FYI from BSF, 08.12.22

Summer Reading

Data has a way of getting in the way of an easy narrative.

While the pandemic brought considerable attention (and detrimental effects) to student learning, the long view is much more positive. A comprehensive, international review of data over five decades presents some clear findings.

American students’ assessment performance is improving, particularly for younger students and in math.

American racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps are closing.

The negative frame towards educational progress looms large in the big education story of the week: teacher shortages for the upcoming school year. National news. Local news. Memes.

And, yet, it is not because teachers aren’t actually quitting more. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is pretty clear - teachers quit their jobs at significantly lower rates than market, both before and after the pandemic.

“1,000 job openings” in Boston is an alarming headline, until one reads closely to see ~1 in 4 are teacher positions, described as typical one month from the start of school. The continued strong pipeline for education positions in Boston could very well be a sign of their attractiveness - the new teacher agreement will translate to an average of +$130,000 in salary and benefits within three years and a host of positive working conditions.

Student achievement is improving. Inequitable outcomes persist. Working in schools has been and continues to be a tough sell. Many school districts offer very strong employment options.

All of these statements can be true. It is just a lot harder to tell a simple story with them.

Boston School Committee met Wednesday, focused on the systemic improvement plan with the state, and 10 items due Monday. Here is a presentation on the plan. Superintendent Skipper’s start date (September 26) and contract are finalized.

With all the attention on the Orange Line diversion for schools, what does it mean for the other (yellow school) buses? A 5% increase in vehicles roughly translates to a 20% increase in traffic. With +150 extra buses subbing in for trains and unsure families driving children to school, how will any children in grades PK-6 get to school on time?

Deja vu all over again with school restarting and COVID-19 policies in flux. The state discussed regulations for COVID-19 and monkey pox at a meeting with superintendents this week, only for the CDC to announce significantly relaxed COVID-19 restrictions yesterday. District reporting to the state will likely stop. So has youth vaccination, which has barely moved in months. Mandates are not likely coming, either. There is early evidence that masking policy changes affected COVID-19 rates in Massachusetts schools.

Massachusetts tops an annual survey on child well-being.