Educating Through COVID: From a New Rhode Island Law That Would Require Measuring Learning Loss to Chicago Confronting Low Student Vaccination Rates, 9 Ways States Are Confronting the Crisis
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Last week, the Collaborative for Student Success released K-12 recovery briefs detailing state visions and strategies for spending federal COVID-19 relief aid in , , , and . The deep dives feature insight and input directly from state education agencies and superintendents around how the state has incentivized and encouraged districts and schools to target its funding to address lost learning and make sustainable investments in transforming instruction.
鈥淲e urged our schools and districts to approach their federal funds wisely and with sustainability in mind,鈥� said North Dakota Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. 鈥淲e encouraged them to spend about one-third on meeting immediate needs, one-third on innovation and implementing new ideas, and a one-third on keeping what works going.鈥� The briefs feature specifics about 鈥渂ig-bet鈥� programs in the states that could lead to generational advances in areas like tutoring, teacher training, and summer learning programming. Check out to learn more.
Elsewhere, districts across the nation are experiencing declines in the number of students getting referred for evaluation for special education services. The shift that students with the greatest need are less likely to receive the help they need emerging from the pandemic. From to to , Chalkbeat reports that referrals for special education services fell by nearly a third after the onset of the pandemic and have failed to rebound as schools approach the end of the second year in pandemic schooling. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to leave a child behind if they need those [special education] services,鈥� said Julie Rottier-Lukens, director of special education for the 90,000-student Denver Public Schools. 鈥淎nd yet we don鈥檛 want to make presumptions based on what we鈥檙e seeing in front of us right now and discount that kids have been through a lot.鈥�
Looking beyond relief funds and special education, here are nine other updates from across the country about how states and school systems are confronting the challenges posed by COVID-19 and its variants 鈥� and working to preserve student progress amid the pandemic:
1 RHODE ISLAND 鈥� State Lawmaker Pushes to Require Measurement of Student Learning Loss
Rep. Julie Casimiro of Rhode Island has introduced a bill aimed at measuring learning loss after concern from local parents about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement. “If we don’t address it as the adults in the room, it’s not going to get addressed. It’s not going to get fixed,鈥� Casimiro said. The legislation in school districts across the state – and then come up with individualized plans to address it.
2 ILLINOIS 鈥� Chicago Public Schools Consider New Vaccine Strategies as Rates Dip for Younger Children
Chicago Public Schools says it continues to explore ways to improve access to vaccines and vaccine uptake after the district reported a sharp drop in the rate of vaccination for 5- to 11-year-olds three months after Pfizer鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine received authorization from the federal government. At the time of reporting, 鈥� with rates especially lagging in schools on Chicago鈥檚 South and West Side.
3 MICHIGAN 鈥� Data Confirms Extent of Student Learning Loss
Michigan state education officials are reporting marked declines in student proficiency during the pandemic, with . A recent Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) also found schools that kept students in the class year-round fared better than districts that relied more heavily on virtual learning. The data comes as Michigan schools continue to face and as state teachers unions urge leaders to relax attendance requirements for students in the face of continuing virus outbreaks, staffing shortages, and poor weather conditions.
4 NORTH DAKOTA 鈥� Districts Struggle to Find Substitute Teachers
North Dakota school districts are having difficulty finding substitute teachers as people are less willing or less interested in taking on the responsibilities of being a substitute teacher, said Rob Lech, superintendent of Jamestown Public Schools. 鈥淎s our pool of substitute teachers continues to get smaller, the need is spread then really thin,鈥� he said. The shortage of substitute teachers is not a new issue, said Rebecca Pitkin, executive director of the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board. She said .
5 OREGON 鈥� Districts Estimate Continued Enrollment Declines, Brace for Budget Cuts
Portland Public Schools officials are . 鈥淲hile we are forecasting fewer dollars to operate schools generally as a result of declining student enrollment, we are also grateful to have targeted state and one-time federal investments to limit the impact of this enrollment change school districts all across Oregon are facing,鈥� said Guadalupe Guerrero, Superintendent of Portland Public Schools.
6 ARIZONA 鈥� Families Eye Private Tutoring Options as Pandemic Learning Disruption Draws On
Parents are to keep up with online learning during the pandemic. Natanya Washburn, a Phoenix resident, says all four of her children are still feeling the impact of online learning that began in March 2020, especially her daughter, who is in high school and has special needs. Online tutoring platforms like Varsity Tutors report a huge increase in the number of customers in the Phoenix area, stating demand for STEM tutors is up 62% compared to last year.
7 NEW YORK 鈥� Defying National Trends, New York鈥檚 Graduation Rate Inches Up During Pandemic
Graduation rates across New York City and large parts of the state rose last year, defying national trends of flagging grad rates as the pandemic disrupted schooling. , while the statewide average climbed a single percentage point to 86%. City officials additionally noted that a record number of high school seniors received waivers of typically required Regents exams – 44,545 in 2021 compared to 8,000 in 2020. Statewide, 82% of seniors were granted an exemption from Regents exams last year.
8 MISSOURI 鈥� State Among the Last to Approve Federal Funding Allocations
The Missouri legislature is targeted to K-12 schools and districts. Facing a March 24 deadline to allocate the funding, Missouri is among the last states in the nation to approve the distributions that will be based on school and district spending plans submitted to state officials. Once approved, the funding will need to be spent before September 2024 – a deadline shared with schools across the nation.
9 COLORADO – Leaders Debate Changes to Teacher Evals As COVID Policies Shift, Universal Pre-K Begins
A bill being considered by the Colorado legislature by reducing the weight of student academic growth in a teacher鈥檚 evaluation, providing increased training for evaluators, and boosting teacher professional development. 鈥淭he goal has always been to help develop and support excellent teachers,鈥� said Jen Walmer, state director for Democrats for Education Reform. 鈥淭he time is now to help streamline the system, make it less burdensome, restart the evaluation system, and set up the evaluation system to really help teachers grow.鈥� The bill comes as the state prepares to launch a and as state leaders prepare the way for schools to treat COVID 鈥�,鈥� a move some believe will allow schools to place the bulk of school disruptions in the rearview mirror.
This update on pandemic recovery in education collects and shares news updates from the district, state, and national levels as all stakeholders continue to work on developing safe, innovative plans to resume schooling and address learning loss. It鈥檚 an offshoot of the Collaborative for Student Success鈥� QuickSheet newsletter, which you can .
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