This is #CoveringCOVID19, a daily update from The Grade to help education journalists cover the shutdown of the nation’s schools.
THE TOP FIVE
Here are five great education stories about how schools are responding to the COVID-19 crisis:
Tech glitches, harassment mar Fairfax County schools’ online learning rollout – Washington Post
Fewer poor students log on for PBC’s virtual classes – Palm Beach Post [above]
Remote learning exacerbates longstanding hurdles for low-income families – Politico NY
This Is Schooling Now for 200,000 N.Y.C. Children in Special Education – New York Times
The Detroit district will open classrooms to teachers without home internet access – Chalkbeat Detroit
FURLOUGHS, LAYOFFS, PAY CUTS
The news is full of grim stories about furloughs, layoffs, and pay cuts in journalism, brought on by the economic impact of COVID-19. However, education journalism seems to have been spared, relatively speaking — so far, at least.
Furloughs have been announced for Gannett reporters above a certain salary level. But education layoffs appear to be few and far between. And I haven’t heard about pay cuts being implemented.
The news from nonprofit outlets is good, from among the outlets that responded to a recent query. I’m told Chalkbeat is pausing new hiring but that’s about it; the network still hopes to expand to meet its ambitious 2025 vision. EdSource and WBEZ Chicago both tell me that they are holding tight for now. I’ll let you know if and when I hear back from the Hechinger Report, NPR’s education team, EdWeek, and a handful of others.
ASSESSING REMOTE LEARNING
Today’s New York Times editorial (above) about the potentially devastating impact of the school shutdown reminds me that more newsrooms should be jumping onto this urgent story.
Partly, the need is for more national stories highlighting the short-term struggles to mount worthwhile remote learning programs. A month after the shutdown and several weeks into remote learning, I am hungry for reported national depictions assessing how well or poorly districts are educating students; which have lackadaisical, mostly symbolic efforts; which are trying but falling desperately short. Perhaps some are succeeding despite all obstacles.
But the bigger question is whether we are in danger of losing a cohort of students who lost months of education this spring and are in danger of experiencing a chaotic autumn. And, so far as I’ve seen, editorials like this one (and previous examples from the LA Times and Washington Post) are sounding the alarm louder and more frequently.
TIDBITS
At the same time as the present circumstances deserve more careful assessment and evaluation, the near future of school reopening also deserves attention. The WSJ’s look at Denmark and Germany is a good starting point, as is AP’s look at how schools might balance safety and learning in the US.
Just 14 of 82 districts tracked by @CRPE_UW database have an attendance-tracking policy in place. Is your district among them?
Don’t call it “e-learning,” education reporter Sarah Karp says about Chicago’s remote learning program. It’s not all electronic, and even when it is, it’s not as interactive as you may imagine.
This preliminary look at the philanthropic response from Chalkbeat suggests that not all that much is being done as one might have expected. It would be great to see a deeper or more localized look at the foundation response.
That’s it! See you back here tomorrow. Sign up for the weekly email, Best of the Week, which comes out Fridays around noon Eastern.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Russo
Alexander Russo is founder and editor of The Grade, an award-winning effort to help improve media coverage of education issues. He’s also a Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship winner and a book author. You can reach him at @alexanderrusso.
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