I just returned from the Association for Education Finance and Policy conference in Denver and was struck by the range of research underway on education innovations. The pandemic has created many challenges for educators but has also offered an opportunity to test new approaches to supporting student success.
One consistent theme in the current school-improvement conversation is the importance of a diverse teaching force, which research has linked to improved attendance, grades, graduation rates and college enrollment. We hope you will join us at noon Tuesday, April 4, when we partner with TNTP for a webinar on the topic.
Moderated by FutureEd Senior Fellow Lynn Olson, the panel will include:
Tequilla Brownie, CEO, TNTP
Sharif El-Mekki, CEO, Center for Black Educator Development
Mayme Hostetter, President, Relay Graduate School of Education
Tami Jenkins, Senior lecturer, Tech Teach Across Texas
Also, be sure to read our Teachers Like Us report outlining strategies for attracting and retaining teachers of color.
It’s the busy season in state legislatures, and many of the high-profile bills this year are about education. FutureEd examined the state-of-the-state and budget addresses from 44 governors and captured what they had to say about schools and colleges in an analysis that ran on our site and The 74’s.
Bella DiMarco and Liz Cohen on our policy team did a deep dive into the wave of recent state legislation promoting public funding of private schooling and produced:
An explainer detailing the different types of private-school-choice initiatives, particularly the new universal programs approved in Arkansas, Florida, Iowa and Utah this year
Interactive maps of states offering each major type of public support for private education
And we tracked a spate of bills focused on parents’ right to know what their children are learning in classrooms, particularly around issues of race and gender.
At the National Level
We have continued to follow the pace of spending Covid-relief aid, with our latest analysis showing that states and districts have spent nearly $86 billion or more than 45 percent of the $189 billion in ESSER funding. We also updated our list of Congressional committee members serving on panels that affect education.
And Associate Director Phyllis Jordan featured new research on assessing teacher quality in an interview with American Institutes for Research economist Ben Backes.
We continue to track leadership moves in the education sector in The Churn, and to provide a listing of upcoming in-person and virtual education events. Send your events and leadership news to [email protected], and we’ll be happy to post it.
Best spring wishes,
Tom
Thomas Toch
Director, FutureEd
McCourt School of Public Policy
Georgetown University [email protected]
@thomas_toch
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