Federal Update

AJE is happy to share these highlights and updates from the US Department of Education.

NEW RESOUCES FOR FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS

UPCOMING EVENTS

On May 25, from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time, please join the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for a virtual event with analysis and discussion of the 2019 NAEP science results for grades 4, 8, and 12.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, the ED Games Expo (June 1-6) has moved online.  Attendees will have the opportunity to demo learning games and technology and interact with developers virtually.  The agenda presents the schedule and information on how to access 35 online events occurring during the week.

OTHER EVENTS AND ANNOUCEMENTS

  • The President announced his intent to nominate Catherine Lhamon as the agency’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (see the Secretary’s statement of support).
  • In the wake of #CollegeSigningDay and #PublicServiceRecognitionWeek, the Department’s Office of the Chief Data Officer is proud that the agency’s efforts to integrate and leverage publicly available consumer and institutional data through its College Scorecard served more than 1.9 million learners in 2020 (see the new #DataMatters post — “Using Data to Inform Decisions: The U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard”).
  • This month, the Secretary held virtual roundtables with educators who have student loans and are participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community to discuss their experiences during the pandemic and ongoing challenges related to education.
  • At George Hersey Robertson Elementary School in Connecticut, a 2020 National Blue Ribbon School, educators and school leaders have achieved a balance of consistent instructional practices and flexibility, allowing opportunities for teacher creativity and student choice (video and transcript).
  • The Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) has proposed two priorities under the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program.
  • The Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) is inviting applications for awards under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) state grants and partnership grants.
  • The results from the 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency study show that fluent reading of text can be a major challenge for many fourth-grade public school students who perform below the NAEP Basic level on the reading assessment.
  • In his new blog post, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Director Mark Schneider outlines that, as IES becomes more focused on how best to help students catch up on unfinished learning results from the pandemic, the severity of the problem is becoming clearer.

SAFELY REOPENING AMERICA’S SCHOOLS

At various venues and using multiple media, Secretary Cardona and other Administration leaders continue to emphasize the urgent need to safely reopen schools.

First, on April 30, Secretary Cardona concluded his “Help is Here” School Reopening Tour with a visit to Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C., where he delivered remarks on what he saw throughout the tour and the efforts to reopen the majority of K-8 schools within President Biden’s first 100 days (photosvideo, and Twitter thread).

Second, on May 6, the Secretary issued a statement on the March results of the 2021 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) School Survey.  The data affirms achieving the President’s reopening goal, with 54% of K-8 schools open for full-time in-person learning and 88% open for either full-time in-person or hybrid instruction.  The data also shows positive trendlines of increasing numbers of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian students enrolled in in-person learning since January.  Yet, a much lower percentage of these subgroups are enrolled in full-time in-person learning compared to their white peers.  And, even when offered in-person options, many are choosing to remain fully remote.  “At the national and local level, we must act with urgency and bring every resource to bear to get more schools reopened…this spring and address the inequities that continue to persist in our classrooms and communities,” the Secretary asserted (Twitter thread).

Third, the Secretary penned an op-ed that ran on CNN.com on May 12.  “These next few weeks will prove critical for students of all ages, but particularly those disproportionately affected by the pandemic and at risk of falling further behind,” he explained.  “Our educators and leaders have worked tirelessly to get us where we are today.  Collectively, we must recommit to our mission of serving all students.  That means not just opening back up for in-person instruction, but building a world class education system that is better than it was before March 2020.  We must dedicate ourselves in the coming days to get all students safely back to in-person instruction: equitably and without exception.”

Meanwhile, the Secretary shared his message with journalists during the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar and was interviewed by TIME for Kids reporter Bellen Woodard.

Also, video is available from the Secretary’s earlier stops at White Plains High School in New York and Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Additionally, highlighting the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the American Jobs Plan, and the American Families Plan, President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden toured Yorktown Elementary School and Tidewater Community College in Virginia; Secretary Cardona visited the Community College of Baltimore County’s Catonsville campus; Dr. Biden toured Glendale Middle School in Salt Lake City, Utah; Vice President Harris visited engineering labs at the University of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee campus; and Dr. Biden and actress Jennifer Garner toured a vaccination center at Capital High School in Charleston, West Virginia.

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