May 4th, 2021 Media Report: News We’re Reading This Week

NEWS 

• President Biden’s recently released $1.8T American Families Plan calls for two free years of community college and free universal pre-K, making it one of the most progressive plans for American public education yet.  (NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Chalkbeat, US News, The Education Trust, The New Yorker)

 

• School and district leaders - plus elected officials at all levels - have been considering how to best respond to the widespread learning loss that has occurred over the last year (The 74 Million, LA School Report). Notably, LAUSD recently rejected extending the school year (LA Daily News) and will not require CA’s Common Core Smarter Balanced Tests (EdSource) while Shelby County is preparing for TCAP/TN Ready testing to assess students’ proficiency (ABC 24, Commercial Appeal, Chalkbeat TN). Both regions - and hundreds more across the country - are leaning on summer school (EdWeek, Washington Post).

 

• Students across the country have the option to return to school for in-person education, and data is revealing racial gaps in who is choosing to do so versus remaining in remote learning. (Politico, LAist, LA School Report)

 

VIEWS

• CalMatters (Jackie Botts & Ricardo Cano, K-12 reporters): The wires may be there, but the dollars aren’t: Analysis shows why millions of California students lack broadband 

 

• CalMatters (Dan Walters, renowned CA journalist) : Eli Broad was a passionate school reformer 

 

• The Progressive (Andy Spears, PhD & publishers of TN Education Report): Tennessee’s Plan to Privatize Schools Is a Warning Sign for the Rest of the Country