After 2020, be big, bold in meeting kids’ needs
I usually write an end-of-the-year column, including awards for things from the prior 12 months. But I don’t feel like thinking much more about 2020, and school life during the pandemic doesn’t particularly lend itself to awards.
So I only have two awards. One is to all of those involved in kindergarten through 12th grade education – students, parents, teachers, administrators – for just making it through the year.
The other is to a more limited group: Those who really rose to the occasion. There were kids who intently tried to keep learning. There were parents who were constructive and steady presences in their kids’ lives, often making sacrifices.
And I have great praise for so many teachers, administrators, and everyone else involved in schools, who showed great commitment to supporting both the educational and personal needs of students. Whether you were helping students in person or remotely (or the huge challenge of doing both at the same time), it took dedication and professionalism, and you really put your students first.
But there is no way to look at 2020 as bringing anything other than the biggest disruption in American schooling in, oh, a century or more. The setbacks, especially for those on the lower end of the spectrum of school success, are almost certain to be felt for years.
But, overall, good riddance to 2020. Let’s talk about 2021.
Returning to more normal times. The day will come. My bet is that it won’t be during this school year. Real classroom life, no masks, sitting with friends at lunch tables and all that? Seems like a distant memory, which indicates how much adjustment will be needed to get even close to the way things were in the Before Times.
More emphasis on summer learning. This is a hope more than a prediction. With all the learning and social interaction that kids have missed this year, good use of the summer (assuming COVID-19 is a lesser factor by then) will be valuable. Many school districts, including Milwaukee Public Schools, are making plans for more and better summer offerings. If these are successful, they could help make up for deficits from this year.
The state budget. Every other spring, Wisconsin decides much of what education is going to look like for the following two years. Brace yourself — that time is coming. We all know what a kind and cooperative atmosphere fills the state Capitol. Expect a lot of sharp-edged partisanship and
deadlock, ultimately bringing not much change because neither side has the power to make its wish list prevail, especially wishes that would substantially increase or cut state school spending.
New leaders on multiple levels. If you’re aware that there is a race underway to elect a new state schools superintendent, you’re in a small group. It’s historically a low-profile, low-turnout race. But there will be a primary in February and a general election in April. There also will be elections for local school board seats all across the state.
Perhaps reflecting the stresses of school leadership, there appears to be a larger-than-usual wave of openings for school superintendent positions shaping up statewide. On local levels, they could bring important changes in 2021.
Testing – or not. One of the first big education decisions of the Biden administration will be whether to give states waivers for this spring from the federal requirement for annual testing in reading and math. That’s what happened a year ago, of course. Speculation seems to be leaning toward no testing this spring – and some wonder if nationwide testing as we have known it will ever resume.
The next stage of technology and home-based learning. Last March 15, as schools across Wisconsin shut down, I wrote: “Non-traditional ways of providing education, it’s your time to star. Or fall on your face.”
The reality that emerged, best as I can read it, lies somewhere in between. It feels like every kid now has a Chromebook and has done a billion or so classes on platforms like Zoom. What emerged was certainly better than anything that would have happened in the era before computers. In some cases, remote learning really worked, but overall, few would say it was anywhere near as effective as life in real classrooms.
Additionally, the number of children in full-time virtual schools or involved in home schooling has increased sharply, although it is still small overall. And it is clear nationwide that large numbers of kindergarten-age kids were held back at home this year.
So what happens if more normal classroom life returns? Likely answers: Use of computers more routinely (and creatively) in learning. Frequent use of Zoom and such to communicate between teachers and parents, since it worked out pretty well overall. One hopes there will be closer links between students, parents and teachers. And no more (or at least fewer) snow days, with switches to remote learning rather than canceling school.
And for all those kids now learning outside of conventional schools, where they are enrolled next year will be an important factor in the financial health of conventional schools.
Addressing big needs. There will be renewed efforts to work on issues that have been pretty much set aside during the pandemic. They include better and more widely available early childhood programs, improved reading instruction, and better programs to address mental health and social/emotional needs of students.
Some of these draw bipartisan support. But will there be actual progress? The polarized and nearly evenly split politics in Washington and Madison are not promising. It will require bigger, bolder thinking and compromises to launch substantial initiatives.
But if those words – bigger, bolder, compromise – characterize at least a hunk of what happens in 2021, it will be a better year than the one that has ingloriously exited.
Alan J. Borsuk is senior fellow in law and public policy and Marquette Law School. Reach him at alan.borsuk@marquette.edu.