Where Are We Headed in 2022? Vision for Education in America – U.S. Department of Education

During a recent address, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona raised several key points for the future of education that will guide the Department’s work in the future months. A renewed focus on strategies to support unfinished learning for students and an investment in social and emotional learning are top priorities. The added emphasis on addressing inequities that have been accelerated during the pandemic, but have always existed, are also highlighted in these USDE priorities. These four priorities also focus on the continuous improvement of schools within our communities.

January 2022 USDOE Priorities

• Priority #1 Support students through pandemic response and recovery.
• Priority #2 Boldly address opportunity and achievement gaps.
• Priority #3 Make higher education more inclusive and affordable.
• Priority #4 Ensure pathways through higher education lead to successful careers.

So, what does this mean for local policy makers and district administrators?

Understanding that funding and accountability typically follow federal priorities will allow administrators, superintendents, and local school boards to align their priorities during goal setting cycles. Although these ideas are not necessarily new to district planning, they may lead to a renewed focus on specific areas or additional ideas to incorporate into future planning.

Based on Secretary Cardona’s priorities, here are a few recommendations for your planning committees to consider:

Academic Acceleration

Within every classroom there are students with varied levels of performance and many who have learning gaps. Schools have focused efforts through tutorials, after school programs, and in recent years Tier II and Tier III levels of intervention. Although challenging, building time within the master schedule for intervention classes is critical. This task is made easier using Cardonex, which helps avoid conflicts with core classes and balance class loads to meet the tiered class limit requirements. Additionally, providing access to intervention curriculum is essential. With Embarc, you can map intervention curriculum and allow teachers to collaborate and share content across multiple grade levels with intervention teachers.

Social and Emotional Support

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has never been more important and should be a top priority for every district in the country. Counselors must be available to spend one-on-one time with students, develop social emotional learning curriculum, and facilitate groups. Unfortunately, many counselors spend much of their time in the spring building the master schedule instead of working with students. Using Cardonex and Embarc, counselors can better support the social and emotional development of students by significantly reducing the time spent building the master schedule and providing a centralized resource to access SEL curriculum.

Pathways to Higher Education

In recent years, the pendulum has shifted regarding higher education. In the past, college was the preferred and acknowledged pathway for students. Today, pressure from the workforce for highly skilled employees has placed a greater emphasis on Career and Technical Education (CTE). Schools must prepare students for post-secondary education, but also for work-based certification programs that reduce student debt and allow students to enter highly sought-after careers upon

graduation. Ensuring that students have a schedule that enables them to complete CTE courses and internships is critical for equitable access to programs. In addition, consistent access to quality course content to support teachers who guide students through CTE pathways leading towards certification is inherently important. Both Cardonex and Embarc help districts plan for CTE pathways, dual credit courses with local universities, and enable equitable access.

Community Engagement

Building community support and providing transparency of curriculum, courses, content, and standards is more important than ever, given the increasing criticism of public education. Involving the community in curriculum planning builds trust and partnerships for student success. From advisory committees for CTE programs to parent nights dedicated to what students will be learning, engaging parents and the community is a win-win. Embarc offers a public website driven by district curriculum, saving time by eliminating extra administrative work to display curriculum standards and content. With the click of a button, districts can showcase elements of their curriculum with students, parents, and community stakeholders.

At Education Advanced, we are committed to supporting schools and administrators in fulfilling the priorities set forth by Secretary Cardona. Accelerating academics by filling gaps in learning, incorporating social and emotional programming, creating equitable pathways for post-secondary readiness, and engaging the community are critical elements in the quest to continuously improve educational processes in the United States. Our team is here to support you in meeting these needs and helping you advance education for every student in your district.