With coronavirus vaccinations underway and a new administration in Washington pledging stimulus support for schools and colleges, the education sector is entering a new phase in its response to the pandemic. Our recent work at FutureEd captures some of the lessons the pandemic holds for education policymakers and reflects on where we go from here in the effort to ramp up student learning again.
Teaching Innovation
Amid the profound disruption of the pandemic, some schools and districts have responded with highly innovative staffing and scheduling strategies that could be valuable post-pandemic models. A new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel,Teaching Innovation: New School Staffing Strategies Inspired by the Pandemic, explores these innovations, the conditions that enabled them, how educators have overcome barriers to the innovations, and what it would take to sustain and scale them beyond the current crisis.
Education in the New Administration
Yesterday’s confirmation hearing for U.S. Education Secretary nominee Miguel Cardona introduced much of the nation to the long-time Connecticut educator. We profiled Cardona recently in an infographic feature, and I annotated Cardona's speech accepting the education department nomination. Policy Analyst Brooke LePage identified the challenges involved in a key issue facing the new education secretary: revising Title IX rules for college sexual misconduct. You can find a listing of the latest appointees to the education department in our regular feature: The Churn.
Reopening and Recovery
The confirmation hearing underscored the new administration’s emphasis on reopening schools for in-person instruction and addressing the learning loss students have suffered during the pandemic. Research Advisor Brian Gill shared his thoughts about how the federal government could help schools reopen safely, and Senior Fellows Mario Ramirez and Andrew Buher explained the role that school-based health services could play.
EmpowerK12’s Josh Boots detailed his organization’s analysis of the extent of learning loss in Washington, D.C., a city that has posted impressive student achievement gains in recent years. And Attendance Works’ Hedy Chang talked with us about how states are measuring student attendance during the pandemic—and how they should be.
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Thanks a lot and best wishes,
Tom
Thomas Toch
Director, FutureEd
McCourt School of Public Policy
Georgetown University [email protected]
@thomas_toch
