UO Student Series: Bipartisan Support for Students is Good Policy and Good Politics
When both political parties prioritize investing in America’s youth families like Vanessa Burch’s and the thousands of others like hers may find themselves supported and hopeful once again.
**This post is from a member of Professor David Frank’s class at the University of Oregon. In the coming weeks, we’ll share several more of these posts from young Oregonians. Go Ducks!**
Whitney is a graduating senior at the University of Oregon in the Clark Honors College. She grew up in the Portland area and now lives in Gresham, OR.
In a family of six, grand-aunt Vanessa Burch juggles raising her five grandnieces and nephews. These children, ranging from ages 4 to 14, not only face the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic but also past trauma and present heartbreak from the deaths of five members of their immediate and extended family. These same children, who used to enjoy the personal attention and services they received at school, now struggle at home with grief, unregulated emotions, and signs of depression. Academic progress seems hard to achieve, let alone to prioritize, when so much is going on in the home and in our world.
It is no secret that because of the pandemic, children across the country have struggled with adjusting to online school. In the state of Oregon, even though opposing political parties disagree on a number of topics, the pandemic has made at least one thing certain: that the common good of our children is something all Americans should aspire toward. This shared aspiration is seen in the bipartisan support for summer educational programming in Oregon. The fact that two partisan factions can unite on such an important topic provides hope that there will be continued efforts to strengthen our school systems and ensure families like Vanessa Burch’s are empowered and supported.
So, where is online school falling short?
While closing in-person school has been necessary for controlling the spread of the pandemic, it has been accompanied by many undesirable side effects. The limited access to support and resources with virtual learning has hindered the behavioral and mental health of children in both Oregon and across the country. National research has found that between March 2020 and June 2020, 14% of parents had reported poorer behavioral health for their children. Since the start of the pandemic, data has also shown that the proportion of visits by 12-17 year-olds to the emergency department for mental health related concerns had increased a striking 31% compared to last year. It has become clear that attending primary school is important not only for getting an education, but also for protecting the wellbeing of children.
School is a place that fulfills children’s social, emotional, and physical needs. With in-person education, teachers and staff are better equipped to monitor the needs of students and provide the nurturing and supportive environment they require to thrive. In the virtual learning environment, young students lack opportunities to grow and build the networks of support they usually do, preventing them from receiving a number benefits they may not typically receive within their families. These benefits include access to reliable nutrition, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, health services (physical and mental), and opportunities for physical activity. Lacking such resources has not only affected children’s mental health, but has also been associated with negative impacts on school enrollment and success.
Those negative impacts have hit hundreds, if not thousands, of students in Oregon. Enrollment in the state’s public school system has declined to its lowest numbers since 2013. Additionally, in the fall of 2020, 1 in 4 high schoolers in the Portland Public Schools received an failing or no grade during their first semester of the year. These widespread “incomplete” grades mean that across the board, students were not able to fulfill enough of the required work to receive a grade. As for the students who unfortunately never made it back to school in a virtual setting, they are even further removed from the possibility of connecting and finding support for their emotional, physical, and academic development.
In recognition of these harmful impacts caused by the pandemic, Oregon’s political parties have acted together to invest in our children and help them get back on track in school. Despite a number of disagreements on the state government’s response to the pandemic and several delays in reaching a consensus on particular legislation, parties were still able to come together. On April 29th, 2021, the Oregon House passed a budget package that allocates $250 million dollars toward summer learning and childcare programs for Oregon’s children. This targeted funding will support a variety of student enrichment activities, as well as culturally inclusive academic and mental health support for students.
Under this package, summer academic support grants will help high schoolers across the state make up their incomplete classes from the past two school years. Furthermore, an estimated 70,000 elementary school students will receive support to participate in both academic and non-academic enrichment programs that promote their wellbeing and mental health. In addition, the wrap-around childcare grants included in the budget package would be able to provide care for approximately 25,000 low-income elementary students. These desperately needed programs and services will help students and families in the midst of the pandemic and set the stage for a reimagined design of what our educational system can provide our children.
This renewed vision of what our school system may achieve is something shared by both parties. Back in March 2021, Democratic leaders had initially proposed budgetary support for these summer learning and childcare programs. Although Republican leaders hold many valid frustrations over the state’s pandemic response and had initial concerns over the distribution of the summer program funds, they had also been proposing aid packages with a similar core mission to that of the Democrats. For example, Republican Senator Chuck Thomsen proposed the Education Equity Act in late February, hoping to provide assistance to low-income students for summer tutoring. Despite the partisan conflicts and the walkout of Republican State Senators in February, it seems that for a long time members of both parties have been wanting to support Oregon’s children when it comes to receiving high-quality education.
So, what does this mean for the future?
Moving forward, Oregonians can find hope that the state’s leaders are advocating for our children and have prioritized building up our school system. By enhancing the supports and services offered beyond academics, seen by initiatives like the Summer Enrichment and Childcare Programs, we can actively transform our schooling systems for the better. Investing in education and fortifying the social services provided at schools not only relieves stress on the family unit, but also revitalizes its struggling students and uplifts them to be even stronger than before. When both political parties prioritize investing in America’s youth families like Vanessa Burch’s and the thousands of others like hers may find themselves supported and hopeful once again.
***********************************
Keep the conversation going:
Facebook (facebook.com/oregonway)
Twitter (@the_oregon_way)