Reville & Canada: The Time Has Come for Truly Personalized Learning — With a Navigator to Make Sure Each Child Succeeds
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Over the past two years, educational institutions, families, and students have grappled with a crisis brought on by COVID-19. This crisis extends beyond just health concerns and encompasses continuous disruptions, school closures, remote learning, and extraordinary pressures that hinder children’s education and well-being. As a result, relationships have been strained as students were stripped away from the familiarity of their teachers and friends, leaving them to cope alone without consistent guidance.
Schools have faced numerous challenges as they work towards bringing students back to in-person learning, including staff shortages and other disruptions. Unsurprisingly, mental health issues, which were already prevalent before the pandemic, have skyrocketed as students struggle to readjust to the social and emotional complexities of returning to school and catching up after experiencing disconnection, isolation, and alienation.
So, what can be done?
Education leaders and communities must undergo a long-overdue paradigm shift, moving away from a factory-like education system that mass-produces knowledge to a personalized approach that recognizes the individuality of each child. This approach aims to meet students where they are and provide them with the necessary resources to thrive both inside and outside of school. Teachers and parents are also affected by the ongoing stress and uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Educators desire deeper and more meaningful relationships with their students, but the current classroom structure often hinders this. Therefore, it is crucial, at this moment, to connect students with their educators and schools, provide families with support and guidance, and make teachers feel like they are making a meaningful impact. Our belief is that every child should have a personalized success plan and a dedicated adult to serve as their advocate for an extended period of time.
The concept of a "navigator" does exist in education, albeit in limited capacities. Guidance counselors have the potential to fulfill this role, but their effectiveness is hindered by overwhelming student-counselor ratios. Some schools have advisory programs that offer navigation services, and students with special needs have Individualized Education Programs. However, navigation and success planning are not common practices in most schools. In contrast, the medical field embraces personalization, as evidenced by patient navigators, typically primary care physicians, who advocate for the unique needs of each patient and guide families towards better health outcomes.
In education, navigators, responsible for a manageable number of students, could be deployed to understand and advocate for the unique needs of students, both inside and outside of school. For example, imagine a navigator overseeing a student who recently lost a parent, another student experiencing bullying, and a student struggling with math. The navigator would develop a plan of action for each student, such as arranging sessions with a social worker or therapist for the grieving student, implementing peer mediation for the bullied student, and securing a math tutor for the struggling student.
The support provided by a navigator is vital for children in under-resourced schools. One district that has successfully implemented a navigator program is Metro Nashville. This initiative ensures that all 80,000 students have an individual advocate. More than 6,000 teachers and staff members are involved, with navigators regularly meeting with students, identifying their academic and non-academic needs, and advocating for comprehensive plans to fulfill those needs.
To implement a navigator strategy, leaders must establish a system that allows a designated adult to regularly check in on a specific student, focusing on making them feel seen, heard, understood, and cared for. Such an initiative, which can be funded using federal COVID relief funding, addresses the urgent and immediate need to provide quality adult relationships that connect students and families to necessary support and opportunities while fostering a sense of belonging within the community.
As navigators develop plans and gather information about various student needs, ranging from dental care to extracurricular programs, schools and communities can use this data to gain insights and prioritize resources. Building comprehensive pipelines from early childhood to adulthood ensures that students not only receive education but also access the support and opportunities they need outside of school to succeed in life. The shortcomings of decades of "education reform," when evaluated in terms of progress towards equity, clearly demonstrate that relying solely on schools is an inadequate approach for achieving equal opportunities in our society. It is time to move beyond this and provide all students with the comprehensive attention and support that privileged individuals readily receive. Every student should have the opportunity to come to school every day ready to learn.
America’s existing public education system has failed to provide fair opportunities for all young individuals, despite attempts at reform. Those living in concentrated poverty are still being left behind by an education system that is not meeting their needs. Immediate action is necessary to address these disparities. One potential solution is to implement a comprehensive system that considers the unique assets and needs of each child from all angles. Establishing a responsive Navigation system would be a promising first step in this endeavor.
The COVID-19 crisis presents an opportunity to rethink and expand the social contract, with a focus on providing families and children with the necessary support, attention, and opportunities. Community and school leaders must envision new, more effective strategies to achieve equity, as social mobility continues to decline. Only through a holistic approach that includes personalized child development and education strategies can we reverse these negative trends. Assigning each child a navigator is a practical, bold, and affordable initial move in that direction.
Paul Reville, the Francis Keppel Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the founding director of the Education Redesign Lab, together with Geoffrey Canada, the founder and president of the Harlem Children’s Zone and the founder of the William Julius Wilson Institute, advocate for these changes.
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