In pre-pandemic times, middle school humanities students at DC's Capital City Public Charter School listen to a presentation about how to develop an elevator pitch for new products. (Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action)

Shannon Hodge and Josh Boots: To avoid a post-pandemic education crisis, DC must prioritize vulnerable students with its federal stimulus dollars

By Commentary On Jun 25, 2021 Last updated Jun 24, 2021

As the pandemic school year comes to a close and summer vacation gets underway, it’s clear that students and educators have shown remarkable ingenuity and resiliency throughout the crisis. Yet, for DC’s most vulnerable students, instability, loss and social isolation threaten to roll back the progress in academic outcomes made prior to the pandemic.

Shannon Hodge is founding executive director of the DC Charter School Alliance.

Nearly half of DC students reported their family’s financial situation became more stressful, while 1 in 5 students recently experienced the loss of an adult they care about. And these hardships were felt more acutely in DC’s most impoverished wards. At school, DC students considered “at risk” of academic failure –– those receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or who are unhoused, in the foster care system, or more than a year behind in high school — fell further behind their more privileged peers.

We believe closing that gap in academic outcomes is possible, but it will require a significant investment the city cannot shy away from. Used wisely, a boost from federal dollars in the short term coupled with sustained, consistent and adequate funding from local funds in the long term is how our students most at risk of academic failure will recover from the pandemic and be poised to thrive in school and life. Now is the time for Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council to pull out all the stops –– our city’s most vulnerable students are depending on it.

A recent analysis of assessments from DC Public Schools and charter schools painted a stark picture: At-risk students experienced a learning loss of five months in math and four months in reading during the first few months of the pandemic –– an extra loss of one month in math and three months in reading beyond what the typical student experienced. These alarming trends among students identified as at-risk cannot be reversed without funding for targeted interventions.

However, even during a pandemic, we’ve seen bright spots that suggest dramatic acceleration in academic and social-emotional progress for at-risk students is possible with the right targeted supports. For example, a special education teacher at Eagle Academy helped her first-grade students increase the rate at which they can instantly recognize common words –– above and beyond what is typical for similar students. She worked alongside an EmpowerK12 coach to implement a new teaching method based on proven research, accomplishing above average growth despite not having students in a physical classroom.

More than a decade of research on school spending effects shows that more funding leads to better academic outcomes. That’s why, to start, we propose a three-year investment of federal stimulus dollars to target educational recovery for students designated as at-risk. DC is slated to receive more than $2 billion from the American Rescue Plan, and it should target $300 million of this funding specifically for the purpose of supporting at-risk students. This amount would allow schools that opt in for the funding to receive $2,200 per student each year of the three-year program on top of current at-risk funding available from the city. Required financial and intervention tracking would ensure schools use these funds for intensive recovery initiatives rather than existing costs.

Wisely using federal dollars can give students the boost needed to start closing the gap in academic outcomes, but we also need an education budget from the city that recognizes the need for sustained long-term funding to support the most vulnerable students. In DC, schools receive a foundational amount of funding for each student, and that amount increases based on certain factors, including whether that student is identified as at-risk. Right now, each school receives an additional $2,551 for each at-risk student, nearly 40% less than what the city itself recommended in an education adequacy study commissioned in 2013. School leaders could breathe a little easier knowing they can count on a sustained, consistent and adequate funding stream to support their most vulnerable students, which is why the city should increase the at-risk funding weight to the level recommended by the study it commissioned.

Even assuming pre-pandemic gains continue at the same rate, the gap in academic outcomes between students designated as at-risk and their peers nationwide will not close until 2053. However, we have seen evidence that targeted supports work — even during a pandemic. Moreover, in a recent survey of DC charter school students, more than 8 in 10 had confidence they would finish this year with success. That’s why we’re confident our resilient students can and will bounce back.

Together, we can foster joyful classrooms where students feel they belong and can succeed, but only if Mayor Bowser and the DC Council boldly invest in educating students designated as at-risk. That is how we will ensure that our vulnerable students thrive with the education they deserve.

Shannon Hodge is founding executive director of the DC Charter School Alliance, and Josh Boots is executive director of EmpowerK12.

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