Nancy Bailey asked moms on Mothers’ Day to reimagine public schools.
Whom do you trust? Moms or Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt?
Bailey lists 23 ideas that she gathered from them.
Here are the first few.
She writes:
I collected their comments and added a few of my own. Feel free to add to the list.
The Arts. All schools must provide arts education. Music, painting, dance, acting, students thrive with exposure to a rich arts program.
Assessment. Drop the high-stakes standardized testing! Mothers know these tests were never about their children. Moms started the Opt-Out Movement! Have less assessment and more teacher-chosen tests to determine student progress.
Cafeterias. Parents hope for better food for their students and a better dining environment.
Career-Technical Education. Students benefit from classes in Career-Technical Education (CTE).
Communication. School officials and teachers must stay in touch. Politeness and positivity in forms and business information go a long way with parents.
Community. Schools are the hub of the community. Moms want the community to get behind their public schools.
Curriculum. Students deserve a rich variety of classes. Elementary students need social studies and science. Civics must be addressed in high school. Many mothers want to see the return of classes like Home Economics and business education. Their students need to understand personal management and life skills.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Seems like students value public schools much more than the adults who advise politicians on public schools do:
“School closures were intended to keep students safe during the pandemic, but for many, it’s ushered in a different set of dangers: anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions.
School counselors, psychologists and social workers have been trying to help students virtually since campuses closed, listening to their struggles and offering advice on how to navigate the complex difficulties they’re facing. But what students need most right now — in-person support — is impossible to deliver, they said.
“I’ve been at this a long time, and I’m scratching my head at how daunting this is,” said Loretta Whitson, executive director of the California Association of School Counselors. “In the Great Recession we were dealing with job loss, but now we’re facing job loss as well as widespread trauma.”
Not sure we should pitch public schools in the trash heap without checking in with the students and families who actually use public schools. These students seem to be missing SOMETHING – unlike the adults they aren’t seeing this as an opportunity to “reinvent” their schools.
While hiring and retaining more teachers of color is important, it is also important to provide students for whom English is a new language appropriate supports while they are learning English and adapting to a new culture.
cx: hiring and retaining more teachers of color are important,
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great slogan for voters: Re-imagine Cuomo