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

06/11/20 • 32 min

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.

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Dr. Luis Perez discusses the importance of equitable learning instructional design during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The public health crisis surrounding COVID-19 has led to school closures across the country, creating a need to transition to online learning. In this special season of Ed Influencers, we will talk to experts who are actively helping schools plan for and cope with the impact of longterm closures. School closures are creating challenges for all students and families, but especially for our most vulnerable student populations. In this episode, we're going to learn from Dr. Luis Perez, Technical Assistance Specialist at the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, about how we can ensure equitable learning during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Next Episode

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

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.