April and May were horrific months for America as the COVID death total climbed over 100,000, unemployment soared to unprecedented levels, and the devastating impact on marginalized communities and populations became even greater. But at the beginning of that final week of May there seemed to be some glimmers of hope that we just might be on the other side of the curve. Was recovery on its way? Then the horrific video from Minneapolis...
The New Normal (Part VII): Re-Entry or Re-Opening?
Like with the economy, education leaders are pondering how, when and under what circumstances schools should be re-opened in the coming months. Very tough and challenging decisions are to be made soon. And it starts with the very idea of “re-opening”. It might be an inaccurate concept since it implies a simple flipping of the switch. Presto! … we are back to where we were when we closed. Well, to my way of thinking it...
The New Normal (Pt VI): A rubric to help educators make critical decisions about when and how to reopen schools by Rich Long.
By Richard M. Long, the executive director of the Learning First Alliance. It’s an understatement to say that we’re living at a time of uncertainty. Public education is a large endeavor: While we have 50.8 million students in traditional public schools, we also have 14,000 school districts, many communities, and families who all have different needs. Yet all want to know, what are we planning and when will the school buildings...
The New Normal (Part V): Return, Re-entry, Recovery?
A school closed due to the COVID-19 epidemic sits empty in New OrleansLAN WEI/XINHUA NEWS AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES As Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez once wrote, ““It is easier to start a war than to end it.” The same can be said about education’s battle with covid-19 — starting with the abrupt closing of over 90% of the schools around the country in March and leading to the return to school (or some variation thereof) in the...
The New Normal (Pt IV): School budgets and the light at the end of the tunnel.
With stunning speed the COVID crisis has disrupted most every sector of our society in immeasurable ways. For schooling, the changes have been particularly acute and abrupt. As Education Week points out in their report on closings, in just a few weeks “… School closures due to coronavirus have impacted at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affected at least 55.1 million students.” That’s over 90% of...
