FYI from BSF, 01.29.21
Some things we have read through recently...
You Know What They Say About the Weather in New England...
If you don’t like it, don’t worry - it will change.
This past week has been a good example of how quickly the winds shift these days.
Vaccines are available for teachers—until they aren’t. And, anyone above 75 for that matter.
We are a mere 96 hours away from opening up vaccines to the broadest group yet in MA. But where in line should teachers be?
But, testing and social distancing are enough for more kids to return to school (American Federation of Teachers). Or maybe they’re not (Chicago, IL and Fairfax, VA).
So, teachers won’t return to classrooms until all children are vaccinated? Or will they? And don’t forget: more kids are heading back to Boston classrooms on Monday. Or will they - the union is raising concerns about building readiness.
But what about hybrid learning? Isn’t it returning in some places? About that...
Surely, the state budget provides some indication of recovery for schools, such as additional state funding for education? But how much?
But the federal government says it’s on its way to reopening more schools in the next ~91 days. Except that’s not what it looks like here in MA—or elsewhere, for that matter.
It would be easy to throw up your hands when we’ve been wind-battered by 43 weeks of political, factual, and actual uncertainty.
But there are two things of which we are certain:
Most children in Boston and MA are learning remotely right now; and
Sometime during the next school year, school buildings will fully reopen.
There have been many reports on student “attendance” and administered assessments in Boston’s remote classrooms (page 5). But there is exactly zero data on how kids are actually doing, or rigorous support and best practices for remote instruction. Remote access is a lingering issue along lines of race, class, and geography.
The school-year is still not half over - there is still time to fix this.
To the second point, the Governor’s State of the Commonwealth this week and next week’s preliminary budget presentation at BPS kick off planning for next school year.
For all the uncertainty behind and still in front of us, we know this: children will need more next year - additional time and/tutoring for missed academics, support for arrested social and emotional development. Teachers will need more next year - training in remediation, adapting to 1:1 technology and instruction in school. Principals will need more next year - family engagement and communication, and planning, resources, and partnership support.
If we know these things, we should see them in plans and budgets. But in a BPS budget that will probably top $1.4B, there are big forces and trade-offs, and the things that will matter in classrooms next year can be hard to find.
We are going to start looking for them next week.
Follow along (by Tuesday).
Board Meetings
Boston School Committee and the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education both met this week.
Boston School Committee is still down a member - applications are due today. Wednesday’s meeting focused on health and safety, some policy changes for the school year, as well as the official launch of the exam school task force.
In Malden on Tuesday, COVID updates, higher education (FAFSA applications are still way down), and educator diversity were on the docket.
There were almost 1,000 school-based COVID-19 cases in MA for the third straight week.
Other Matters
If you are a BPS parent (or know one), today is the last day to:
Update your remote vs. hybrid preference
Complete priority round registration - here’s a guide for 7th grade we created for all of our PK-6 partner schools
The Rennie Center released its annual Conditions of Education report, requiring more ingenuity and asterisks than most years due to the pandemic.
Winter sports are back in schools in Boston.
Congratulations to Jessica Descartes of Tech Boston, named MA school counselor of the year. Nice story and video here.
Learn more about the connection between housing and school segregation (WBUR) based on a new report on school segregation in Massachusetts.