Similarly, from the Center on Reinventing Public Education also shows massive enrollment gains for online virtual schools. Enrollment spikes in nontraditional public schooling options speak to the desire for more options during pandemic school closures, writes The 74’s Linda Jacobson, though it’s unclear whether such strong trends will continue.

Beyond issues of student mobility and disenrollment, here are 10 other updates from across the country about how states and school systems are confronting the challenges posed by the pandemic and the Delta variant — and working to preserve student learning amid the pandemic:

ALABAMA – Schools Struggle to Provide Consistent Meals Amid Food, Supply Shortages

The global disruption of supply lines for everything from computer chips to food products and families. According to the state’s “No Kid Hungry” campaign, 1 in 5 Alabama children face hunger, a struggle that was exacerbated by the pandemic. In an effort to address the issue, school districts have tried “pay raises and partnerships with local farmers,” but unfortunately “solutions may take a while to arrive.”

NEW MEXICO – New Literacy Instruction Requirements Drive Changes to Teaching Reading

New Mexico students are about to experience a shift in the way they are taught to read in schools, with some educators feeling that statewide changes in instruction could have a significant impact on literacy across the state. Following a 2019 state law, the Public Education Department and local districts Jacqueline Costales, PED’s division director of curriculum and instruction claims that the structured literacy program “has been key in moving toward getting all kindergarten through fifth grade teachers across the state the training that is needed to teach reading in an explicit fashion.”

FLORIDA – Biden Ed Department to Compensate Districts Punished by Florida Gov. DeSantis

The administration of President Joe Biden announced it would compensate school and district leaders in Florida who were punished by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to prohibit school mask mandates. The Education Department , sending “school officials in Alachua County” a total of $147,719. Alachua is just 1 of 11 FL school districts that went against DeSantis’ wishes by instituting mask mandates in schools. “We should be thanking districts for using proven strategies that will keep schools open and safe, not punishing them,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

MICHIGAN – State Directs $1.4 Billion to Addressing Childcare Challenges

With the arrival of new federal and state education funds, . Matt Gillard, president of Michigan’s Children calls the $1.4 billion in childcare funding “a huge step in the right direction.” Gillard adds, “the need for investment in our public child care systems is clearly being seen.” Funds from the $1.4 billion investment contributes to Michigan’s “Child Development and Care,” its largest child care system that provides subsidies and takes on “private care for low-income families.” When the budget is officially passed, state officials will be under the gun to dole out the funds, having just 3 months to allocate “$700 million in stabilization grants” for child care centers.

NORTH CAROLINA – Feds Approve NC COVID-19 School Spending Plan

Schools across North Carolina have gained access to approximately $5.5 billion from waves of federal stimulus packages over the last year and a half, . According to WRAL News, about half of the latest $900 million has been put toward devices such as computers and software, while most of the remaining has paid for “extended employment contracts, cafeteria workers, bonus pay, salary supplements and stipends, bus driver overtime and new employees.”

HAWAII – Native Education Programs Receive Boost With Federal Relief Dollars

Hawaii will direct just over $28 million of its federal American Rescue Plan funding to its Native Hawaiian Education Program, which provides awards and grants to local efforts driving outcomes with native students, including to programs like the Native Pacific Institute for Education and Culture and the Hula Conservation Society. According to Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), “ to support their students in time for the next school year.”

KENTUCKY – Majority of School Districts Maintain Mask Requirements

All but six of Kentucky’s 171 school districts are maintaining mask mandates . Sarah Wesson, superintendent of Lee County’s school district stated, “It’s not a political decision for us… It’s just about the safety of our kids, and we are just trying to do the best we can to stay open and keep our students and staff safe.” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear “faulted” policymakers across the state for leaving it up to school boards despite health officials’ recommendations.

PENNSYLVANIA – Pittsburgh to Form Group to Address Pandemic Impacts on Education

The Pittsburgh Public Schools school board is . Data presented to the school board in support of the resolution showed students learning progress lagging compared to past years. If approved, the committee “could have up to 30 members, and each school board member will be able to nominate two members.”

TENNESSEE – Officials Tout Summer School Learning Gains As Schools Start School Year

State-funded learning-loss recovery programs are responsible for “learning gains” made by Tennessee students this summer, says Gov. Bill Lee. Around 120,000 students attended either after the state invested over $160 million in summer programs using COVID-19 relief aid. Summer programs focused on reading, math, STEM, and physical education, with progress monitoring by educators showing student growth of as much as 5.97 percentage points in English and 10.94 percentage points in math.

CALIFORNIA – State Initiative Aims to Have All Third-Graders Reading by 2026

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced , though the initiative’s details are being worked out by a panel of educators, parents, and research experts. In his public announcement, Thurmond cited years of lackluster reading progress on the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments, as well increased challenged associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Assemblywoman Mia Bonta is expected to introduce state legislation that would guide recommendations and investments in a new state reading plan.

—Community Schools: A “full court press is underway from the White House, states and education officials” to expand interest and investment in the so-called ‘community schools’ model, .

The community school model typically positions schools as hubs of their surrounding communities and seeks to build out school functions to address community needs like basic healthcare, food distribution, housing insecurity, and even clothing or job needs. Camera to address critical student and family needs that only became more acute during the pandemic. Only 6-8% of schools in the U.S. are community schools, though President Joe Biden hopes to significantly increase this number using a significant expansion of funding for community schools, which is proposed in his budget proposal under consideration by Congress.

—Learning Recovery: A seeks to assist schools in directing their American Rescue Plan relief funding toward investments that are likely to drive instruction and improve student outcomes, particularly in the context of accelerating learning in the face of pandemic disruption. The levied to address common concerns, like literacy — addressed and exemplified by Tennessee’s Shelby County — expanding tutoring programs, and procuring high-quality instructional materials.

Beyond issues of relief funds and community schools, here are eight other updates from across the country about how states and school systems are confronting the challenges posed by the pandemic and the Delta variant — and working to preserve student learning amid the pandemic:

1 MICHIGAN — State Test Scores Show Sharp Decline in Student Performance, as Participation Rate Plummets

Michigan officials have released results from the most recent administration of statewide, summative tests, which represent the first time students were tested across the state since the spring of 2019. As expected, In a statement sharing the results, the Michigan Department of Education said scores should be reviewed and compared with caution, as participation rates fell to between 64-72%. “Results from the state summative assessments and the local benchmark assessments show that some students were able to make relatively normal gains, while many others will be working with their teachers to accelerate their learning to catch up to where they otherwise would have been in the absence of the pandemic. In Michigan and across the country, we have our work cut out for us,” said State Superintendent Michael Rice.

2 TENNESSEE – Ed Chief Approves Temporary Virtual Learning Waivers Amid Quarantines

In response to a sharp increase in transmission of COVID-19 in Tennessee as schools opened up for the new school year, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn announced that individual classrooms and schools or if a student or staff member tests positive. While Schwinn described the approach as a “scalpel,” say the state should require schools and districts to develop continuous learning plans, as they were obliged to do last school year. “We see the data, this COVID surge is horrible in Tennessee — the state must recognize that systems will have to close due to the delta variant, not just individual schools,” said Danette Stoke, a second-grade teacher and president of Shelby County UEA.

3 HAWAII – State Education Officials Release Public Data Dashboard on COVID-19 Spread

The Hawaii Department of Education has made a new addition to its website — . Interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi announced that the dashboard was established with parents top of mind. The dashboard includes “probable case information” spanning “state, district, complex area and school levels.” Hayashi is encouraging people to monitor the dashboard to see “that schools are not amplifiers of COVID-19 transmission because of the mitigation protocols schools are enforcing.”

4CALIFORNIA – Los Angeles Moves Forward With Weekly COVID-19 Testing for All

The Los Angeles public school system is facing what The Washington Post calls “a massive public health experiment unfolding in real time.” , in addition to universal masking mandates and staff vaccine requirements. Despite implementing “the most aggressive anti-coronavirus campaign undertaken or announced by a major school district,” the district has seen the vast majority of students and families eager to return to school, with only roughly 3% opting for independent study options at the beginning of the school year.

5 LOUISIANA – COVID-19 Extending Disrupted Learning Due to Hurricane Ida

According to officials, New Orleans public schools “suffered little to no damage from Hurricane Ida” and most campuses announced plans to reopen as soon as power returned. Despite the minimal damage, however, , as staff and students make their way back to school. New Orleans Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. stated, “We have to be honest in this moment … We had a very high peak [in cases before the storm] and we’re not sure what will happen when we come back.”

6 CONNECTICUT – State Recovery Spending Plan Approved by Feds

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona . The state has established five categories for its plan, which include: “learning and enrichment, family and community connections, student and teacher social-emotional and mental health, education technology, and building safe and healthy schools.”

7 KANSAS – State Applauds Record High Graduation Rate

Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson praised the state’s graduation rates this past week, . Despite the lauded accomplishment, Watson told reporters that believes there is more progress to be made. Breaking down the graduation rate, Kansas found that the graduation among students with disabilities rose 3.1 percentage points and among English learners increased 6.5 percentage points.

8 WEST VIRGINIA – Cardona Applauds West Virginia’s School Vaccination Efforts

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona praised West Virginia’s push to get teachers, students, and communities vaccinated this month, . “And I’ll tell you, what you did in West Virginia to require the vaccination pop-up clinics – not only did you accept the call to action, you really elevated it and said, ‘We’re going to value this throughout the state of West Virginia.’ So thank you for your work on the ‘I Got Vaxxed Campaign,’” Cardona said in a statement directed toward Gov. James Justice and Superintendent W. Clayton Burch. Cardona’s praise comes as Justice with recommendations by teachers unions in the state to pass vaccine and mask mandates.

This update on pandemic recovery in education collects and shares news updates from the district, state, and national levels as all stakeholders continue to work on developing safe, innovative plans to resume schooling and address learning loss. It’s an offshoot of the Collaborative for Student Success’ QuickSheet newsletter, which you can .��