A Pandemic and Political Polarization Slam U.S. Schools

CUNY Graduate Center

David Bloomfield is a professor of Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center and of Education Leadership, Law, and Policy at Brooklyn College. A former general counsel of the New York City Board of Education, he is regularly consulted by the media for his expertise on education policy. He is the author of American Public Education Law, Third Edition and frequently pens op-eds, book chapters, and articles. He has twice been named to the Education Power 100 by City & State magazine. Bloomfield returns to The Thought Project as schools across the U.S. have returned to in-person learning after months of remote education. While cities like New York are seeing many successes, other communities are roiled in controversy over COVID-19 safety procedures and the teaching of critical race theory. A recent school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, for example, dissolved into chaos as parents thronged the auditorium to protest the school board’s support of teaching students about structural racism. The incident and similar protests in other communities prompted the Department of Justice to take action. Bloomfield comments on the fitful restart of in-person learning and the politicization of school policy in this episode of The Thought Project.