As our children are heading back to school, the COVID-19 vaccine has become more available, and many of us are beginning to head back to our respective offices, our attention is rightly turning to recovery. For us at the Prichard Committee, that means education recovery. How do we take everything we’ve learned the last year, all the resources at our disposal, and all the creative capacity we can muster to stem the tide on learning loss, help our young people catch up, and accelerate learning to ensure we don’t have a lost generation?

Twenty years from now, the state and national labor markets, decision-makers, and powers-that-be are not going to say, “Oh well, that’s the COVID generation. We need to give them a break!” Certainly, the international competition for talent is also not going to say, “Ah, give the Americans a break! They had a rough time with COVID.”

This is a challenge we’ve never experienced, and it requires all of us working much more closely together to achieve full recovery. It requires all the leaders in our communities and all the resources each can bring to the table. It requires real conversations about the challenges and a shared, written, plan of action for the next six months, at least.

Our school districts, and many government organizations, will have more resources at their disposal than we’ve seen in years! What is in the American Rescue Plan for Kentucky?

• $2.4 billion for state government.
• $1.15 billion for counties.
• $751.5 million for cities.
• $764 million for child care.
• $2.1 billion for K-12.
• $454.2 million for postsecondary education.

For K-12 alone, this federal “rescue” money effectively doubles the per pupil allocation our districts typically receive from the state. Additionally, more state funding from the Kentucky General Assembly invests in all three levels of education.

Given the need and the resources available, it is time for communities to roll up their sleeves and have the creative, solutions-focused, conversations about how to use what we’ve learned in the past year to do more than recover – we must build a new foundation for education – one that is stronger, more resilient, and seeks to repair the challenges and inequities laid bare amidst COVID.  

Over the last year, the Prichard Committee surveyed and interviewed parents, students, educators, childcare providers, families, and college students to better understand the impact of COVID. We compiled all of what we learned into a series of reports: Learning Through COVID.  At the early childhood, K-12 and college levels, we know the impact COVID has had. We learned that we need more high-quality childcare options for families of all income levels, and that the childcare system and its workers are essential for providing a strong start for our youngest learners. For both the K-12 and higher education, these three truths also emerged:

• Inequities based on student groups remain starker than ever
• Built-in mental health supports need to be funded & prioritized; and
• The digital divide must be closed at all costs

In K-12 specifically, we must know the extent of learning loss to make actionable plans that lead to recovery. That’s why we stood firmly in favor of state assessments (Why the Prichard Committee Supports State Assessments this Spring). The assessments are tool to understand the new baseline and to inform local plans. Schools cannot and should not shoulder this task alone, however. Now is the time for communities to come to the table in an effort to establish a shared understanding of the recovery necessary and to be part of the plan to realize that recovery in the months and years ahead – and to develop a new and better foundation for greater progress.

We are challenging communities across the Commonwealth to start these conversations – and our school districts are the likely leaders locally to ensure this happens. We’re also challenging our 130 Prichard Committee members and over 1,000 Groundswell members to be part of these conversations – and the action plans that result. These “guiding coalitions” – comprised of students, parents, community members, and business leaders can work together to ensure solutions are responsive to community needs – and that the vast array of resources coming into our state are leveraged for the greatest good.

To support this task, we have drafted principles and questions to start and guide your conversations.