Some things we have read through recently...

Notes in the Margin

Reopening Schools, Local

Reopening over 120 Boston Public School buildings is going to be difficult enough - requiring school communities to do everything from measure classrooms to review individual medical records. This will be even harder without trust in and support from the Superintendent and the central office. A letter from BPS high school principals. Survey data from K-8 BPS principals.

What’s next? It is worth noting one fact. According to Pew Research, which public figure do Americans trust the most? Principals.

Boston School Committee meets next Wednesday. Will the agenda include initial ideas/framework for schools this fall? On Friday, July 10th, it was promised to be ready/shared in 7-10 days. A public engagement schedule was also posted.

Reopening Schools, (MA) Local

As shared with school districts last week and in the state’s weekly email, official guidance from the Commonwealth to school districts is to not finalize reopening plans until early August. Presumably, this allows for more time for health/safety guidelines and better funding estimates (hope you did your taxes by Wednesday). Medical professions are still weighing in. Regardless, we should expect continued remote learning for many students in the fall, or what was also characterized as “agony.”

Both statewide teachers unions have created reopening plans calling for “phased” approach, starting with teachers and staff returning for training and preparation, one-on-one wellness checks with all children and families, a six-week learning session, an assessment of the first six weeks, and then waiving/changing requirements, funding, and eliminating MCAS. Coverage of the plan can be found here, here, here, here, and here. A Westwood summer school teacher’s (mis)diagnosis brings these issues into relief.

A design-thinking approach to reopening schools we shared last week was profiled.

Very quietly, quite a number of Massachusetts schools have stayed open through the pandemic - residential schools, often serving children with significant physical and emotional needs. Those schools got a boost in funding this week.

ICYMI, a summary of MassInc’s parent poll on remote learning and reopening.

Make-up high school graduations may or may not be starting up this weekend.

Among other things, an interview with Harvard professor and educator researcher Tom Kane confirms an alarming high rate of some MA students that never logged in/engaged in remote learning this spring.

What will testing look like at MA colleges next year? The pandemic seems to be affecting college enrollment plans, particularly among historically underrepresented students, a poll and federal data show.

Reopening Schools, National

Large school districts will struggle to reopen buildings not only due to the complexity of the task - but if the daily average of infection rates (of those tested) are too high, +5%. That is why some areas, including LA and San Diego, have already delayed reopening plans.

A summary and analysis of 32 large American school districts’ reopening plans.

Johns Hopkins created a reopening plan tracker at the state level. This doesn’t include private schools, which may see a surge of interest in some communities if they are able to open fully.

All appearances are that reopening school buildings will continue to be an increasingly partisan issue.

A proposed framework for addressing students’ social and emotional needs.

Very turbulent week in higher education, which began with colleges and attorneys general (including Maura Healey) suing the federal government to overturn its guidance limiting foreign students’ higher education enrollment, and ended with the federal government rescinding the policy. Absent that, a professor at Bridgewater State had figured out a creative end-run.

Reopening Schools - Global

Data and research from countries reopening school buildings first should inform practices.

Other Items

Staff accounts and data support that BPS has systematically limited access for special education students to dual language programs.

An online petition is calling for no exam school test this fall.

A story on a Boston area suburb, schools, and race.

American parents were looking for online school resources a lot this spring, particularly households above median income. Remote learning isn’t causing gaps - it’s widening them.