California voters more dissatisfied with local schools after pandemic than voters in other states, new poll finds

Rebecca Katz

In a recent poll, likely California voters who were also parents were much less satisfied with the performance of traditional neighborhood public schools during the pandemic than voters in several other states. In California, controversy over remote learning and how school reopenings were handled was particularly extreme, said said Brian Reich, vice president of communications at Murmuration, which commissioned the poll. “It felt very much to a lot of parents in California that they were not being listened to by school officials during the pandemic.”

Rebecca Katz reports.

A message from The Collaborative for Student Success

State-By-State Results From Annual Assessments Administered During Pandemic Now Available

AssessmentHQ.org now displays current state summative assessment data — both proficiency rates as well as how transparent the state is in reporting its participation rates — from across the country.

Join K-12 policy expert and former educator Dale Chu as he explores the data and what's in store for the future of student assessment on the Testing 1-2-3 blog.

Learn More on AssessmentHQ.org

This teen shared her troubles with a robot. Could AI ‘chatbots’ solve the youth mental health crisis?

Mark Keierleber

A portrait of Jordyne Lewis, who tested a chatbot for mental health, looking into the distance

Sophomore Jordyne Lewis was overwhelmed with schoolwork as well as the uncertainty of living in the pandemic, so she shared her feelings with a robot — Woebot, to be precise. The high schooler didn’t feel comfortable going to a therapist, and opening up to Woebot was easier, she said. Chatbots employ artificial intelligence similar to Alexa or Siri to engage in text-based conversations, and they have become a popular wellness tool during the pandemic, which has worsened the youth mental health crisis. But some researchers are questioning whether robots can replace living, breathing school counselors and trained therapists. Some tech developers and mental health professionals believe they have a role in supplementing a system that was severely overtaxed before COVID. Critics say they’re a Band-Aid solution to psychological suffering with limited evidence to support their efficacy.

National Teacher of the Year winner Kurt Russell to emphasize diversity as lawmakers in his home state of Ohio rail against ‘divisive’ topics

Linda Jacobson

National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell stands, writing on a whiteboard

Kurt Russell, a Black history teacher at Oberlin High School, near Cleveland, was named National Teacher of the Year last week by the Council of Chief State School Officers. A 25-year veteran who teaches at his former high school, Russell is a popular educator whose sought-after courses on race and discrimination have inspired students to delve into history themselves. He has also built connections with them outside of class as the school’s head basketball coach and organizer of a long-running basketball tournament and festival. Teaching American history with a focus on the Black experience — at a time of intense national scrutiny over how educators discuss race and discrimination — Russell plans to focus his year as the nation’s top teacher on breaking down barriers in education. “I would like to focus on diversity and making sure students receive a well-rounded educational experience,” he said.

Linda Jacobson has the story.

What else we’re reading

Thousands of young people in L.A. could suffer from ‘Long COVID.’ Here’s one teen’s saga (LAist)

The children left behind by 1 million U.S. COVID deaths (The 74)

A new chapter for charter schools in California as enrollment drops for first time in 3 decades (EdSource)

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