To read this vacation week

 Here are some longer pieces to read as you have a chance this week:

• The L.A. Times on the school nutrition program: great internal look at what it means to feed 107 million meals a year while juggling multiple sets of regulations, supply shortages, and the palates of lots of different students.
  
  
• Rachel Cohen's deep dive for Vox on after school programs (and the lack thereof): 
  About 8 million kids are enrolled in after-school programs today, but that’s less than a quarter of

  total demand, according to the nonprofit Afterschool Alliance. Research it led in early 2020, just before the pandemic, found that nearly 25 million more children would be enrolled in an after-school program if one were available to them, up from 19 million in 2014.  

• This New York Times piece (oddly in the Opinion section) covering what it means to be a parent of a trans young person in a state which thinks such children shouldn't exist. The family spoken with is in Missouri; you might also read this piece speaking with parents in Florida.
  
  
• The first of what will be ten pieces for the next ten years of school finance from Jess Gartner and Jason Becker at Allovue, this one on teacher compensation. I wish I could make everyone involved in any aspect of negotiations, including public perception, read this one:
  

  Because teacher compensation makes up such a large percentage (over 60%) of district budgets overall, meaningful teacher compensation increases are nearly impossible strictly through reallocation of existing resources. Reallocating dollars from student transportation, nutrition, facilities, student support services (counselors, nurses, psychologists, etc), professional development, and technology cannot close the teacher wage gap. 

   

• And finally, if you're feeling worn out this February, read "You are not okay and tomorrow will come [and you should eat a banana]" from Emily Kingsley: 
  

  ...idiot or optimist, I still come home with hope each day. 

  It’s because of this one little word: and. 

  Everything is terrible and I can still change the clock battery.