 Dear reader,
As a new school year gets underway, The Hechinger Report is closely watching many threats to public education, including declining employment: The number of people employed in public schools dropped from almost 8.1 million in March 2020 to 7.3 million in May.
That led to fewer qualified teachers for children in districts with shortages, although it does not mean teacher shortages are at a crisis level nationally. There are other worrisome indicators, however, including the sharp decline in the performance of a sample of 9-year-olds on tests known as the nation’s report card (read Jill Barshay’s column for a full analysis) and a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education that describes systemic public education failures. You can see the key findings here, along with recommendations for moving forward.
Waiting in the wings are the many advocates for public school alternatives, at a time when turmoil over book bans and what teachers can talk about in class continue to roil classrooms and libraries. Amid these many concerns, higher education is also seeing declining enrollment, along with questions about the responsibility colleges play in the student debt crisis.
One bright spot: Higher education has not lost its power to transform lives. Read this first-person account of a single mother who went back to school in her mid-40s and is now on the road to her childhood dream job as a chemical engineer. As always, we want to hear your stories and ideas. And please remind others to sign up for our weekly newsletters.
Liz Willen, Editor
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