FYI from BSF, 01.22.21
Some things we have read through recently...
Truth and Trust
Wednesday was full of messages and symbols. Some repeated, some new, some subtle.
But President Biden minced no words on the subject of truth.
“Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson...There is truth and there are lies.”
Education was one of the few specific policy comments in an otherwise lyrical speech. This is not surprising given President Biden’s goal to reopen most of America’s schools within the next 100 days.
But, as in many things, “truth” in education is elusive, in the eye of the beholder, or informed by the politics of the time. Schools are safe to reopen - no, they are not (but, maybe?). Standardized tests are not good - no, they are. PreK is critical for learning, or, maybe, it isn’t. Literacy is an emergency, and only exacerbated in a pandemic, but are we sure a 3rd-grade reading assessment is a right yardstick?
In the absence of truth, we resort to trust, that leaders and educators with expertise and judgment are making good decisions for our kids.
Trust in schools has been tested since March 2020, and will continue to be.
Without centralized data on student and parent experiences, we have had to rely on polls and surveys. A very thorough, new poll from Education Next offers lots of information and insights. Nice summary thread here.
One finding has been clear since the earliest research - Black and Latinx families are far less likely to opt-in to and receive in-person instruction, even when it is available. [Note the partisan gap, too.]
We have seen this in Boston. For the first attempt to reopen BPS school buildings in the fall, similar differences by race arose.
There are many possible explanations for this, but research and engagement tell us trust is at the center.
BPS is currently surveying families again for another attempt to reopen school buildings - what will they say? There are concerns around readiness for more high need students returning next week. Students are raising questions. And, despite a desire to move more quickly, educator vaccinations will likely take months; this is important because other districts that have attempted to reopen buildings have run into teacher shortages.
There are big things to settle in the next 39 days - everything from testing to buses. Last week, Boston families were promised that buildings would open and that remote learning would improve.
Trust in Boston schools is on the line.
Reopening in MA and Beyond
The state’s flu vaccine requirement was quietly dropped, and the condensed MCAS schedule was released. This happened to coincide with one of the first school district resolutions to not administer the MCAS. The state’s new remote learning requirements took affect this week, as questions about video on/off continue. The state reported nearly 1,000 school-based COVID-19 cases for the second week in a row.
Many MA school districts are urging more speed and prioritization for educator vaccination, with Worcester floating no in-person instruction of any kind until then.
The variability of learning we still see in Massachusetts is reflected across America - this long read from the NYT is worth your time.
Other Matters
As schools across the country watched the Inauguration on Wednesday, lesson plans were made quickly for Thursday to discuss National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb."
