LPI Blog

In Baltimore City and around the country, community-based organizations, often in partnership with schools and districts, are providing students with structured expanded learning opportunities during the pandemic. These connections and supports are providing students critical opportunities to build skills and stay connected to their peers, mentors, and community while schools are shuttered.

A new bipartisan federal COVID-19 rescue package will supply public schools with additional financial support to help address a wide range of needs. The question is, what will this long-awaited federal aid provide and what more will be needed to allow schools to open safely and offer quality instruction?

As many as 10 million students and more than one million public school employees who are engaged in some form of in-person learning may be at risk of heightened exposure to COVID-19, due to outdated and poorly functioning heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The risk is greatest in schools serving predominantly students of color and students from low-income families. Federal funding is critical to addressing the pressing need to repair and update existing systems.

In 2020, internet connectivity and adequate devices are a necessity, not a luxury. And the cost of providing our young people with these necessities is well within our reach. Federal investments are critical to ensuring all students have the high-speed broadband and technological devices they need to access instruction and support. This includes making sure that any technology provided is accessible for English learners and for students with disabilities.

Districts play an essential role in the success of school principals, including by fostering a collaborative culture and ensuring that site leaders have needed resources and supports. These structures and practices are important all the time, and have become even more critical during the pandemic. This blog explores how the systems and practices set up by the San Diego Unified School District are supporting principals during the COVID-19 crisis.

More than 5 million children in the United States live in deep poverty, including nearly 1 in 5 Black children under the age of 5. These numbers will no doubt grow, given the explosion of the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, school systems need a more robust, reliable, and valid measure of students experiencing deep poverty in order to align services and supports with student need.

Pandemic-related school closures have underscored the essential role that home-school partnerships play in supporting the needs and ongoing development of students. This is particularly true for students with disabilities, whose educational plans can include the provision and coordination of multiple services. Teachers and school district staff share how they are strengthening communication with families and tapping new tools and resources to support students with disabilities.

Cuts to school budgets as a result of the added costs and reduced revenue since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet been as severe as originally predicted, but the evidence indicates that much more severe challenges lie ahead. This blog explains how COVID-19 has affected state education budgets—and explores the implications for public education funding this year and into the future.

The pandemic has forced policymakers and educators to rethink and retool in order to ensure continued student learning, despite school closures. The crisis of COVID-19 also creates an opportunity to build long-term capacity and enact new policies and practices to advance more equitable and student-centered school systems. This blog provides an overview of a comprehensive framework for restarting and reinventing school.

As U.S. schools closed their doors this past spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-considered effect was the impact of school closures on the preparation of the next generation of educators. Leaders of educator preparation programs affiliated with EdPrepLab share how they have adapted to the changing landscape. The crisis has created opportunities for programs to innovate, while maintaining high standards and a commitment to equity.