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Hybrid model. Synchronous learning. Pandemic pod. These words have quickly become the new normal when parents talk about school this fall. Every school district is scrambling to figure out how to deliver quality instruction while keeping students, families, and educators safe from COVID-19. They face a dizzying array of conflicting choices and, maddeningly, there are no simple solutions. The entire schooling dilemma is like a proverbial house of cards: We gently pull out a single card and the entire creation collapses.
Nationwide school closures have not only disrupted millions of lives, they have further entrenched long-standing disparities in our public school system. Students who are already vulnerable are at even greater risk. Policymakers, educators, families, and students face impossible choices as our nation balances the urgent need to protect people from a deadly pandemic with the responsibility to deliver on the promise of a high-quality education for all.
Like so many of us, my deep Christian faith drives the way I inherently view inequality — especially the inequities in public education. I grew up in Detroit and saw disparities outside my front door and throughout my community. As a Black girl and teenager I was acutely aware that the kids in my neighborhood weren’t getting the same education that my white suburban friends received. As my faith became more important to me, I looked for ways to integrate my core Christian beliefs with the inequities that most pained me. I still view education disparities as inherently un-Christlike. If we truly believe that all children are made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:27), then people of faith should ensure that our schools allow all students to flourish — especially in times of unfathomable national crisis.
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