A year of hybrid learning, bedroom Zoom meetings and quarantines has upended the education landscape, but it’s setting some students back more than others, according to national studies.
“While we have all been impacted by the pandemic, it has hit some homes and students harder than others, said Katie Joseph, assistant superintendent at Regional School Unit 1. “The students who did not have consistent family support and nutrition, a quiet space to work, and a reliable internet to connect to their teachers likely struggled the most during the last one year.”
The pandemic hit some demographics harder than others when it came to education. While the white students entered this school year with one to three months of learning loss in math, students of color lost three to five months, according to a report published in December by education consultant McKinsey & Company. The report predicted that if this trend continued through the end of the school year — students on average could be five to nine months behind in math.
Ingrid A. Nelson, Associate Professor and Chair of Department of Sociology at Bowdoin College, argued that it is too early to gauge precise effects of the pandemic on learning.
“We can’t really know the full impact yet of pandemic-related school closures for student learning, but we do know that students from families with more resources are less likely to experience the same kinds of hardships that students from families with fewer resources are experiencing,” said Nelson.
While high-quality summer learning programs have been shown to curb summer learning loss in pre-pandemic times, it is important to engage students in activities that attend to social and emotional competencies as well, added Nelson.
She also emphasized on the fact that it is important to honor and reinvigorate the teaching force to enable meaningful student-teacher connections that bring learning to life.
With weeks left before the summer break begins, local school district officials are beefing up their summer programs to provide more learning opportunities for students.
In Brunswick, officials are in the initial stages of planning the summer program, which will be offered both in-person and online starting July 13.
“Our goal is to help close the learning gaps that students have experienced in these two years. Hopefully, the students will be allowed to attend school five days a week when classrooms reopen,” said Shawn Lambert, assistant superintendent of the Brunswick School Department.
With the main focus on social-emotional learning, the school department is offering various skill development programs to elementary and junior high school students, while credit recovery program is being offered to high school students.
Meanwhile, the Regional School Unit 1 — which includes eight schools serving Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich — is planning an extended school year program to continue the learning for K-12 students. The program will run from June 21 to July 30.
“The program will provide an opportunity to students to be with friends, stay engaged, while also ensuring that their learning and food needs are met,” said Joseph.
Emily Bradford, an 8th grader at Bath Middle School, chops vegetables as part of a cooking and nutrition class at Midcoast Youth Center. Courtesy / Jamie Dorr
Moreover, about 56 students from grades 6 to 8 will be attending the summer program at Midcoast Youth Center.
“Our goal for the summer program is to get kids together for a lot of fun, outdoor games and physical, team building activities,” said Jamie Dorr, executive director of center.
The program will help students explore hands-on STEM activities through orienteering/hiking, bike repair and bike riding, digital music production, film editing and math minutes. The six-week program, will also concentrate on culinary skills, cooking, art and literacy activities, Dorr added.
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