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By Beth Ann Rosica
“Four years since the first pandemic school closures in March 2020, we are faced with the unavoidable conclusion that public education in America is broken.
Academic performance and attendance are at all-time lows in many districts across the country, while mental health issues, behavioral incidents, and school violence are exponentially on the rise. Last year, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, and most national news outlets reported that academic achievement continues to decline since schools were closed.”
Why It Matters. “For the most part, the data from the chart is consistent with the findings from the author. For districts with a married family percentage above 72 percent, all academic indicators are above the state average. Those districts include Radnor, Springfield, Jenkintown, West Chester, and Pennridge.
Conversely, for those districts with a married family percentage below 60 percent, all academic assessments are below the state average, including Bristol Borough, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, Norristown, and Chester Upland. Phoenixville, Neshaminy, and Cheltenham have mixed results above and below the state average with a 70 to 72 percentage of married families.”
Quotable. “Not discussing the data is counterproductive. We must find a way to engage in the difficult conversations with empathy and sensitivity so that we can find solutions to level the playing field.
Children do not ask to be born, nor do they have any control over who their parents are or the circumstances to which they live. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to use our limited financial resources to address the root of the problem and not the symptom of the problem.”
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