John Bailey joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss artificial intelligence and what role it could have in the classroom.
The Opportunities and Challenges of AI in Education
There is an incredible amount of excitement and confusion around what this wave of generative AI means for education. These technologies are rapidly improving, and developers are introducing capabilities that would have been considered science fiction just a few years ago. In my latest Education Next piece, I provide an overview of generative AI and explore how this technology will influence how students learn, how teachers work, and ultimately how we structure our education system.
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
Honored to be included in the Washingtonian Magazine's list of Most Influential People along with so many inspiring leaders. Wonderful to see many friends and colleagues on this list.
Reset Strategies Now, Prepare for the Future
The rapidly receding Omicron wave of Covid-19 presents a moment to pause and reflect on our pandemic strategy and make needed and, in some cases, long overdue adjustments. This is also the time to prepare for future pandemic risks. As we move forward, it is important for policymakers and health authorities to review which measures have worked, which policies have fallen short, and which actions have produced too little public-health benefit relative to the costs they have imposed on families and, too often, on children.
Broadband Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Broadband has become a fundamental enabling technology for nearly every aspect of our lives. It helps support online learning, remote work, telemedicine, and delivery of government services. In the same vein, the lack of access to affordable broadband creates enormous challenges for segments of the population that are unable to access crucial services to help them succeed in work and life. This report summaries the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act programs that will allocate more than $65 billion toward closing the digital divide.
COVID-19 Will Continue to Disrupt Schools, But We Can Manage It
Some excerpts from my recent piece in Newsweek outlining reasons why we should prepare for a third year of interrupted learning in schools. I then outline five steps we can take to help manage the challenges and uncertainty.
Rethinking Education Finance: The Risks and Opportunities of Emerging Models
Summary of the Education Provisions of the American Rescue Plan
A summary of the education provisions of the American Rescue Plan prepared for a session at the NSVF Summit 2021.
Is it Safe to Reopen Schools? An Extensive Review of the Research
A new report, Is it Safe to Reopen Schools? An Extensive Review of the Research, from the COVID Collaborative, United States of Care, the Walton Family Foundation, Opportunity Labs, CRPE's Evidence Project, and AEI summarizes more than 130 studies that show the physical, academic, and emotional toll of school closures will have a significant negative impact on children for decades to come. The report highlights key findings around risks for children, transmissibility concerns, and the impact of school reopenings on community spread — including a new analysis of data related to learning loss, student engagement, and absenteeism with a focus on the disproportionate harm on students of color.
C-SPAN on Reopening Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic
CDC Adds to Growing Body of Research Showing How Schools Can Reopen
It is very likely that we’ve overestimated the risk of sending children back into the classroom and underestimated the consequences of keeping them at home. It’s time to adapt our strategies to better reflect on the lessons learned over the last 10 months. It’s time to safely and responsibly give students the option of coming back to school.
Covid Collaborative: Ten Ways to Make Online Learning Work
I had the chance to work with all the former U.S. Directors of Educational Technology to publish ten recommendations for how to make online learning work better during this period of disrupted learning. It was incredibly gratifying and inspirational to experience the brilliance and insight from these leaders: Linda Roberts, Karen Cator, Richard Culatta, Tim Magner, Susan Patrick, and Joseph South, and Katrina Stevens.
To Reopen Learning, Give Students the Internet
An estimated 21 million Americans lack a high-speed internet connection. More than 1 in 10 students report they don’t have a laptop or desktop at home. And the digital divide is even more prevalent in our most vulnerable communities. The Census Household Pulse Survey showed that, as of June, 15% of black students lacked reliable internet connectivity, and 21% lacked a device at home. Twenty-one percent of low-income children lack the connectivity needed to benefit from either online or hybrid learning.
That’s why it is urgent for Congress to use the next phase of fiscal relief to bridge this divide. Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey has proposed $4 billion for the E-rate program, which helps to connect low-income children at home. Republicans, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, have issued a Digital Equity Framework that calls on giving students access to broadband to complete their homework remotely as well as expanding broadband access to minority and low-income communities.
In the News
Will Parents Let Their Children Return to Reopened Schools?
On the same day of the White House forum, the nation saw a new single day record of COVID-19 cases and spiking infection numbers across 37 states over the past two weeks. States are busy preparing technical plans for schools, but may be missing the important health issues they must address in order to instill parental trust. Unless leaders quickly respond to these cautious parents, schools will open their doors but children will stay at home.
John Bailey Appointed Sammons Enterprises Fellow at the Bush Institute
I’m honored to have been appointed as the Sammons Enterprises Fellow at the Bush Institute. I will be focusing on education and workforce issues, including supporting several of the Institute’s initiatives. It’s an exciting opportunity and I’m flattered to have been selected along with Keith Hennessey , Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, and Robert A. McDonald.
Reopening Resilient Schools
An essay I wrote for EducationNext describing how we can approach safely reopen schools. I cover what the most recent scientific studies tell us about risks for children as well as if they are super spreaders of COVID-19. Other issues include how to address SEL, academic learning loss, and improving distance learning to provide a better experience for both teachers and students next year.
In the News
Parents and the Pandemic: A Comprehensive Analysis of Survey Data
An analysis of data from the 4,000 parents surveyed over weeks that gives us a better sense of how parents are navigating the challenges of COVID-19, what they expect with reopened schools, what they want after the killing of George Floyd, and how they are uses their CARES Act direct cash benefit. All of the data is also available on AEI’s website.
NYT Editoral
On Sunday, the NYT Editorial Board published an editorial mentioning our research on the number of teachers who may be vulnerable to COVID-19. “An analysis by John Bailey of the American Enterprise Institute shows that 18 percent of teachers and 27 percent of principals fall into the high-risk age category. Districts might end up offering buyouts for some their most vulnerable employees — and finding roles outside of schools for the others. This could create a staff shortage at precisely the time when districts are trying to lower the risk of spreading infection by cutting class size and staggering schedules to limit population density in school buildings.”