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The American education system was not designed to operate 鈥� much less thrive 鈥� without physical, in-person interaction. And when the novel coronavirus forced indefinite emergency school closures this spring, concern ballooned for how to educate America鈥檚 74 million school-age children from afar.

That, coupled with this summer鈥檚 protests demanding social justice, led The 74鈥檚 Pandemic Reporting Initiative to dispatch its correspondents, stationed across the country, to take a hard look at how existing curricula may not be conducive to closing the achievement gap, particularly from afar; how some schools are addressing these issues of curriculum to adapt to changing times and more challenging learning circumstances; and how educators are tackling these tough but critical issues.

(Click here to jump to the full series, 鈥淟essons From a Global Reckoning鈥�)

The country has been grappling with wide achievement gaps for years 鈥� more privileged students consistently perform better on international exams, for example, than their less advantaged peers. A single classroom could have students who were learning at levels ranging seven different grades. But this spring鈥檚 coronavirus-related school shutdowns and subsequent scramble to implement virtual learning puts students who were historically underserved at greater risk of falling even further behind, while those who were high-achieving and who have more access to resources at home may sprint forward. Younger students could get hit the hardest.

The effects of COVID-19 school closures don鈥檛 just end with potential learning loss. Lower levels of learning and the likelihood of a greater number of dropouts through the pandemic could lead current students to be less skilled and less productive , according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company.

鈥淔urthermore, if other countries mitigate the impact of lost learning and the United States does not, this will harm U.S. competitiveness,鈥� the report reads. 鈥淏y 2040, most of the current K-12 cohort will be in the workforce. We estimate a GDP loss of $173 billion to $271 billion a year 鈥� a 0.8 to 1.3 percent hit.鈥�

Below, read our full series that dives into curriculum in light of the pandemic and social justice movement, with reports out of New York, New Orleans, San Antonio, Cleveland and Washington, D.C.

In Texas, a call for curricular overhaul with coronavirus and a racial justice movement raging

Every year, thousands of Texas fifth-graders read from a textbook that tells them they and their families are 鈥渋llegal immigrants鈥� here to take jobs from classmates. Students are also asked to consider how supply and demand made slavery necessary throughout the antebellum South.

These and other examples from Texas textbooks and state curriculum standards have been criticized for years.

Now, amid the global pandemic and racial reckonings of the summer, educators are concerned that, whether or not they return to class in person in the next few weeks, students will find most social studies and language arts lessons more problematic and less relatable than ever.

鈥淒istance learning proved that student identity, community and human connection are essential for schooling in 2020,鈥� said Jennifer Rosas, an assistant principal in San Antonio Independent School District, alluding to the scores of students who struggled to stay engaged during spring鈥檚 school closures. 鈥淣ow more than ever, let鈥檚 let our history, yes Black and Brown history, guide how we teach and how they learn.鈥�

Read Bekah McNeel鈥檚 full report here.

In New York, students鈥� racial backgrounds are largely misrepresented on summer reading lists

This summer, incoming New Dorp High School freshmen are reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. The rest of the Staten Island school鈥檚 3,051 students will choose from three options. Rising 10th-graders can pick from Fever 1793, The Pigman and A Wrinkle in Time. Choices for rising 11th-graders are I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Book Thief and Orphan Train. Those going into their senior year will read The Call of the Wild, The Picture of Dorian Gray or The Diary of Anne Frank.

All of the books, with the exception of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, were written by white authors. That means most of New Dorp鈥檚 non-white population 鈥� nearly half the school鈥檚 student body 鈥� won鈥檛 be assigned to read any authors of color this summer.

New Dorp isn鈥檛 the only New York City high school offering students reading options this summer that are misaligned with the racial makeup of their schools. An analysis by The 74 found that 11 of the city鈥檚 26 largest high schools 鈥� those with more than 2,000 students 鈥� offer summer reading lists that are overrepresented with white authors.

The 74鈥檚 analysis of the 11 lists 鈥� schools with book lists posted online 鈥� found that on average, 46 percent of authors were white, while an average of 28 percent of students were white.

Read Zo毛 Kirsch鈥檚 full report here.

In Washington, D.C., an effort to make a set of 14-year-old social studies standards more inclusive

The world has changed since D.C.鈥檚 social studies standards were created 14 years ago.

A few events stand out for State Board of Education member Jessica Sutter: the election and presidency of Barack Obama; the landmark marriage-equality Supreme Court ruling; and now, historic protests and a global pandemic ravaging communities of color that have once again forced the nation 鈥� D.C. included 鈥� to take an introspective look at whose histories have been uplifted or buried.

鈥淭o think about how we teach history and whose stories predominate 鈥� It is not for the faint of heart,鈥� said Sutter, a former middle school social studies teacher.

Sutter and a newly appointed 26-member committee, however, are up to the challenge, and they will spend the next half year combing and critiquing a 104-page standards document that informs schools鈥� curricula by outlining key events and skills that students should learn by grade. The work is important 鈥渘ow more than ever,鈥� Sutter said, with culturally responsive education critical in the coming months and years as schools look to re-engage students and recoup learning loss from COVID-19.

Read Taylor Swaak鈥檚 full report here.

In Ohio, teachers demand blunt truths to rewrite 鈥榳hitewashed鈥� history聽

How well schools in Cleveland handle racial issues is under increasing scrutiny after the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed this summer. For many, making sure the district鈥檚 students 鈥� 64 percent of whom are Black 鈥� know the context behind racial issues today is a priority.

The same scrutiny is happening for schools across Ohio, though not always with the same local urgency in a state that鈥檚 just 13 percent Black and 82 percent white. A small but growing number of critics say an honest review of state expectations for history classes will find that they downplay racial and social aspects of the nation鈥檚 past, burying them in a rush to teach other material on state tests.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 addressing racism now, but our curriculum doesn鈥檛 really allow us to address it,鈥� said John Adams, a Cleveland high school history teacher who has presented his concerns to state Superintendent Paolo DeMaria.

Adams and others say Ohio teaches slavery and the Civil War too early, uses euphemisms like the 鈥渇orced migration鈥� of Black slaves and treats wars, not social issues, as the dominant part of history.

鈥淭he social studies curriculum is still very much whitewashed,鈥� said Shari Obrenski, who taught social studies for 21 years in Cleveland before becoming head of the Cleveland Teachers Union in April. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how social studies has been taught for generations.鈥�

Read Patrick O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 full report here.

In Louisiana, the hard truth about the slave trader for whom a high school is named

When Donald Hess tells his students that their New Orleans high school is named for a man who amassed a fortune trading slaves, their reactions are typically swift, starting with disbelief and turning quickly to anger.

鈥淲ow, I didn鈥檛 know that.鈥� 鈥淲hy didn鈥檛 anybody tell me that?鈥� 鈥淲hy hasn鈥檛 anybody changed the school鈥檚 name?鈥�

Hess tries hard not to influence his students鈥� emotions, which in his experience are the fuel that will propel them to connect the answers to those questions. No one tells Hess鈥檚 juniors and seniors about John McDonogh before they find their way to his classroom because most Louisiana schools teach only very basic information about slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction 鈥� and precious little of it involves the way that brutal legacy shaped their communities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just the basic, 鈥楤lacks were slaves, slavery was bad, here鈥檚 a couple of Black people who did good,鈥欌�� Hess said.

Read Beth Hawkins鈥檚 full report here.

In New York, an implicit bias workshop goes remote

On a recent summer Tuesday at noon, a straggler checks into a Zoom meeting, where 107 teachers, administrators and school counselors are listening to Paul Forbes deliver a lecture on implicit bias, the human tendency to judge others based on stereotypes unwittingly internalized.

Forbes is the New York City Department of Education鈥檚 director of educational equity, anti-bias and diversity. He鈥檚 run these mandatory workshops for two years, but the past four months have been different, with schools shuttered by a global pandemic 鈥� one that still threatens September鈥檚 reopening 鈥� and a national reckoning taking place over the long-standing inequities faced by Black Americans.

鈥淣ow, more than ever, this is incredibly important,鈥� Forbes said. 鈥淧eople have been quarantined, folks have been sheltering in, and people are seeing things in the news and on the streets. They鈥檙e starting to think about the introspective work needed to understand their historical context. This is an opportune time to reflect.鈥�

His is a hopeful take on how hundreds, or potentially thousands, of staff will process a required professional development exercise that was contentious even before COVID-19 struck. Then again, Forbes鈥檚 work is fueled by optimism, predicated as it is on the idea that the nation鈥檚 largest school district can use empathy to move a mostly white teaching corps toward a more mindful approach, as they teach 1.1 million students who largely don鈥檛 look like they do.

Read Zo毛 Kirsch鈥檚 full report here.

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