Carissa Moffat Miller, Ph.D., CEO of CCSSO, Discusses Top 3 Challenges for State Leaders During, Beyond the Pandemic

03/24/21 • 39 min

Carrisa Moffat Miller, Ph.D., CEO of the Council of Chief State School Officers, shares her organization's key learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining challenges ahead for state education leaders and the different ways exemplary leaders are innovating to overcome these challenges, with equity always at the forefront. Along the way, Miller shares insights into what she identifies as education’s top three post-pandemic concerns: school reopenings, learning gaps, and mental health guidance and support. She also unpacks how top leaders are building a new normal in education, and explains how the lessons learned from the pandemic may change how learning takes place moving forward. Finally, she shares her best advice for education leaders: Don’t be afraid to act even when there’s not a clear “right” answer, and get comfortable with admitting when you don’t know something.

Previous Episode

Chiefs for Change CEO Mike Magee shares how education policymakers can strategically develop plans for a post-COVID era

So far in this season of EdInfluencers, we’ve focused on how schools have responded to closures and online learning. But how should we be thinking about the return to classrooms? What must be different in the future to ensure equitable learning for all students?

Mike Magee is the CEO of Chiefs for Change, a national nonprofit organization that provides guidance on policy and practice to a network of state and local leaders. His organization’s newest report, “The Return: How Should Education Leaders Prepare for Reentry and Beyond,” published in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, offers research-based recommendations in four areas that will impact student achievement and well-being. These are not recommendations that are specifically focused on keeping us physically safe. Rather, they are focused on how we might change the system to be more resilient and equitable and to better serve our students' needs. Some of them may surprise you.

Next Episode

Temple Lovelace, Ph.D., Explains the Impact of COVID-19 On Special Needs Students of Color

Temple Lovelace, Ph.D., professor of special education and program director of special education Programs at Duquesne University, explains the impact of COVID-19 on special needs students of color with disabilities, and describes the work needed to provide these learners with the education and support they need. An expert on social justice and education equity who’s preparing the next generation of educators, Lovelace defines emancipatory R&D, shares the inequities that emerged for students of color during the pandemic, unpacks some of the systematic oppression that was lessened for these students when they were able to learn from home, and discusses how we might rethink education for these learners moving forward. Listen to find out how Lovelace’s work is keeping equity at the forefront of education.

Ed Influencers - Carissa Moffat Miller, Ph.D., CEO of CCSSO, Discusses Top 3 Challenges for State Leaders During, Beyond the Pandemic

Transcript

Ed Influencers Season 4

Episode 1_ Dr. Carissa Moffat Miller

Carissa:

The key things that we're hearing from state chiefs right now are about reopening buildings safely. And that varies by where they're at, identifying and closing learning gaps and addressing student mental health.

Joseph:

Welcome to Ed Influencers, a podcast from ISTE, the International Society for Techno