Welcome to the latest edition of the FutureEd newsletter, a summary of our recent education policy work.
Mastery Transcript
In recent years, educators at some of the nation’s top high schools have been working to replace the traditional high school transcript and its simple summary of courses and grades with a far richer picture of students’ secondary school experiences. We explore the growing movement to introduce a new “mastery transcript” and its important consequences for secondary education and college admissions in a feature story running this Sunday in The Washington Post Magazine.
The Teacher Shortage Puzzle
The coronavirus crisis has amplified claims of a “national teacher shortage” in public education. “Pandemic Fuels Staggering Teacher Shortages Across the U.S.,” declares one headline. But a new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel argues that such sweeping declarations don’t accurately reflect teacher supply and demand and could lead policymakers to adopt counterproductive recruitment and retention strategies,
Report author and EducationCounsel Principal Sandi Jacobs works with FutureEd senior fellow Lynn Olson to analyze teacher supply and demand before the pandemic, identify new staffing questions raised by the Covid crisis, and offer policy recommendations to help states and districts address shortages and ensure that all students are taught by effective, racially diverse educators.
On Nov. 8, we're hosting a webinar with Education Counsel and the Southern Regional Education Board to explore regional and subject-area teacher shortages and our recent report on successful hiring practices in the District of Columbia Public Schools. The DCPS report was excerpted by Education Next and highlighted in a commentary piece in The 74.
On Other Fronts
We have compiled a summary of every state’s plan for spending education-related federal Covid-relief aid, and we have written a comprehensive analysis of the plans. Amanda von Moos, co-founder of Substantial, talked with us about the challenges in recruiting and retaining substitute teachers. And FutureEd research advisor Laura Hamilton shared an essay on the importance of civics education in today’s challenging national political climate.
We published three new FutureU podcasts, including interviews with Morehouse College President David Thomas and University of Maryland Global Campus President Gregory Fowler, as well as a roundtable discussion with higher education reporters.
And we continue to chronicle the latest leadership changes in the education sector in The Churn and track the Biden administration’s latest appointments to the U.S. Education Department, including three leaders recently confirmed by the Senate. The Horizon lists upcoming in-person and virtual education events. Send us your future events and job news to info@future-ed.org, and we’d be happy to post them.
Thanks and best wishes,
Tom
Thomas Toch
Director, FutureEd
McCourt School of Public Policy
Georgetown University
ttoch@future-ed.org
@thomas_toch
