Letter to the Editor
Education Week takes no editorial positions but welcomes the opinions, comments, and ideas of its readers. Here are their letters
College & Workforce Readiness
Letter to the Editor
Are Students Ready for Post-Pandemic Reality?
Schools must make improving students' essential skills a priority for college and career success, says the CEO and president of CAE.
Education Funding
Letter to the Editor
Student Need Should Drive Outlay of Federal Dollars
Schools and districts need substantial, transparent funding like never before, says an Educational Resource Strategies partner.
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.
School Choice & Charters
Letter to the Editor
Are NOLA Charters a Mixed Bag?
To the Editor:
The opinion essay by Douglas N. Harris about how New Orleans’ education reforms post-Katrina are relevant to the COVID-19 era (“As Schools Recover After COVID-19, Look to New Orleans,” Sept. 30, 2020) highlights some basic improvements in the NOLA system but downplays the most significant aspects of those changes: the impact on people of color.
The opinion essay by Douglas N. Harris about how New Orleans’ education reforms post-Katrina are relevant to the COVID-19 era (“As Schools Recover After COVID-19, Look to New Orleans,” Sept. 30, 2020) highlights some basic improvements in the NOLA system but downplays the most significant aspects of those changes: the impact on people of color.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Invisibility to Inclusivity for LGBTQ Students
To the Editor:
I read with interest “The Essential Traits of a Positive School Climate” (Special Report: “Getting School Climate Right: A Guide for Principals,” Oct. 14, 2020). The EdWeek Research Center survey of principals and teachers provides interesting insight as to why there are still school climate issues for LGBTQ students.
I read with interest “The Essential Traits of a Positive School Climate” (Special Report: “Getting School Climate Right: A Guide for Principals,” Oct. 14, 2020). The EdWeek Research Center survey of principals and teachers provides interesting insight as to why there are still school climate issues for LGBTQ students.
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Curriculum as a Lever for Racial Equity
To the Editor:
The special report "Big Ideas for Confronting Racism in Education" (Sept. 23, 2020) highlighted essential ingredients for creating anti-racist schools, including better teacher preparation, expanded anti-bias training, and universal internet access, among others.
The special report "Big Ideas for Confronting Racism in Education" (Sept. 23, 2020) highlighted essential ingredients for creating anti-racist schools, including better teacher preparation, expanded anti-bias training, and universal internet access, among others.
Equity & Diversity
Letter to the Editor
Critical Race Theory Doesn't Help Kids
To the Editor:
In the October 7 issue, David E. DeMatthews and Terri N. Watson claim that critical race theory "is not propaganda or anti-American" ("No, Critical Race Theory Isn't 'Anti-American'"). They are wrong on both counts.
In the October 7 issue, David E. DeMatthews and Terri N. Watson claim that critical race theory "is not propaganda or anti-American" ("No, Critical Race Theory Isn't 'Anti-American'"). They are wrong on both counts.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Keep Your Social Agenda Out of Education
To the Editor:
Enough with the political articles! The proper purpose of education is the transmission of the knowledge and skills essential to being a productive citizen. It is not the implementation of a misguided social agenda that assigns identities of oppressor or victim and regards preposterous equality of outcomes as proof of equality of opportunity. This emphasis on fixed identity groups effectively disempowers individuals from their agency and attributes difficulties to imagined systemic injustice.
Enough with the political articles! The proper purpose of education is the transmission of the knowledge and skills essential to being a productive citizen. It is not the implementation of a misguided social agenda that assigns identities of oppressor or victim and regards preposterous equality of outcomes as proof of equality of opportunity. This emphasis on fixed identity groups effectively disempowers individuals from their agency and attributes difficulties to imagined systemic injustice.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
District Heads Have the Best Job
To the Editor:
In Education Week’s August 26 issue, a brief discusses a report by the American Enterprise Institute that summarizes a series of conversations with school district or Catholic diocese superintendents ("In Coronavirus Era, Worst-Job Honors Go to District Heads"). The article’s title mischaracterizes the leadership of superintendents in America’s public schools.
In Education Week’s August 26 issue, a brief discusses a report by the American Enterprise Institute that summarizes a series of conversations with school district or Catholic diocese superintendents ("In Coronavirus Era, Worst-Job Honors Go to District Heads"). The article’s title mischaracterizes the leadership of superintendents in America’s public schools.
Classroom Technology
Letter to the Editor
The Dangers of Technologizing School
To the Editor:
The article, "COVID-19 Fuels Big Enrollment Increases in Virtual Schools" (Sept. 3, 2020) raises red flags about virtual schools, but the larger trend of technologizing education is of equal concern.
The article, "COVID-19 Fuels Big Enrollment Increases in Virtual Schools" (Sept. 3, 2020) raises red flags about virtual schools, but the larger trend of technologizing education is of equal concern.
Student Achievement
Letter to the Editor
Effective Tutoring Can Be Affordable
To the Editor:
I was delighted to see the August 19 article, “High-Dosage Tutoring Is Effective, But Expensive: Ideas for Making It Work” (Special Report: How We Go Back to School, www.edweek.org.) However, the article contains a serious misconception. In discussing costs of tutoring, it gave a figure of $3,800 per student based on a highly unusual study of math tutoring in Chicago high schools. The Chicago study is one of very few conducted at the high school level. It provided an extraordinary amount of one-to-two tutoring in mathematics and was unique in many other ways. Tutoring is most often used (and evaluated) in reading and in elementary schools
I was delighted to see the August 19 article, “High-Dosage Tutoring Is Effective, But Expensive: Ideas for Making It Work” (Special Report: How We Go Back to School, www.edweek.org.) However, the article contains a serious misconception. In discussing costs of tutoring, it gave a figure of $3,800 per student based on a highly unusual study of math tutoring in Chicago high schools. The Chicago study is one of very few conducted at the high school level. It provided an extraordinary amount of one-to-two tutoring in mathematics and was unique in many other ways. Tutoring is most often used (and evaluated) in reading and in elementary schools
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Activating Outdoor Spaces for Learning
To the Editor:
Though many districts are delivering instruction completely online this fall, many students will eventually return to school for in-person instruction. To promote continued student safety, experts such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that schools make outdoor learning one of their "highest priorities" when creating plans to reopen buildings. ("Outdoor Classrooms in the Age of COVID-19: Pros and Cons," June 1, 2020).
Though many districts are delivering instruction completely online this fall, many students will eventually return to school for in-person instruction. To promote continued student safety, experts such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that schools make outdoor learning one of their "highest priorities" when creating plans to reopen buildings. ("Outdoor Classrooms in the Age of COVID-19: Pros and Cons," June 1, 2020).
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
Assuaging Technology Fears
To the Editor:
After reading the article "COVID-19 & Remote Learning: How to Make It Work," ("Special Report: How We Go Back to School," July 22, 2020), it looks like school administrators are forgetting the library media specialist again. The article links to a document with six ways educators can help parents with remote learning next school year, but perhaps library media specialists could also provide guidance.
After reading the article "COVID-19 & Remote Learning: How to Make It Work," ("Special Report: How We Go Back to School," July 22, 2020), it looks like school administrators are forgetting the library media specialist again. The article links to a document with six ways educators can help parents with remote learning next school year, but perhaps library media specialists could also provide guidance.
Student Well-Being
Letter to the Editor
Schools Need More to Face Trauma
To the Editor:
We are writing to offer additional considerations related to the opinion essay "Police Violence and COVID-19 Have Been Traumatizing. Here Are Tools That Can Help Schools" (June 16, 2020). While the essay offers an overview of research on trauma with a focus on how schools can identify and respond to children who have been affected, it is missing attention to necessary systems for effective implementation.
We are writing to offer additional considerations related to the opinion essay "Police Violence and COVID-19 Have Been Traumatizing. Here Are Tools That Can Help Schools" (June 16, 2020). While the essay offers an overview of research on trauma with a focus on how schools can identify and respond to children who have been affected, it is missing attention to necessary systems for effective implementation.