School mask, vaccine mandates are mostly gone. But what if the virus comes back?
As 100 large districts gear up for a “normal” year, it’s not clear what will happen should another deadly COVID variant arise.
Enrollment drops, staff shortages cause budget whiplash for top school districts
The contrasting trends underscore the pandemic’s wildly variable impact on districts — and the key impact of enrollment on revenue
Data From 100 Large Urban Districts Show Half Facing Shortages in Key Positions. Fixing That Will Mean Rethinking Teaching & Working in Schools
Our analysis of district information and local media reports finds 93 of 100 large and urban districts have mentioned staffing shortages in the 2021-22 school year.
District update: Stronger health precautions, far more virtual options
School districts have stepped up health precautions and expanded virtual learning options as they prepare for students’ return to school.
First look at ESSER priorities: Districts are placing their bets on what they know
A $189 billion infusion of federal COVID relief funding gives America’s school districts an unprecedented opportunity to invest in lasting improvements in public education and make their students whole after a year and a half of disruptions.
Districts quiet on how they plan to help students recover from a year of continued disruption
As more large and urban school districts welcome students back to campus, few are providing public details about how they plan to academically support students after a year of disrupted teaching and learning.
First District Reopening Plans Illuminate Tradeoffs and Confusion In Politically Charged Environment
Last week, school reopening was thrust into the national and political spotlight as President Donald Trump polarized the issue and Betsy DeVos, his education secretary, threatened to divert federal funding from schools that do not open in-person. Districts and states have been slow to release much detail on what to expect in the fall, but […]
The Power of “How Are You?”: Teacher Check-ins in Remote Learning
Last week, Fairfax County in Virginia delayed the launch of remote learning due to technical challenges. Earlier in the month, Los Angeles Unified School District reported that about one third of their over 600,000 students were not logging into their online learning platforms regularly, and that about 15,000 had been completely absent since online learning […]
What We’re Learning from an Early Look at District COVID-19 Response Plans
This is the first in a series of updates on our findings on school district response plans. See our latest analysis here. Today, the Center on Reinventing Public Education is releasing an initial, baseline database of school districts’ plans for supporting students during unprecedented mass closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 100,000 public schools […]