disproportionately across students groups.
EQUITY
MA | Massachusetts school districts will be required to teach middle and high school students about the history of genocide within a new bill headed to the Governor’s desk.
AL | A new program from Alabama A&M University trains and supports Black male teachers. Now in its third year, the initiative is seeing success in the percentage of Black male teachers represented in classrooms compared to the national average. This initiative aims to help improve achievement gaps and solve critical teacher shortages for Black males across the state.
The74 | Bloomberg announces massive investment to expand charter school seats for Black, Latino, and low-income students.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Fordham | A new podcast from the Gadfly show with Sandi Jacobs explores how complicated it is for educators to take up the science of reading.
The Conversation | A great article from Mark Van Ryzin on the importance of peers learning. Even If you think you know what peer learning is read this piece, it provides key steps for scaffolding peer learning in the classroom.
New America | A new report describes the state of cultural and racial representation within US educational materials.
Khan Academy | Khan Academy is working with schools to distribute mastery learning pedagogy across the country.
ECS | Education Commission of the States released a very straightforward and helpful overview of virtual schools and the related policy levers for states.
WORKFORCE
WI | A Wisconsin school district is increasing substitute teacher pay by 50% for those willing to work five days per week.
AEI | A new brief provides recommendations for removing barriers to teacher certifications.
“Arizona can serve as a prime example of how less government can create better conditions to grow a safe, qualified, and diverse talent pool for America’s public schools.”
OR | PPS, Oregon’s largest district, is facing a new bargaining proposal from the teachers’ union aiming to reduce in-person learning for high schoolers by 1 day per week and including a late-start for all students 1 day per week.
STUDENT SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
IN | Career and technical education classes are gaining popularity in Indiana.
Education Next | A great piece on the ways that schools can apply underused policies to pay for mental health services outside of special education.
CLE | The Center for Learner Equity launched an 8-session series for Camden educators to develop capacity to support students with disabilities.
The74 | Retention was not a widely used strategy to catch kids up from missed learning during school closures.
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 7 (2PM EST) The Alliance for Early Success and the Hunt Institute will host an event that covers 2021’s reforms in early child hood education, health, governance, and access.
December 7 (1PM EST) PACE, LPI, and California Education Partners are hosting From Evidence to Improved Student Outcomes: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice.
December 7 (1PM EST) Education Resource Strategies is hosting Making the Most of Your ESSER Funds: Targeted Changes in FY23 Budgeting to Optimize ESSER Impact
December 9 (12PM EST) Results for America is hosting ARP Data and Evidence Dashboard: Lessons on How Cities and Counties Are Investing Federal Recovery Funds.
December 9 (2PM EST) IES is hosting Leveraging Black Voices in Education Research.
December 9 (3PM EST) The Brown Center on Education Policy will host a webinar on The Divisive State of US Education Politics.
December 14 (1PM EST) R4A is hosting a webinar on Data Driven Recovery: How States Are Using Evidence to Deliver Better Results.
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Resident Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. As an Oregonian, raised by a multicultural family of educators, she brings over a decade of strategic leadership experience advancing a transformative vision for US education systems and bringing analytic skill to evidence-based policy agendas. Prior to joining CRPE, Christine led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools in Oregon and served as Policy Advisor at NWEA. Her academic research, focusing on accountability, governance, and social networks, can be found in Educational Researcher and Teachers College Record. As a lifelong educator, Christine has served in schools across the country as a 3rd grade teacher, reading specialist, and school and district administrator. Christine earned her BS and MAEd at East Carolina University, as well as her PhD at the University of Oregon. Christine lives with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.