K-12 education is absorbing overlapping shocks, policy whiplash, financial pressure, the mental-health crisis, and the disruptive promise of AI, yet the throughline of this virtual panel was steadiness with purpose. Berkeley School of Education alums Lora Bartlett, Cheryl Cotton, Elena Silva, and Candace Walker offered a clear diagnosis and a practical, humane path forward.
“Mismatch by design” and why it matters now
Learning Policy Institute president and CEO Elena Silva framed the core problem bluntly: there is “a structural mismatch between how our schools are designed… and the developmental needs of children.” The system must balance what’s required in any universal enterprise, some standardization for 50+ million students, with true personalization for every learner. “That is a huge challenge,” she said, and without redesign, “we’re just not going to get to the point where we can keep [teachers] in the classroom and give children all the support they need.”
Moderator Lora Bartlett added the civil-rights lens: we can agree on common expectations without forcing “lockstep” teaching, and the aim is still personalization within an equitable system.
The front line: teacher sustainability and student well-being
Candace Walker, a fifth-grade teacher, named the daily reality: “There’s a global societal need for support and we’re not doing enough to meet that need in the classroom.” Teachers need better preparation to tailor instruction and “work smarter, not harder.” The work is exhausting, she admitted, and “in my third-year teacher body… this isn’t sustainable.”
Silva connected the classroom view to system design: without redesign that protects both student development and teacher capacity, more families and educators will disengage from public schools, a risk the panel flagged repeatedly.
Equity, place, and dignity
Cheryl Cotton, superintendent of West Contra Costa Unified, defined the inequities many communities feel as “zip coding.” If you live in a more affluent area, you get more support; in a less affluent area, less support. Her district’s charge is to ensure that “when you come to school, you get a great opportunity,” regardless of address.
Cotton’s team is acting on climate as well as academics: adopting an anti-slur policy, anchoring the district in anti-racism, and centering dignity so that “students can come and be treated with dignity.” These are “unsettling times,” she noted, which makes steady commitment essential.
Policy turbulence and immigrant students
Silva walked through how today’s federal posture is shifting from educational support to immigration rule enforcement, even as Plyler v. Doe guarantees public education regardless of immigration status. “What is happening right now is outside of the law,” she said, and the heightened enforcement climate is destabilizing schools, families, and entire communities.
The human impact shows up in attendance: during ICE raids, some communities saw student absenteeism “increase by 22%,” undermining funding and services, what Bartlett called a “circle of inequity.” In Washington, DC, parents have organized “walking buses” as streets feel “very militarized.”
From a district-leader seat, Cotton pointed to practical shields: clear state guidance, an immigration toolkit, and constant communication that school remains a safe place. Even temporary freezes of federal funds threatened essentials, from English-learner support to universal meals, so steady advocacy and contingency planning are part of resilience.
AI: promise, with guardrails
Cotton emphasized three non-negotiables in the AI conversation: bias, privacy, and integrity. Students must be safe, their data protected, and tools used in ways that foster learning rather than amplify inequity.
Attendance, finance, and the feedback loop
Chronic absenteeism, mental-health needs, and funding formulas based on attendance create a compounding deficit. As Bartlett summarized, fewer students show up, fewer dollars follow, needs grow, and the spiral tightens. “It is all connected,” Cotton said.
What resilience looks like in practice
Resilience is not stoicism; it’s design and investment.
- Redesign for fit. Move beyond bells-and-tests schooling toward structures that honor development while maintaining a floor of rights and resources for every child.
- Protect the climate. Policies that name and prevent harm, anti-slur, anti-racism, and promote dignity, are not optics; they are learning conditions.
- Support the workforce. Teacher leadership and incentives help retention. Cotton plugged National Board Certification and a district incentive: “a $2,500 subsidy” toward certification and “$5,000 each year” for National Board teachers in high-priority schools.
- Name the needs. Walker’s call to “work smarter, not harder” and invest in teacher wellness is a design requirement, not a luxury.
- Stand up for safe schools. State toolkits, district protocols, and community partnerships communicate safety and continuity to families navigating immigration enforcement anxiety.
Why public education still calls
Mid-panel, Bartlett traced her own path to teaching through providing tutoring in a refugee tutoring program and offered the clearest case for staying in the work: “What else can we do with our lives that has the same power to transform, than to be involved with education? It creates those opportunity pathways.”
That conviction, and the concrete practices shared by these alums, offer a map. Redesign the system for kids’ development. Resource the adults who teach them. Protect the dignity and safety of every family. Keep equity as the north star: that is resilient leadership.
