“Running fast but not getting far” is how a new analysis describes academic recovery five years after the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Tutoring and other methods of “learning acceleration” were hampered by a lack of flexibility, resources and teacher preparation, according to the report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education.
Returning to in-person instruction was also hampered by political conflicts and a mental health crisis as K12 administrators operated with “little federal or state guidance.” Now, the report contends: “Many districts have reverted to pre-pandemic practices while grappling with declining enrollment, budget deficits, and persistent learning losses.”
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Newer challenges have emerged in recent years. ESSER relief funds expired at the same time declining enrollment was sapping revenues from many districts. More recently, new Education Secretary Linda McMahon began laying off half of the Department of Education’s staff and President Donald Trump has ordered the agency to shut down.
“The Trump administration’s attack on the U.S. Department of Education will also create challenges,” the report notes. “Districts will likely face less federal money, obfuscation around how to best serve students with special needs, and new pressures to shift funding away from current beneficiaries. ”
How to jumpstart academic recovery
The solutions start with reallocating resources and redeploying talent similarly to how K12 leaders adjusted when schools first closed in 2020. “They need to consider ideas that were abandoned early in the pandemic—and ask for state and civic leaders to support these initiatives,” the report asserts.
The recommendations, taken verbatim from the report, include:
- Teaching all students at grade level but intervening quickly when a child shows
evidence of missing a necessary idea or skill. - Reconfiguring school staffing so some teachers are instantly available to help
students who are falling behind - Establishing learning pods for students who resist returning to the regular classroom
and recruiting community partners to support the teachers who staff these pods - Closely tracking student progress and promptly informing parents, teachers, and
school leaders about whether students are making normal progress - Providing alternatives for students who are not learning well in their current schools
