Looking back at school shutdowns three years later

Plus: Fixing the facade – Malcom X’s vision will no longer be sanitized [View this email online]( [NPR Education]( March 19, 2023 This week, teachers are making up for lost time, students are challenging the definition of a women’s college, and both legislators and architects are seeking more inclusive spaces. --------------------------------------------------------------- Suharu Ogawa for NPR Happy Sunday, When schools closed their doors three years ago this month at the start of the worldwide pandemic, opting for online learning to ensure social distancing, tensions were high and the future uncertain. Weighing the imperative to slow the spread of virus against potential learning losses for students, yielded, of course, no clear answers. In 2022, NPR correspondent Anya Kamenetz published The Stolen Year, documenting how social upheaval that came as a result of the pandemic impacted kids. Three years after school closures, Anya – who has since left NPR – sat down with Sacha Pfeifer on Morning Edition to talk about what we know about learning losses and the new set of challenges teachers face. Click the button below to hear the interview. And thanks for following along with our education news coverage. Your trusted intern, Abē — [Abē Levine]( Intern, NPR Ed [Read/Listen More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- And onto this week’s news... where college students are questioning who their institutions serve. This comes in the form of removing a quote from a campus library and demanding changes in admissions policies at a women’s college. The stories we’re highlighting feature individuals and institutions grappling with their relationship to systems of power. In doing so, they’re expanding the discussion around the inclusivity of spaces and the assumptions that shape them. University of Rhode Island removes defanged Malcolm X quote University officials removed a Malcom X quote from its main library [30 years after Black students first rejected it](. Because the partial quote was devoid of a reference to “the white man,” it appeared that the late Black rights activist was merely talking about his love of reading, rather than the struggle against white supremacy. Bill seeks salaries for New Mexico’s unpaid lawmakers New Mexico’s legislators are the only ones in the country who don't get a penny for the actual work they do. That puts lawmaking beyond the reach of many who have to work a 9-to-5 and balance family responsibilities. [A new proposal seeks to amend the state constitution]( so that representatives can become paid government employees. Making space for women of color in architecture Less than ½ of 1 percent of licensed architects in the U.S. are Black women. Pascale Sablan overcame the structural and interpersonal biases latent in architectural school to be amongst that cadre. She’s working to expand the Great Diverse Designers Library, among other steps, to ensure a markedly more diverse generation of architects go on to shape the built environment. [Here’s her story](. Making space for women of color in architecture Less than ½ of 1 percent of licensed architects in the U.S. are Black women. Pascale Sablan overcame the structural and interpersonal biases latent in architectural school to be amongst that cadre. She’s working to expand the Great Diverse Designers Library, among other steps, to ensure a markedly more diverse generation of architects go on to shape the built environment. Here’s her story. Rethinking gender limitations at Wellesley College The Wellesley College student government passed a referendum that would [broaden access to the women’s college to trans and nonbinary applicants](. Currently, the Massachusetts school only accepts applications from "those who live as women and consistently identify as women.” The highly rated liberal arts college, which boasts a robust network of world-renowned alumni including U.S. Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, changed its admissions policy in 2015 to allow transgender women to apply. — [Rachel Treisman]( Associate Editor/Social Media & Digital Writer, Morning Edition From the pulpit to the streets, the joy shan’t be contained! Ordained pastor and drag performer Bella DuBalle is refusing to back down in the face of a Tennessee law that will criminalize drag performances. The eclectic nature of her drag persona underscores the artistic range of the queer art form, which the state law fails to appreciate, she says. [DuBalle unpacks drag and sounds a call for resistance]( in the specter of the ban, which goes into effect April 1, with Fresh Air's Terry Gross. See you next week, peeps! --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]