CRPE in the media, COVID-19

CRPE in the news – Responding to education changes due to COVID-19

UW Bothell’s education center, Center for Reinventing Public Education, has pivoted their research focus to provide support and expertise in response to K-12 education affected by COVID-19 closures. This page includes news stories about CRPE from April – June 2020

June 2020

• ‘This is hell’: Parents and kids hate online classes. Going back to school likely will include more of it. Usatoday.com, June 29, 2020
  Nationwide, only one in three districts expected teachers to provide remote instruction and monitor students’ academic engagement this spring, according to a study that tracked 477 districts. “There wasn’t a lot in the way of interventions for kids who were falling off,” said Robin Lake, director of CRPE, a nonpartisan research group in Washington state that conducted the study.
• How Much Are Children Falling Behind In School Because Of COVID-19 Pandemic? Wbur.org, June 29, 2020
  Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• Let’s Not Overlook Education of Military Kids in Responding to COVID-19, Heritage.org, June 28, 2020
  America’s service members long have been concerned about the lack of access to effective schools for their children. An estimated one-third of school districts tracked by CRPE are not requiring schools to provide remote instruction.
• Made in America: COVID-19 and the United States’ Immigrant Students, Thepolitic.org, June 26, 2020
  Across the country, students already at a disadvantage—students who are too often first- or second-generation immigrants—are on the verge of being completely left behind as learning has moved online. “Unless we get serious about flattening the learning loss curve,… too many students could go into academic death spirals,” said Robin Lake, director of CRPE, in remarks delivered to the House Education and Labor Committee on May 7.
• Ambitious Research Project — to Review How Every School in America Responded to COVID-19 — Aims to Deliver Its First Findings in Early July, The74million.org, June 26, 2020 
  CRPE has been tracking remote learning efforts for months as well.
• Schools need to reopen: Continued closures will only widen the divide in learning, Post-gazette.com, June 26, 2020
  Of all the lessons learned during the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, one of the most important was something parents and educators likely agree on: We need schools to reopen in the fall and get students back in the classroom. The gaps in learning and actual teacher instruction were particularly notable when comparing rural and urban districts and affluent and low-income districts, according to CRPE, an education think tank.
• How K–12 Schools Are Doing Summer School Virtually, Edtechmagazine.com, June 25, 2020
  In the era of social distancing, many districts adopted alternative methods to best accommodate learning for students during the summer. Experts from CRPE, a nonpartisan education research center, say that this summer is still a missed opportunity for many districts.
• COVID-19 shutdown: A crash course in problems with schools’ over-regulation, Aei.org, June 24, 2020
  This spring was a dismal one for America’s schools. CRPE looked at 477 school districts and found that, even as the school year was winding down, just one in three expected all teachers to deliver instruction.
• Failure in the Virtual Classroom, Wsj.com, June 22, 2020
  The remote-learning experiment isn’t going well. This month CRPE published a report looking at how 477 school districts nationwide have responded to the Covid-19 crisis.
• Closing Schools Was a Grievous Error, Realcleareducation.com, Jun 22, 2020
  Education leaders across the country are trying to determine whether and when they can safely reopen K-12 schools. During the lockdown, only one-fifth of the school districts surveyed by CRPE—including districts in many of America’s most populous cities—required their teachers to provide live online video lessons to students.
• Why Schools Are Not Holding Students Back to Address COVID-19 Learning Loss, Edweek.org, June 18, 2020
  One thing is clear from this spring: Countless students will start next school year with considerable learning loss. Bree Dusseault, the practitioner-in-residence at CRPE, said that many schools in the organization’s database of district coronavirus responses adopted a do-no-harm approach to grading for these past few months—switching to a pass/fail system, for example, or saying that students’ grades could only be improved during this time period, not lowered.
• King: US faces ‘pivot point’ in getting students access to internet, devices, Educationdive.com, June 17, 2020
  Former education secretary John King’s comments come as more than 500 superintendents say connectivity gaps would hinder fall distance learning. Organized by nonprofit Common Sense Media — and including Robin Lake, director of CRPE — the media call focused especially on a Democrat-sponsored bill in the Senate that would appropriate $4 billion in E-Rate funding for internet and devices.
• New information helps parents understand school district plans for remote and summer learning, Blog.greatschools.org, June 17, 2020
  GreatSchools.org partners with the CRPE to shine the light on what district do — and do not — provide during school closures.
• Just 1 in 3 Districts Required Teachers to Deliver Instruction This Spring. They Mustn’t Be Left On Their Own Again in the Fall, The74million.org, June 16, 2020
  Researchers at CRPE spent this spring analyzing 82 school districts’ responses to COVID-19 closures.
• Ten Weeks Until School Starts—What Now? Blogs.edweek.org, June 16, 2020
  More than a few school leaders are publicly insisting that, absent a huge new influx of federal dollars, they can’t afford to open schools. CRPE has looked at 477 school districts and reports that just 1 in 3 expected all teachers to deliver instruction and that less than half communicated an expectation that teachers would either take attendance or check in with students regularly.
• As pandemic tests public schools, Betsy DeVos pushes school choice, Washingtonpost.com, June 15, 2020
  Education secretary pitches choices outside traditional schooling and sends federal dollars to private schools. Robin Lake, the director of CRPE is quoted.
• Research evidence for summer learning, Hechingerreport.org, June 15, 2020
  Disappointing results for in-person summer school programs hint that short virtual programs may not be successful. In June 2020, CRPE, a think tank based at the UW Bothell, posted a survey of summer school plans around the country. Only slightly more than half of the 100 U.S. districts the organization is tracking were planning to offer summer school for elementary and middle school students.
• Online Summer School Could Be An Opportunity For Districts, Newsy.com, June 12, 2020
  Some researchers say districts are missing the chance to innovate if they’re not offering online summer learning. “What we’ve observed is that there are some areas of potential missed opportunity for districts this summer, just given the very unique circumstances that we’re in in this moment in time in the country,” said Bree Dusseault, practitioner-in-residence at CRPE.
• A school built on stagecraft: Los Angeles performing arts program boasts dance, music — and outstanding special ed, Laschoolreport.com, June 11, 2020
  Orchestra and dance are unusual in central Los Angeles schools, and for students with disabilities, the arts and other enrichment activities are frequently missing altogether. That makes Renaissance Arts a double rarity — a free arts school for underserved students and a place where children who need special education services are thriving. The school has been singled out in research from the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools and CRPE as a program whose innovative practices are particularly helpful to students with disabilities.
• Summer school 2020: Hints for how the fall will go? csmonitor.com, June 10, 2020
  After a major disruption to learning, what should summer school look like? CRPE recently analyzed summer school plans for 100 public school districts across the U.S. and found uneven programming, with 61% of those districts offering summer school. 
• The Education Gadfly Show: School districts failed the remote learning test, Fordhaminstitute.org, June 10, 2020
  On this week’s podcast, Robin Lake, director of CRPE, talks with Mike Petrilli and David Griffith about how well school districts handled remote learning this spring. 
• With some remote learning likely for the fall, schools agonize over how much Zoom time to impose, Bostonglobe.com, June 10, 2020
  The global pandemic upended life as we know it, shutting down school campuses across the country, but Zahriana Newson’s schedule at Roxbury Prep charter school barely changed. Studies of the switch to online learning are ongoing, but a review this spring of 82 US school districts by CRPE found just 17, or 21 percent, provided live instruction to any of their students. 
• Regional: Summer School May Be Another Pandemic Victim In Some School Districts, Sfgate.com, June 9, 2020
  Despite the limitations of distance learning, only 61 of 100 districts across the country queried in a recent survey have so far said they plan to offer summer school to help bridge the education gap. The survey, conducted by CRPE, covered 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and included 30 of the nation’s largest school districts.
• Report roundup, Politico.com, June 9, 2020
  CRPE is out with a new analysis of remote education in a nationally representative sample of 477 school systems. 
• Report: Most districts lacked clear plans in shift to remote learning, Educationdive.com, June 9, 2020
  A new analysis of the remote learning plans of 477 U.S. school districts shows about a third have provided clear expectations for how teachers should provide instruction and track students’ participation and progress, according to CRPE.
• Summer school may be another pandemic victim in some districts, Edsource.org, June 5, 2020
  Only 61 of 100 districts across the country queried in a recent survey have so far said they plan to offer summer school to help bridge the education gap. The survey, conducted by CRPE, covered 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and included 30 of the nation’s largest school districts. 
• Research Shows Students Falling Months Behind During Virus Disruptions, Nytimes.com, June 5, 2020
  The abrupt switch to remote learning wiped out academic gains for many students in America, and widened racial and economic gaps. CRPE, a think tank, will release an analysis next week of the pandemic learning policies of 477 school districts.
• Surveying How 82 School Districts Launched Remote Learning This Spring, The74million.org, June 4, 2020
  Report by Robin Lake and Bree Dusseault of CRPE
• Report: Districts’ summer plans show missed opportunities, Educationdive.org, June 4, 2020
  Districts’ summer school plans are showing missed opportunities for addressing learning loss for students and fostering social connections, according to a new analysis by researchers who have closely monitored schools’ transition to distance learning during school closures. In their review released Wednesday, researchers from CRPE wrote that less than half of the 100 school districts, and four of the 18 charter management organizations in their database were offering summer learning programs for elementary and middle school students.
• Districts’ Summer School Plans on Shaky Ground, Edweek.org, June 4, 2020
  In a year when the coronavirus robbed students of learning time, educators and policymakers are particularly worried that they’ve lost academic ground. An analysis of districts’ summer offerings, released June 3 by CRPE, found that even when districts are offering summer school, it’s a slimmed-down version.
• ‘Far too few’ Districts capitalizing on summer school, Politico.com, June 3, 2020
  Researchers at the CRPE analyzed dozens of publicly available summer school plans and found that the lessons, where offered, are mostly review, optional and online.
• We’ve Surveyed 82 School Districts That Launched Remote Learning Amid the Pandemic. Here’s What Did (and Didn’t) Work This Spring — and What It Means for Next Year, 74million.org, June 2, 2020
  As school districts start preparing for the 2020-21 fall reopening, we at CRPE are wrapping up our survey of responses to COVID-19 and our spring remote learning plan database, and turning our attention to the future.
• Learning Loss vs. Mental Exhaustion, 74million.org, June 2, 2020
  Many school districts haven’t announced plans for summer school. CRPE has been tracking remote learning during the crisis, found that as of May 12, just 26 out of 82 school districts have said they will offer summer school.
• Special Report: U.S. school closures dramatically shrinking public education, Reuters finds, Reuters.com, June 2, 2020
  More than two months after schools across the United States began closing in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the shutdown is taking a profound toll on the nation’s system of education, Reuters found by surveying nearly 60 school districts serving some 2.8 million students. Betheny Gross, associate director at CRPE, is quoted
• Science says: ‘Open the schools’, Thehill.com, June 1, 2020
  To stop COVID-19 dead in its tracks, many governors, mayors and superintendents are threatening to keep schools closed this fall, failing to consider the greater harm that comes from refusing to open them. Robin Lake at CRPE says that “elementary students [in urban districts] may have lost 30 percent of their reading skills.”

May 2020

• Opinion: Colorado must invest in diverse, out-of-school programs to help address equity gaps, Coloradosun.com, May 31, 2020
  There is a lot of uncertainty around what this summer holds for out-of-school experiences, yet one thing is clear: its values are immense and planning for summer camps and classes should emphasize accessibility and affordability across the board whether virtually or safely in person. Furthermore, RESCHOOL and its partners at CRPE found in 2019 that 50% of available summer programs in the Denver Metro Area for kids over 5 years old cost more per hour than the minimum hourly wage, highlighting the difficult tradeoffs that some working-class families have to consider.
• Why Many Charter Schools Were Better Prepared for Covid-19, Realcleareducation.com, May 29, 2020
  “U.S. schools were not prepared for an overnight shift to virtual learning,” USA Today reported recently, a fact that became obvious to most parents as soon as schools were shut down by the pandemic. As Robin Lake and Bree Dusseault from CRPE noted recently, charter networks in particular were able to make “rapid leaps from the classroom to the cloud.”
• Instruction During COVID-19: Less Learning Time Drives Fears of Academic Erosion, Edweek.org, May 28, 2020
  The picture of instruction that has emerged since the coronavirus forced students and teachers into remote learning is clear and troubling: There’s less of it, and the children with the greatest need are getting the least. The defining question in K-12 education right now is “balancing the tension between high expectations and the need for flexibility” as everyone in the system tries to regain their footing, said Bree Dusseault, who’s been leading an analysis of districts’ coronavirus responses for CRPE.
• School Districts Owe Taxpaying Parents a COVID-19 Refund – Dailysignal.com, May 27, 2020
  More than two months into this pandemic, an estimated one-third of school districts tracked by CRPE, representing hundreds of thousands of students across the country, are not requiring schools to provide remote instruction.
• School districts use a variety of tactics to keep learning on track – Thenotebook.org, May 27, 2020
  CRPE polled districts and found about 40% of those responding were not grading this term.
• The Scramble to Move America’s Schools Online – Education Week, May 26, 2020
  America’s sprawling K-12 public education system is scrambling to move online, almost overnight, with little time to plan and even less clarity about what happens next. CRPE, a research and advocacy organization, has been tracking districts’ responses to the coronavirus crisis.
• How COVID-19 Affected the Nation’s Schools: New Data Gives Insights for Planning – Rand.org, May 26, 2020
  As the school year winds down and summer approaches, educators and those who support them are working to evaluate the success of the new programs and practices they put in place this spring so they can be prepared for whatever the new school year brings. The Evidence Project at CRPE.
• School Districts Are Slow to Communicate What Will Happen After the School Year Ends. Here Are 4 Areas to Watch – The74million.org, May 25, 2020
  Analysis by Sean Gill, a research analyst at CRPE.
• Hawaii Schools Under Pressure To Provide More Data About Remote Learning – Civilbeat.org, May 24, 2020
  Since the Hawaii Department of Education closed schools in March and switched to distance learning to stem the spread of coronavirus, it has struggled to answer two critical questions: how many students are participating in online learning, and how many don’t have the tools or technology to access it? A report by CRPE is referenced.
• Gender Digital Divide: Online Learning a Daily Struggle for Many Girls – Msmagazine.com, May 21, 2020
  Seventeen percent of U.S. students don’t have access to computers at home, making the current transition to online learning a daily struggle for many teens. While that data is being collected, it is important to remember: “The crisis didn’t create inequity, the inequity was already there,” said Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• The Case Against School Choice Is Unraveling – Forbes.com, May 20, 2020
  The most effective argument made by opponents of school choice has long been the simple assertion that we can’t trust choice to yield decent options for every child. A report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education is referenced. The center is affiliated with the University of Washington Bothell.
• 6 tips for reporting on how COVID-19 school closures affect student learning – Journalistsresource.org, May 19, 2020
  The Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington Bothell has a database that tracks how school districts are providing instruction.
• Serving special needs students during COVID-19: A rural educator’s story – edweek, May 18, 2020
  Across the country, widespread school closures have upended special education, which is administered through carefully constructed plans called Individualized Education Programs and require extensive services that are not easily transferred to the internet, even for families who have access. An analysis by the Center for Reinventing Public Education at UW Bothell is referenced.
• Why Success Academy is making remote learning work as regular schools flail – Nypost.com, May 17, 2020
  Now, amid the pandemic-driven national experiment in compulsory homeschooling and online learning, Success Academy and its chief, Eva Moskowitz, appear poised to shock the system again — offering both ­inspiration and rebuke. Only 44 percent of US school districts are providing instruction online and monitoring students’ attendance and progress, according to CRPE. 
• States All Over the Map on Remote Learning Rigor, Detail – Edwork.org, May 14, 2020
  Georgia Heyward, a research analyst at CRPE, is quoted.
• Say Hello to the NY School Getting Distance Learning Right – cnsnews, May 14, 2020
  Now, amid the pandemic-driven national experiment in compulsory homeschooling and online learning, Success Academy and its president and CEO, Eva Moskowitz, appear poised to shock the education system again—serving as both inspiration and rebuke. A survey by the Center on Reinventing Public Education is referenced. 
• Analysis: For Hundreds of Thousands of Kids at Some of America’s Biggest School Districts, There’s Still No Consistent Plan for Remote Learning Nearly 2 Months Into the Pandemic – The74million.org, May 13, 2020
  Since the middle of March, when schools across the country closed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s nationwide tracking effort has told a story of school systems slowly making the transition from the classroom to the cloud.
• To the Extent Feasible: Strategies for success with distance learning – Edsource.org, May 12, 2020
  Webcast with researchers from the Center on Reinventing Public Education who have been tracking how 100 school districts and charter school organizations nationwide transitioned to distance learning.
• In One Florida School District, Virtual School Is Not a Virtual Vacation – reuters, May 12, 2020
  Many U.S. schools have stopped taking attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic forced classes online, but one South Florida district has remained committed to the scholastic task, saying it is a way to keep students safe and productive while learning at home. Only a third of 100 school districts tracked by the Center on Reinventing Public Education in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have said they are still taking attendance.
• CPS Made Gains In Learning. Now Schools Are Shut Down. What Will The Impact Be? – wbez, May 12, 2020
  Some researchers predict that school shutdowns could have dramatic negative effects, particularly in school districts like Chicago’s. School districts might look at how schools in New Orleans tried to catch students up after Hurricane Katrina, said Paul Hill, a University of Washington professor who founded the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
• Colorado Summer Camps Still Don’t Know When Or How They’ll Be Allowed To Open – Cpr.org, May 12, 2020
  As school winds down for more than 900,000 Colorado school children, parents who need to get back to work outside the home may not know until late May whether and how their children will be able to participate in summer camps. A study by the Center on Reinventing Public Education is referenced.
• Opinion: Charters Are Pivoting to Online Education Better than Traditional Schools – timesofsandiego, May 11, 2020
  With conventional schools shut down because of COVID-19, school officials are scrambling to provide students with education services through the use of online-learning tools. A new analysis by the Center on Reinventing Public Education compared the pivot to online learning at 18 charter school management organizations, which run networks of charter schools, and 82 public school districts across the country.
• The Class Divide: Remote Learning at 2 Schools, Private and Public – Nytimes.com, May 10, 2020
  The coronavirus pandemic has done nothing to level the playing field of American education, and instead has widened the gaps that have always existed. The Center on Reinventing Public Education, a think tank, examined the remote learning policies of 100 public school districts and charter networks nationwide.
• Rep. Scott: Committee Holds Virtual Member Briefing on Remote Learning, Educational Equity – House Education and Labor Committee, May 7, 2020
  The Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual member briefing to examine the learning challenges schools are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, briefed the committee.
  >Watch briefing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhgUcIB5stA&feature=youtu.be&t=1
  >Dr. Lake begins talking at 17:56.
• Walton Family Foundation K-12 Chief on Coronavirus and Schools – Blogs.edweek.org, May 5, 2020
  Marc Sternberg runs the Walton Family Foundation’s K-12 Education Program. Walton is one of the nation’s largest K-12 education donors, with a long-standing interest in new forms of educational delivery. Investments in organizations such as the Center for Reinventing Public Education and CREDO at Stanford University will allow us to take a rigorous look at all the activity happening during this time.
• The Education Exchange: “Some School Districts Are Talking about not Reopening until Next January” – Educationnext.org, May 4, 2020
  Podcast: The director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Robin Lake, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a new report published by CRPE which details school district response plans to Covid-19.
• How Long Should a Remote School Day Be? There’s No Consensus – Edsurge.com, May 4, 2020
  Schools and a handful of states have begun issuing guidelines on shaping the school day into something both manageable and productive for students. Sean Gill, a research analyst at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, is quoted.
• Shop Class, Over Zoom – Theatlantic.com, May 2, 2020
  How one career and technical high school is going remote. Robin Lake, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education is quoted.

April 2020

• Robin Lake: Flattening the Learning Loss Curve When School Reopens Will Take Federal Leadership, State and Local Buy-in and These 4 Steps – The74million.org, April 30, 2020
  With schools across the country closed by the coronavirus pandemic, currently there’s no plan to prevent what could be long-lasting academic casualties. By Robin Lake. 
• For many students, teacher feedback is the new grading system – Educationdive.com, April 30, 2020
  In the absence of grading — which, like BVSD, many districts are not doing at all or are only doing on a partial basis — feedback on the work students are completing has become the primary exchange between teachers and students. Feedback on student work is also one aspect of districts’ distance learning plans CRPE is tracking as part of a periodically updated database.
• Saying the Pledge of Allegiance Again Is Months Away in America’s Schools – NYTimes, April 28, 2020
  Despite President Trump’s prodding, most districts have no plans to end online lessons soon. To make up for lost classroom time, schools may need to provide remedial instruction, additional special-education services and counseling, said Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• Halfway Through the Last Quarter of the School Year, Remote Classes Are in Session but Attendance Plans Are Still Absent – The74million.org, April 28, 2020
  Six weeks into COVID-19 school closures, and at roughly the midpoint of the final academic quarter of this school year, it is a good time to step back to assess what schools and districts have accomplished. Analysis by Robin Lake and Bree Dusseault of the CRPE.
• Lesson from Florida’s Fast Action on Remote Learning – Redefinedonline.org, April 28, 2020
  On March 13, Florida schools announced an extended spring break, which would be followed by a statewide shutdown extending into April—and now, through the end of the school year. Commentary from Travis Pillow, editorial director for CRPE.
• Appreciating What Schools Are Doing Doesn’t Mean Giving Them A Pass – Forbes.com, April 28, 2020
  Nearly six weeks since most schools closed, CRPE reports more than half of the districts it is tracking are still not providing curriculum, instruction, and progress monitoring.
• Doing right by kids — by giving them the grades they’ve earned – Nypost.com, April 27, 2018
  In stark contrast to the regular public system and even many private schools, the Success Academy charter network announced Monday that it will continue giving its students grades this year. Stephen Wilson of  CRPE embedded in the SA remote-learning system for two days early on, and saw great success.
• When coronavirus hit, schools moved online. Some students didn’t. – Inquirer.com, April 27, 2020
  As the pandemic has forced classes online, not all students have been able to follow. Many school districts are not formally tracking attendance, according to CRPE which reviewed coronavirus education plans from 82 districts enrolling nine million students.
• How School Districts Are Outsmarting a Microbe – Nytimes.com, April 23, 2020
  Confronting the unprecedented challenge of lengthy school closures because of coronavirus, the nation’s roughly 13,000 public school districts are scrambling to cope. “Nobody knows the right path forward,” said Robin Lake, director of CRPE, a nonpartisan education research center in Seattle that has compiled an online database of coronavirus response plans provided by scores of districts as a resource for other educators.
• Distance Learning Methods Differ Notably Across The U.S. – Npr.org, April 23, 2020
  More than three dozen states now have ordered or recommended that schools stay shut for the rest of this academic year, and so this nationwide experiment with distance learning continues. Bree Dusseault with CRPE is interviewed.
• Three Ways States Can Use ESSA to Address the Pandemic’s Impact – Blogs.edweek.org, April 23, 20202
  Are there ways educators could be taking advantage of the Every Student Succeeds Act to help students in need? The answer is yes, says Ashley Jochim, a senior research analyst at the CRPE in Seattle.
• When It Comes to Remote Learning, Too Many States Are Telling School Districts, ‘You’re on Your Own’ – The74million.org, April 22, 2020
  Initial findings from the first month of CRPE’s in-depth reviews of district and charter school organizations’ responses to the COVID-19 crisis has revealed major gaps in learning opportunities available to students.
• COVID Exposes Winners And Losers In New School Realities – Theamericanconservative.com, April 22, 2020
  Wealthier households and districts are able to weather the virtual shift, while low income and special needs kids, not so much. Cites research by CRPE.
• Should Schools Teach Anyone Who Can Get Online — Or No One At All? – disabilityscoop, April 21, 2020
  In Washington state, districts have spent weeks weighing the dilemma of trying to teach all students, or no students, remotely. Similar patterns were seen across the country: In late March, most of the 82 closed districts surveyed by the Seattle-based CRPE weren’t offering any instruction.
• Harvard’s Lazy Attack On Homeschooling – Forbes.com, April 21, 2020
  “The Risks of Homeschooling” published recently in Harvard Magazine presents Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Bartholet’s argument for a presumptive ban on homeschooling. Research by the CRPE is cited.
• Initiative and Innovation in a Crisis — Just When They’re Needed Most – The74million.org, April 19, 2020
  After a period of confusion caused by the U.S. Department of Education, school districts are rushing to get teaching and learning online. Opinion by Paul Hill, founder of CRPE. 
• As schools transition to new world of e-learning, states play critical role in oversight and assistance – knowledgecenter.csg.org, April 17, 2020
  In mid-March, the nation’s education community — school administrators, teachers, students and parents — began a crash course in e-learning. One likely consequence, for example, is a lag in student achievement, says Georgia Heyward, a research analyst at CRPE, which has created a database detailing and comparing the e-learning plans of school districts across the country.
• COVID-19 Took Away Public Education. Will We Miss It? – Nationalreview.com, April 16, 2020
  The shutdown has been a stark reminder that we’ve also tasked schools with providing a vast web of social supports and services — from health care to counseling to meal service. Three weeks after schools started closing, the CRPE’s tracking of 82 major school systems drolly reported that “most districts are still not providing any instruction.”
• A Month In, Districts and Charters Make Progress on Online Instruction and Monitoring Student Progress, Lag in Grading and Attendance – The74million.org, April 15, 2020
  More than a month has passed since the middle of March, when the majority of districts across the country closed. This week, we continue to track progress toward remote learning. Analysis by Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• New Database Catalogs Remote Learning Approaches in 82 Districts Closed by Coronavirus – Marketbrief.edweek.org, April 15, 2020
  CRPE is cataloging efforts by districts across the country to continue instruction for students as their schools are closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Schools must make changes when they reopen, governor – Latimes.com, April 14, 2020
  Although campuses are likely to reopen in the fall, the school day may unfold in starkly different ways, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, suggesting staggered start times. Robin Lake, director of CRPE is quoted.
• What It’s Like to Teach Sixth-Grade Science Over Zoom – Wsj.com, April 13, 2020
  When the pandemic upended the school year, Oklahoma teacher Melissa Lau switched gears to teach her class the science of social distancing.  CRPE is referenced.
• ‘Why do I want digital experiences for my kids if it looks like this?’ — Experts fear parent backlash against online learning – Laschoolreport.com, April 13, 2020
  School districts countrywide are learning their own lessons right now, all about distance learning. Robin Lake, director of CRPE, a nonpartisan research and policy analysis organization, says rushing into the wrong solution could create confusion, but she understands the clear urgency.
• Using Transparency To Create Accountability When School Buildings Are Closed and Tests Are Canceled – Educationnext.org, April 13, 2020
  The districts and schools most likely to succeed in remote education will be those that provide a substantial amount of synchronous instruction and live student–teacher interaction. References a database assembled by CRPE.
• Present or absent? With schools closed, some districts stop tracking attendance, while others redefine it – Chalkbeat.org, April 12, 2020
  Taking “attendance” in America’s schools has never been more complicated. But many districts aren’t formally tracking student attendance, according to a new analysis by CRPE and Chalkbeat reporting across the country.
• Public Education in the Age of Coronavirus: We Need Swift Boats, Not Ocean Liners – Medium.com, April 10, 2020
  The new virus has once again shown us how badly we need swift boats, not ocean liners. It is high time we reinvented our public school systems. References a survey conducted by CRPE.
• Don’t Waive Rights, Require Districts To Make a Good Faith Effort – Educationnext.org, April 10, 2020
  Should DeVos Ask Congress To Waive Parts of the Special Education Law amid the Coronavirus Pandemic? Forum essay by Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• Should schools teach anyone who can get online – or no one at all? – Hechingerreport.org, April 10, 2020
  What Washington schools have learned about the digital equity issues of confronting the coronavirus with online education. References a report by CRPE.
• Researchers’ Urgent Message for Schools: Start Planning Now for a Precipitous ‘COVID Slide’ Next Year – The74million.org, April 9, 2020
• Education data guru Chris Minnich has some advice for school leaders: You may still be struggling to get food, hotspots and human connection to students, but right now is the time to plan for how school must be different next year if you’re going to address learning gaps widened by the pandemic. Data being collected by CRPE is referenced.
• Parents of kids with disabilities fear lasting consequences of school closures – Crosscut.com, April 8, 2020
  A disruption in education also means the loss of critical special education services. Districts across Washington are scrambling to do what they can. Robin Lake, director of CRPE is quoted.
• School district responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Round 1, districts’ initial responses – Aei.org, April 7, 2020
  This report presents results from the first wave of AEI’s COVID-19 Education Response Longitudinal Survey (C-ERLS), which documents how a nationally representative sample of public schools is responding to the ongoing epidemic. CRPE was the first to develop a publicly available online database tracking the responses to closure in 101 large public school districts and charter management organizations.
• How 18 Top Charter School Networks Are Adapting to Online Education, and What Other Schools Can Learn From Them – The74million.org, April 7, 2020
  As public schools across the country build out remote learning plans to support students during school closures prompted by the novel coronavirus, some of the nation’s most prominent charter networks have made rapid leaps from the classroom to the cloud. Analysis by Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• Transition From Classroom to Cloud. What 82 Districts and 10 Charter Management Organizations Are Doing – The74million.org, April 6, 2020
  Critical building blocks of an effective educational experience are still missing in most places. Analysis by Robin Lake, director of CRPE.
• Every Minute Counts — I Sat In on Some Classes at Success Academy’s Virtual School. Here’s What I Saw – The74million.org, April 6,2020
  Few urban districts yet offer synchronous learning at all, and many leave families to scour online for learning resources. Opinion by Steven Wilson, a senior fellow with CRPE.
• Tracking 82 Districts’ Responses to Coronavirus School Closures – Educationnext.org, April 6, 2020
  Q&A with Robin Lake, the director of the CRPE, which is tracking district responses to school closures in real time, and making that data publicly available. 
• Amidst COVID-19, America’s Schools Don’t Need A Hall Pass – forbes.com, April 2, 2020
  While the impact of the pandemic on education doesn’t have an official start date in the United States, by March 11th, many of Washington state’s schools, including in Seattle, were closed for business. Experts like Robin Lake of CRPE agree that while we must address these unprecedented challenges, you don’t stop, because not all can’t benefit.
• Survey: Teachers support school closures, worry about students falling behind – educationdive.com, April 2, 2020
  Another early source on how prepared districts were for such an abrupt shift is  CRPE’s database of districts’ closure response plans. The center is affiliated with the University of Washington Bothell. 
• School shutdowns threaten to worsen the achievement gap – latimes.com, April 2, 2020
  The COVID-19 crisis threatens to undo years of educational efforts to help disadvantaged students catch up to their more affluent classmates. The editorial cites a report by CRPE.
• Straight Up on COVID-19: CRPE Chief Robin Lake on 82 Districts’ Responses to School Closures – edweeki.org, April 1, 2020
  Robin Lake is the director of CRPE, which is tracking district responses to school closures in real time, and making that data publicly available. This effort has been widely praised for shedding light on how districts are tackling challenges like providing meals, solving internet connectivity issues, and rolling out distance learning plans.