Prompts for Discussion
Every month, we will create new prompts for educators to respond to, and allow them to respond in the medium of their choice. Please use the form below to reply, and we will aggregate these into blog posts to guide our group discussions, and inform our policy recommendations.
Prompt 1 - December 2020
How would you describe your experiences in the fall? How are the increasing rates impacting your students, their families, your role? How responsive are administrators to your needs for comprehensive instruction (either in-person or virtual)? What guidelines or policies would be useful right now?
Prompt 3 - February 2021
In recent weeks, national representatives of teacher’s unions have been more proactive in discussing building safety, vaccine prioritization, and equitable learning options for students. Have these national debates been helpful to your local experience? Do you feel more or less supported to teach your students in-person, online, or in hybrid formats? Have any earlier concerns from the start of the school year been addressed? Have any new concerns (or opportunities) emerged?
Prompt 5 - June 2021
Following prioritization of teachers to receive vaccinations and the return of some in-person teaching and learning, how were the final three months of your school year? What lessons, if any, do you feel schools should carry forward to next year to advance equity and promote greater educator inclusion in decision-making? How do you think your profession has/will changed following this year’s events? What concerns, if any, do you have entering into next fall (from facilities, to pedagogy, to decision-making/policies)?
Prompt 2 - January 2021
News of the vaccine and the prioritization of educators to receive it has re-ignited the debates to reopen school districts that have been all-virtual. How has the news about the vaccine shifted conversations about reopening, equity, and transparency in decision making with you and your peers, administrators and district leadership?
Prompt 4 - March 2021
As the school year enters the final marking period, school districts are preparing for a number of traditional spring activities (testing, assessment, summer learning, fall planning) in an unconventional time. What new concerns have emerged in the spring term? What new district- or school-level policies have made educating in this year more effective? Which new policies have deepened educational inequities or lessened transparency in decision-making? What do you think schools and districts (along with other stakeholders) should prioritize for the summer and fall?