Though hailed as a bipartisan “Christmas Miracle” when it was signed into law in December 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was not an ideal bill—by far. It was not the bill most in the civil rights community wanted, nor was it the bill that many of us at the U.S. Department of Education wanted.
When events like the murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling or the violence against the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe rouse the nation's attention to structural inequalities, philanthropies that have the ability to create systems change often instead provide a ritualistic, intellectual response that's safe and comfortable. But to achieve the equity we all claim to be in search of, philanthropy must have a look in the mirror and lean into some very uncomfortable conversations about who we are, what we believe, and how we could adapt our approaches to new realities and environments.
One of the pleasures of working at the Schott Foundation for Public Education is that we have the opportunity to work with and learn from our grantee partners who do incredible grassroots organizing work all across the country. These public education advocates lead campaigns in their respective regions, but on March 15 and 16 leaders from 22 of our grantee partners convened together for our first Opportunity to Learn Network Communications Summit.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, was a marked shift away from its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act. Under ESSA, much of the decision-making, accountability, and oversight passed from the Federal government to the states. In this transfer of policymaking to the state level, ESSA includes some important opportunities for students, parents, educators and communities to have their voices heard both in state capitols and in their local districts.
In collaboration with our grantee Southern Echo, the Schott Foundation has created an infographic sketching out some key opportunities in ESSA to move the cause of education justice further and to help ensure that schools and districts are held accountable to a much better-rounded and more holistic evaluation of their performance than before.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed in 2015, was a marked shift away from its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act. Under ESSA, much of the decision-making, accountability, and oversight passed from the Federal government to the states. In this transfer of policymaking to the state level, ESSA includes some important opportunities for students, parents, educators and communities to have their voices heard both in state capitols and in their local districts.
Federal budget director Mick Mulvaney, recently revealed that President Trump’s “skinny budget” proposal titled, “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” was largely culled from Trump’s speeches and interviews throughout his campaign. But for many observers, the budget proposal highlights once again the dissonance between Trump’s words and factual evidence.
