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.

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 →

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, 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's Wall Street Journal op-ed:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/politicians-should-pay-for-ignoring-americas-education-crisis-summer-school-report-25782907

Thanks,

MikeBloomberg.com