TOP TASKS

Changing summer, one camp at a time

“We’re kidding ourselves–those of us who have been doing education reform for a long time–if we think that only academics is going to level the playing field,” Josh Phillips, the CEO of Change Summer tells me in our new video interview. “I think we’re sort of head-in-the-sand unless we just start to think through all of these things in a real holistic manner … unfortunately, the students that we serve don’t have opportunities to do a ton of really fantastic things during the summer.”

Change Summer is an innovative new nonprofit currently running summer camps in partnership with the Uncommon Schools and Achievement First charter networks, serving over 1,000 students this year. “Our campers and students have been cooped up for a long time… many students were out completely for the 2021 school year,” Phillips reflects, “You mentioned your own kids getting to go outside and spend time socializing and being curious and building independence–that’s exactly what we’re doing here. This is about kids from under-resourced communities being able to be themselves … and just have fun.”

Giving parents and students exceptional and creative summer programming is a core policy promise in 50CAN’s Believe in Better framework and with the vast amount of federal funding now available to districts, we have an opportunity to expand the reach of programs like Change Summer across the country.

Insist on transparency

With two-thirds of states’ American Rescue Plan relief dollars released and 39 state education agency plans submitted to the US Department of Education, researchers are starting to dig into how this influx of federal money is being spent. Helping make this kind of analysis possible is an initiative by FutureEd, which brings all the plans together in one place.

Yet, the effort to understand, dollar by dollar and cent by cent, whether this money is being spent in ways that will help kids is challenging in part because so much of the decisions will be made not through these state plans but at the local level. As FutureEd writes, state agencies “have discretion over only 10 percent of the total allocated funding with the remaining 90 percent going to schools districts or charter schools, i.e. local education agencies.”

That’s why advocacy victories like Transform Education Now’s recent win in Colorado, which requires districts to submit a detailed plan on how federal funding will be utilized, are so important. Ensuring this money is well spent starts with ensuring transparency on how it is being spent.

Key Resources

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools launched a call to action to protect charter schools from a provision in the federal budget proposal that, as CNN reports, could cut charter funding by $40 million.

Education Week’s Stephen Sawchuk analyzes the problem of missing and chronically absent students and provides recommendations to district leaders on how to bring them back to the classroom.

EdChoice released their new poll of teachers and educators, finding that most would prefer to be back in the classroom. A majority of teachers also support school choice.

The 74 Million presented research on child abuse over the past year, suggesting schools must be prepared to assist large numbers of students with trauma.

The Aspen Institute hosted the Moonshot Conference on the Future of Education, focusing on students’ ability to access a quality education and the advancement of youth mental health.

Stand Together is out with a new video, featuring Derek Johnson, calling for a revolution to the outdated American education system, including a new system for grading based on mastery.

VELA Education Fund profiled Smart Girls HQ, an organization founded to help support parents of young girls and raise exposure to STEM through hands-on projects.