Mike's Wall Street Journal op-ed
View this email in your browser →
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
"This is a five-alarm fire, but most elected officials aren't responding or
even discussing it. There is no plan from Washington, no joint session of
Congress, no Oval Office address… The collective shrug from both parties is a
disgrace."
<[link removed]>
-- Mike Bloomberg, on the education crisis in America
<[link removed]>
READ MORE
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
John,
In the years since the widespread return of in-person learning, it's been easy
to assume that American schools are "back to normal."
But a closer look at data on student success reveals a growing, slow-motion
crisis: an unprecedented decline in learning, with more and more kids
struggling to perform at their grade-level in math and reading. Left
unaddressed, it could squander the potential of millions of people, and put our
nation's future at risk.
So why are our elected officials acting as if nothing is happening?
In a message published today in The Wall Street Journal (subscription may be
required), Mike makes a call for bold action to support students, while holding
leaders across the political spectrum accountable for failing to step up.
<[link removed]>
"Instead of focusing on overcoming the crisis -- with tutoring, summer school
for students who have fallen behind, and accountability measures for schools --
both parties are focused on winning votes."
READ MIKE'S WSJ OP-ED
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Across metrics of reading and math, student scores have hit some of their
lowest levels in decades, according to the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, often referred to as the nation’s report card.
The long-term impact of the collapse in learning could be devastating. As
Mike writes: "Millions of children will be consigned to limited career choices
and unable to fulfill their potential, slowing the nation's progress toward
racial and ethnic equality. The U.S. will miss out on the success young people
might otherwise achieve as engineers and scientists, entrepreneurs and
innovators, teachers and public servants. America's ability to continue leading
the global economy -- and reaping the rewards -- will suffer."Read more →
<[link removed]>
And yet, even with so much at stake, both parties are failing to mount an
appropriate response.
Republicans are banning books and turning schools into battlegrounds for the
culture wars -- showing that they're "more focused on Critical Race Theory than
the three Rs," Mike writes. "Kids are the collateral damage."
At the same time, Democrats are refusing to stand up to special interests and
ensure accountability, oversight, and rigorous standards. After years of
increased stimulus spending on schools, they have "little to show for it but
lower test scores and emptier classrooms." And no plan for addressing the
learning crisis as stimulus funds run dry.
There are solutions to this challenge -- including the Summer Boost program
led by Bloomberg Philanthropies
<[link removed]>
, which is funding summer school programs in eight U.S. cities -- after last
year's program in New York City proved highly effective: "Of the 16,000
struggling students who participated [in New York City] last summer, the
percentage who met grade-level standards in math by summer's end nearly
doubled. In English, it more than doubled, getting them back on track for
success."
It's one example of the kind of creative actions we should be expecting of
leaders across the political spectrum. Read more in Mike'sWall Street Journal
op-ed:
[link removed]
<[link removed]>
Thanks,
MikeBloomberg.com
<[link removed]> <[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Click here to unsubscribe
<[link removed]>
.
Click here to read our privacy policy. <[link removed]>
Mike Bloomberg
All content ©2023 Bloomberg IP Holdings LLC. All rights reserved.
