Weekend To-Do List

2/17 - 2/18

and

Feb 17, 2024

1. An Education Agenda in Search of a Party

READ: Education Next asked Ruy Teixeira, Rick Hess, and Michael Q. McShane to weigh in on why the Democratic Party can no longer consider itself “the party of education,” what the Republican Party would need to do in order to claim the title, and why voters increasingly believe that neither party offers the best path forward for young people.

Hess says the Republicans simply need to remind voters that they are the party of shared values:

Republicans should work to empower families, defend broadly shared values, emphasize achievement, and challenge self-serving cartels. They should also strive to ensure that early childhood education is accessible, affordable, and anchored in communities. If Republicans do so, we predict that their efforts will become a case study in doing well by doing good.

Meanwhile, Teixeira says the Democrats need to embrace school choice, get ideology of all kinds out of schools, maintain or restore high academic standards, and promote affirmative action by class instead of race. In other words, it’s time for a rebrand:

To be sure, taking these steps would require some political courage, risking the wrath of the progressive activists who have helped power their success in recent low turnout, off-year elections. But 2024 will be a far different electoral environment where the views of activists will be less important and those of ordinary voters more so.

2. The Sound of Silence: Why Fear of Reprisal Has Muted Educators

READ: While political parties struggle to figure out what to say about education, a new survey reports that educators are focused on figuring out how to say less. A new survey from the RAND Corporation found that two-thirds of teachers nationwide have limited talk of political and social issues in the classroom, with many citing fears that school leadership wouldn’t stand by them if parents complained. Education advocates like Lawrence Paska, executive director of the National Council for Social Studies, said the shift towards silence will only hurt students in the long run:

“We have to stop and think, is what we’re doing by silencing, questioning, cutting, legislating, is this really in the best interest of kids? Or is this hurting a child’s desire to satisfy their innate curiosity and questions about the world around them, and a teacher’s ability to provide the best learning experience possible? The answer is yes,” Paska said.

Read more from Ileana Najarro in Education Week here.

3. Black Single Mothers Vote Yes on School Choice

READ: A recent study commissioned by The Current Project reveals a deep sense of trepidation among Black single mothers regarding the country’s ability to sufficiently educate their children. 87% of the mothers surveyed do not believe a uniform educational model can meet the diverse needs of students, and over half of the mothers had considered alternative educational models within the past year. Alisha Gordon, founder of The Current Project, said the findings should come as no surprise:

“When we think about the social, economic and educational inequities that children of Black single mothers often face in the educational system, having the kind of choice that allows them to really tailor their experiences that their children need wherever they live can serve as an interrupter for a lot of these social, economic and educational disparities.”

Read more from Sierra Lyons in The 74 here.

4. Schools Attempt Balancing Act With Psychiatric Assessments

READ: How do you know if a child poses a threat to themselves or others? As schools scramble to stem recent tides of violence, Rebecca Redelmeier at The Hechinger Report spoke to child psychiatrists who worry that an increase in psychiatric assessments without adequate investment in staffing for preventive and follow-up measures will only end up harming already vulnerable groups, as initial data shows evaluations have led to higher rates of Black children and students with special needs being kept out of the classroom:

“The schools are not doing these types of evaluations or processes preventively and preemptively,” said Dan Stewart, a managing attorney for the National Disability Rights Network. “They’re just telling parents that the kids can’t return.”

5. Eric Adams Says New York City Will Not Click Like

READ: New York City Mayor Eric Adams followed up on his promise to address the harms of social media this week, joining a wave of cities and schools in filing suit against some of Silicon Valley’s most well-known names. The lawsuit accuses TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, and related companies creating addictive platforms that have served as venues for bullying and harmed young people’s mental health. Adams said the City now considers social media as a public health threat:

“There is, of course, a great deal of education and positive content out there too. But there is also a 24/7 digital dystopia that even very young children can easily access without parents or caregivers ever being aware of.”

Read more from Alex Zimmerman and Amy Zimmer in Chalkbeat here.

6. Proposed D.C. School Merger Amplifies Opportunity and Anxiety

READ: As D.C. reviews its once-a-decade boundary study, a new proposal has some NIMBY-minded parents on edge. District officials are considering a plan to merge two elementary schools within walking distance from each other in an effort to improve integration and address continued enrollment declines. 60% of Maury Elementary School students are white and 80% of Miner Elementary School students are Black. District officials think the move could promote diversity and offer more opportunities for both students, but parents at both schools worry about the impact a merger could have:

If the plan goes through, a handful of Maury’s parents would consider leaving the neighborhood, D.C.’s public schools or the city altogether, they said. That’s a threat that is frequently voiced amid school integration efforts — from busing to detracking — and it’s real: Families who can afford to leave sometimes do.

Read more from Lauren Lumpkin in The Washington Post here.

7. New FAFSA Form in Urgent Need of Aid

READ: Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona boasted earlier this week that families were completing this year’s FAFSA forms in record time. Perhaps he’s right, but he neglected to mention the millions of families who have faced technical issues that have prevented them from completing the form at all. This year’s “new and improved” form includes, among other issues, a $1.8 billion error in the aid formula that has caused some students to be told they don’t qualify for aid and a requirement for SSNs that prevents students with undocumented parents from pressing submit. Shavar Jeffries, CEO of the KIPP Foundation, said the form’s issues pose a serious hurdle:

“Every day that there is a delay, it definitely increases the risk that some number of young people who can attend and graduate from college won’t be able to do so,” he said.

Read more from Nadra Nittle at The 19th here.