What we're reading this week: June 17, 2021
The Education Gadfly“Why ed-tech startups Clever and Nearpod are expected to sell for a combined $1 billion.” —EdWeek A man from Angelus, Kansas, a dwindling town, ruffled feathers by turning a beloved old schoolhouse into a barn.
President Biden’s $220,000,000,000 “American Family Plan” should also pivot home
Miriam Kurtzig FreedmanSitting on a Boston city bus, I watched a mother with a young child. For the twenty-five-minute ride, they didn’t speak a word. No “Look at that little girl on the bicycle” or “We’re having pizza for dinner!” When you’re with a young child for that long, do you talk to her?
Charter schools at 30: Looking back, looking ahead
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Bruno V. MannoToday, forty-four states—plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam—have public charter school laws on their statute books, laws that have led to more than 7,500 schools employing 200,000-plus teachers and serving 3.3 million students.
Tennessee’s excellent plan to address unfinished learning
Dale ChuNearly three months have passed since the third round of ESSER funding was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). These dollars can be used for almost anything under the education sun, and most of them will flow directly to districts, but the limited set aside for states merits attention if only for the staggering scale of Uncle Sam’s total outlay.
Zombie ideas in education
Bryan GoodwinEditor’s note: This was first published in Educational Leadership.
Fast break: Instilling emotional safety and engaged learning in high schools
Barry E. Stern, Ph.D.Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Partnering with culturally-specific community organizations to provide consistent, expansive, and adaptive mental health services
Christine Pitts, Elizabeth GilkeyEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
SEL for all begins with SEL for educators
Sulina Mohanty, Genesis KellerEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
The common ground on race and education that’s hiding in plain sight
Michael J. PetrilliIn the latest skirmishes in education’s never-ending culture wars—the tussles over critical race theory, “anti-racist” education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom—common ground is there to be found. Here, for example, are five promising and praiseworthy practices that most of us could get behind, regardless of our politics or our views on other issues, while doing a lot of good for millions of kids.
To address mental health, think systemically about social, emotional, and academic learning
Justina SchlundEditor’s note: This was the third-place submission, out of twenty-five, in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, in which we asked participants to answer the question, “How can sc
A new look at the question of the effectiveness of school turnarounds
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Turnaround efforts for low performing schools have been the subject of research interest since their advent in the No Child Left Behind era.
The Education Gadfly Show #771: Same old, same old: How districts are spending federal relief dollars (so far)
Choosing “all of the above” serves all
Dr. Alex Casillas, Dr. Bonnie A. HainHow can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction? Question #1: Schools can best address the needs of whole learners coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic by:
The primacy of trust: How to create an environment that promotes social emotional learning and academic success
Brooke Mabry, Elliot Ransom, Nina Ryan, Lauren WellsEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Addressing students' mental health: Early is good, earlier is better
Laura Weeldreye, Margo Candelaria, Ph.D., Douglas LentEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Four ways schools can expand mental-health supports for students and staff post-pandemic
CAO CentralEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Preschool support, sure. Biden’s plan, no.
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The overriding problem with President Biden’s education scheme, as presented in his grandiose “American Families” package, is its focus on more schooling rather than more learning.
Was Eli Broad right to try to improve urban districts or should he have focused solely on charter schools?
Dale ChuEli Broad, who passed away late last month at the age of eighty-seven, long sought to rectify the excessively bureaucratic, overly politicized, and woefully underperforming big city school district. But should he have pivoted instead to charter schools?
Promoting student well-being is an investment in academic growth
Turnaround for ChildrenEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Taking a racial equity approach to support student mental health
Abby QuirkEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Cultivating an equitable culture of K–12 health advocacy in the wake of Covid-19
Ebony Lambert, Ph.D.Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Cultivating SEL in a digital learning environment
Cody BendixEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Addressing unfinished learning with targeted help and high-dosage tutoring
CAO CentralA growing body of evidence indicates that many students will enter the 2021–22 school year with a substantial amount of unfinished learning. The tendency of educators may be to use benchmark assessments to determine the extent of unfinished learning and then group those students according to how far below grade level they’ve fallen.
To support the whole child, support the whole school
Laura Encalade, Dr. Hank StaggsEditor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
The non-negotiables for addressing students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic
Charles Ogundimu, Ph.D.Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2021 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to address a fundamental and challenging question: “How can schools best address students’ mental health needs coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic without shortchanging academic instruction?”
Break up urban school districts into smaller, independent ones
Howard HusockThe resistance of teachers unions to return to the classroom in urban areas, despite early signals from health agencies that it was relatively safe to reopen schools and the knowledge that in-person learning is essential to the success of our children, has brought attention to what many astute observers have noticed for some time.
Six ways schools can serve gifted students after the pandemic
CAO CentralNow more than ever, high-ability students from low-income families will need specialized attention and guidance from their parents and teachers. Many less-resourced families have experienced illness or personal and financial instability, and low-income students’ schooling may have experienced long interruptions due to a lack of resources at home.
Some things I’ve learned
Robert PondiscioTwo decades into what was supposed to be a two-year public service stint in education, I’ve learned a few lessons as a teacher, a writer, and an ed reformer. They include the following: teaching has to be a job that ordinary people can do well; innovation is an overrated virtue; and there’s no such thing in education as a magic bullet—but there might be magic buckshot. Read more.
Improving assessments and accountability in the post-Covid era
Chester E. Finn, Jr.As U.S. schools reopen in the fall, a year and a half after nearly all of them closed due to the pandemic panic, what should be different? What needs to change if kids are actually to catch up? What’s important to retrieve from pre-Covid days? And what other changes, changes that should have been made pre-Covid, is there now a rare opportunity to initiate?