 Dear reader,
I’ve always dreaded the month of January, in the past simply because it is dark, cold and long. This January has been far worse, as pandemic disruptions test all of us, especially exhausted parents and educators. Coping strategies really matter, which is one reason why Hechinger’s Jackie Mader spoke with experts about all kinds of ways we can help children.
Many schools were unable to reopen safely in January and chose to remain remote, while others shunned an online alternative — and some are trying to do both. Turns out, that’s an option teachers are finding increasingly untenable, according to some new research. One teacher compared tracking students who are only present in Zoom squares while watching others at desks in the room to driving a car on a highway while simultaneously playing a racecar video game on a screen.
Amid this upheaval, a new organization is working to channel parents’ rage and frustration from the pandemic into real change for school districts, while a group of community colleges in Texas is not only providing services like food and low-cost healthcare to students, it’s offering inexpensive childcare and an emergency financial aid program. As always, we like to bring you a dose of solutions with the problems education is facing. What are yours? Please get in touch: We love to hear from our readers.
Liz Willen, Editor
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