It’s that time of the week again, and I’ve got plenty of solutions-oriented resources to share with you as you continue your summer planning—one of which might hit very close to home.
Summer planning: Addressing post-pandemic issues
Leaders across the country are plagued with financial, political and capacity constraints. The Baltimore City Public School System and Chicago Public Schools have embraced “imperfect strategies” and risk-taking to achieve what’s best for students: academic gains in a post-COVID world.
However, they’ve exhausted their strategies and now it’s time to look for new ways to close post-pandemic gaps in learning, a report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education asserts. Here are a few solutions Baltimore’s and Chicago’s leaders have in mind:
- Executive leadership teams are meeting student social-emotional needs through untapped ESSER funding while hoping to avoid cutting into instruction.
- They’re addressing staff turnover and “newness” by supporting existing staff to become teachers and promoting school leaders from within.
- To mitigate political turbulence and financial strains, they’re insulating schools by taking the political hits themselves and making concessions to demanding stakeholders.
There’s a lot of good info for leaders in similar situations to lean into. I strongly recommend you take a deeper dive into the report as you work on your summer planning for 2024-25.
Students could still use help with civics
Civics education is often thrown around as a buzzword by news media. Yet, it shouldn’t be underestimated as a relevant life skill.
Many of you might remember seeing headlines last year about the Nation’s Report Card revealing historic declines in civic scores. However, many of those reports overlooked what students were actually learning in civics instruction, according to the National Assessment Governing Board.
The majority of students surveyed on The Nation’s Report Card reported studying the basics, including the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government and political parties. Other topics were “barely covered,” such as:
- How laws are made (26%)
- Current political and social issues (28%)
- The rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens (33%).
If you’re interested in enhancing your students’ civics education, read the report here.
How CTE can benefit healthcare
This is a bit of a niche topic but should be relevant to leaders who’ve partnered with local healthcare institutions on CTE programs. This report from iCEV, an online resource for career and technical education classes, addresses the need for CTE teachers to motivate students for success in future healthcare jobs.
It’s a booming industry but researchers declare that a longer-living population—resulting from medical advancements and higher living standards—has created a crisis. “The demand for healthcare workers has outpaced our ability to train new ones,” President and CEO of iCEV Dusty Moore said in the report.
That’s where CTE comes into play. Students can earn industry certifications while in high school. Some of the most popular recognized credential exams school districts offer include:
- Medical assistant
- Nursing assistant
- EKG technician
- Phlebotomy
- Patient care technician
- Pharmacy technician
However, 60% of district CTE leaders say hiring teachers with industry experience is their No. 1 challenge, followed by finding funding for programs, retaining qualified teachers, developing work-based learning opportunities for students and finding engaging instructional materials.
More from DA
I hope these reports are useful as you continue your summer preparations for 2024-25. In the meantime, be sure to read up on our latest coverage, including:
- 9 ways to promote STEM to your female students
- School boards and AI: Is it the new hot topic?
- 4 ways tech is helping kids avoid summer learning slides
And as always, listen to our latest episode of the “Talking Out of School” podcast. Most recently, we sat down with CAST CEO Lindsay E. Jones, one of the leading voices on the Universal Design for Learning. Jones works with school leaders, teachers and researchers to design learner-centered and inclusive education systems.
