Here are a few of the education stories we’ve bookmarked recently.
Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right
Research from RAND affirms that targeted and intentionally designed summer programs produce positive outcomes for children in math and reading. Recommendations for school districts looking to offer programs this summer include planning and staffing early, selecting a preexisting curriculum, and offering a program of sufficient duration.
Go back or push forward? Schools look to ‘acceleration’ to fill pandemic learning gaps
The national focus on acceleration has become even more pronounced as school districts plan for summer school and how to approach the next school year. Some educators believe this focus can help students avoid feeling like they’ve fallen far behind. In addition to increased federal funding and support, educators who support this strategy say it will also require a lot of planning and rethinking how the whole school personnel works together to figure out how to do acceleration well.
Instead of suspensions, Dallas ISD plans to use digital tools that have become part of school life during the pandemic to create in-school “Reset Centers” where students can access classes and access mental health professionals and teletherapy. “Suspension was never the right structure, but it is certainly not the right structure coming out of a global pandemic,” said former Dallas ISD school board trustee Miguel Solis, part of a task force charged with overhauling the district’s disciplinary issues.
The COVID-19 Stimulus Money Won’t Last Forever. Here’s What’s Next for Schools
Funding and policy experts at The Education Trust and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recommend school districts start planning now for long-term investments needed for learning recovery and social-emotional-health supports. With the current infusion of federal aid, states leaders can use the breathing room to clean off the cobwebs off their funding formulas, select new revenue sources, and distribute to where it’s most needed.
