The chaos in Washington DC regarding what schools should do is being compounded. First DEI was declared a threat that needed to be eradicated.  Now efforts are focused on eliminating the US Department of Education. 

Should we care about the US Department of Education?  Is it useful?  Is it helpful to the goal of educating all students to high levels: mastering the standards set by their state?

As a retired educator, I can assure you there were times that I was frustrated by the US Department of Education and the requirements I had to fulfill to access federal funds that my students needed and deserved.  However, I can also assure you that I have been repeatedly grateful for that same Department of Education.  The efforts I had to make to comply with their requirements have come back to me as a gift of rich data and resources that help lead continuous improvement in the education we provide our children

In summary, the US Department of Education has been a strong supporter of accountability for the actions and efforts of educators across the country.  Their function as a massive repository of student enrollment and achievement data, educational research and evaluation data, and data on school efforts to provide supports for marginalized students has had a strong role in guiding continuous improvement in Education.  The US Department of education is the primary source of data on:

• school enrollment trends and the growing or decreasing needs of the students enrolled. 
•  where students are achieving at high levels and what students need more support to achieve the high expectations, especially in literacy and mathematics.
• what educational programs and instructional practices are repeatedly highly effective and with which students, and which programs are not effective and should be abandoned.
• which schools and districts are truly making a difference and which districts need help with ensuring every student has the supports they need to achieve their state’s standards regardless of economic circumstances, first language, or disability.  

As I wrote in my previous blog post, equity in our schools will not die just because we have decided equity is undesirable.  Equity in schools simply provides each student with the supports that they need to achieve their state standards.  It is not about giving one group an advantage over another.  Conscientious and highly skilled educators will continue to do this in their daily practices.  However, the data to guide them and the additional resources to provide each student with the support they need will be gone.

It is already very difficult to provide each student with the supports they need to ensure that all children master rigorous standards. Now we will be asking educators to do that very difficult work in a void of information and support.  What will the rest of us who do not spend our days working in schools do to support teachers and all students?

Will we just stand by and watch as educators jobs get even harder as our nation’s current administration attacks the very concept of equity and destroys the US Department of Education which supports educational infrastructure and brings recognition to the importance of education in our society?  What can we do?

• We can share that equity in schools is simply ensuring all students have the supports needed to meet state standards.  All students succeeding is critical to our country’s economic future.  Equity in schools will ensure a better future for our country. Do not let fear keep you from speaking up.
• Share this message with your civic and philanthropic groups. Share with your neighbors and book study friends. Share on social media.
• Share this message with your governmental officials: your representatives in Washington DC, your state representatives, and your local governmental officials.  Ask them how state and local governments will help bridge the gap with the disappearance of the US Department of Education.  States and local entities can push back.
• Support your local schools and thank educators for continuing to support all students under these difficult circumstances. Reach out and let them know you see the difficult circumstances in which they are working.  Let them know you appreciate them.
• Write letters to the editor about the importance of equity in schools. Post online about equity in schools. Amplify messages from groups that are supporting teachers and all students such as Ed Trust in the work of providing equity in schools.  Amplify messages from organizations working at your state or local level such as Children’s Advocacy Alliance of Nevada and IDRA in Texas
• Organize community meetings and invite your local educators to speak so that the public knows that needed supports for students and schools are disappearing with the elimination of the US Department of Education.  See how a community in Pennsylvania is pushing back against these changes.
• Volunteer to be an advocate for a student that may need additional support to meet their state’s standards.  Find your local organization such as Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada that is seeking volunteer educational advocates.  They provide training and support to the advocate.

Without the US Department of Education, we will be operating an educational infrastructure with our heads stuck in the sand.  We will not have the data, the resources, and the big picture of how we are doing at educating our students.  The big picture and resources provided by the US Department of Education have not always made us comfortable, but they have been essential to the continuous improvement of our systems to ensure all students achieve at high levels.

This blog is written by Dr. GwenCarol Holmes, a long-time educator and passionate advocate for all students mastering rigorous standards