Education Policy | Penn Today

Woman with short blond hair, glasses, red cardigan and black t-shirt smiles during a Zoom call

Elizabeth Warren’s take on the election and the path forward

The Massachusetts senator’s discussion with Fels Distinguished Fellow Elizabeth Vale was part of the Fels Public Policy in Practice series.

Smiling person holding an apple, standing in front of a red screen.

A role model for the changing face of science

Jennifer Stimpson, a chemist, teacher, and recent alumna of the Graduate School of Education’s mid-career program, was named an IF/THEN ambassador. The initiative aims to empower women in STEM to inspire the next generation of learners.

Calculating the costs of school closures, reopenings

The Penn Wharton Budget Model released a report that describes the anticipated loss of future wages for K-12 students as a result of lower-quality education from school closures.

Parents keep children home as China limits Mongolian language in the classroom

Christopher Atwood of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about how Mongolians view Chinese policies that restrict the use of the Mongolian language in schools. "One very strong sense in Inner Mongolia on the part of Mongols is how much they've given up," he said.

Young elementary school student at a home computer attending virtual school.

To build community this fall, think of your class as a team

Before COVID-19, it was easier for teachers to build community within their class. How can teachers do that meeting virtually?

Trump administration agrees to end policy that could have led to mass deportation of students from U.S. colleges

President Amy Gutmann said she was pleased with the rescinded directive to ban international students taking exclusively online classes at U.S. universities this fall. “We are unrelenting in our commitment to continue fighting for our international students to ensure that they are treated as equal members of our educational community,” she said. “Today we can celebrate an important step forward in that effort.”

Here’s why seven Ivy League schools are backing Harvard and MIT’s bid to overturn Trump’s ban on international students

The University of Pennsylvania has joined other colleges and universities in filing an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. The lawsuit seeks to block the Trump administration’s proposal to revoke F-1 and M-1 visas from international students not taking in-person classes this fall.

A child sits on the grass in front of a large fence covered in Black Lives Matter protest signs, another child plays on a small toy slide on the sidewalk in front of the fence.

The trauma that underlies student behavior and educators’ responses

As educators work to understand their students’ emotional needs, they must also consider how they themselves are impacted by traumatic events. Says Penn GSE’s Marsha Richardson, everyone is reacting to stressors and trauma in their unique way.

Writing on a whiteboard reading: Check-in, what are you seeing? What are you feeling? Question of the day: What needs to change? How can we create this change? Reminders: Be there. Reach out.

Educators should have the ‘hard conversation’ with students about events unfolding

Penn GSE’s Sigal Sigal Ben-Porath has guidance for educators on how to address the protests across the U.S. and the world with students at this crucial time.

Person walking along Locust Walk seen through the bars of a railing of a campus building

Higher education system faces the inequities COVID-19 exposes

With pandemic budget cuts looming, Penn GSE’s Laura Perna says policymakers should prioritize low-income college students.

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