Cincinnati Public Schools among best in US for post-pandemic math recovery | Opinion

Editor's note: Handshakes and Headshakes are my quick takes on local events, groups or newsmakers whose actions, decisions or performance deserves to be celebrated or called out.

Four years after a once-in-a-life pandemic severely disrupted learning for students all across the country, Cincinnati Public Schools students have rebounded significantly in the areas of math and reading.

CPS is among the fastest recovering districts in the nation post-pandemic, according to researchers from Harvard and Stanford universities, who crunched data from the 2022 and 2023 school years of the 44 largest urban districts in the U.S. Their studies found that CPS ranked second in the nation in math recovery and 15th in reading, making CPS one of the top five districts in the country. CPS's math recovery score was tops in Ohio.

So how significant has the district's improvement been since COVID-19? In discussing the recovery data, Stanford professor Sean Reardon said the losses in learning, particularly math, from 2019 to 2022 were historically large. But CPS showed nearly two year's worth of recovery for its students in a single year. Reardon said such progress puts CPS in a select class of only about 2-3% of school districts in the country to experience that kind of gain.

How much does your school district pay? See average teacher salaries in Southwest Ohio

"This level of progress is unprecedented and has been recognized as 'huge' by educational researchers," Superintendent Iranetta Wright said. "Our success in these areas places us at the forefront of academic excellence and recovering, leading by example and setting a high bar for urban districts nationwide."

It's easy to focus on the negative at a time when the district is facing budget challenges and there's talk of school consolidations. And those are, indeed, very serious issues of concern. But it's also important to take a breath, pause and acknowledge educators throughout the district who have worked hard to help students recover the learning they lost during the pandemic.

There's still much work left to be done, but for now, take a bow.

Handshakes: Cincinnatian among descendants of civil rights icons invited to White House

Tracey Artis didn't just celebrate Black History in February, she was literally surrounded by it. The executive director of the Black Family Reunion and founder of I Hear Music, Inc. received a special invite to a gathering at the White House for descendants of the most prominent civil rights leaders from the 1950s and ’60s and other foundational Black historic figures.

In addition to hearing an address from Vice President Kamala Harris, Artis found herself rubbing elbows and sharing stories (and cell phone numbers) with the likes of the families of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Emmett Till, and Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, among others. While not a descendant of one of these families herself, Artis got an invitation for carrying on the work and legacy of Dr. Dorothy Height, the civil rights and women's rights activist who founded the Midwest Regional Black Family Reunion Celebration in 1989 in Cincinnati.

Here's the list: 61 school systems in Ohio allow teachers, other staff to carry guns

"I felt honored, and I was in awe," Artis said about being among such a collection of Black icons. "I was struck by how passionate each descendants was for carrying on the work of their forefathers and mothers. None of them seemed to be weary."

Over her four days in Washington, D.C., Artis said she heard a lot of great stories but also got to share some of the progress and work still taking place in Cincinnati to erase inequalities and deliver justice for all people. She even pitched the Queen City as a possible location of a future descendants gathering.

"It was memorable, and they were days well spent," she said. "What can come out of it are opportunities for our city in the future."

Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter: @kevaldrid. You can message him with any recommendations for handshakes or headshakes.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: CPS grades recover after pandemic, Tracey Artis invited to White House