Derrell argues that if “we really want to make meaningful progress on big seemingly intractable problems like racial injustice, we need to make significant structural improvements to our public education system. One solution is simple: stop assigning kids to public schools based on their home address.” That’s why 50CAN recently partnered with the LeBron James Family Foundation and Stand Together to focus on this issue and bring this message of change to communities across the country. 

While ending redlining can’t happen overnight, there is important work we can do right now to remove the barriers keeping children away from the educational opportunities they need. One example is found in Connecticut, where ConnCAN recently announced a plan “to provide families that are currently facing inadequate online district offerings with in-person options in neighboring districts.” Under the plan, families will be able to bring a prorated $11,525 per child from the state to the new school or district to enable this public school choice. 

• The task this week is to use Derrell’s new video to start a conversation in your networks about the injustice of education redlining and the need to aim for more than a return to a normal that leaves out too many kids. 

Shine a light on the non-academic costs of Covid-19

“Parent and child well-being has taken a serious hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, three studies published this week in Pediatrics show,” writes Mary Van Beusekom for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Among the findings: 

• 48% of parents reported loss of regular childcare.

• 27% of parents said their mental health had worsened.

• 16% said they had a change in insurance status.

• 18% of parents reported a deterioration of their physical health.

• 14% said their children's behavior problems had intensified. 

• 11% said they had greater food insecurity.

More evidence of the enormous stress being felt by American students is found in a recent report by CNN: “In an average year, calls and texts to Teen LifeLine decrease between 30% and 40% over the summer. Kids are simply less stressed during summer vacation. This year, summertime volume at the hotline went up by 6%, instead.”

Parents know that a lack of social interaction can have drastic effects on their children’s mental well-being and personal growth. Yet, we still don’t have good ways to help measure the social-emotional costs on children as this crisis enters its eight month. It is one more reason we need an approach that seeks to both #MeasureEverything so we know how our children as doing and also #FundEverything so that kids can make the most of such a challenging environment. 

• The task this week is to keep shining a light on the social-emotional costs of this educational crisis and to push for creative ways to make social interactions between students safe for everyone, such as investing in small group gatherings and educational pods. 

Last week, we announced that for the first time in 50CAN’s history, our network launched fall campaign goals to meet the immediate needs of students and families in the most sustained crisis our education system has faced. We’ll be keeping you updated on the progress of these campaigns in the New Reality Roundup throughout the rest of the year.

The TennesseeCAN team secured a win when, after months of pushing for expanded broadband access in rural communities, a new round of investments totalling $17 million was made by the US Department of Agriculture. The funding will rapidly expand high speed internet access, giving more students access to distance learning. Executive Director Victor Evans was also named to an advisory group to craft a transition plan for ASD schools to return to the control of local districts.

HawaiiKidsCAN celebrated Senators Hirono and Booker for introducing the Learning Opportunity and Advancement Act, with Executive Director David Miyashiro telling Maui Now, “By investing in school and system capacity, LOAA will help to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on learning loss, while helping our schools more boldly take a step forward into the future of learning.” In addition, an editorial in the Star-Advertiser, the state’s newspaper of record, encouraged the school system to be flexible and innovative, citing HawaiiKidsCAN’s WiFi on Wheels program as a model example.

In Denver, TEN’s co-Executive Director Nicholas Martinez penned an op-ed for the Denver Gazette, advocating for direct stipends to parents to find alternatives to a distance learning program “that is failing many of our children.” And in Georgia, a coalition of advocacy organizations spearheaded by GeorgiaCAN wrote a letter to Governor Kemp urging him to use CARES Act dollars to directly fund low-income parents and parents of students with special needs. The letter is already garnering attention, with reports from both CBS and FOX.

• The Center for American Progress released an issue brief on student assessments during Covid-19, recommending that all states hold their annual assessments this year.
• NPR’s Anya Kamenetz analyzed student enrollment data from across the country and found major declines, including an average drop in Kindergarten enrollment of 16%.
• DelawareCAN’s Daniel Walker joined a Center for American Progress panel discussion on “Increasing Federal Investment in K-12 Public Education With an Equity Lens.”
• Writing in The 74 Million, CPRE’s Robin Lake and Bree Dusseault review the school reopening plans for 106 districts around the country.
• Researchers at Duke University released a report that provides K-12 schools with a risk assessment and testing protocols for reducing Covid-19 transmission.
• A report from The Heritage Foundation, Let’s Get Small: Microschools, Pandemic Pods and the Future of Education in America, suggests that the pandemic will dramatically reshape American education.
• Brookings Institution provides a timely review of the research on the impact of tutoring on student achievement. 
• Bellwether continues their Looming Financial Crisis series with a look at the financial levers available to districts.
• NCTQ examines the role of substitute teachers during the pandemic and offers strategies for districts to deal with the shortage.
• A coalition of organizations, including the School Superintendents Association, launched a dashboard to share data about Covid-19 rates in schools along with mitigation strategies.