So What's School Going To Look Like In The Fall?
As the disrupted school year winds down, educators, parents and students look toward an uncertain fall. What will school look like next year?
Luvelle Brown, superintendent of the Ithaca City School District in New York. Moderator of Discovery Education’s Equity Talks, a weekly webinar with educational leaders. (@luvelleb)
Dimitri Christakis, pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Professor at the University of Washington. Editor-in-chief of JAMA Pediatrics. (@DAChristakis)
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a labor union that represents 1.7 million educators nationwide. (@rweingarten)
From The Reading List
JAMA Pediatrics: “School Reopening—The Pandemic Issue That Is Not Getting Its Due” — “The outcomes of pandemics are best understood in retrospect. Years from now, historians, epidemiologists, psychologists, and economists will provide extensive explanations of the damage done, mistakes made, and lessons learned.”
New York Magazine: “Learning to Live in the Valley of Uncertainty” — “The more we learn about COVID-19 and the best practices with which to combat it, the clearer it is that we are living still in a valley of pandemic ignorance. We are suffering and dying at historic rates but the laws governing the ebb and flow of the virus remain maddeningly inscrutable.”
Education Dive: “Fast Forward: What could reacclimation mean for schools beyond COVID-19?” — “As superintendents and principals emerge from two months of distance learning to discuss building reopening plans, leaders are being ushered to rethink daily operations and traditional approaches to learning. Among the priorities: student reacclimation.”
Education Week: “A Superintendent’s Thoughts on Reopening Schools in the Fall” — “As we wind down this school year, many of our thoughts are obviously going to what the next one might look like.”
NPR: “With School Buildings Closed, Children’s Mental Health Is Suffering” — “Nightmares. Tantrums. Regressions. Grief. Violent outbursts. Exaggerated fear of strangers. Even suicidal thoughts. In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on.”
Chalkbeat: “Decision on New York school reopenings won’t be made until July at the earliest, Cuomo says” — “The decision of when and how to reopen New York City school buildings won’t be made until at least July, and Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t have the final say — that will ultimately fall to Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.”
Education Week: “How Is COVID-19 Affecting Children’s Health? 4 Questions Answered” — “While it may seem like forever, the first cases of the deadly respiratory disease COVID-19 were identified less than five months ago, and states just over two months ago began widespread school closures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus that causes the disease.”
The 74: “Analysis — A Blueprint for Reopening America’s Schools This Fall: 21 Former Education Chiefs Identify 6 Top Priorities for Districts & Statehouses in Returning Amid Coronavirus” — “When schools reopen in the fall, they will look very different than the schools children left in the spring. There will likely be masks, temperature checks and extra space between desks. Nearly 1 out of 5 teachers may not be able to return to school buildings. And looming over schools will be the potential for additional closures forcing students back to remote learning.”
Education Writers Association: “Testing COVID-19’s Academic Impact on Students” — “Sure, COVID-19 testing may be prevalent for students and their teachers. But in addition, a first step for many schools will be diagnostic tests to gauge learning gaps after months away. Some experts also are calling for assessments of students’ social, emotional, and mental health needs as they start the new academic year.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
