As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, The Hunt Institute is hosting numerous webinars each month to explore different topics across the birth through postsecondary continuum. Below, find full recordings of our webinars from September, along with links to learn more about each of them.
Governing Principals Webinar Recap: A Conversation with Lt. Governors and Michael Petrilli
With the 2020-21 school year underway and school districts across the nation approaching learning in the time of COVID-19 differently, state leaders are persistent in engaging in the tireless work to support the diverse needs of the communities they serve. In our latest installment of Governing Principals, we were joined by Kentucky Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, Nevada Lt. Governor Kate Marshall and special guest moderator Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute to hear more about how states are contending with issues around school finance and facilitating high-quality instruction in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more about this webinar here.
Supporting Innovation in Education Webinar Recap: Helping Students Succeed During a Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has been among the most disruptive forces in recent memory, altering the way political, economic, and educational systems are governed and operated. Within the education space, higher education has seen among the greatest disruptions resulting from the pandemic. In the spring, priorities in higher education included adjusting to the new reality brought on by the pandemic, some of which included ensuring that students could complete their degrees, advance in their coursework, and/or have their non-academic needs met, particularly for students who face food and/or housing insecurity.
Now, the conversation has turned to campus re-opening and re-integrating students following months of virtual learning and potential disengagement (the “summer slide”). To ensure safe and effective re-openings of campuses, institutions of higher education (IHEs) have built testing infrastructures, deployed multiple kinds of personal protective equipment (PPE), and use strict social distancing protocols. Despite these precautions, there remains much uncertainty in the higher education space, and in The Hunt Institute’s latest installment of Supporting Innovation in Education, The Institute sat down with Dr. Carol D’Amico of the Strada Education Network, Sarah Sattelmeyer of the Pew Charitable Trusts, and Tina Gridiron of ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning to discuss how higher education students can be best supported amid this uncertainty.
Read more about this webinar here.
Homeroom with Education Leaders Webinar Recap: Supporting English Language Learners During Distance Learning
Over the past six months, policymakers, researchers, stakeholders, and practitioners have labored to understand the immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on all areas of the education continuum. Education stakeholders also recognize that many of these challenges existed prior to the pandemic and have simply been brought to the forefront during this time.
States and localities have seen the burden the pandemic has placed on students and families, a burden of which has also been disproportionately placed on marginalized communities. Understanding these impacts is critical in diagnosing challenges, and an important piece in that diagnosis is communicating critical information and bringing a diverse set of perspectives to the table to grasp how individuals, communities, and sectors are affected. The Hunt Institute has worked to create those spaces for open dialogue to share ideas and develop solutions. In the ninth installment of Homeroom with Education Leaders, The Institute sat down with Delia Pompa of the Migration Policy Institute, Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green of Rhode Island, State Superintendent Karen Salmon of Maryland, and State Superintendent Hanseul Kang of Washington D.C. to discuss how states and localities are supporting English Language Learners (ELLs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more about this webinar here.
Governing Principals Webinar Recap: Student Transitions
Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions of higher education (IHEs) throughout the country are grappling with challenges unlike anything seen in the lifetimes of many. IHEs, working to bring students back to campus in the middle of a public health crisis, have seen mixed results in the efficacy of such attempts; some IHEs have implemented the robust testing regimes and social distancing protocols necessary to safely host students, while others have not. This challenge facing higher education not only affects the students who have been enrolled in the institution, but also those who are transitioning from high school to the postsecondary space. This transition, which is already difficult for many, has been made even more so as IHEs grapple with how to best operate under current conditions. COVID-19 has complicated student transitions, and as students throughout the country are re-thinking higher education enrollment, policymakers must identify and invest in supports and services that can help students make a smooth transition into the postsecondary space.
This subject was the point of focus in the latest installment of Governing Principals: A Conversation with Former Governors, with The Hunt Institute sitting down with Governor Jack Markell (Governor of Delaware, 2009-2017), Governor Bob Taft (Governor of Ohio, 1999-2007), and Chancellor Eloy Oakley of the California Community College (CCC) System to discuss how federal, state, and local policymakers and stakeholders can better support students in transition during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the long-term.
Read more about this webinar here.
Postsecondary Pathways Webinar Recap: Financial Challenges in the Wake of COVID-19
The conversations happening across all sectors concerning the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recession that followed, and the fight to dismantle systemic racism have revealed the fragilities and inequities existing in certain systems that must be addressed and dealt with. No system has been immune to the effects of this historical moment, especially the American higher education system. Institutions of higher education (IHEs) have felt the adverse effects of disruptions caused by the pandemic and are facing unprecedented financial challenges. IHE leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure that higher education can meet the needs of its students in the current moment, and are thinking about how to address the inequities that have been exacerbated in recent months.
The Hunt Institute sat down with Dr. Harrison Keller of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Dr. Rosa Garcia of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), and Dr. Sue Ellspermann of Ivy Tech Community College to discuss how leaders have been facing the financial challenges of IHEs during the pandemic.
Read more about this webinar here.
Supporting Innovation in Education Webinar Recap: Helping Educators provide High-Quality Remote Instruction
In the wake of the pandemic, many teachers and school leaders have pivoted to remote learning platforms, but they may not be aware of the most effective strategies and technology options to provide quality remote instruction based on what we know about how people learn. This subject was the point of focus in the latest installment of the Supporting Innovation in Education webinar series. The Hunt Institute sat down with Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (Learning Policy Institute), LaVerne Evans Srinivasan (Carnegie Corporation of New York), and Gabriela López (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) to discuss innovative strategies to support educators who are navigating these issues.
Read more about this webinar here.
