Bush Institute Ann Kimball Johnson Education Reform Initiative Director Anne Wicks weighs in on the Biden Administration’s executive order on safely reopening schools and discusses how it mirrors our recent policy recommendations.
Recently, President Biden signed executive orders supporting school re-openings within 100 days. One of the orders directs the Department of Education to collect and report data about what’s happening with our students. This will allow us the opportunity to identify where kids are falling behind. Additionally, the data will be broken out into subcategories of ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status shedding light on how we can more equitably serve our kids. Anne Wicks, the Ann Kimball Johnson Education Reform Initiative Director, recently shared policy recommendations outlining why state assessments and data collection is so critical.
Additionally, the executive orders call for national guidance to be provided on how to safely re-open schools. To date, school districts and principals have been creating their own guidelines–pulling time and resources away from students. During the pandemic, it’s more important than ever before that national, state, and district leaders show brave and innovative leadership with a laser focus on a vision for student success. We know that learning loss is happening and significant investment is warranted to aid and accelerate recovery.
