Investing in the Future: How Districts are Using COVID Relief Funds

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - 8:30 AM

Virtual

On November 1, 2022 the EdImpact Research Consortium held a virtual policy discussion on the current state of COVID relief funds in Massachusetts schools. We looked at how districts are using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds and how this federal investment of $2.9 billion can support innovative practices to address the urgent and long-term needs of students. We also discussed ways that policymakers, advocates, nonprofit leaders, and the private sector can leverage their roles to provide support and meaningful engagement.

The EdImpact Research Consortium is a partnership between the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, the CERES Institute for Children & Youth at Boston University Wheelock College, Education Resource Strategies, and Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education aimed at analyzing the impact of COVID recovery funds, supporting evidence-based spending, and providing a platform for the field to learn from one another and reflect on progress.

SPEAKERS

Annelise Buzaid, Senior Director of Research, The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy

Matt Deninger, Chief Strategy and Resource Officer, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Chad d’Entremont, Executive Director, The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy

Alexis Lian, Director of Policy, The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy

James Mikolowsky, Director of Policy, Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

Nate Schwartz, Professor of Practice at Brown University's Annenberg Institute of School Reform

Priya Tahiliani, Superintendent of Everett Public Schools

Blog

Rethinking Grading

March 28, 2024

Schools have assessed student learning and growth with essentially the same grading system for more than a century. Since this system was created, the field has learned so much more about the way students learn, the systemic inequities embedded in the design of traditional grading and assessment, and what type of learning leads to success in life. Grading should be aligned with what we know about the learning process, child and adolescent development, and the demands of career, college, and community life. But traditional grading is so deeply ingrained in our culture, that making changes to this system can seem like an insurmountable task. That’s why we partnered with DESE and reDesign to support five unique high schools as they interrogate their traditional grading practices and make shifts toward new systems that better measure student learning and growth.