Issues

January 13, 2021

Education Week, Vol. 40, Issue 18
Police hold back Trump supporters who tried to break through a police barrier on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
Police hold back pro-Trump rioters who tried to break through a police barrier Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol.
Julio Cortez/AP
Social Studies Insurgency at the U.S. Capitol: A Dreaded, Real-Life Lesson Facing Teachers
Classroom teachers have the difficult task this week of helping their students make sense of what happened at the Capitol.
Madeline Will & Stephen Sawchuk, January 6, 2021
9 min read
Valerie Kelly, a 5th grade teacher in Vincennes, Ind., receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 28, 2020.
Valerie Kelly, a 5th grade teacher in Vincennes, Ind., receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 28.
Courtesy of Valerie Kelly
Teaching Profession Teachers Are Already Getting COVID-19 Vaccines
Some counties in Indiana began vaccinating teachers this week, ahead of schedule.
Madeline Will, December 30, 2020
4 min read
Austin High School musical theater teacher and instructional coach Annie Dragoo has three underlying health conditions noted by the CDC as being high-risk for coronavirus complications, but was denied a waiver to continue working from home in 2021.
Austin High School musical theater teacher and instructional coach Annie Dragoo has three underlying health conditions noted by the CDC as being high-risk for coronavirus complications, but was denied a waiver to continue working from home in 2021.
Julia Robinson for Education Week
Teaching Profession High Risk for COVID-19 and Forced Back to Class: One Teacher's Story
One theater teacher in Austin has a serious heart condition and cancer, but was denied the ability to work remotely. Here is her story.
Madeline Will, December 31, 2020
9 min read
State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, right, and Gov. Ned Lamont talk during a 2019 forum on improving public school education.
Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, right, and Gov. Ned Lamont talk during a 2019 forum on improving public education.
Christopher Keating/Hartford Courant/TNS
Federal An Early Honeymoon for Miguel Cardona Could Be Tested by Biden's Push to Reopen Schools
Biden's favorite for education secretary is being praised, for now, for what he is and is not by different factions.
Andrew Ujifusa, December 22, 2020
7 min read
Miguel Cardona, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Education, speaks after being introduced at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., on Dec. 23, 2020.
Miguel Cardona, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Education, speaks after being introduced at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., on Dec. 23, 2020.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal Where Biden's Choice for Education Secretary Stands on Key K-12 Issues
Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, Biden's pick for education secretary, has taken positions on an array of K-12 issues.
Evie Blad, December 22, 2020
8 min read
Photograph of T.C. Williams High School from King Street Facing North.
Students are involved in renaming T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. The storied school was originally named for a former superintendent who was an avowed segregationist.
Photo by Addisnog – licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
Teaching & Learning With Name Changes, Schools Transform Racial Reckoning Into Real-Life Civics Lessons
Educators and students find educational value in an effort to rename the school made famous by the movie “Remember the Titans.”
Corey Mitchell, December 18, 2020
7 min read
Image shows an illustration of a hand coming through a computer and grading a paper.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Achievement Should Schools Be Giving So Many Failing Grades This Year?
As the pandemic rages, schools are seeing a parallel surge in the numbers of students with Ds and Fs.
Stephen Sawchuk, December 11, 2020
12 min read
In this Thursday, May 23, 2013 photo, students line up for recess at Jay W. Jeffers Elementary School in Las Vegas. More than 80 of the school's incoming kindergartners don’t speak English.
In this Thursday, May 23, 2013 photo, students line up for recess at Jay W. Jeffers Elementary School in Las Vegas. More than 80 percent of the school's incoming kindergartners don’t speak English.
Julie Jacobson/AP
English-Language Learners Millions of ELL Students Face Prospect of In-Person, Federal Testing During COVID-19
As the coronavirus surges, ELL advocates and testing groups weigh the value of remote testing.
Corey Mitchell, December 22, 2020
7 min read
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at the U.S. Department of Education building on July 8, 2020. DeVos resigned her position Thursday.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at the U.S. Department of Education building on July 8, 2020. DeVos resigned her position Thursday.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal Betsy DeVos Resigns a Day After Pro-Trump Mob Storms U.S. Capitol
One of the president's longest-serving cabinet members, DeVos had previously denounced the Jan. 6 insurrection in Washington.
Andrew Ujifusa & Evie Blad, January 7, 2021
4 min read
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
Pro-Trump rioters try to break through a police barrier at the U.S. Capitol.
John Minchillo/AP
Student Well-Being Caring for Students in the Wake of a Traumatic News Event
How educators can help students unpack emotions in the wake of troubling news events in a way that clears space for learning.
Evie Blad, January 6, 2021
5 min read
people hold hands in solidarity forming a chain
iStock/Getty
Federal Opinion How the Biden Administration Can Restore Civil Rights in Ed. Policy
Reversing Trump administration cuts to civil rights protections should be a top priority for President-elect Joe Biden, write five researchers.
Kathryn McDermott, Janelle Scott, Erica Frankenberg, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley & Elizabeth DeBray, December 18, 2020
5 min read
many monitors, some with students others empty
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion We've Got to Talk About Remote Student Absenteeism
What can we do when skipping school is as easy as not pressing a button, asks Assistant Principal Patrick Hunt.
Patrick Hunt, January 13, 2021
4 min read
Reading & Literacy Letter to the Editor More Books, Not More Phonics
Reading in areas of interest can help improve reading comprehension, writes a researcher in a letter to the editor.
January 11, 2021
1 min read
Illustration shown.
Nip Rogers for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion How to Make Anti-Racism More Than a Performance
Whether white people are ready or not, policies have to change, writes the co-founder of the Abolitionist Teaching Network.
Bettina L. Love, January 12, 2021
5 min read