鈥淭his is the biggest problem facing America,鈥� Jens Ludwig, a University of Chicago professor, said flatly. Nonetheless, he told those assembled at the Washington, D.C., event sponsored by the , a think tank, 鈥淲e do not have our hair on fire the way it needs to be.鈥�

That disconnect is the subject of a new released Monday that further explores what many have labeled an 鈥�urgency gap.鈥� To pinpoint the extent of the gap, the authors talked to parents about the signals they鈥檙e getting from teachers and schools about their children鈥檚 progress. Parents expressed little concern about lasting damage from the pandemic and typically thought their children were doing well in school 鈥� a view that researchers say is belied by dismal state and national test scores. 

The issue is 鈥済enuinely vexing,鈥� said Morgan Polikoff, an associate education professor at the University of Southern California and the paper鈥檚 lead author.  

鈥淧arents are overwhelmingly getting the message from grades and teachers that kids are doing fine-to-great,鈥� he said. He attributes that upbeat outlook to how little parents pay attention to standardized test scores 鈥� the 鈥渆xternal measures鈥� that matter most to researchers. 鈥淲e just never heard anything about standardized tests from the folks we interviewed.鈥�

The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed historic declines in math and flat performance in reading. According to this year鈥檚 spring test results, pandemic recovery remains elusive for some states. Several have continued to lose ground in reading and most have not surpassed pre-COVID performance in math. Last week鈥檚 release of international scores show U.S. students dropped 13 points in math between 2018 and 2022. 

Ludwig argues that U.S. students have made such little progress that the $190 billion Congress appropriated to address the COVID crisis is insufficient and lawmakers should find to fund high-dosage tutoring.  

鈥淚f we don’t remediate this pandemic learning loss, this cohort of 50 million kids will experience reduced lifetime earnings of something like $900 billion,鈥� he said.

Those messages, however, don鈥檛 always get to parents. 

Given the gauntlet of tests schools administer, it鈥檚 easy for parents to get lost, said Meredith Dodson, executive director of San Francisco Parent Action, a group that advocated for schools to reopen and has recently pushed for improvements in the district鈥檚 reading program.

For many parents, 鈥溾�嬧�媔t’s hard to understand all the acronyms 鈥� this test versus that test, the state versus the national,鈥� she said. 鈥淧arents just really want to trust their teachers. Is my kid on grade level or not?鈥�

Even some parents who knew their children鈥檚 standardized test scores tended to put more stock in grades, Polikoff found. One parent interviewed for the study knew that a majority of students scored higher than her son on the NWEA MAP test in math. But, she said, 鈥渉is knowledge is much greater than that鈥� because he received a 3 on a scale of 1-3 on his report card, which 鈥渕eans they鈥檝e achieved the mastery or whatever.鈥� 

Researchers have documented  between grade point averages and , especially since the pandemic. from three organizations 鈥� EdNavigator, Learning Heroes and TNTP 鈥� showed an increase in B grades since the pandemic even among students who performed below grade level and were chronically absent.

鈥楰ids are not stupid鈥�

Schools have also made it easier to do well, a vestige of pandemic-era incentives to get students to complete their work. Dan Goldhaber, director of the CALDER Center at the American Institutes for Research 鈥� and the father of two school-age children 鈥� said he鈥檚 increasingly 鈥渁stounded鈥� at how many chances students get to bring up their grades.

鈥淜ids are not stupid,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’re going to learn that, 鈥楴o, I don’t need to study real hard for this test because I can just correct it after the fact.鈥�”

It鈥檚 not a surprise, he added, that there鈥檚 been a lackluster response to some academic recovery efforts. A lot of districts have spent relief funds on less-effective remediation efforts, such as optional on-demand tutoring. And those companies typically get paid whether or not students improve or even use the service, according to . 

In response to disappointing results, some states and districts have shifted course. A few have with large online tutoring companies. Some have turned to 鈥渙utcomes-based鈥� contracts 鈥� in which tutors earn more money for better results. But others are sticking with . 

If districts are going to spend funds on tutoring, Goldhaber said, officials should 鈥渉ave some control over鈥� which students receive the help and when it鈥檚 delivered.

He and Polikoff are among the experts urging educators to make test score data a much larger focus of their conversations with parents. And there鈥檚 some evidence that hard facts about students鈥� scores can be a wake-up call.

A November showed that among parents who knew their children were below grade level in math, improving those skills became their number one concern, more important than curbing the effects of social media and protecting them from bullies.

Being honest with parents starts at the top, said Nat Malkus, deputy director of Education Policy Studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 

鈥淪uperintendents should not say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e chugging along. We’re going to get there.鈥� They should say this is a huge problem,鈥� he said at the Aspen event. Teachers, he added, need 鈥減olitical cover鈥� to tell parents their children are behind. 鈥淚t’s the truth and we need to deliver it.鈥� 

But the news doesn鈥檛 always go over well. When Precious Allen, who teaches second grade at Betty Shabazz Academy, a charter school in Chicago, showed parents test results that indicated their children were a year or more behind, she said they grew 鈥渇lustered鈥� and complained about doing extra review sheets with their children after work. 

It was tough, she said, for them to 鈥渨rap their minds around鈥� the data. She shared passages from that explains where children should be for their age to help parents understand how the pandemic threw their kids off track. 鈥淚 had to bring a lot of science and research into it because sometimes the voice of a teacher is not enough.鈥�

鈥榃orst possible time鈥�

But not all educators believe assessments provide valuable or reliable information. Polikoff sees the separation between parents and the nation鈥檚 education scholars as part of a larger anti-testing movement that started brewing long . The pandemic pause on state assessments and accountability sparked a to limit the number of tests and try .

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, for example, is leading a to remove the state test as a graduation requirement, calling it 鈥渉armful.鈥� The proposal drew sharp criticism from National Parents Association President Keri Rodrigues, whose organization trains parents to advocate for quality education.

鈥淭his is the dawn of a new era, where high school diplomas now become participation trophies,鈥� she wrote in an . 

Testing critics complain that assessments take up too much instructional time and that the results rarely benefit teachers because they arrive after students have already moved on to the next grade. Others say high-stakes tests are racially biased against Black and Hispanic students. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 just very close to zero constituencies advocating for tests or that they matter,鈥� Polikoff said. Republicans, he said, 鈥渨ant only unfettered choice鈥� while the left is not defending the usefulness of tests 鈥渢o ensure educational quality or equity.鈥�

鈥橳he backlash against testing, he said, has come “at the worst possible time given the damage that鈥檚 actually been done.”

Sheikh experienced several hurdles, from losing community college credits to inconsistent academic advising, after transferring twice during the pandemic.

鈥淲hen COVID hit, a lot of the resources I needed were cut off,鈥� Sheikh told 社区黑料. 鈥淚t was a bit of a struggle because I didn’t know the system very well, plus my parents never went to school here, so I was lost figuring out this process.鈥�

As a South Asian immigrant woman, Sheikh鈥檚 experience speaks to the thousands of transfer students from marginalized communities who鈥檝e had a difficult time achieving their dream to earn a four-year degree.

According to a new report from the , college transfer enrollment declined by 7.5 percentage points in fall 2022 and 14.5 percentage points since fall 2020 鈥� the equivalent of 37,600 and 78,500 students respectively.

The steepest transfer enrollment drops were observed among lower income students who declined by 10.8 percentage points since fall 2019 鈥� the equivalent of 225,200 students.

There was also a disparate enrollment drop for female transfer students compared to their male counterparts with a decline of 3.5 and 0.7 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall decline of 9.2 and 3.9 percentage points since fall 2020.

In addition, transfer enrollment fell significantly for Asian, White and Native American students by 8, 6.1 and 3.5 percentage points respectively in fall 2022 鈥� adding to an overall drop of 14.8, 12.2 and 7.8 percentage points since fall 2020.

鈥淓ven before the pandemic, that path from community colleges to four-year institutions was riddled with complexities and barriers that would hamstring even the most persistent students,鈥� director Tania LaViolet told 社区黑料.

鈥淪o when you get the extreme hardships from the last few years and an experience that already isn鈥檛 built with you in mind, those things compound鈥nd reflect the data we鈥檙e seeing.鈥�

LaViolet said the inequities for lower income students to attend four-year universities needs more attention from policymakers and state leaders. 

鈥淲e know it isn’t a matter of if the talent is out there,鈥� LaViolet said. 鈥淪o how can we design better practices that serve the needs of lower income transfers? There are institutions out there who have done it, but the data shows it鈥檚 not happening at scale.鈥�

LaViolet also said the disparities in female transfer enrollment doesn鈥檛 surprise her.

鈥淓specially for those who are parenting students, who have families to care for and who have jobs, those real life circumstances combined with a challenging educational environment make it difficult for women to realize their educational goals,鈥� LaViolet said.

Jeff Gold, the associate vice chancellor at the , agreed with LaViolet.

鈥淲hen a pandemic hits, there’s existential challenges that come first and foremost if you’re caring for a family member, if you’re sick yourself or if you’ve got to go back to work,鈥� Gold told 社区黑料. 鈥淏ut there’s certainly one that鈥檚 clear 鈥� child rearing responsibilities are disproportionately on the female side.鈥�

Gold also said it鈥檚 troubling how transfer enrollment drops are not shared equally by students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

鈥淲e have to remember that we’re still living in incredibly tumultuous times, so there’s a context behind these numbers and they’re not out of the blue,鈥� Gold told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o the fact that the drops for our most historically marginalized students are much larger than our other students is incredibly troubling.鈥�

John Fink, senior research associate at the , pointed out how transfer enrollment drops may 鈥渂e slowing, but are still moving in the wrong direction.鈥�

Looking forward, Fink believes these enrollment drops have implications for four-year universities that rely on transfer students as a core part of their enrollment strategy.

鈥淔our-year institutions have really taken transfer students for granted,鈥� Fink told 社区黑料. 鈥淭his really should be a wake up call for them to rethink and focus on how they can better partner with their community colleges.鈥�

Long before he arrived in the U.S. at age 16 with just $20 in his pocket 鈥� and longer still before he rose to prominence as New York State鈥檚 2019 Teacher of the Year 鈥� Alhassan Susso would watch and learn how his grandmother in Gambia helped others.

She had tremendous influence in the community because she knew everyone鈥檚 story, he said, and used those deep connections to work toward a greater good. 

鈥淪he could recount seven generations of their families,鈥� Susso said. 鈥淎s a result, people listened to everything she said. I realized, if I know someone鈥檚 story well, I鈥檓 able to speak to them and understand them.鈥�

Susso鈥檚 roots in his South Bronx school community do not stretch back quite so far but the 37-year-old social studies teacher has had a deep impact that spans from his current to his former students, their families and the impoverished neighborhood that surrounds them.

鈥淗e knows that we need him,鈥� said Berena Cabarcas, Susso鈥檚 principal at International Community High School. 鈥淗e is committed to our population.鈥�

Susso鈥檚 students have stories that closely resemble his own. Soon after landing in Poughkeepsie, New York and being placed in 11th grade, Susso鈥檚 living arrangement with an older brother evaporated. He found himself on his own, working at a local grocery store to pay rent, squeezing in school and scrambling to do more than just survive.

Susso鈥檚 students, all of them in this country for less than four years and 99 percent living below the poverty line, come from across the world, with a majority hailing from Latin America, French West Africa and the Middle East. Taken together, they speak dozens of languages 鈥� including Wolof, spoken in Senegal; Fula, common in West Africa; French and Spanish 鈥� but are united in their struggle for assimilation and the fight for a better life. 

鈥淲hat they share is being new to this land and trying to figure out how to successfully navigate that,鈥� Susso said. 鈥淢y job is to help them weave through some of the complex challenges they might face and make sense of their new home.鈥�

Adama Bah, a 17-year-old senior who hails from Guinea, takes inspiration from her teacher鈥檚 lived experience. Repeated hardships and a series of personal tragedies meant that Susso had to set aside his own ambitions in America to help his family back home, delaying him from graduating college and beginning his career until his late 20s. 

鈥淚f he did it, then I can too,鈥� Bah said, adding that every step she takes toward success creates a model for her younger sister. 

Susso starts his immigrant students on the path to college and future accomplishment in his now-famous Morning Class, an 8 a.m. gathering whose exceptional results are part of the reason he was named Teacher of the Year. Meeting an hour before school begins, he imparts lessons on everything from time management to personal finance, from mastering mindsets and emotions to creating vision boards and crystallizing goals. Students also get intensive instruction on interpersonal communication skills and leadership.

鈥淚 was writing an essay for a college class and was really struggling,鈥� said senior Anarosa Encarnacion. 鈥淗e teaches us to improve our writing and communication every day. But you need to come with a specific question: He makes you think about your work. You can鈥檛 just ask for the intro or the hook. You have to be specific.鈥�

In 2015, when the class was first offered, 29 students attended and all went on to college, Susso said. The following year, 42 attended the class and 40 went to college. The Morning Class has since been replicated by his fellow teachers and is now a required course. While other factors are also at work, International Community High School鈥檚 graduation rate went from just to the year before the pandemic. 

One part in a community process

Graduating and going onto college can change the trajectory of a student鈥檚 life 鈥� and their families. But there are also pressing needs in the larger community, including persistent poverty and the threat of crime, that require here-and-now solutions.

To that end, Susso has paired his classroom work with broader efforts across the community, partnering with outside organizations like , which works to empower low to 鈥渘o-income鈥� immigrant women; , which seeks to curb violence in the Bronx and beyond; and the which collaborates with designers, educators, advocates and students to explain complex policy issues. Susso鈥檚 students work 鈥� and learn 鈥� beside him in these campaigns that broaden their world view and uplift their neighbors. 

Susso helped Sauti Yeti develop a curriculum meant to promote healthy relationships and combat teen pregnancy and allowed the organization to collect data from his students who agreed to serve as a focus group. That information then helped to inform workshops for women and girls all over the Bronx.

Students volunteered for years to organize Peace December鈥檚 annual conference, setting up the meeting space, serving as ushers and absorbing critical messages meant to help combat the crime that sometimes prompts their fearful parents to keep them indoors. 

鈥淚n Africa, we get to be outside, be kids and play around,鈥� said Amy Samb, a 17-year-old senior from Senegal. 鈥淗ere, you can鈥檛: There are always cars coming 鈥� and there is so much violence, (parents) would rather us be in the house. We don鈥檛 really get to be kids.鈥�

The Center for Urban Pedagogy invited Susso鈥檚 class to examine several urgent issues, including immigration. For that project, he had his students fan out into the South Bronx to interview residents about the undocumented: Their efforts culminated in a pamphlet students distributed throughout the community explaining the rights of U.S. citizens and non-citizens. 

The Center later shifted its focus to food stamps and the minimum wage. Just as he did with immigration, Susso required students to ask community members, including local business owners, about the proposed hike to $15 an hour. Such exchanges are critical, Susso said: His students cannot properly work on behalf of others unless they understand their needs. Just as his grandmother did. 

鈥淭he people you are advocating for,鈥� he said, 鈥測ou want them to be part of the process instead of subjects of the conversation. It is always important to talk to community members to find out what they think about the issue we think they need help with. Instead of being the expert on this issue, you are learning about it and providing meaningful feedback.鈥�

The comfort of keeping in touch

Some 100 former students showed up at the school on the day that Susso was announced . Among them was Fatou Boye, 24 and a preschool teacher at P.S. 96 in the Bronx. 

Boye graduated from high school in 2016 and credits her former teacher for helping her identify and work toward her goals, particularly through his Morning Class.

“It made me who I am today,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very responsible because of the Morning Class. I learned time management, budgeting, finance, how to be successful in college, how to be accountable for my time.”

Susso and his students are bound together for life, which is why so many remain in contact long after graduation. Six years post-high school, Boye still considers Susso a trusted mentor.

鈥淚t is mandatory for me, at least once or twice a month, to call him, keep him updated about my life, what I鈥檓 thinking of doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e gives me advice 鈥� and when I鈥檓 stressed and need to release, I just call him. I keep in touch because of the comfort. With all of his experience, he has a lot to bring to his students.鈥�

Boye still makes vision boards for herself and shares them with him when she鈥檚 done. And Susso has helped her in other ways, too, she said: As the only girl in her family, Boye was accustomed to soaking up everyone鈥檚 attention, a tendency that made her a less than ideal classmate. Susso noticed this and found a way to reset her thinking, she said. 

鈥淗e really helped me understand people,鈥� Boye said. “When I was in high school, he printed out a book for me: We went through it for hours, talking about it. Slowly, he started molding me into a better person to interact with my classmates. To this day, when he reads a good book and he likes it, he鈥檒l share it with me.鈥�

Susso wants his students to collaborate with their peers and help others 鈥� the Morning Class also has a community service component where students have volunteered at area homeless shelters and raised money for cancer research. But he also desires for these young people to discover their own agency and capacity to be leaders.

鈥淎t some point in life, whether you鈥檙e a parent, a teacher, a boss at some organization, the president of a country,鈥� he tells his students, 鈥� you will be either a manager 鈥� managing every little thing people are doing, including your children 鈥� or you become a leader, in which you develop the skill of influence.鈥�

In addition to offering life lessons inside the school, Susso has helped untangle misunderstandings at home. In one instance, a family was worried that their teenage daughter鈥檚 new job would jeopardize their food stamps. The girl, one of Susso鈥檚 students, enjoyed the responsibility and the money that came with it: She was heartsick when her mother pressured her to quit. 

鈥淎fter school, I went to the house to speak to the mom, and 鈥� at the end of the conversation, she had a better understanding,鈥� he said. 鈥淗er daughter was not making enough for the family to no longer qualify for aid.鈥�

That same student is now a Ph.D. candidate at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, conducting research on bone marrow treatment. 

鈥業 know there are no accidents鈥�

Two weeks before Susso鈥檚 high school graduation, he learned his grandmother, who had raised him and his siblings, had no place to live after her roof collapsed. 

Though he was slated to begin community college in the fall, he put that dream on hold to pick up a second full-time grocery store job: For six years, he worked 4 p.m. to midnight at one location and midnight to 8 a.m. at another.

The schedule was grueling but allowed him enough money to build a house for both his grandmother and his mother. Finally, with that mission complete, he enrolled in college in 2008 when he was 23 years old. But that summer brought new tragedy: His 19-year-old sister contracted Hepatitis B and needed to come to the United States for treatment. 

But the only way she鈥檇 be granted a visa was if the family could secure $25,000 toward her medical care. The situation seemed hopeless until one of Susso鈥檚 managers at Stop & Shop 鈥� he came from modest means but worked hard and saved money over the course of many years 鈥� offered to help. 

鈥淭o my surprise, he said, 鈥業鈥檒l bring you the money tomorrow because there should never be a price tag on a human life,鈥欌�� Susso recalled.

Ultimately, his sister鈥檚 visa application was denied and she succumbed four months later. Eight hours after her passing, Susso鈥檚 grandmother died of a heart attack. 

The young man was devastated by both losses, but also motivated to help those who found themselves similarly stranded.

鈥淟ooking back now, I know there are no accidents,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was my first year of college. I stopped all of my classes to be back home with my family. And then when I got back to the U.S., it became clear what I wanted to study: I wanted to become an immigration lawyer.鈥�

Susso earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science and history from the University of Vermont and took his law school entrance exam, but a trusted advisor steered him in another direction. By the time he would defend immigrant kids in the courtroom, they鈥檇 be headed to jail or targeted for deportation, the advisor said. Perhaps, she suggested, there was another way to empower these children.

Susso considered her advice and reflected on the wisdom of Nelson Madela, who once called education 鈥渢he most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.鈥� 

Suddenly, a new plan revealed itself: Susso would become a teacher.

鈥淢y mission was clear: When these kids graduate, they have avenues to have a better quality of life that they mightn鈥檛 have otherwise,鈥� he said.

A worthwhile journey

Susso鈥檚 students have already been accepted to numerous area colleges this year, with many aspiring to transfer to bigger-name schools once they master English. It鈥檚 what they hope will help build their legacy, a frequent topic in Susso鈥檚 Morning Class.

Some of his students arrived in the United States on their own. Others flew across the globe with a single, similarly aged sibling, reuniting with a mother or father whom they hadn鈥檛 seen in years.

Anarosa Encarnacion, the senior who was grappling wih her college essay, has already felt the sting of xenophobia in her new home, most notably when a man told her and her family as they dined in a restaurant that they should speak English. 鈥淚 just stayed quiet,鈥� said the teen, who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic.

Susso uses these instances as teachable moments, giving his students tools to navigate such painful interactions.

鈥淥ne of the things we discuss is that the way people treat you has more to do with them than you,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ther people鈥檚 reaction to you is really not your issue.鈥� 

Principal Cabarcas said many of the students Susso worked with would have dropped out or taken far longer to graduate without his intervention, including the chance to attend his Morning Class.

“It was relevant and meaningful,鈥� Cabarcas said. 鈥淪tudents could put that knowledge to use right away. They really saw how it would affect them 鈥� both in the moment and in the future.”

She鈥檚 thrilled that the widely recognized social studies teacher has chosen to remain on staff, to make the two-hour commute each way to teach at her school and return to the community that needs him.

Susso has had many other job offers and could easily teach closer to home: The father of three still lives in Poughkeepsie because it鈥檚 near his wife鈥檚 workplace. But no school or neighborhood would have as high a population of newcomer students as his, he said. 

鈥淲hy do I commute four hours a day to teach them?鈥� he asked. 鈥淚t is a journey that is well worth it.鈥�

Disclosure: The Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to both the Weave Project and 社区黑料.

Lead Image: Alhassan Susso stands with a group of his students in front of a mural outside International Community High School in the South Bronx. Left to Right: Alhassan Susso, Adama Bah, Habi Kane, Amy Samb and Anarosa Encarnacion. (Jo Napolitano)

Recommendations include ways schools can reduce carbon emissions, utilize infrastructure as a teaching tool, support communities of color disproportionately affected by weather crises and create pathways for students to pursue green jobs.

鈥淯ltimately, there are a lot of technical fixes that we need in addressing climate change. But we will need people to actually advance a sustainable society,鈥� said Laura Schifter, senior fellow with the Aspen Institute and founder of the new initiative, .

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Synthesizing a year of listening tours and research, the connects one of the country鈥檚 most sizable public sectors to actionable climate solutions 鈥� like warming effects by replacing the nation鈥檚 largest diesel fleet with electric school buses and swapping the common asphalt plots that surround schools with green spaces.

Organized by federal, state and local impact, all recommendations detail what partnerships can and do look like with business, philanthropy, media and advocacy organizations across the country.

In comparison with private homes, public safety offices and businesses, , according to the New Buildings Institute, a nonprofit that tracks and helps to redesign commercial spaces鈥� energy performance. Annually, K-12 schools in the U.S. produce emissions equivalent to or roughly 15 million cars. Energy is the second most costly expense for school districts on average.

The K12 Climate Action of students, teachers, education administrators and environmental leaders includes incoming Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, researcher and president of the Learning Policy Institute and the presidents of the country鈥檚 two largest teachers unions, representing roughly 4 million educators combined. The group is co-led by Republican Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, and Democrat John King, former U.S. secretary of education under President Obama who is now running for Maryland governor.

With the action plan now live, the commission is coalition building with districts and businesses nationwide. Their focus is educating more leaders about how small and large school infrastructure changes or partnerships can support a cleaner environment, so that they鈥檙e able to follow through on recommendations.

鈥淎ll the things that we’re calling for are achievable. There’s someplace somewhere that is doing each of the things we recommend,鈥� King told 社区黑料.

Some suggested changes, like improving air quality for students, are highly anticipated by parents and already underway in efforts to ameliorate pandemic health concerns. Beginning next year, more than 500 schools across New York state will further improve air quality, reduce emissions and add energy career and tech opportunities under Gov. Kathy Hochul鈥檚 just-announced $59 million . New York officials are partnering with the New Buildings Institute on the effort.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers who sometimes clashed with King in her role as a labor leader, told 社区黑料 that the union 鈥渓eaped鈥� at the opportunity to be involved in K12 Climate Action, seeing it as part of the AFT鈥檚 broader goal to make schools safe and healthy spaces for learning.

鈥淭he way you teach people is by not telling them, but having them see, feel, touch, use whatever senses they have to really envision a future,鈥� she said.

Weingarten and other commission leaders toured Alice West Fleet Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia Sept. 21 to learn how a small school has become a model of sustainability for the affluent, D.C. area county. The school鈥檚 geothermal heating system and solar panels save roughly $100,000 in energy costs each year, enough to fund two teachers鈥� starting salaries, according to the Aspen Institute鈥檚 Laura Schifter.

In the center of Alice West Fleet, the red and blue lights of a 鈥渟olar pole鈥� show students how much energy is being produced and used at any given moment. Any surplus goes to greater Arlington County, and upper grade students use data collected to make comparisons and predictions about how much energy will be produced at different points in the year.

On the first floor is the yet-to-be-named 鈥淧ower Pole,鈥� showing students the amount of power the school has generated. The blue is from the solar panels, the red is the power being used. Extra power goes back to the county.

鈥� AFT (@AFTunion)

Weingarten, whose enthusiasm was evident during the tour when she slid down a slide that connects Fleet鈥檚 third and second floors, added that the AFT recently established a climate task force, including members from states heavily dependent on the fossil fuel industry, like Texas, West Virginia and Alaska. The growing urgency to address climate needs across political parties and geography gives her hope that what unites us is greater than what divides us.

鈥淛ust like our responsibility to educate kids, there’s a responsibility to keep a climate that’s going to be there,鈥� Weingarten said.

Commission member Nikki Pitre, executive director for the told 社区黑料 that there鈥檚 also a responsibility to keep Indigenous people and values at the forefront of climate solutions, given that Native peoples have always stewarded the land and acted as environmentalists.

The action plan emphasizes that Indigenous communities鈥� knowledge systems 鈥� their local culture and ecological practices 鈥� must be included in climate solutions.

Pitre said she walked away from the tour of Alice Fleet questioning, 鈥淲hat do we need to advocate for in our policies to ensure that these schools are not the exception? That we鈥檙e providing equal access across the country 鈥� including tribal reservations, including urban spaces?鈥�

School leaders on the commission say that equity considerations play a key part in deciding which sustainable infrastructure improvements are prioritized because solutions cannot be one-size-fit-all. For some districts, climate issues are just as urgent as addressing unfinished learning and mental health concerns related to the pandemic as families face unprecedented flooding in the South and upper Atlantic.

As Los Angeles County鈥檚 superintendent of schools, Debra Duardo leads the that constitute the nation鈥檚 largest K-12 consolidated school system. She told 社区黑料 she hesitated when first approached by the commission, given all the urgent challenges facing students during the pandemic.

鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 really placed as much of an emphasis on my own time and knowledge on understanding the impact that the education sector has on the environment. For me it was like, we鈥檙e super busy right now, but one thing this pandemic has taught us is that schools have to be ready to step up 鈥� that people look to schools as the hub of support and resources and communities,鈥� Duardo said.

In Los Angeles, where families increasingly face poor air quality from smog and fire smoke, she said, it鈥檚 historically been student and environmental activists leading the charge for climate solutions. However busy leaders might be, she said, they cannot ignore the dread young people feel when confronting climate change and the strains it may place on their learning.

鈥淭here’s so much evidence and research that tells us that children thrive when they’re in an environment where it’s safe, beautiful and accommodating to meet their needs …Children aren’t going to learn and thrive in an environment if they don’t feel like anybody is listening, or they鈥檙e concerned that their futures, their safety are in danger.鈥�

Advocates and teachers say presents a way to confront some eco-anxiety with positive actions and possibilities for future careers in engineering, green infrastructure and clean energy. K12 Climate Action commissioners contend that infrastructure changes are reducing emissions while preparing the next generation of stewards.

Sustainable changes also open the door for deeper civic and family engagement at a time when the pandemic has strained relationships to schools. As a part of a larger research assignment on the Chesapeake Bay, Ashley Snyder鈥檚 fourth-grade students at Alice West Fleet started brainstorming ways to share with the community how best to enhance rain gardens and filtration systems to protect the watershed area.

鈥淚 definitely see the students bringing home a lot more of what they’re learning to their families,鈥� she said.