Dear Neighbors,
Here are some resources and opportunities to learn about education issues.
SENATE BRIEFING ON POST-PANDEMIC EDUCATION THURSDAY
Today, Thursday, is the first of several Senate briefings on "Re-imagining Massachusetts Post-Pandemic Resiliency." This one will focus on childcare, K-12 education, higher education, and regional issues in northeastern Massachusetts. Testimony is by invitation only and will be streamed live and available later at www.malegislature.gov. Here's the schedule:
Panel 1 – Childcare (1pm):
Julie Kashen, The Century Foundation; Jynai McDonald, SEIU Local 509; Amy O’Leary, Strategies for Children; Billy Eddy, MADCA
Panel 2 – K12 Education (1:45pm):
Paul Reville, Harvard University; Hardin Coleman, Boston University Wheelock College; Jack Schneider, UMass Lowell; Merrie Najimy, MTA
Panel 3 – Higher Education (2:30pm):
Chris Gabrieli, MA Board of Higher Education; Carlos Santiago, Commissioner of Higher Education; Manny Cruz, Latinos for Education; JD LaRock, North Shore Community College
Panel 4 – Local Issues (3:15pm):
Mayor Driscoll, Salem; Mayor Christenson, Malden; Rebecca Davis, MAPC; Nate Bryant, North Shore Community College
WEBINAR ON EQUITY GAPS
Here is one of the most interesting webinars I've seen this year: the Rappaport Center at Boston College brought Neema Avashia (8th grade Boston teacher), Medford Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent, and Na'ila Suad Nasir of the Spencer Foundation together to talk about Equity Gaps in Education.
RENNIE CENTER REPORT ON SOMERVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Rennie Center has started releasing a series of reports on how Somerville Public Schools have fared during the pandemic. Many school leaders will identify with Superintendent Mary Skipper's comment: she "likened the task of leading the district to driving in a car when you can’t see ahead of you, and constantly being told you have to take a turn you don’t know is there. Without obvious directions to help navigate ...we tried to create a moral compass about the most important things." She added, "It’s incumbent on us to talk not about remediation but about acceleration—how to take the strengths, the things they love, what they discovered about themselves, and to use that as a catalyst to fill in the other pieces.”
LOCAL AID NUMBERS AGREED
Earlier this month, the House and Senate chairs of the Ways and Means committees announced a local aid agreement for the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget, which they said "provides certainty and predictability for our cities and towns, funds the first year of the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) and ensures we get back on schedule to fully implement the SOA by Fiscal Year 2027."
There is a great deal of worry that the proposal uses October 2020 enrollment figures, which were significantly lower due to COVID. The proposal creates a $40 million enrollment reserve fund targeted to stabilize school districts adversely impacted by pandemic-related enrollment changes, but many of us are still worried about whether that will be adequate or timely.
The chart below shows actual figures for fiscal year 2021 (current) and those projected for fiscal year 2021 (next year). UGGA is Unrestricted General Government Aid, or general local aid. Chapter 70 is school aid. ESSER is federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, both funds already given out and those projected.
There's a lot happening! So more soon.
Stay safe and stay in touch!
