The coronavirus pandemic has brought a crisis in public schooling, as school buildings sit empty and many educators struggle to teach lessons, give tests and convene class meetings online.
It’s a crisis, yes. But it’s also an opportunity for a revolution in public education — one in which kids come out on top.
For all their smart boards, parent portals and class websites, most public schools operate on a 1900s-era learning model. Before Covid-19 shut down schools, most students had to report to classrooms each day, log state-mandated “seat time,” and progress (or not) through a one-size-fits all curriculum.
Even as district leaders race to roll out virtual programs, an Education Week survey found most are ill-prepared. Four in ten of the 1,200 surveyed said they can’t provide at-home learning to every student “for even one day,” the newspaper found. “Only 22 percent said they could make those opportunities available ‘as long as we needed to.’ ”
Access to technology presents a huge barrier, as schools struggle to reach students who lack laptops and high-speed internet due to poverty or rural location. That gap has led many districts to offer a patchwork of online and pencil-and-paper learning plans, and some to forgo online instruction altogether. Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said, “If that’s not available to all children, we cannot make it available to some.”
In the short term, there are no easy fixes. But after we’ve done the triage needed to finish this school year, educators, lawmakers and technology innovators must lay the groundwork for a makeover of public education that uses technology to shape learning for each student’s needs.
Here are three ideas, rooted in my experience leading traditional public schools and, in recent years, building a national network of nontraditional schools that help once-underserved students with a blend of online learning and intensive personal attention.
Fund equal access to educational technology. It’s up to Congress, state legislatures and local school districts to adopt budgets that guarantee all students — regardless of location or family income — access to the devices, platforms and connectivity they need to learn not only at school, but at home.
And, as Mark Wilson recently wrote in Fast Company, device makers Apple, Google, Microsoft and cable and wireless providers such as Xfinity, Verizon and T-Mobile should share some of the millions of dollars they’ve earned from the internet revolution to bring affordable online education to every home.
Build virtual learning into every student’s routine. Online learning platforms allow teachers to blend traditional group instruction with the chance for each student to progress at their own pace, passing a course only after proving subject mastery. Fast learners move ahead at a stimulating pace, while teachers have more time to help gifted and struggling learners alike.
Then, the next time disaster strikes, students can take their laptops home and continue without a hitch. As our nontraditional schools have found, having woven that technology into learning plans made it much easier to transition to a fully online model.
Loosen the “seat time” requirements that straitjacket schools and students alike. States like Georgia, New York and Washington are showing the way to a system that allows schools to reward students for mastering subjects rather than simply logging hours in a classroom.
That flexibility opens the door to highly personalized learning plans, but it’s far from the norm.
A 2019 report by the Foundation for Excellence in Education found that 32 states and the District of Columbia have moved decisively toward experimenting with such innovation, although the amount of flexibility varies. The remaining ones have taken some steps but still lag behind.
If we begin now, we can use this horrific public health crisis to inspire a long-term transformation of public schooling. Using imagination and 21st century innovation, we can give students the flexibility they need to learn no matter where, no matter what.
JOSEPH WISE IS THE CO-FOUNDER OF ACCELERATION ACADEMIES, A NETWORK OF NONTRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS AIMED AT REENGAGING STUDENTS WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE DROP OUT; AND OF DISTINCTIVE SCHOOLS, A CHARTER SCHOOL NETWORK FOCUSED ON UNDERSERVED K-12 STUDENTS. HE IS ALSO CEO OF THE EDUCATION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE, WHICH WORKS WITH COMPANIES AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERS TO IMPROVE SCHOOL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. THIS COMMENTARY ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE ORLANDO SENTINEL.