Top 10 Education Policy Program Hits from 2020

Over the course of this year, we had the unique opportunity to respond to a movement for racial justice, a global pandemic, and an economic crisis—all with our education and workforce systems caught in the eye of the storm. Our research and policy analysis was designed to meet this unique moment in time, and you all seemed to agree that prioritizing our under-resourced and underserved communities took priority.

This holiday season brings an eagerly anticipated close to the year that was 2020. Let’s roll the end credits with the Education Policy Program’s Most-Viewed Content from 2020!

#10: Supporting Families and Child Care Providers Through COVID-19

At the outset of the pandemic, the early childhood education field was rightly concerned about the status of child care workers and our care systems. In early March, Laura Bornfreund and Aaron Loewenberg uplifted several organizations’ call for Congress to act on emergency funding for child care. This would eventually become the first emergency stimulus package.

#9: Crisis Point

Stephen Burd’s report took aim at public universities that are giving more and more financial aid to wealthy, out-of-state students while low income families simultaneously received less and less much-needed financial aid to afford college. This surge in “merit-aid” hurts the exact local communities that public universities are meant to be serving, foreshadowing higher education’s systemic financial troubles to come.

#8: Supporting Smooth Transitions into Kindergarten During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The transition from pre-k to kindergarten is stressful for families and young learners in normal times, but the pandemic exacerbated already-existing nerves and jitters. In this blog, Aaron Loewenberg and Laura Bornfreund provide suggestions for kindergarten educators to set students up for success before they hop online for this new learning chapter in their lives.

#7: PAYA

This year, the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship welcomed Phase II of their work by convening 950 public and private sector leaders over three days for the PAYA Youth Apprenticeship Summit 2020. PAYA also worked tirelessly with their national network to pivot to virtual formats and position youth apprenticeship as a sustainable recovery strategy for young people suffering most from this economic downturn.

#6: The Invisible Work of Dual Language Educators

At the very beginning of 2020, Elise Franchino threw a spotlight on the “invisible work” of dual language and bilingual educators. Often underpaid and under resourced, these educators are forced to rely on materials that are not readily available in their language of instruction. Instead of spending unnecessary time on translations, DLL and bilingual teachers should have more openly licensed materials at their fingertips.

#5: Everything You Need to Know: Education in the Coronavirus Emergency Bill

We brought all hands on deck for this wide-reaching blog that explained what was included in the Senate’s first coronavirus emergency bill across early education, K12, higher education, and the workforce. Where the bill fell short, we later wrote about federal relief that has the potential to create a more resilient labor market and an equitable funding formula for community college training.

#4: Teacher Competencies that Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching

Jenny Muñiz’s 2019 report on Culturally Responsive Teaching topped last year’s list of 2019’s Top 10 highlights, making it no surprise that her follow up is also highly popular. This report expands on the eight different cultural competencies teachers should adopt in order to create accepting school environments for a diverse body of learners. With these competencies, educators can place students’ everyday cultural experiences at the heart of their teaching strategy.

#3: Digital Resources For EL Students

To virtually meet the needs of the 4.8 million English learners (ELs) impacted by school closures, Amaya Garcia and Elise Franchino shared a list of over thirty digital resources for educators to use alongside their regular curriculum. As schools across the country continue to adapt their response to the pandemic, these tools remain a constant source of learning for ELs.

#2: Pandemic Planning for Distance Learning: Scenarios and Considerations for PreK–12 Education Leaders

Kristina Ishmael, Rebecca Heiser, and Jennifer Payne left no stone unturned in a report that four potential distance learning scenarios for preK-12 school districts: brick to click, click to brick, blended learning, and online learning. Whether schools were in-person or virtual, the report brings up a series of questions for school administrators to use in order to effectively allocate resources and responsibilities among staff.

#1: Online Learning in the Wake of COVID-19

This resource for online learning during the pandemic by Lisa Guernsey, Kristina Ishmael, and Sabia Prescott comes in at our top-read piece of 2020. In it, the Teaching, Learning & Tech team compiled a list of resources to help educators, families, and communities navigate a new normal of teaching and learning. By leaning on open educational resources and smart screen-media usage, educators can advance online access and equity.

Thank you for following our work this year, in past years, and for the years to come. If you don't want to miss content like this next year, you can subscribe to EdCentral to receive weekly updates on the latest in Education Policy or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter at @NewAmericaEd.