➀ Unresolved mask and vaccine mandates complicate the new school year. A patchwork of politically driven guidance governing masking and vaccinations are an added burden for students, parents and teachers. In a National Press Foundation briefing on Aug. 11, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said he would favor requiring teachers and staff to be vaccinated. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed most parents don’t think vaccinations should be required for their children but they do favor requiring masks for kids and staff.

➁ Learning suffered during remote school. According to a survey of teachers by Educators for Excellence, half said student learning, completion of homework, participation and attendance all declined during at-home learning. Technology was identified as a major obstacle, particularly for students of color. Infrastructure legislation making its way through Congress may offer assistance in broadband build-out. “If they didn’t have Wi-Fi at home, even if they did have a device, they still could not properly participate in the learning process,” said Ife Damon, a New York City teacher and member of Educators for Excellence.

➂ Testing and evaluations don’t tell the whole story. Teachers were divided about standardized testing of students during the pandemic, but the Biden administration required them to maintain a baseline of data about student learning and/or loss. An NWEA analysis showed declines in reaching and math, especially among minority and low-income students. “There are some people feel like this talk about learning loss has been overblown, other people think it truly is a crisis,” said Laura Meckler, education reporter for The Washington Post.

➃ The kids aren’t all right. Beyond Covid, the pandemic caused anxiety and depression in children. “We have to go beyond academics, we have to look at the impact of the pandemic on social/emotional learning and spend a lot more time on mental health access and support, in particular for Latino and African American students and low-income students,” said Amanda Fernandez, CEO and founder of Latinos for Education.

➄ Teachers are burned out too. In the E4E survey, 9 of 10 teachers expressed concern about their social, emotional and mental health, Damon said. Fernandez added, “It’s really important to point out that educators of color in our schools very often don’t have the connections, the networks and the support systems they need.”

Speakers: 

Dr. Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education

Ife Damon, Special Education and Multi-Subject Teacher, member of Educators for Excellence

Amanda Fernandez, CEO and Founder, Latinos for Education

Laura Meckler, Washington Post National Education Reporter

Support for this briefing comes from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundations. NPF is solely responsible for the content.