Friday, April 23, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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Editor’s note: This guest column was signed by CCSD Parents Facebook Group; Children’s Advocacy Alliance; Communities in Schools of Nevada; CORE, powered by the Rogers Foundation; Educate Nevada Now; Empower Nevada’s Teachers; HOPE for Nevada; Infinity: Diversity Matters; Leaders in Training (LIT); Nevada Partners; Nevada PTA; Nevada Succeeds; Opportunity 180; RISE Up Nevada; Teach For America Las Vegas; Teach Plus Nevada; the Public Education Foundation; and United Way of Southern Nevada.
Throughout the pandemic, Nevada students and educators have responded with resiliency and demonstrated a heroic ability to adapt. Now, as Nevadans work toward a full-time return to school buildings across the state, we have a renewed opportunity to ensure schools are the safe, supportive environments our students need.
The infusion of significant amounts of one-time funding from the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 presents a timely lifeline for Nevada’s students. Nevada education has consistently been under-resourced and student outcomes have historically lagged behind. The pandemic exacerbated our struggles, increasing learning gaps and affecting overall student wellness, exponentially increasing the need to address critical funding gaps.
We, the undersigned, believe state and local leadership have a meaningful opportunity to transparently utilize the infusion of federal funds to meaningfully change the trajectory of our students’ futures.
Below we have outlined high-impact areas of focus that we believe should guide the use of the federal dollars across public education in Nevada:
Flexible implementation
These temporary federal funds cannot be used to pay for long-term expenses or supplant state-required support for education. Rather than piling on more mandates, we should address urgent needs of students by allowing opportunities to implement community-centered, high-impact, equitable and flexible solutions.
Equity-focused academic supports to close learning gaps
All children in every Nevada community deserve the right to succeed, but recovery cannot be one-size-fits-all. The impacts of the pandemic destabilized communities and the lives of students. Students with special needs and students in poverty without stable housing or internet connectivity were least likely to have meaningful access to distance learning.
Each student will need a unique set of supports and opportunities, along with a strategy for measuring and celebrating their progress, all activities should be grounded in equity with a priority for our highest-needs students. Students should have access to grade-level materials, while also receiving support to close any existing gaps.
Caring for the whole child
Academics are not the only measure of a thriving student. Social-emotional health and overall well-being are integral components that contribute to a child’s success. As we enter the new phase of recovery, it is necessary to deepen our commitment to responsive, nurturing school environments. The road ahead must include comprehensive, accessible social and emotional support for students.
Safe and secure in-person learning environments
Student, family and school staff safety must be prioritized as school buildings continue to reopen and the entire state moves toward in-person learning. We must ensure that operations, services and staff employment continue seamlessly, with clearly defined and measurable safety protocols in place statewide. Infrastructure and maintenance issues must be addressed to remove health and safety barriers that affect learning.
Support for high-quality remote learning
Families must have options to define the safest way for their students to learn. Families who choose to continue distance or hybrid learning must have access to high-quality instruction with educators who have been provided training, platforms and tools to share best practices.
Family and community communication and connection
The pandemic provided a new imperative for communities to come together to support students and families. Further, the need for school-family partnerships has never been greater. Schools with strong family engagement and partnerships have had the most success transitioning throughout many uncertainties. Schools can continue to strengthen their partnership with families and the community at large to work toward the shared goal of student success when provided with necessary resources.
Collaboration will be critical to the success of any effort. This work cannot be done in silos. Opportunities should be created to actively share ideas, resources and lessons learned to set educators, families and students up for success.
This one-time shot in the arm is an opportunity for our schools to demonstrate to the public that additional funds and resources do work. We look forward to public opportunities to provide input in developing a plan with our state and local leadership. To do this we propose the development of a Promise Tracker that accounts for how funds are used and what supports and flexibilities are provided to our schools and districts to be innovative and effectively carry out their goals and expectations. We stand by ready to assist and continue advocating for resources so our students are not faced with a cliff when the federal funds expire.
Students love and miss school. We know education plays a critical role in our society and it’s up to us to give students and educators the school experience they deserve.
