It’s no secret that the pandemic and the schooling disruptions it created have exacerbated long-running inequities among students from different races, ability levels, and economic backgrounds. In an EdWeek Research Center survey conducted this year, 65 percent of teachers and administrators said they were more concerned now than prior to the pandemic about closing academic opportunity gaps among different groups of students.
How badly have we stumbled on educational equity and where? We’ll assess the state of equity in a handful of key areas, including segregated schooling, educational technology, students’ access to advanced academics and English-language instruction, and school discipline, and explore what’s next.
Join us for a lively discussion about these topics with educators and experts.
First time K-12 Essentials Forum attendee? Learn more about our virtual forums.
Agenda
2:00pm ET
Welcome and Introduction
We’ll review key takeaways from recent reporting on education equity.
2:20pm ET
Industry Perspective: Skills vs. Meaning: Understanding the Language Landscape for Emergent Bilinguals
Content provided by Lexia
The heavy focus on the science of reading in the language curriculum provides an opportunity to consider how reading instruction and its changing landscape affects language instruction and acquisition for emergent bilinguals.
Join Lexia® educational expert Maya Goodall as she discusses the nuances within language learning from a focus on meaning making vs. skill building. Instead of being at odds, these two important aspects of English language acquisition should be seen as symbiotic and underscored as part of the complexity of becoming bilingual.
The heavy focus on the science of reading in the language curriculum provides an opportunity to consider how reading instruction and its changing landscape affects language instruction and acquisition for emergent bilinguals.
Join Lexia® educational expert Maya Goodall as she discusses the nuances within language learning from a focus on meaning making vs. skill building. Instead of being at odds, these two important aspects of English language acquisition should be seen as symbiotic and underscored as part of the complexity of becoming bilingual.
2:30pm ET
Panel Discussion: Where We Are Now With Education Equity?
Education Week staff writers discuss how the pandemic affected existing educational disparities.
Ileana Najarro is a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in schools across the country.
Eesha Pendharkar was a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in education.
Mark Walsh covers education law and the U.S. Supreme Court for Education Week.
3:15pm ET
Industry Perspective: Must Ask Data Questions that Achieve an Equity-based MTSS
Content provided by Panorama
Attendance and grades. Disciplinary trends. Student voice. Our schools gather tons of data as starting points for decisions that impact student success. But to achieve this impact equitably, we must ask questions that identify differences in how groups experience school. Led by 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi, this session will examine how we can engage in data inquiry practices that illuminate trends such as group differences and show where resources must be allocated to address disparities.
Attendance and grades. Disciplinary trends. Student voice. Our schools gather tons of data as starting points for decisions that impact student success. But to achieve this impact equitably, we must ask questions that identify differences in how groups experience school. Led by 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi, this session will examine how we can engage in data inquiry practices that illuminate trends such as group differences and show where resources must be allocated to address disparities.
Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi is the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, Professional Learning Director for Community Events at Panorama Education, and a former high school AP English and research teacher in New Bedford, Mass.
3:25pm ET
Panel Discussion: Back to the Beginning? School Resegregation and the U.S. Supreme Court
K-12 schools are slowly resegregating, according to a growing body of statistics. Should the Supreme Court take that into account as it weighs race-based admissions policies for colleges and universities?
Mark Walsh covers education law and the U.S. Supreme Court for Education Week.
John Borkowski
Education Lawyer; Parnter,
Husch Blackwell
For nearly four decades, Borkowski has defended and protected education clients so that they can advance their missions. He focuses much of his practice on higher education litigation and government investigations but has extensive experience working with K-12 schools as well. A seasoned litigator, he has tried cases in federal and state courts nationwide, argued appeals in nearly all federal judicial circuits, and defended clients before the United States Supreme Court as well.
3:55pm ET
Industry Perspective: Understanding the Intersection of Equity + Disability
Content provided by Easterseals
Discover how to better understand and address the educational, health care, and employment experiences of children of color with disabilities, with a particular focus on Black students.
Discover how to better understand and address the educational, health care, and employment experiences of children of color with disabilities, with a particular focus on Black students.
Erika Watson
National Director Childhood Development, Education, and Equity,
Easterseals
4:05pm ET
Interactive Session: Where to Go From Here: How Can Schools Get Back on Track With Equity?
In this interactive polling session, participants share their own experiences with equity in the pandemic area and share ideas for moving forward.
Eesha Pendharkar was a reporter for Education Week covering race and opportunity in education.
4:20pm ET
Closing Thoughts
Coverage of race, opportunity, and equity is supported in part by:
