A view of a New York City student attending online class at the comfort of his home after Mayor … [+]
The world health crisis has created a scenario for communities that only a few short weeks ago would be hard to imagine—the shuttering of countless businesses, the scarcity of supplies, the closing of schools, and of course, the very real threat of a deadly and fast-spreading virus.
Many education norms, accountability measures and traditional education practices are being altered, rescheduled or outright cancelled. The Department of Education has told states that they may submit waivers to cancel their standardized tests and, as Dale Chu has been tracking, a growing number of states are taking them up on that offer.
The reality is that we simply don’t know what the long-term impacts will be on our education system from this national emergency. What we do know, however, is that leaders are rising to the challenge and showing amazing resiliency and creativity in dealing with this event. We also know that Congress is poised to provide new funds and resources to states soon to deal directly with the crisis.
With Congressional leaders reaching a $2 trillion dollar deal overnight, one of the pieces I will be looking at closely is how the reported $30 billion for education will be allocated. Specifically, whether the following are addressed:
Prioritize disadvantaged students
The initial federal response on education has been what it should be—release restrictions on states so that leaders have the flexibility to respond quickly and decisively to a massive national emergency. But that response should also be mindful of the kids who are most likely to need real help, particularly those students who rely on school lunches and students with disabilities and English learners who obtain academic and health supports through their schools. States deserve flexibility from overly burdensome federal bureaucracy during this difficult time, but Congress should require a minimal level of public reporting to help ensure that resources reach those who need them.
Some online learning is better than no learning
While many schools are providing online instruction during their school closure, some districts are not requiring students to log on to a computer or submit assignments. School leaders should take every measure to make online instruction available when possible and to as many as possible. For various reasons, it will not be feasible for every student to have access. But some online learning is better than none. Newly available resources should be used to fill the gaps by providing hardware and expand internet access in communities and augment the good work done by other philanthropies and businesses to address this problem.
Fortunately, most states have adopted consistent English language arts and math standards, improving the availability of high-quality instructional materials by grade-level. Quality resources provided by organizations like Learning Heroes and Engage New York offer helpful advice and materials to keep students on track.
Extend learning opportunities
Though there has been progress, achievement gaps, especially amongst vulnerable communities persist and will be exacerbated by the learning time that is lost during this crisis. The education community must advocate for extended learning opportunities or summer school for Title I students, English Learners, and students with disabilities so that they don’t fall even further behind when they return to school.
This crisis is moving at breakneck speed. To the country’s credit, people are showing amazing adaptability. We are, for the most part, practicing social distancing, washing our hands, taking care of our neighbors and exercising creative ways to continue educating our children.
We will get through this. But it will take a continued focus on sensible solutions to protect all of our most vulnerable students.
