Testimony: Roundtable on Re-Opening District of Columbia Public Schools
Children’s Law Center Policy Director Sharra E. Greer testified before the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole and Committee on Education to stress the need for DCPS’s school reopening plans to focus on recovery of the significant learning loss that has occured during the COVID-19 public health crisis. While CLC supports in-person instruction to help close the learning gap, reopening plans and setbacks have made it clear that many DC families are uncomfortable returning their children to classrooms. In addition, at this time it is possible to only bring back a small percentage of students. As a result, many of the students who are suffering the greatest learning loss remain in a virtual learning environment. We urge DCPS to confront this reality head-on and redouble efforts to maintain and improve the quality of virtual learning. In addition, across the District for all students in all schools, traditional and charter, the reality of learning loss must be acknowledged, and a plan prepared to address it.
Read her testimony here: