Education Post: Parents Are Rebuilding School, and Systems Must Follow Their Lead To Create Equity
The following is an excerpt from an opinion piece in Education Post by digiLEARN founder Gov. Bev Perdue. For the full article, click here.
As we prepare to send our children back to school in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis—a unique and terrible event I hope we never repeat—we cannot miss the opportunity to deconstruct and rebuild K-12 education for the 21st century.
Over the last few weeks, school districts across the country have made the hard decision about what the new school year will look like, with many opting for virtual classes to start the year. As more districts move to virtual or blended in-person and virtual learning, parents are desperately searching for ways to manage their children’s learning and their own jobs and responsibilities.
While virtual learning is the healthiest option, 65% of parents are at least somewhat concerned about their ability to juggle the responsibilities that come with balancing their work and supporting their children’s online learning. And the options are slim or nonexistent for low-income children and their parents, which means inequities, racial segregation, and the opportunity gap within schools are being further exacerbated.
