The State of Education: Disparities and Solutions Found Across the National Landscape
This past week I ventured to our nation’s capital to gain a
beyond-the-Berkshires perspective of what’s trending, challenging
and progressing in the education landscape.
I joined a few hundred education writers and field professionals
on the campus of Georgetown University in attending the 70th
annual National Seminar of the Education Writers Association. The
event’s theme was, “A New Era for Education and the Press,” and
the seminar featured more than 80 opportunities to learn and talk
about issues ranging from, “Making Child Care Both Affordable and
High Quality,” to “The Push to Upgrade Media Literacy” to “The
Future of Title IX in Higher Education.”
Indeed, times are changing for schools, for educators, parents,
and of course, students. Meanwhile, policy makers and community
leaders are expected to keep up to ensure education is fair,
equitable and accessible. But not everyone’s meeting in the
middle of the road. In fact, many of the sessions highlighted
chronic inequalities and achievement gaps across states, despite
efforts like the Common Core curriculum movement and the federal
Every Student Succeeds Act. But the programs also spotlighted
some viable solutions which can be modeled and put into practice
across the board.
So in brief, I offer you some insight into three issues I
explored and how they might relate to a community like ours: