I'm watching the council roundtable on #learningloss from @councilofdc and here are some in-the-moment musings...

I'm curious about the fall to fall projection as it pertains to math. I've often run up against the challenge of how to measure year-over-year growth when the content itself is changing. Some math builds on itself, but some becomes new at different grade levels...

Unclear how to use i-ready to determine this (or a PARCC modeling system) when the point/scaled scores of far below/below/on & above grade level shift at each grade. Meaning a 368 as Kindergartner doesn't mean the same thing as a 368 in the first grade.

Brooks from @empowerk12 just shared that testing windows had to be expanded to 8-10 weeks given virtual challenges. As we continue discussing keeping PARCC for this year I am concerned with losing that many weeks of instruction (or instructors as SPED/ELL staff are pulled)

On the whole I'm concerned with how our language and the way we talk about students and families lives alongside the #learningloss conversation. One ex. is that it was just shared that cameras off is an example of "checking out." This convo is rife with the potential for bias...

...& deficit-based thinking and policy-creating. Now as another researcher shares about "double dose" math I can say as someone who worked at an extended year school that more of the same that didn't work historically does not equal better.

Early in the pandemic edutwitter was full of big thinking for reminagining education. Now it just seems like we want more testing measures to get more data to place kids into groups for more drill of skills rather than doubling down on enriching and extending understanding

I should add, listening to Catapult, that the last 3 presenters have named teacher burnout and the incredible work of teachers and them balancing impossible professional & personal demands. AND THEN they turn right around to talk about teaching more, longer, over the summer.

We HAVE to address the way we wield equity to mean "high dosage tutoring" and interrogate who we use it for. So far I've heard "at risk", "high poverty" "low income" "behind" "struggling" "special education".

My initial question when rolling out extended year in DCPS is why at my school and not Murch? Or Janney? Why do some kids (white) get enrichment programs over the summer or sports camps to move their bodies but my students need more time in buildings doing math or reading?

There HAS to be a way where we can acknowledge our students are not on the same pace of learning of years past during a global pandemic & also name that we made that pace & can unmake & remake and reshape it as needed so that all students benefit from deep exploration as learning

Glad to hear about some math-program specifics from Promise around developing a mathematical identity & developing problem solving as key components of a math block. I will say that teaching a key grade concept via small groups inherently leads to disparate outcomes...

I'm glad to hear commitments to ongoing problem solving & reasoning-building & not just adding more practice. We MUST prioritize this & not just skill-based small groups. I'm hoping more experts address the grappling & productive struggle our Ss deserve & are capable of

I'm so glad to hear about the need to set aside TIME and structures to support SEL & culturally responsive teaching. My question is - what are we willing to take away so that we can make space for students & educators to do this critical work & time to do it justice?

Glad to hear this presenter say that assessment should be focused around formatives to inform instruction and to not fall into the trap of letting it be gatekeeping. The moment we "pre-diagnose" what students know now we run the risk of predetermining what they are capable of.

Now this Harvard presenter is talking about how extending the day/year is expensive & don't actually work to improve data but also that they were excited by how KIPP add 50% more learning time? They are saying this time should be for teacher collab, small group teaching...

on the extending the year i.e. typical summer school but a collab. with community orgs to make space to deepen relationships, build SEL, enriching activities (karate, swimming) as well as tutoring. & Teacher volunteers only."

She is now on " We need to take a hard look at the academic priorities - what do Ss need to know / do for work, & be happy/health. They need to problem solve, speak publicly, write convincingly & we need to change our accountability systems to take these into account"

She argues that schools cannot do this alone and references the money from Biden/Harris plan it would take to implement some of these enrichments.

Glad to hear this expert share that there isn't a silver bullet to "fix" based on what we've seen from the school reform mvmt. but that we must mobilize community resources, incentivize teacher creativity.

He continues about exploring art in math and not just in art class; that we need "all hands on deck" to help all of us recover and that we STRENGTHEN our regular school day w/enrichment. That we acknowledge & support educators to make this happen.

He closes with the FIRST time i've heard someone speak from the student experience: "kids will vote with their feet if experiences aren't working for them". So glad to hear someone centering a student experience and we need so much more of that.

This former SLP from Irvine shares how NAEP data shows that remediation means students improve but never approach grade level & so we need to focus on accelerating learning not remediation. She says that we have NOT done acceleration well and that it takes true restructuring...

& revamping PD, smaller class sizes, scaling back our scopes & sequences for depth not breadth & that "in order to accelerate we might need to pull back. We have to innovate we don't have a choice." She argues incremental change will not cut it.

"Business as usual is no longer sufficient." I'm going to let that quote from Dr. Washington speak for itself.

Ok y'all gotta jet to get my son from daycare. Someone else take over this EL Haynes testimony :)

Wait ok one last thing - thank you @ELHaynesPCS for speaking to the NUANCE of this time. The importance of teacher observations & noticings when virtual assessments are insufficient. "We cannot say that all or most of our Ss are only experiencing learning loss"

She says "Classes are more than places where kids learn complex math or to read. They are places for joy & connection" YES YES YES. You know this gal loves some complexifying and nuancing of some singular learning loss stories. Ok now I'm off.

Everybody should go watch the start of this Thurgood Marshall testimony, centering the voices of his Ss & the community. He reframes the issue as one that is not of loss but rather one of pacing & moving more slowly through the curriculum (at MOY 1/3 through not 1/2)

Back for questioning of CMs. Hoping we can take a look at Dallas & Boston for their summer enrichment in partnership with community orgs per the request of Dr. Peterson. Now @Janeese4DC is asking specifically about practices to support teachers & their need to avoid burnout:

*Correction he says it ISN'T BURNOUT it's demoralization. Burnout can be fixed by wellness & self-care as we move forward but current conditions set up Ts to spin our wheels to seek out success in impossible situations & so we must actually change the conditions of teaching

Listening to CMs talk about how DC struggles with coordination of services - and then we have this zinger - "unless you address the impact of poverty you will never address the impact of school gaps and that is done with intermediaries"

A DC principal is sharing that they aren't even thinking about implementing some of the changes mentioned today because they are so worried about their budgets this year to keep doing what they've been doing as budgets are tied to (declining) enrollment (!!)

It needs to be said about schools that implement extended day/year models is that the educators in them are overwhelmingly younger, without children, newer to teaching. When we think about educators we are already at risk of losing from the profession (b/c of disprop. impact...

...of having a family & balancing challenges of the racialized impact of COVID, etc). We are already losing educators during this impossible time and I worry that moving towards these all-in charter models will exacerbate that, esp. with our veteran educators.

Principal Weeden just called the council all the way in around the hand-wringing they are showing about how hard it is to coordinate systems. He says "we are not allowed to be mediocre and you cannot allow yourselves to be mediocre either"

Glad to hear @DMEforDC speak to the necessity of innovation - but bringing in kids over their vacation breaks for learning w/o completely reimagining what that learning is & should be will not work.

Historically in our city, the more a school is labeled 'struggling' the less control it has to innovate (the more Central Office mandates that school must follow). There are "autonomous" schools that have the power to innovate, but they are in NW and serve disprop. white Ss.

Now Dr. Kim has a DCPS update: she starts w/what Ss are learning that is new and good (digital skills, flexing their resilience, etc) before jumping into DIBELS concerns for K-2 reading. Now sharing about TUDA & doubles down on the message DC is the fastest growing urban district

She cites the Living Through History Cornerstone, LEAP and Family Cornerstones as evidence of strengths. She says the need to reimagine Ss experience to be "relevant, connected, purposeful, and develops their agency"

That DCPS needs to invest more in Ts b/c they are the ones creating the conditions for Ss to thrive & re envision systems & policies to be antiracist.

Does this mean we won't takeing PARCC this year? @DrIbram launched our SY20-21 speaking to the role of testing in eugenics & racist outcomes for students. Would love to see DCPS examine how the policies they enforce perpetuate harm and take away precious time from learning

I have to go feed my family but I'll sum it up: this panel wants longer days/years & high-dose tutoring. Please see some of my concerns about both of these highlighted above. Here is where I'm landing on the #learningloss convo & my goal is to make my learning around this public:

1) Systems designed by the city got us into this mess and we can't double down on these systems to get us out of it. More of what we've been doing (that hasn't worked!) ain't gonna fix this y'all.

2) We can't talk about our students, families, or educators with admiration & then also turn around & promote policies that do not center their voices or experiences. Without asking them what they want and need and LISTEN.

3) We can't claim a commitment to equity or antiracism without addressing how our learning loss narrative is steeped in bias & simplifies our students' experiences to a dangerous single story ( @ChimamandaReal). Nuance is messy but is necessary, and is missing from this convo.

4) We must align all of our structures to allow students the opportunity to do deep, meaningful exploration of content - regardless of our perceptions of their incoming "gaps" or "levels." This means reimagining our curriculums & trusting the expert insight of our families & Ts.

5) Lastly we must not let the lack of imagination of the grownups limit the potential of our students. This year has been hard & families (& educators) have made impossible choices. We can admit that without doubling down on a deficit model narrative of our Ss & all they can do.

Thanks for humoring my tweet rambles & giving grace for my typos. I'd love to engage further with anyone, city official, colleague or community member, who wants to talk further about what's been shared in this roundtable! (and I'll commit to continue elevating my learning)/fin