Hey there,
We’re a little extra thankful for spring this year. Between the warmer temperatures, longer days, and vaccinations underway, the sun just seems a little brighter all around. We hope you’re feeling that way too. cautious optimism is leading to making plans to catch up with your friends and family that we haven’t seen in person in a long while and to take advantage of the summer days ahead.
Warmly,
America Succeeds
Back to School
‘Back to School’ has a new meaning this year. As more students are returning to learning in person, we know simply getting into the classroom won’t put them back on track.
This means a lot of students are likely looking at summer school. Even though we’re only a couple of months away, most families are still wondering what that might entail. Our friends at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) reviewed the summer school plans of 100 school districts and it turns out plans and communications about summer are largely underwhelming.
We’re also paying attention to how states are gearing up for an unprecedented infusion of federal relief dollars. There is no shortage of ideas for how to spend it. Marguerite Roza and Chad Aldeman at Edunomics Lab go through a series of “Would you rather?” questions to demonstrate some of the choices that districts will need to make. Andy Rotherham at Bellwether basically says, “Don’t blow it” and pushes the importance of creating a plan before spending in a sobering piece.
Durable Skills
In case you missed it… this month, we published an early analysis of Durable Skills. Check out this article – New Research Shows Top Soft Skills Are Requested Four Times More Than Top Hard Skills – as well as our latest blog.
By preparing students and workers with Durable Skills, instead of primarily focusing on technical skills, we have an opportunity to help more learners become successful in today’s dynamic workforce and the incredible career opportunities within multiple industries.
Using Emsi’s database of tens of millions of employer job postings from the past two years, America Succeeds recently analyzed workforce demand for Durable Skills.
Equity: Teacher Diversity
Recruiting and retaining teachers of color is a key lever for improving equity in education and deserves more attention from policymakers. For a great discussion about teacher diversity during the pandemic, check out this webinar from The 74 and the Reinventing America’s Schools project.
If you’d like to join the coalition of stakeholders (including us!) urging Secretary Cardona and the Biden administration to promote and prioritize teacher diversity, be sure to sign on to this letter being organized by the Center for Black Educator Development, Brightbeam, The Education Trust, and TNTP.
