 Dear reader,
All the talk of so-called learning loss during the pandemic led us to America’s classrooms, the spaces where learning happens – and where it lags. I urge you to read our just published series on our country’s reading problems, which grew ever-larger as Covid-19 raged. In this collaboration with seven newsrooms, we take you inside schools from California to North Carolina, not just to document the problem but also to highlight solutions that are working.
It's going to take patience. In Austin, Texas, shaky students started the year well behind where they should have been, but by mid-autumn, Heather Miller’s first-grade students were becoming stronger writers, more confident and independent as they transitioned through the day’s activities.
Our middle schoolers, though, are also struggling, as I learned by attending a recent virtual conference of middle school educators. Speakers shared tips for helping this eye-rolling, head-shaking, serial-texting population adjust to masked, in-person learning, as they return with voices and bodies they may no longer recognize and lots of ideas for what they want from school.
We love to hear from our readers on these topics, as well as on our continuing look at various ways for-profit colleges are leaving students in debt, with some behind-the-scenes help from companies. Get in touch!
Liz Willen, Editor
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