City Club Forum: Will COVID Change How Our Kids Learn Forever?

COVID-19 compels us to reimagine how public education works in Oregon. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted public education as we know it. We simply don’t know what learning will look like this fall and through the coming school year. Without thoughtful intervention, the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on families of color will likely compound longstanding inequities in Oregon’s public education system. We ask: How can educators, community leaders, and state leaders help schools adapt to better support every child to learn, especially our most vulnerable? And how does this crisis compel us to reimagine how public education works in Oregon?

• Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon is the Chair of the House Interim Committee on Eduction.
• Andrea Valderrama is the Advocacy Director for the Coalition of Communities of Color
• Erin Helgren is the Early Works liaison for the Children’s Institute