On March 13, 2020 schools across California and the United States were told to shut down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. We were told it would be a two week closure. Now 10 months later, we have not returned to school buildings. Some schools in the state are operating in a hybrid model, some schools in the country have returned to in person, but in California, we are largely still teaching and learning online. Students, parents, teachers, administrators are all looking forward to returning to in-person teaching and learning, and I keep hearing “I can’t wait to get back to normal”. Everytime I hear it, I cringe because I keep thinking how “normal” wasn’t working, especially when we think about public education.
Last weekend I virtually attended a conference put on the Association of California School Administrators. Most administrators were not talking about going back to normal, but how things have to change moving forward. The unfortunate side is while most attendees I heard from agreed, no one seemed to have solutions on how to rethink education. As school leaders, it is time to begin thinking about HOW to move forward and rethink antiquated ideas around public education.
There have been two areas my focus has been on when considering the idea of rethinking schools, assessment and equity. In my research I came across the TED talk by Nora Flanagan. In it, she explains four areas for rethinking education, the two I mentioned, assessment and equity, in addition to engaging parents and supporting the whole student.
Assessment
Standardized testing consumes 10% of the school year for students. Think of the instruction and experiences students could be having if they weren’t taking standardized tests. Let’s face it, there is nothing standard about students, why are they testing in a standardized way? The state of California spends $23,000,000 annually on these tests.. That money can be better spent by putting 300 more counselors in schools.
The state test is not the only part of assessment that needs to change. Grading needs to be proficiency based, on assignment based. Many districts claim to use standard based grading systems, where students are quantified based on proficiency towards standards, but in reality, those systems do not play out in the mandated grade books. Many teachers are still averaged assignment and test grades, rather than having evidence of proficiency. Every grading period I have conversations with teachers at my school about how they determine grades, and spoiler alert, many still use averages because that is how the district’s online grade book works. Grading systems must be consistent and school leaders must demand on standard based grades. The video below, by Nampa School District, provides an explanation of standards based grading.
Equity
Equity was the hot word used at the beginning of distance learning. 80% of students in Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the nation, are from low-income families. How can distance learning be equitable when many students didn’t have appropriate devices or internet access. Fortunately districts managed to get devices in the hands of students, but many are still without consistent internet access. Before school closures, equity was an issue, but truly brought it to light. We know the students in low-income neighborhoods are not performing at the level of those who are of a higher socioeconomic class, and this pandemic is pushing them further behind. So what does equity look like when school reopen? We know we have to meet them where they are and not punish students for learning gaps. Standards need to re-evaluated along with instructional strategies.
Support the Whole Student
Students and families have been dealing with a lot throughout this pandemic. Many have lost family members, they miss their friends, they miss human interaction. As school leaders, we need to make sure our schools are equipped with a full time counselor and nurse, social workers need to be available to help students process the trauma of the pandemic. Students need to engage with visual and performing arts, physical education, coding, and other specials or electives. Lastly, as Nora Flanagan points out, if the recent conspiracy theorists have taught us anything, it’s that a certificated librarian needs to be in every school.
Engage With Parents
For so long parents and teachers have worked in isolation. There is always talk about being a team, but in my 20 years working in public education, I have yet to see this team work together. Distance learning has put parents in our classrooms, whether they want to or not. They are witnessing first hand how teachers engage or don’t engage their children. They are learning what motivates their children, what excites them and what shuts them down. There are parents who have not been around for distance learning because they are working for their families survival, but we are figuring out that a phone call or Zoom meeting can go a long way. We need to keep this communication between families and school going.
After all is said and done, we simply cannot go back to the way things were. Public education needs to be revolutionized and school leaders must lead the change.
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