Today The Washington Examiner published a good piece by Nicholas Kerr:  "Pandemic learning gaps make clear the need for public school reform." Here's the part that jumped out at me:  

"The inevitable learning gap is already evident. For example, students of high-income families have increased progress in math this year by 4%, whereas those from low- and middle-income households are reporting a 9-10% drop in progress through the week ending Oct. 25, according to the Harvard-associated Opportunity Insights tracker.

Public schools are fast becoming learning institutions of last resort that offer the bare minimum of instruction to the least privileged families. Because we fund the system and not students, public schools have been on this path for a long time, but the pace has accelerated as a result of the pandemic. Unions have laid bare that they care more for the status quo than the students they are supposed to serve."

Closed schools are hurting the most vulnerable children in our society. The longer schools stay closed, the greater the harm. The legislature should give every parent in Washington state $3,000 per child to cover the cost of private tutors and other help to make up the pandemic learning gaps.