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Dear John,

It is week 220 in our new reality and we are thinking about what the future holds for AI and education.

Last week, Apple unveiled its approach to integrating AI into every aspect of its operating systems (an initiative it introduced as “Apple Intelligence ([link removed]) ” using the tagline “AI for the rest of us”). Coming this fall to the iPhones, iPads and Macs that students and teachers use every day are tools that will rewrite emails and papers in real-time, create illustrations to match the text and let Siri draw upon all the data on your device to coordinate your day. The new software will also put the power of ChatGPT in the hands of Apple users who may have never heard of the tool, helping ensure that Large Language Models (LLMs) go mainstream.

Last week also saw the release of the Walton Family Foundation’s latest survey ([link removed]) of AI use by parents, teachers and students, conducted in partnership with the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute’s AI Lab. Reporting on the results for CNBC, Eric Rosenbaum notes ([link removed]) that “46% of teachers and 48% of students … use ChatGPT at least weekly, with student usage up 27 percentage points over last year.” As Rosenbaum explains, “The adoption rates in education are higher than currently occurring in the world of work, and it is students who have a high incentive to get help.”

It's clear that these AI tools will play an even more central role in K-12 education in the 2024-25 school year as adoption grows and this summer is the right time to get smart on the ways it can help–and hurt–learning inside and outside of the classroom.

Last time ([link removed]) in the New Reality Roundup, we invited you to the 50CAN and FutureEd webinar on the expansion of tutoring and dove into the Louisiana Kids Matter Campaign’s win that secured a statewide ESA. This week, we dive into impressive learning outcomes of the Summer Boost program and share the latest AdvocacyLabs video from 50CAN President Derrell Bradford.
Best,

Marc Porter Magee, PhD
50CAN Founder and CEO

@marcportermagee ([link removed])

Boost summer learning

“A philanthropic initiative launched in 2022 to get students back on track from COVID learning loss is returning promising results, a new study suggests: just four weeks spent in the Summer Boost program last year helped students regain nearly one-fourth of their reading skills and one-third of math skills, compared to students who didn’t participate in the program,” reports ([link removed]) Greg Toppo for The 74 Million. “Researchers at Arizona State University examined over 35,000 Summer Boost students in eight cities, finding that in just 22 days of programming, on average, students saw about three to four weeks of reading progress and about four to five weeks in math. In reading, that works out to making up about 22% of COVID learning losses; in math, it’s about 31%.”

The Summer Boost program is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in collaboration with 14 local and national funders and is administered by 50CAN through our Build initiative ([link removed]) , which provides fiscal sponsorship services to organizations and entrepreneurs working to usher in the future of education in communities around the country. “We are thrilled to see the hard work of so many students and teachers pay off through this innovative initiative,” Kenna Little, 50CAN VP of Finance and Operations, shared. “We hope that many more communities get inspired to make expanding high-quality summer learning opportunities a top priority in the year ahead.”

Key to the success of the program, according to Bloomberg’s Sunny Larson, was how many schools utilized the Summer Boost funds to get “veteran educators back into the classroom” over the summer.

USC Professor of Education Morgan Polikoff, who wasn’t involved with the study, placed the results in context: “While I think many have the perception that summer school is rarely effective, these results show that well designed summer programs can indeed be a helpful tool to help catch children up or accelerate their growth.” He described the initial results to The 74 as “very promising.”
* The task this week is to share the impact of the Summer Boost program widely and to make the case for expanded summer opportunities as a permanent part of the future of education.


We couldn’t let you all kick off your summer in earnest without hearing again from 50CAN President Derrell Bradford on the science of advocacy. The video is the fifth in our series, which draws upon the lessons from our AdvocacyLabs initiative, a partnership with FutureEd at Georgetown University. This week, Derrell explores the power of fact-checking elected officials to ensure honest engagement with your cause.
[link removed]
Derrell Bradford in "AdvocacyLabs: How to Change the World"
That isn’t all for AdvocacyLabs this summer! On June 25th we are hosting a forum ([link removed]) with FutureEd on lessons learned from the expansion of tutoring and in July we will launch our final episode in this video series and a big new project we can’t wait to share.
* The task this week is to share the AdvocacyLabs video series with advocates and changemakers looking to improve their craft.


Louisiana Kids Matter’s Kelli Bottger didn’t rest on her laurels after passing the state’s first universal ESA. In the final days of Louisiana’s legislative session, Kelli and her partners secured funding and passed further bills to offer parents direct money for tutoring and summer learning, expand career pathways and implement a universal math screener.

It’s rare that our supporters get the opportunity to hear the dialogue that happens between our executive directors whenever they meet, but the latest episode ([link removed]) of the New Mexico Rising podcast offers a glimpse into those conversations, when NewMexicoKidCAN’s Amanda Aragon is joined by HawaiiKidsCAN’s David Miyashiro and TennesseeCAN’s new executive director Chelsea Crawford.

Amanda also appeared ([link removed]) on the local Bob Clark Podcast to discuss New Mexico’s shortcomings in the recently released Kids Count data and what solutions can improve the system moving forward.

With school budgets dwindling, Hawaii is facing a summer shortage of high-school counselors and HawaiiKidsCAN features ([link removed]) as part of the solution in a new Civil Beat story.

50CAN President Derrell Bradford led the evening plenary at last week’s first inaugural VELACon, where school founders and educational entrepreneurs met to share their work and discuss critical topics to the rapidly growing microschool and homeschool sectors.


Thomas Arnett argues ([link removed]) in Education Next that the schools of the future will come from new models and operators rather than internal changes and shifts to the current system.

New America suggests ([link removed]) that advocates for fair voting districts should be natural allies in ending educational redlining.

The future of microschools is bright and just beginning, Douglas Harris writes ([link removed]) at Brookings, but to grow the sector operators will need to address parent questions over socialization, logistics and curriculum.

Former DC chancellor and founder of Reconstruction, Kaya Henderson, reflects ([link removed]) in an interview with FutureEd on the challenges and opportunities of teaching Black history in the current climate.

Chalkbeat looks into ([link removed]) a new proposal in front of New York’s Board of Regents that would end Regent’s examinations as a graduation requirement, opting instead for a portfolio-based approach.

The 74 Million profiles ([link removed]) New York’s Thomas Edison High School, a school that is reimagining career education across 13 different tracks and provides students with internships at Apple, Google and other companies.


Students from The Point College Preparatory Leadership Academy, a charter school outside of Charlotte co-founded by CarolinaCAN Executive Director Marcus Brandon, showcased everything from public speaking to a cheerleading routine in front of the 50CAN staff during our annual team retreat. School principal and co-founder Dr. Michelle Johnson noted that the growing school has not only dramatically increased student achievement, it’s also re-invigorated the local community’s belief in what is possible.

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