In honor of Dr. Ruby Takanishi: Re-envisioning Primary Education to Distribute Opportunity More Equitably in the U.S.

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

In 2016, Ruby Takanishi’s book First Things First!: Creating the New American Primary School laid bare the differences in educational experiences that reinforce and perpetuate social inequality in the United States more broadly. Takanishi argued that starting public education in early childhood and providing continuity of educational experiences from the early years through the early grades could be important tools for addressing these inequalities. To honor Takanishi, this Roundtable will focus on research, policy, and practice that has emerged in the past five years since the book’s publication, examining what has been learned since about the potential for the “New American Primary School” and considering ways to forestall a worsening of educational disparities during and after the pandemic. Four brief talks—on the importance of alignment across the birth-to-five years and the early grades of elementary school, the need to focus on dual-language learners, stories of positive impact via changes at state and local levels, and the role of digital equity in family-school connections—will set the stage for a robust discussion of how to build on Takanishi’s mission of creating a more equitable education system starting in the primary years. Moderated by Lisa Guernsey of New America; panelists include Swati Adarkar of Children's Institute, Kristie Kauerz of the University of Colorado Denver and National P-3 Center, Laura Bornfreund of New America, and Deborah Leong of Tools of the Mind.

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Discussant

• Qing Zhou, University of California - Berkeley

Moderator

• Lisa Guernsey, New America

Panelists

• Kristie A Kauerz, University of Colorado Denver

• Swati Adarkar, Children's Institute

• Laura Bornfreund, New America

• Deborah J. Leong, Tools of the Mind