The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on college and career preparation opportunities and the ability of students to successfully transition into postsecondary education. The purpose of this letter is to describe how states and local educational agencies (LEAs) can continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by…

In their research- and narrative-filled article, Dr. Beverly Boals Gilbert and Dr. Cathy Grace call for action in providing resources to people living in the rural Mississippi Delta. Dr. Grace draws from personal stories growing up and teaching in rural Arkansas, describing the moment she recognized her own learning gaps, the impact of the…

As U.S. school leaders anticipate the end of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds and contemplate possible budget shortfalls, they will have to make hard choices about how best to leverage limited resources to improve student outcomes. With the stakes high, lawmakers and experts urge school system leaders to rely on research and…

Distance education has been practised for generations, although its purpose and form have changed. Correspondence courses, in which students receive instruction via mail and respond with assignments or questions to the instructor, date back to the mid-1800s, if not earlier. As technology changed, so did the nature of distance education. Radio,…

In June, President Biden announced a comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and other violent crime, including preventive measures proven to reduce violent crime and attack its root causes. This strategy encourages using the American Rescue Plan's (ARP's) historic funding levels, including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency…

International students have contributed to the internationalization and diversification of U.S. higher education; yet, when COVID-19 struck, it became evident that this subset of the U.S. higher education student population was left unaccounted for and unprotected. This manuscript underscores the unimaginable damage and disruption that can occur…

This paper details the oscillation between the aesthetic and political response to the refugee crisis as seen through the eyes of the UK's emergency response committee COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) and its alternative COBRA RES. Firstly, it examines the interjection of the official COBRA Committee within the image-economy of crisis,…

This reflective essay is written based on the author's experience as a study abroad program visiting resident director in Japan during the 2019-2020 academic year. As the resident director, the author served as the front line of communication and support for the international students on this program during an unprecedented crisis that impacted…

Classrooms are often the first settings in which students learn what it means to be civically engaged; and when students choose to use demonstrations and protests as a tool for civic engagement, school buildings, grounds, and communities are often selected as the setting. While demonstrations and protests (and the themes and events that prompted…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

With the 2022 midterm elections behind us and 2023 state legislative sessions ahead, policymakers must shift their time and attention from winning reelection to addressing the perfect storm brewing in education. Three significant challenges paint a grim picture for students and public schools unless policymakers step in to help: catastrophic…

The Coalition for Community Schools (Coalition), as an alliance of national, state and local partners that advocate for community schools, wanted to provide support and a space for community school leaders to share their challenges and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning March 17, 2020 through the present, the Coalition conducted…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented various challenges for education agencies and their whole school community partners. From creating plans to help ensure continuity of teaching and learning via in-person, virtual, or hybrid models to adjusting plans to help ensure that feeding and food distribution can continue, school…

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, and the previous relief packages, states, districts, and schools have significant federal resources available to implement evidence-based and practitioner-informed strategies to meet the needs of students related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This document includes…

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis of proportions not seen in generations. In the spring of 2020, all 50 states were simultaneously under a disaster declaration (U.S. News, 2020) and most communities began to require distancing in order to mitigate virus spread. As a result, schools closed and distance learning and telehealth became…