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IPPSR’s April Public Policy Forum signaled a key anniversary – the date nearly 12 months ago when many Michigan teachers and students moved to remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

See the video from the event as Michigan moves past a one-year mark, schools are returning to onsite learning and teachers, parents and pupils Chalkboard and childrenare navigating the challenges of a mid-year transition.

The online event, starting at noon and due to wind up at 1:30 p.m., is open to the public and free of charge.

“Our speakers represent state, local and national education leaders,” said Matt Grossmann, director of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR.) “We’ll be looking beyond the pandemic to learn what challenges are ahead as parents, students and teachers return to the classrooms.”

The event is co-sponsored by Office of K-12 Outreach in the College of Education. Download a .pdf flier to post and share.

Forum speakers are:

  • Douglas Harris, an MSU graduate who is Professor of Economics and Schlieder Foundation Chair in Public Education at Tulane University.
  • Paula Herbart, President, Michigan Education Association.
  • Nicholas Paradiso, Vice President of Government Relations & Partner Services, National Heritage Academies.
  • Andraé Townsel, Superintendent, Benton Harbor Area Schools.

K-12 Outreach Director Bryan Beverly will moderate the discussion. “We’ll be asking our panelists what K-12 education looks like in a strong post-pandemic recovery, and how we might apply the lessons we’ve learned during the pandemic.”

Harris is also director of the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans, formed to lead research into teaching and learning reforms in a major American city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Beverly noted. Harris’ author of Charter School City with first-hand views of New Orleans’ experiences.

“We’re looking forward to his views and observations on a community where parents, teachers and learners have worked to recover from two, major threats,” Beverly said.

IPPSR, at ippsr.msu.edu, is the center of public policy information and survey research at Michigan State University. It is the home of the Michigan Political Leadership Program, Office for Survey Research, State of the State Survey, State of the State Podcast, among a number of leading databases acclaimed by university faculty, researchers internationally and journalists.

Visit IPPSR's 2020, 2019 and 2018 Forums, including presentations, photos and videos, in the Past Forum Archive. Stay current with IPPSR’s Public Policy Forums and all IPPSR programming at #IPPSRForums on Twitter and IPPSR on Facebook.

MSU’s Office of K-12 Outreach connects research with practice in schools and districts across Michigan, the U.S., and the world. The office works with K-12 educators, administrators, philanthropic organizations, and policymakers to increase personal, institutional, and system wide capacity focused on improving education for all students.