FYI from BSF, 01.08.21
Some things we have read through recently...
Of all the school-days children have lost to the pandemic, yesterday was one of the hardest so far.
Many educators have been in school for some of our darkest days, and those right after. September 11th. Sandy Hook. November 9, 2016.
January 6, 2021, was unique in that it was a national disaster many if not most Americans - both adults and children - watched unfold real-time, on their phones, or on television that in the past was rarely on at that time of the day.
And yesterday, most children did not have the chance to go to school. The burden, the duty of educators is to support their students on those days. To give them access to peers. Space to reflect. Space to play and forget. Access to caring, trained adults, and even professional care. Giving parents the resources they need, but also providing the space for parents to process and prepare to support their children when they get home.
Schools tried. We received tons of listserv emails (an example). BPS shared great resources.
But, unfortunately, our children again have been subjected to a time of terror without the safety net of school.
Boston’s State of the City is next Tuesday, and BPS budgeting is already underway. The Commonwealth is right behind later this month. Next school year is 9 months away, but our window to prepare is now. The work of reopening and remediating will be challenging, with interconnected needs and work, and trade-offs. But the last few days make two things very clear.
Social-Emotional Needs
Many things in education are complex. This is not. You don’t need studies, you don’t need programs, you don’t need initiatives, and you don’t need much coordination. You need to get tons of good mental health professionals in school buildings and give kids time to meet with them. You can hire counselors, or leverage MassHealth/Medicaid to bring them in as contractors (at a much lower cost).
No doubt, many children were scared and confused by what they saw this week, or other weeks. Those lucky enough not to be will still need to reacclimate to school and social life. It’s going to be bumpy.
If kids’ mental health matters to us, we should see real jobs and dollars in budgets.
Curriculum
Before the sedition began Wednesday, Senator Ted Cruz claimed that because 39% of Americans thought the election was “rigged,” it was the duty of Congress to vet those claims. If a United States Senator does not understand the majoritarian rule, statutes, or the Constitution - or chooses to ignore them for attempted personal gain - we have a real civics problem on our hands.
But our crisis in civics is not a knowledge or even a leadership issue. Our crisis in civics is a citizenship issue.
One very clear signal from our oldest school-aged children, Generation Z: they are intensely distrustful of institutions. And this week, we saw institutions attacked, and many to be revealed to be weak (and, once again, systemically racist). Gaining the trust of young people in institutions, and developing skills for communications, conflict resolution, disinformation, is an existential task. How can the next generation sustain our republic without institutions?
Fortunately, Massachusetts passed a bill for civics education last session. We have a vehicle - let’s use it.
We are well past the point of total uncertainty. Kids will be back in school buildings next year. We can help them. The needs are clear, the two above in particular.
Our kids need leadership and resources.
Boston and Beyond
It’s been two weeks, so we tried to pick out some of the bigger themes/stories.
Boston
Very quickly, leadership is up in the air.
The big news broke yesterday of Mayor Walsh’s likely appointment as Secretary of Labor, but that is only part of the story. A long-form story in Boston Magazine was released online and is hitting newsstands, chronicling concerns around Superintendent Cassellius. In an odd sequence of events, we currently do not have a full School Committee, as Michael O’Neill was reappointed, but an undisclosed candidate chosen by the Mayor declined. This happens in the wake of a newly released poll showing disapproval of Boston’s appointed school committee structure.
Reopening 2.0
With community transmission rates skyrocketing here and across the country, the research behind school reopening is shifting, and even where in-school transmission is low or not a concern, too many adults are sick. Teachers are also still raising concerns, from nearby Brookline and Worcester, and in major cities like Chicago and DC.
You saw this play out with this week's many districts reverting to hybrid or remote across Massachusetts. Although schools were generally closed for the past two weeks, “school-related” cases had their weekly release. This interesting report shows learning time by the district in Massachusetts.
MCAS
This past week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its assessment plan for the year. Full letter. No MCAS for 10th grade, things to figure out for ACCESS for ELLs, and an abridged MCAS for grades 3-8. No accountability changes. The Massachusetts Teachers Association is still in opposition.
Other Matters
A great profile of the unique challenges of remote vocational education.
Two inspiring stories from two of our partner schools, Boston Arts Academy and Boston Prep.