Unfortunately, COVID-19 has only deepened that gap for many students. School districts around the country have reported a higher level of failing grades and a report from
McKinsey and Company estimated that students were three months behind in math when they started the school year. Because the number of students it impacts has recently been accelerated,
more people are weighing in on the problem and a need for a solution.
Remote, virtual, online learning — however you term it—is likely here to stay. 2020 was an initiation by fire for districts around the country when
they had to pivot to remote learning in literally a moment’s notice. Lots of lessons were learned and you can see that in
the more successful implementation of remote learning with the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. As more schools return to face-to-face learning in 2021, there will
be discussions about how to keep it as part of overall school programs. Do districts use it to make snow days a thing of the past? Are there certain students for whom remote is a better option, and how do districts staff and fund that option? The possibilities are endless and, in the end, have the potential to personalize learning for more students and address some issues of educational equity.
Among the major topics in higher education is what to do about the more than 42 million Americans with $1.57 trillion in student loan debt. Awareness of this issue was heightened
because of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Federal Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act froze student loan payments and set the
interest rate to 0%. President Biden recently extended that relief through September 30, 2021. What to do about this massive debt long term is likely to be a topic of much debate over the next year, and the final decisions will have an impact on colleges,
universities and, of course, graduates around the country.
In 2020, MDR hosted a webinar on ensuring
educational equity. A comment from one of our panelists, Lacey Robinson,
CEO and president of UnboundEd, succinctly summed up where we are today, “The door of inequity was cracked open and we could no longer ignore what we were battling prior to
the COVID crisis.”
The same McKinsey and Company report cited above concluded that students of color could be 6-to-12 months behind, compared with 4-to-8
months for white students. All students are suffering, but those who came into the pandemic with the least access to academic opportunity may suffer the greatest learning loss.
Schools and districts have the opportunity now to elevate educational equity and ensure that all students
have the access, opportunities, and support to thrive in school, ensuring that all students are prepared for college and
career. Funding from the Federal CARES Act and now the COVID-19 Relief Act can be used to help level that playing field by providing all students with technology and online access for both remote learning and to support
learning at home after they return to school.
Our nearly four million K-12 teachers have experienced a year like no other. Overall, they have
dealt with the challenges of switching back and forth from face-to-face learning to remote learning to hybrid models, with creativity and a sense of humor. In fact, we recently learned of a New York elementary teacher who created a hotline that people can call into and scream if they are “unhappy, terrified, frustrated, or elated.”
On a more serious note, the ways that we reward and appreciate teachers have been a hot topic in education for decades. We have had
Teacher Appreciation Week since 1985, but we also read stories every year about the staggering amount of personal funds that teachers use to outfit
their classrooms and provide school supplies for their students.
Clearly, more academic and financial support for teachers is an urgent consideration.
