With coronavirus vaccinations rising, Covid cases falling, and schools reopening, education leaders are turning their attention to expanding learning opportunities post-pandemic.
But strikingly high rates of student absenteeism threaten that work. A new FutureEd report on attendance trends in five school districts serving nearly 450,000 students suggests that student absenteeism has been far greater during the pandemic than has been previously reported. The detailed analysis, conducted by EveryDay Labs, found that significant numbers of students have missed as much as half the school calendar. Editorial Director Phyllis Jordan describes the absenteeism crisis, its consequences, and strategies for using federal Covid relief aid to address it.
Post-Pandemic Priorities
Much of our other recent work has sought to help education policymakers and practitioners navigate the end of the pandemic and the educational challenges ahead, including.
An interview with Acting Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education Ian Rosenblum about the department’s Covid relief aid guidance
Joint recommendations to the Education Department on implementing high-quality tutoring programs
And essays on:
“Equity pods” that boost learning and social interaction for Black and Latino students
We wrote a piece for Washington Monthly about a little-noticed provision in the 2017 tax bill that has helped wealthier families pay private and parochial school tuitions.
We analyzed the legislative push in the states to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports. Our legislative tracker has identified 69 bills to reduce transgender participation in 32 states. And we interviewed our senior fellow, USC associate professor Morgan Polikoff, about his new book on the standards movement.
The final FutureU podcasts of the school year include a discussion of enrollment declines at community colleges, an interview with veteran communications adviser David Gergen and higher education reporters roundtable on vaccines and visas.
With the Fritzwire newsletter closing up shop, we’ve expanded The Horizon, our calendar of education events and conferences on our website. Share your events with us at info@future-ed.org. And for the latest leadership changes in the education sector, visit The Churn.
Thanks a lot and best wishes for a Covid-free summer.
Tom
Thomas Toch
Director, FutureEd
McCourt School of Public Policy
Georgetown University
ttoch@future-ed.org
@thomas_toch
