Thread by @MarcelHarmon1

"... the count that dictates how much funding the school district receives from the state."

While state incentives for districts to keep students engaged make some sense, it shouldn't be penalizing districts who are currently,... 1/

#ksed #ksleg

www2.ljworld.com/news/schools/2…

or will likely later in the year, be struggling to keep students engaged, or even enrolled. Doing so ignores the realities facing communities, districts, parents, & students this year.

And unless we a) ramp of the frequency/quantity of testing, b) improve basic community... 2/

behaviors like mask wearing & physical distancing, c) more consistently address building strategies like ventilation/filtration, & d) consider outside the box ideas like outdoor classrooms (even during winter) history.com/news/school-ou…, then in-person school will be... 3/

increasingly less likely as we move into fall & then winter.

Which means student engagement, parent stress, & everyone's mental health will likely continue to be challenged throughout the year.

@usd497 launching student support centers, addressing child care needs, &... 4/

partnering w/ Bert Nash to provide at home check-ins are exactly some of what needs to be done. We should be seeing similar supports implemented across the state. But that takes money/resources - we need to be pressuring our Senators & Representatives to provide the federal... 5/

$ needed in a timely manner (that was needed months ago). And pressuring relevant state entities & individuals to be careful using $ as a punitive form of enforcement, directly or indirectly.

Similar to what I did above, we keep spelling out various proximate strategies... 6/

for addressing things like education, climate change, systemic racism, etc., but ultimately there are significant changes to how we operate as a nation, that define who we are, that likely need to be addressed before we make significant progress. 7/