FYI from BSF, 07.30.21
Summer School
The first day of school, as little as 34 days away for many children in Massachusetts, continues to be unclear.
With only 57% of 12-17 year-olds in Massachusetts vaccinated and availability for 5-11 year-olds still unclear, a state panel convened earlier this week, with medical experts urging for masks and potential vaccine mandates in schools.
The CDC concurs on masking in all PK-12 settings, but Governor Baker has yet to adjust state guidance. Nor has Boston area Catholic schools. With a state board member reporting over 60 emails per day on the topic, this issue will remain active, and remain political.
Longer view: in addition to the federal dollars flowing directly to schools, how much more money will the state direct to schools? If the federal $1T bipartisan infrastructure bill holds, there is even more money coming for school buildings.
Meanwhile, data begins to tell the story of the past year in schools.
According to NWEA, which administers its MAP test to tens of millions of students annually, American students did acquire new academic knowledge and skills - but at a slower rate than pre-pandemic years.
In reading.
More so in math.
Similar findings came from state assessments given in Indiana and Texas.
In education, there is the longheld maxim of the “Matthew effect”: engaged and higher-skilled children hone skills, which results in more learning opportunities, more engagement and more skills, and so on. Disengaged or low-skilled students seek or are provided less learning opportunities, therefore become even less engaged and develop less skills, and so on.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
Matthew appears to have been on the roster in America’s pandemic classrooms last year - historically marginalized students lost more ground.
NWEA reported gaps by race.
And by income.
One cannot help but wonder what Bob Moses - civil rights leader and one of the founders of Freedom Summer and the Algebra Project - would have to say about the dire implications by race and class present here. Summer is likely not enough. Moses passed away this week, at the age of 86.
Education 2021
The last mayoral candidate has released public stances on education - Acting Mayor Janey released an issues page, which includes a few bullets on education.
Yesterday, Acting Mayor Janey stopped short of mandating vaccines or testing for city workers, prompting disagreement from other candidates. What makes this an Education 2021 issue? With over 9,000 employees, Boston Public Schools employs over half of the city’s workforce.
Other Matters
A new report outlines the pandemic’s (negative) effects on access to and enrollment in high-quality early education in Boston.
Massachusetts again was ranked the top state for public education.
Attending a school with high suspension rates is correlated with higher rates of arrest as adults, a study of North Carolina schools shows.
Another great, local contributor to public education passed away this week: former BPS superintendent Tom Payzant.