Quotes in USA Today and Bloomberg Government. Webinars with Harvard’s Belfer Center and Pepperdine University. And several of my essays made the top 2020 lists for EdNext and The 74,
Introducing the TechEnabled Podcast
I have a new podcast series at AEI called TechEnabled where I'm exploring not only the ways in which technology is enabling new models and systems, but also the way it provides deeper - and often real time - insights that can help us better understand the trends within our communities and the broader economy. We have great organizations lined up including Safe Graph, US Digital Response, CMU’s COVIDcast, Thumbtack, GovLabs, PolicyMap, EMSI, Burning Glass, and the Mobility Institute.
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.
Memos for a Tech Transition
For the first time, the presidential transition process will receive technology-focused agency review briefs — written by expert technologists and policymakers, who themselves served in the agencies — to assess the current technological capacity, critical items for the first 200 days, and key technical leadership positions for 2021.
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.”
Here’s How Michigan’s Schools Can Reopen This Fall
This disruption to the school year has created broad academic challenges for students, particularly those most vulnerable before the crisis occurred. Schools may need to extend the school day or year to help students catch up on lost instruction. Michigan should commit now to ensure their assessments are administered in the spring of 2021 to help identify students who need extra help and better target assistance to close learning gaps. They should also commit to providing the social and emotional learning practices needed to help students as they make their way through this new normal.
In The News
What To Do About the Fall's Looming School Personnel Crisis
Everyone was taken by surprise when schools closed their doors to over 55 million students this spring. When schools reopen, there will be important accommodations to protect students and staff. But some teachers and school personnel — as many as half a million — may not be able to return to school building due to being more at risk for contracting COVID-19. Schools need to adequately prepare for what can only be described as a mounting school personnel crisis in the fall.
A Blueprint for Reopening America’s Schools This Fall
We shouldn’t strive to return to “normal,” but rather to attain something better. Adapting to the challenges of COVID-19 gives America’s schools the opportunity to provide what is uniquely possible in the classroom while seeking new ways to fully use technology and community partnerships. There has never been a better time for schools to run their own pilots of blended learning, personalized learning and competency-based learning. Schools can meld the best of the brick-and-mortar experience of school with digital content, online courses and cloud-based services. Personalized learning could become the way we approach teaching and learning moving forward.
Here Are Five Steps Schools Can Take to Reopen Schools
In many communities, reopening schools will not mean business as usual. Just what will it take to get schools ready, amidst enormous uncertainty?
To tackle that question, we worked with a task force of 19 bipartisan educational leaders — including former state chiefs, superintendents, federal education officials, and school leaders — to develop a blueprint to help states, communities, and schools address these challenges. Here are five key places to start.
A Blueprint for Reopening This Fall: What Will It Take to Get Schools Ready?
Families and communities need America’s schools to be ready to reopen as soon as public-health officials signal that it’s safe. The nation has recently been reminded just how vital schools are. They connect students with peers and mentors, channel youthful energy into productive pursuits, teach essential academic skills and knowledge, and give overwhelmed parents room to breathe and work. Today’s packets and remote learning efforts are at best an inferior substitute for a small portion of this.
