1/ Now that Virginia has officially closed public schools for the rest of the 2019-20 academic year, with other states sure to follow, it's worth taking stock of what an enormous challenge this will be for educational equity.
2/ It's well-established that "summer learning loss" affects students differently based on socioeconomic status.
Pandemic learning loss could be much worse, particularly since it will directly precede the summer.
Pandemic learning loss could be much worse, particularly since it will directly precede the summer.
3/ College-educated white-collar parents who can telework are home with their kids and can provide individualized instruction. (While working, I know, it's a huge challenge I'm personally living right now with a 4th grader, stay with me.)
4/ They also have access to reliable high-speed Internet if and when districts are able to ramp up instruction from a distance in the coming weeks.
They also have comfortable housing in which this education can occur.
They also have comfortable housing in which this education can occur.
5/ Parents who have to leave home to work, by contrast, will need to patch together ad hoc child care that may change day-to-day. Instability is the enemy of effective learning.
6/ Their only Internet access might be a cell phone. They're more likely to live in an underfunded school district that lacks the resources to manage an abrupt, never-before-tried emergency transition to distance education.
7/ Also: everything about this is going to be a huge challenge for children with disabilities. Some can't access standard technology and media, others rely on specialized instruction and school-specific resources.
8/ It's incumbent on policymakers and school officials to ensure that students who are most vulnerable to educational disruption get the additional resources they need in the next few months.
