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As director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown, Loeb leads a major hub for interdisciplinary education scholarship and its translation into policy and practice, building on the institute’s past work in addressing the causes and consequences of educational inequality in the U.S. Her own research specializes in education policy and the relationship between educational opportunities for students and federal, state and local policies. 

“I am so honored by this recognition, not only of my research but of the importance of trying to get better answers to education policy questions so that we can provide better opportunities for students — particularly for those students who need them the most,” she said of her election to the academy.

But a distinction persists, in both qualifications and job security, between those working at the front of the class and those standing behind the lunch counter. Susanna Loeb, an economist at Brown University, said that “classified” employees (i.e., those who can do their jobs with no professional certification) are more at risk of losing their jobs during times of economic hardship.

“When you look at the protections that are offered, you’ll see that the education workforce that is more white and educated has stronger protections than the one that is more racially diverse and less educated,” she said. “If we’re in a situation where those employees lose their jobs, for example, this is going to be affecting a part of the population that doesn’t have as great skills to find other jobs.”

Descriptive analyses using April 7 data. I find states that ordered schools closed earlier have fewer COVID-19 cases. The graph shows state cases by days from first 100 cases until state-ordered school closure. @AnnenbergInst @PSTC_Brown @BrownSociology https://t.co/jaMET7ikE2

— Emily Rauscher (@rauscher_emily) April 10, 2020

Leaders must consider unequal opportunities and stress on families

With the COVID-19 school closures, districts and schools are relying on parents to carry out educational activities in their homes. How can districts help parents make the most of this learning time? And are there alternatives to parents as surrogate teachers?

Learning Research by Doing Research - @JayantiOwens is teaching Methods of Social Research this semester, designed to teach concentrators in sociology and in business, entrepreneurship, and organizations (BEO) how to carry out social science research. https://t.co/1Z8NZJgyaN pic.twitter.com/PdqkMz1gmH

— Watson Institute (@WatsonInstitute) April 2, 2020

Virtual learning offers the potential for many students to access education in a way that wouldn’t have been widely available several years ago.

“In-person school is better than virtual school, but of course we don’t have the option for in-person right now,” said Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. “Really what you want to know is whether virtual school is better than nothing. And I think in many cases, it is.”

But not everyone is on equal footing.

The times have dictated school closings and the rapid expansion of online education. Can online lessons replace in-school time?

Clearly online time cannot provide many of the informal social interactions students have at school, but how will online courses do in terms of moving student learning forward? Research to date gives us some clues and also points us to what we could be doing to support students who are most likely to struggle in the online setting.

Congrats @eric_s_taylor, the winner of this year’s AEFP Early Career Award. #AEFP2020 pic.twitter.com/PcwtYpSeaH

— AEFP (@aefpweb) March 19, 2020

Congratulations @Xiaoyang_Ye for winning the AEFP dissertation of the year award. #AEFP2020 pic.twitter.com/xxvAobndry

— AEFP (@aefpweb) March 19, 2020