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Dear John,
It is week 218 of our new reality, and in states across the country, the future of education is coming into focus.
As we explore in this issue of the Roundup, Louisiana is the latest state to push through a sweeping series of investments that will dramatically change how parents and students experience K-12 education. In many ways, these changes mark a shift from a school-centered to an education-centered era of reform.
The kinds of education services parents can expect are broadening to include things like high-dosage tutoring to help catch their kids back up. So too is the way policymakers are expanding choice, with a new Education Savings Account (ESA) dramatically opening up the choices families can make to include not simply school tuition but also textbooks, instructional materials, therapies and other expenses. It is one more step forward towards an education system of the future grounded in the promises of Believe in Better ([link removed]) .
Last time ([link removed]) , we checked in on how teachers are feeling about student achievement in their classrooms and dove into changes to Colorado’s student funding formula. This week we put a spotlight on the big changes happening in the Pelican State and preview an upcoming discussion on why tutoring has emerged as a big new policy idea.
Best,
Marc Porter Magee, PhD
50CAN Founder and CEO
@marcportermagee ([link removed])
Get inspired by a new era of education investments in Louisiana
Last Thursday, we announced ([link removed]) that following over a decade of advocacy by Kelli Bottger, executive director of the Louisiana Kids Matter campaign, Louisiana became the latest state to expand educational opportunities for all students by passing a universal ESA.
Known as Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (“GATOR”) Scholarship, the new ESA will be available to all Louisiana students, with larger scholarships for low-income students and students with special needs. Additionally, the LA GATOR Scholarship has transparency around academic outcomes built into the program from day one with a requirement that participating students take the state assessment or a nationally norm-referenced assessment each year.
The ESA was Louisiana Kids Matter’s first victory this session but it won’t be its last. Pending passage of the budget later today, Louisiana Kids Matter will have:
* Secured an additional $30 million for school districts to expand and support high-dosage tutoring during the school day.
* Expanded a program that directly funds families to obtain additional tutoring after school or over the summer in math and ELA by $5 million.
* Created a math screener to complement a previously passed literacy screener, with students assessed three times a year in grades K-8.
* Reformed the membership of the Workforce Investment Council to lay the foundation for clear career pathways and industry recognized certifications for all students.
Taken together, these investments and reforms position Louisiana as a leader in providing students with the opportunities, services and support needed for learning loss recovery.
“I’m so proud of Louisiana and our elected officials for putting kids first,” Kelli told us. “We’re working both inside and outside the system here, with our North Star being getting parents and families what they need and deserve. The reality is that now every family in our state has access to in school tutoring, after school tutoring and the ability to choose the education experience that will work best for them. This is a real game changer.”
* The task this week is to look for inspiration in the new wave of reforms in Louisiana as the state commits to believing in better.
Get smarter on why tutoring advocates are succeeding
“Tutoring is an intervention increasingly under discussion—and with good reason. It is one of the few educational strategies that we know works for almost all kids,” Liz Cohen wrote ([link removed]) in a 50CAN policy brief published in January of 2021, as the country searched for solutions to the then-emerging learning loss crisis.
Now serving in the role of Policy Director at FutureEd, Liz is partnering with 50CAN to moderate a webinar discussion ([link removed]) on Tuesday, June 25 at 1:00pm ET, with panelists including Stanford University Professor Susanna Loeb, JerseyCAN Executive Director Paula White and 50CAN CEO Marc Porter Magee.
RSVP for the Tutoring and Advocacy Webinar ([link removed])
What led to the rapid spread and adoption of tutoring as a solution? What will it take to bring tutoring to the scale? And what can the science of advocacy teach us about how other policy ideas might follow a similar path?
* The task this week is to register ([link removed]) for this event and join us on June 25 as we dig deep into the lessons learned in the spread of tutoring as a policy solution.
DelawareCAN welcomed Donna Johnson Geist as the newest member of their advisory board. A national board certified teacher, former district official and former executive director of the State Board of Education, Donna currently works as Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Cognia.
Last week, GeorgiaCAN graduated over 60 parents from the EPIC parent fellowship. “We’re so proud of these advocates,” National Organizing Manager Steven Quinn shared. “Our EPIC parents were instrumental in a year that resulted in sweeping changes, including the expansion of the Georgia Promise Scholarship.”
In the latest episode ([link removed]) of the New Mexico Rising podcast, the NewMexicoKidsCAN team discusses the lawsuit over a state mandate requiring 180 days of school in all districts, the Governor’s Summer Reading Program and the challenges that have arisen at expanding tutoring across the state.
Education Reimagined presents ([link removed]) a policy framework for enabling learner-centered education and provides a helpful overview of specific initiatives underway in states across the country.
The 74 Million profiles ([link removed]) parents who faced criminal charges for address sharing in an attempt to get their children into a zone with better schools.
AEI hosted ([link removed]) a panel, featuring 50CAN's Derrell Bradford, discussing the impact that the White House's proposed $40 million budget cut will have for charter schools.
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York is considering ([link removed]) a cell phone ban in schools, according to Chalkbeat, citing both academic and mental health concerns.
FutureEd argues for a two-tiered system of assessment in their new vision ([link removed]) for assessments, with existing state testing refocused on the mission of informing elected officials on broad trends and a new series of assessments to inform parents, students and teachers on student progress.
AEI hosted ([link removed]) a debate on federal spending for learning loss recovery, with experts asking if $190 billion was sufficient to address the educational setbacks caused by the pandemic and if more money is warranted.
EdWorkingPapers published ([link removed]) a new study on the impact of state funding reforms on state finances, putting a spotlight on the need to think through how additional funding would be raised and the prospect that increasing state revenue can lead to a decrease in local revenue for education.
[link removed]
HawaiiKidsCAN and their community partners launched a final round of their awareness campaign to raise FAFSA completion throughout the state. They are working to ensure that students in the Aloha State are able to overcome the many challenges created by the botched rollout of the new application system by the US Department of Education.
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ABOUT 50CAN
50CAN: The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now is a nonprofit organization that works at the local level to advocate for a high-quality education for all kids, regardless of their address.
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