{"id":575244,"date":"2021-07-28T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=575244"},"modified":"2021-07-29T15:43:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T19:43:37","slug":"our-11-best-education-articles-from-july-plummeting-school-enrollment-fearing-a-second-pandemic-of-student-trauma-educators-overwhelmed-by-critical-race-theory-furor-more","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/our-11-best-education-articles-from-july-plummeting-school-enrollment-fearing-a-second-pandemic-of-student-trauma-educators-overwhelmed-by-critical-race-theory-furor-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Our 11 Best Education Articles from July: Plummeting School Enrollment, Fearing a \u2018Second Pandemic\u2019 of Student Trauma, Educators Overwhelmed By Critical Race Theory Furor & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

F<\/span>rom the escalating fight surrounding critical race theory to emerging details about states\u2019 plans to spend their federal education relief funds, it was a busy month on the education beat in July. Here at The 74, we also launched several long-in-the-works features, including a special series on America\u2019s declining birth rate and the resulting long-term implications for school attendance and budgets. Also atop the highlights this month: Final statistics about 2020-21 school enrollment, which showed a three percent decline in attendance that includes 22 percent fewer public pre-k students.<\/p>\n

Here were our most popular articles of the month:<\/p>\n

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Chaos Theory: Amid Pandemic Recovery Efforts, School Leaders Fear Critical Race Furor Will \u2018Paralyze\u2019 Teachers<\/a><\/h3>\n

Politics of Curriculum: <\/strong>Calls for teachers to wear body cameras, mountains of records requests and threats against school administrators are among the flashpoints in an emerging new front in the nation’s culture wars, as parents and other opponents of critical race theory push back against its perceived influence in the classroom. Nine states have banned implementation of the once-obscure theory, which in the minds of many encompasses a host of racial and equity-related initiatives, from culturally responsive teaching to social-emotional learning. For many teachers, the backlash feels like a new kind of McCarthyism, where they fear being harassed, fined or fired<\/a> for a wide array of classroom activities associated with the examination of structural racism in America. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge distraction at a time when we can\u2019t afford a distraction,\u201d Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, told reporter Linda Jacobson. \u201cThis has been a year the majority of students were not exposed to the kind of learning they should have been exposed to. Now you\u2019re going to paralyze teachers because they are afraid to teach.\u201d Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Liability: <\/strong>Teachers unions promise money and support to members teaching \u201chonest history\u201d (Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. <\/em>Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

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New Federal Data Confirms Pandemic\u2019s Blow to K-12 Enrollment, With Drop of 1.5 Million Students; Pre-K Experiences 22 Percent Decline<\/a><\/h3>\n

Disenrollment:<\/strong> Preliminary data released by the National Center for Education Statistics yesterday show that public school enrollment dropped 3 percent in 2020-21 from the year before. The sizable decline \u2014 about 1.5 million students, compared with 2019-20’s total population of 51.1 million \u2014 was felt across the country, with the biggest decreases in Puerto Rico (minus 5.51 percent), Mississippi and Vermont (tied with minus 5.02 percent). The drop was concentrated heavily among the youngest children: Kindergarten enrollment fell by 9 percent, pre-K by an astonishing 22 percent<\/a>, even as the high school ranks thinned by just .4 percent. Most of those young learners are expected to return to in-person classrooms, but Robin Lake, head of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, said schools and districts need to prepare now to meet academic and social-emotional needs that had been deferred in the interim. \u201cThese kids are owed a lot in terms of the time they’ve missed learning things, playing with other kids, all of that stuff,” she told The 74’s Kevin Mahnken. “So we’re encouraging school districts to put those kinds of supports in place this summer and try to reach as many kids as possible to address some of those foundational skills.\u201d Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Dallas principal Ruby Ramirez (Courtesy of Dallas Independent School District)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fearing a \u2018Second Pandemic\u2019 of Student Trauma, School Leaders Are Doubling Down on Mental Health First Aid Training<\/a><\/h3>\n

Special Report:<\/strong> Between April and October, emergency room visits rose 24 percent for kids ages 5 to 11 and 31 percent for ages 12 to 17 over the year before, a trend experts attribute to pandemic stressors adding to the already mounting crisis of anxiety-related disorders in young people. As students return to in-person classes, these symptoms are showing up in classrooms \u2014 and teachers are the first line of defense. Fearing what this means for the coming school year, educators are signing up for Mental Health First Aid certification<\/a>. The course, administered by nonprofits including Communities in Schools, reminds adults nationwide that they aren\u2019t \u201csuperheroes\u201d \u2014 but they can guide young people toward getting help with a mental health challenge while decreasing the stigma and judgment around the struggles many are facing in the pandemic’s wake. In this first installment of a three-part series, presented in partnership with Texas Tribune, Bekah McNeel looks at how this training is helping educators at one Texas school \u2014 and teachers around the country \u2014 deal with their students’ often hidden mental health issues. Read the opening feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Pandemic Counseling:<\/strong> A San Antonio mental health desert became a beacon of counseling services for thousands of children and families (Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u2014 Students\u2019 View:<\/strong> Second graders \u201cshow\u201d their pandemic challenges through art and \u201ctell\u201d how their teacher helped them stay strong (Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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How Are States Spending Their COVID Education Relief Funds?<\/a><\/h3>\n

Federal Relief:<\/strong> Asked by the U.S. Education Department to identify the top issues facing students and schools in the wake of the pandemic, state education officials are remarkably consistent: Their plans for spending their share of federal COVID relief aid for education demonstrate a strong need to expand learning opportunities and address students\u2019 social and emotional needs. But an analysis by FutureEd, a think tank at Georgetown University\u2019s McCourt School of Public Policy, finds that in the 39 states that have submitted to the department to date, education leaders are pursuing those goals in a variety of ways<\/a>. Contributors Brooke LePage and Phyllis W. Jordan of FutureEd break down how, from tutoring and mental health supports to universal pre-K, museum trips \u2014 even a student film festival \u2014 states are looking to spend their COVID ed relief funds. Read the essay, and click through our interactive maps. Read our full analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Spread of Delta Variant Marks \u2018Most Dangerous\u2019 Time in Pandemic for Kids, May Force Schools to Re-Up Safety Measures, Experts Say<\/a><\/h3>\n

School Safety:<\/strong> If you\u2019ve gotten both of your coronavirus shots, the worst of the pandemic is probably behind you. But for kids under 12 still awaiting vaccine eligibility, spread of the highly contagious Delta COVID variant poses a potent threat \u2014 and may force schools to double down on mitigation measures in order to reopen safely, health experts say<\/a>. It\u2019s \u201cone of the most dangerous time periods [in the pandemic] for people who aren\u2019t vaccinated,\u201d said Taylor Nelson, a University of Missouri doctor specializing in infectious disease. \u201cKids are probably the group now that are most susceptible to infection,\u201d said University of Michigan epidemiologist Joshua Petrie. As youth infections surge in Israel and the United Kingdom and the new variant spreads \u201clike wildfire\u201d in undervaccinated pockets of the U.S., the stakes have been raised on the campaign to immunize adolescents \u2014 and may spell the return of measures like masking and ventilation next school year. This is already happening in Los Angeles County, which this week reimposed mask mandates indoors regardless of vaccination status. Asher Lehrer-Small has the story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Can Right Answers Be Wrong? Latest Clash Over \u2018White Supremacy Culture\u2019 Unfolds in Unlikely Arena: Math Class<\/a><\/h3>\n

Math Skills:<\/strong> A document outlining how to be an \u201cantiracist math educator\u201d has sparked criticism for promoting the idea that focusing on getting students to produce the right answer is one way that \u201cwhite supremacy culture\u201d shows up in math class. Educators drawing inspiration from the document, part of a larger math equity project at The Education Trust-West \u2014 funded with $1 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation \u2014 say the emphasis on accurate calculations shuts down students\u2019 thinking process and turns math into a competition. They say the middle grades especially are a period when many Black and Hispanic students turn off math, resulting in persistent racial disparities in advanced high school classes. Making math more culturally relevant by linking concepts to socioeconomic issues, they say, can help students see the reasons for math in their lives<\/a>. But some Black scholars think the document only reinforces teachers\u2019 bias against students of color. \u201cThe workbook’s ultimate message is clear: Black kids are bad at math, so why don’t we just excuse them from really learning it,\u201d Erec Smith of York College of Pennsylvania told reporter Linda Jacobson. And even math educators devoted to increasing equity said the document can widen divides at a time of political polarization. Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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High Schoolers Who Took Remote Classes During Pandemic Experienced a \u201cThriving Gap,\u201d According to Duckworth-Led Study<\/a><\/h3>\n

Achievement Gaps:<\/strong> Research from the past year, including a wave of worrying standardized test results, has highlighted the academic consequences of months of remote schooling necessitated by COVID-19. But while math and reading scores are disappointing in their own right, most educators and parents are equally anxious about how the pandemic is changing students’ inner lives. In a study published today by the American Education Research Association, a team of researchers including psychologist Angela Duckworth found that thousands of high schoolers attending virtual classes at the height of the pandemic reported that they were worse off socially, emotionally and academically<\/a> than their peers in physical classrooms. The study points to what the authors call a “thriving gap,” particularly among kids in later grades. Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u2018We are Becoming Grayer\u2019: New Hampshire\u2019s Shrinking Birth Rates and Shuttered Schools Offer Preview for the Nation<\/a><\/h3>\n

School Funding: <\/strong>According to federal data released in May, U.S. fertility rates hit another record low in 2020, with the fewest babies born in 40 years. Though COVID-19 has dissuaded many women from starting or expanding their families, the origins of the national baby bust stretch back well over a decade. The demographic slowdown is particularly severe in New Hampshire, where deaths have outpaced births for four years and the diminishing pool of children is starting to be felt in schools: In Manchester, a former industrial powerhouse and the state\u2019s largest district, the student population has shrunk by over one-fifth in the last decade, and many schools are well below capacity<\/a>. In response, local leaders approved the closure of a beloved 130-year-old elementary school and are considering consolidating three high schools that are collectively underenrolled by 1,500 students. While northern New England is the country’s slowest-growing region, the tough choices it\u2019s facing could soon be coming to a school near you. \u201cIt’s a very different dynamic than what it used to be when my dad went to elementary school, where the classes were bigger and there were more kids in general,\u201d one parent told reporter Kevin Mahnken. \u201cIt’s not like that now.” Read our special report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Related: <\/strong>Falling birth rates spur clash over race and school choice in Michigan (Read more<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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In Pursuit of a Better Democracy or Something Else: Oklahoma Latest State to Require High Schoolers to Pass Citizenship Test<\/a><\/h3>\n

Civics Ed:<\/strong> Oklahoma House Speaker Pro Tempore Terry O\u2019Donnell believes that making high school students pass a citizenship test to graduate will cut down on \u201ca proliferation of mobs\u201d in America. <\/a>\u201cThe beauty of our democracy is that there is a way to address all grievances,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said. \u201cMob violence or mob activity \u2026 is not part of the solution. It just adds to the problem.\u201d Other states that administer the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services test to high schoolers include Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky and Tennessee, while New Hampshire has its own version and Florida just passed a law that would make state college and university students subject to a civics assessment. Opponents in Oklahoma say the requirement is an unfunded mandate amounting to little more than rote memorization; that its real purpose is to target undocumented students while winning conservative political points; and that it will reduce graduation rates. Read our full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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(Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Parents Want Better School Ventilation This Fall. But the Devil is in the Details \u2014 and the Expense<\/a><\/h3>\n

Infrastructure:<\/strong> When RAND Inc. researchers last spring made a list of 13 items that would make parents feel safe about in-person schooling this fall, the No. 1 priority wasn\u2019t teacher or student vaccines, social distancing or regular COVID testing. It was ventilation. Perhaps that\u2019s because COVID-19 has made our most basic act \u2014 breathing \u2014 newsworthy<\/a>. But that\u2019s one wish that isn\u2019t likely to be granted anytime soon \u2014 and the reasons go beyond Washington politics or the fine print in recent federal relief bills. The biggest problem, according to the latest reporting from 74 contributor Greg Toppo, is the price tag. A 2020 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 41 percent of districts needed to update or replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in at least half their schools \u2014 about 36,000 nationwide \u2014 and the cost of upgrades is about $1 million per building. If half of the 36,000 buildings get upgrades and the rest get entirely new HVAC systems, it could cost schools about $72 billion, the GAO estimated. Read our full analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Steiner & Wilson: Case Study \u2014 Some Tough Questions, and Some Answers, About Fighting COVID Slide While Accelerating Student Learning<\/a><\/h3>\n

Literacy:<\/strong> How prepared are district leaders, principals and teachers as they work to increase learning readiness for on-grade work this fall? That’s the question posed by contributors David Steiner and Barbara Wilson in a case study examining how a large urban district sought to adapt materials it was already using to implement an acceleration strategy for early elementary foundational skills in reading<\/a>. Among the insights to be drawn: First, planning is critical. Leaders need to set out precisely how many minutes of instruction will be provided, the exact learning goals and the specific materials; identify all those involved (tutors, specialists, and teachers); and give them access to the shared professional development on the chosen acceleration strategies. Second, this requires a sea change from business as usual, where teachers attempt to impart skill-based standards using an eclectic rather than a coherent curriculum. It is not possible to accelerate children with fragmented content. All efforts to prepare students for grade-level instruction must rest on fierce agreement about the shared curriculum to be taught in classrooms. What we teach is the anchor that holds everything else in place. Read our full case study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Go Deeper: Get essential education news and commentary delivered straight to your inbox. <\/em>Sign up here<\/em><\/a> for The 74\u2019s daily newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the escalating fight surrounding critical race theory to emerging details about states\u2019 plans to spend their federal education relief funds, it was a busy month on the education beat in July. Here at The 74, we also launched several long-in-the-works features, including a special series on America\u2019s declining birth rate and the resulting long-term […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":575259,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[190],"tags":[1157,1134,1560,1098,1056,1664,1154],"series":[39,1059],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/575244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/575244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":575489,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/575244\/revisions\/575489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575244"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=575244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}