Demands on schools and colleges are only likely to intensify in the coming months as the coronavirus pandemic surges again. And with Joe Biden moving into the White House in January, we can expect significant changes in federal education policy. Here’s a short summary of the work FutureEd has been doing on these fronts.
Navigating the Pandemic
After months of working with students online and in hybrid settings, teachers across the country have learned some important lessons about how to engage students and address academic and emotional needs during the pandemic. Today, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. ET, FutureEd is joining TeachPlus and Educators for Excellence to host a virtual teacher roundtable discussion, Voices from the Classroom: Teachers on Teaching in a Pandemic. Register here to receive a link for the conversation.
We have explored both the challenges and opportunities the pandemic has presented educators and education policymakers:
We partnered with The New York Times to look at how schools, colleges and nonprofits are taking innovative approaches to a year like no other.
Our partner Education Resources Strategies outlined key questions facing schools as they return to in-person instruction.
An Illinois teacher shared how an unexpected encounter on Zoom brought her closer to her students.
And two of our senior fellows wrote for The Hill about how plans for a Covid-19 vaccine could run headlong into the anti-vax movement among some students and families.
The New Administration
We have outlined recommendations for the Biden-Harris administration on teacher diversity, charter school innovation and other issues. And to provide a bit of insight into Biden's education team, we produced short profiles of the leader of the president-elect’s Education Department review team and one of his key education advisors. And we explored how the renewed interest in climate change could impact schools.
Reckoning with Racism
Policy Associate Brooke LePage wrote an insightful piece about the many ways that Black girls face bias at school, both because of their gender and their race. Editorial Director Phyllis Jordan interviewed American University’s Seth Gershenson about his research showing the impact that just one Black teacher can have on the success of Black students. And University of Southern California researchers shared their research into who’s talking to their children about racism, and who isn’t.
Senior fellow Lynn Olson appeared in a NASBE webinar on the future of standardized testing, and I was part of an NWEA podcast on the same topic. Editorial Director Phyllis Jordan was a guest on a CPRE podcast about how governors are spending their discretionary CARES Act dollars.
