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Online school put US kids behind Some adults have regrets

10/21/2022 8:01:00 AM

Online school put US kids behind Some adults have regrets

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KSAT 12

Online school put US kids behind Some adults have regrets As the harmful effects of extended pandemic school closures become more apparent, some educators and parents have regrets. In Chicago, after a six-weekHer father would log into his grandson’s classes from his suburban home and try to monitor what was happening. But it didn’t work.“I think the answer on that has been settled fairly clearly, especially once we had vaccines available,” Arwady said. “I’m concerned about the loss that has occurred.” The setbacks have some grappling with regret.“Schools should never have been placed in a situation where we have choice,” said Tony Wold, former associate superintendent of West Contra Costa Unified School District, east of San Francisco. “With lessons learned, when you have a public health pandemic, there needs to be a single voice.” Read more:
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Home sales in the US declined for the eighth month in a row in September as surging mortgage rates and high prices pushed buyers out of the market. Read more >> Online school put US kids behind Some adults have regrets As the harmful effects of extended pandemic school closures become more apparent, some educators and parents have regrets Panel votes to add COVID shots to recommended vaccinationsNEW YORK (AP) — COVID-19 shots should be added to the lists of recommended vaccinations for kids and adults, a panel of U.S. vaccine experts said Thursday. Gas Chambers should be added to the list of recommended suitable forms of punishment for anyone that recommends covid vaccines for children... How to Throw an Epic Kids Birthday Party That Doesn’t Break the BankOn Slate’s parenting podcast: My kid wants to have his first big birthday bash with friends. The only problem? We live in a tiny house and don’t want to spend a fortune on this party. 30 Easy Snack Recipes To Get You Through Your Afternoon SlumpTasty bursts of energy that kids and adults will love. Kids Are Struggling With Their Mental Health — A Pediatric Emergency Physician Weighs In On How Parents Can Helpkids may be small, but their feelings are just as big as adults'. schools weren’t contributing to increased COVID-19 spread in the community.schools weren't contributing to increased COVID-19 spread in the community.The panel’s unanimous decision has no immediate effect — COVID-19 shots already are recommended for virtually all Americans.Parenting Is a Joke . Classes with masked students and distancing could be conducted safely, growing evidence said. President Joe Biden prioritized reopening schools when he took office in January 2021, and once the COVID-19 vaccine was available, some Democratic-leaning districts started to reopen. President Joe Biden prioritized reopening schools when he took office in January 2021, and once the COVID-19 vaccine was available, some Democratic-leaning districts started to reopen. Yet many schools stayed closed well into the spring, including in California, where the state’s powerful teachers unions , citing lack of safety protocols. State and local officials often look to the lists in making decisions about vaccination requirements for school attendance, but local officials don’t always adopt every recommendation. In Chicago, after a six-week standoff with the teachers union , the district started bringing students back on a hybrid schedule just before spring 2021. In Chicago, after a six-week standoff with the teachers union , the district started bringing students back on a hybrid schedule just before spring 2021. It wasn’t until the fall that students were back in school full time. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Marla Williams initially supported Chicago Public Schools' decision to instruct students online during the fall of 2020. Marla Williams initially supported Chicago Public Schools' decision to instruct students online during the fall of 2020. COVID-19 shots initially were approved under emergency authorization measures starting in late 2020. Williams, a single mother, has asthma, as do her two children. While she was working, she enlisted her father, a retired teacher, to supervise her children’s studies. While she was working, she enlisted her father, a retired teacher, to supervise her children’s studies. Her father would log into his grandson’s classes from his suburban home and try to monitor what was happening. Earlier this week, the same expert panel voted unanimously to add COVID-19 shots to a program that provides vaccines at no cost to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated. But it didn’t work. But it didn’t work. Podcast produced by Kristie Taiwo-Makanjuola and Rosemary Belson. Her son lost motivation and wouldn’t do his assignments. Once he went back on a hybrid schedule in spring 2021, he started doing well again, Williams said. Once he went back on a hybrid schedule in spring 2021, he started doing well again, Williams said. The AP is solely responsible for all content. “I wish we’d been in person earlier,” she said. “Other schools seemed to be doing it successfully. “Other schools seemed to be doing it successfully.” Officials were divided in Chicago. The city Department of Public Health advocated reopening schools months earlier, in the fall of 2020. The city Department of Public Health advocated reopening schools months earlier, in the fall of 2020. The commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, said they felt the risk of missing education was higher than the risk of COVID-19. Allison Arwady, said they felt the risk of missing education was higher than the risk of COVID-19. Others, such as the director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University, advocated for staying remote. “I think the answer on that has been settled fairly clearly, especially once we had vaccines available,” Arwady said. “I think the answer on that has been settled fairly clearly, especially once we had vaccines available,” Arwady said. “I’m concerned about the loss that has occurred.” From March 2020 to June 2021, the average student in Chicago lost 21 weeks of learning in reading and 20 weeks in math, equivalent to missing half a year of school, according to Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, which analyzed data from a widely used test called MAP to estimate learning loss for every U.” From March 2020 to June 2021, the average student in Chicago lost 21 weeks of learning in reading and 20 weeks in math, equivalent to missing half a year of school, according to Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, which analyzed data from a widely used test called MAP to estimate learning loss for every U.S. school district. school district. Nationally, kids whose schools met mostly online in the 2020-2021 school year performed in math and 8 percentage points lower in reading compared with schools meeting mostly in person, according to a 2022 study by Brown University economist Emily Oster. The setbacks have some grappling with regret. The setbacks have some grappling with regret. “I can’t imagine a situation where we would close schools again, unless there’s a virus attacking kids,” said Eric Conti, superintendent for Burlington, Massachusetts, a 3,400-student district outside Boston. His students alternated between online and in-person learning from the fall of 2020 until the next spring. His students alternated between online and in-person learning from the fall of 2020 until the next spring. “It’s going to be a very high bar.” Dallas Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde initially disagreed with the Texas governor’s push to reopen schools in the fall of 2020.” Dallas Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde initially disagreed with the Texas governor’s push to reopen schools in the fall of 2020. “But it was absolutely the right thing to do,” she said. Some school officials said they lacked the expertise to decide whether it was safe to open schools. Some school officials said they lacked the expertise to decide whether it was safe to open schools. “Schools should never have been placed in a situation where we have choice,” said Tony Wold, former associate superintendent of West Contra Costa Unified School District, east of San Francisco. “With lessons learned, when you have a public health pandemic, there needs to be a single voice. “With lessons learned, when you have a public health pandemic, there needs to be a single voice.” Still, many school officials said with hindsight they’d make the same decision to keep schools online well into 2021. Only two superintendents said they’d likely make a different decision if there were another pandemic that was not particularly dangerous to children. Only two superintendents said they’d likely make a different decision if there were another pandemic that was not particularly dangerous to children. In some communities, demographics and the historic underinvestment in schools loomed large, superintendents said. In the South, Black Americans’ fear of the virus was sometimes coupled with mistrust of schools rooted in segregation. In the South, Black Americans’ fear of the virus was sometimes coupled with mistrust of schools rooted in segregation. Cities from Atlanta to Nashville to Jackson, Mississippi, shuttered schools — in some cases, for nearly all of the 2020-2021 school year. In Clayton County, Georgia, home to the state’s highest percentage of Black residents, schools chief Morcease Beasley said he knew closing schools would have a devastating impact, but the fear in his community was overwhelming. In Clayton County, Georgia, home to the state’s highest percentage of Black residents, schools chief Morcease Beasley said he knew closing schools would have a devastating impact, but the fear in his community was overwhelming. “I knew teachers couldn’t teach if they were that scared, and students couldn’t learn,” he said. Rhode Island was an outlier among liberal-leaning coastal states when it ordered schools to reopen in person in the fall of 2020. Rhode Island was an outlier among liberal-leaning coastal states when it ordered schools to reopen in person in the fall of 2020. “We can’t do this to our kids,” state education chief Angélica Infante-Green remembers thinking after watching students turn off cameras or log in from under blankets in bed. “This is not OK. “This is not OK.” But in the predominantly Latino and Black Rhode Island community of Central Falls, more than three-quarters of students stayed home to study remotely. To address parent distrust, officials tracked COVID-19 cases among school-aged Central Falls residents. To address parent distrust, officials tracked COVID-19 cases among school-aged Central Falls residents. They met with families to show them the kids catching the virus were in remote learning — and they weren’t learning as much as students in school. It worked. It worked. Among teachers, there’s some dispute about online learning's impact on children. But many fear some students will be scarred for years. But many fear some students will be scarred for years. “Should we have reopened earlier? Absolutely,” said California teacher Sarah Curry. She initially favored school closings in her rural Central Valley district, but grew frustrated with the duration of distance learning. She initially favored school closings in her rural Central Valley district, but grew frustrated with the duration of distance learning. She taught pre-kindergarten and found it impossible to maintain attention spans online. One of her biggest regrets: that teachers who wanted to return to classrooms had little choice in the matter. One of her biggest regrets: that teachers who wanted to return to classrooms had little choice in the matter. But the nation’s 3 million public school teachers are far from a monolith. Many lost loved ones to COVID-19, battled mental health challenges of their own or feared catching the virus. Many lost loved ones to COVID-19, battled mental health challenges of their own or feared catching the virus. Jessica Cross, who taught ninth grade math on Chicago’s west side at Phoenix Military Academy, feels her school reopened too soon. “I didn’t feel entirely safe,” she said. “I didn’t feel entirely safe,” she said. Mask rules were good in theory, but not all students wore them properly. She said safety should come before academics. She said safety should come before academics. “Ultimately, I still feel that remote learning was really the only thing to do,” Cross said. A representative from the American Federation of Teachers declined in an interview to say whether the national union regrets the positions it took against reopening schools . A representative from the American Federation of Teachers declined in an interview to say whether the national union regrets the positions it took against reopening schools . “If we start to play the blame game," said Fedrick Ingram, AFT’s secretary-treasurer, “we get into the political fray of trying to determine if teachers did a good job or not. And I don’t think that’s fair. And I don’t think that’s fair.” Regrets or no, experts agree: America’s kids need more from adults if they’re going to be made whole. The country needs “ideally, a reinvention of public education as we know it,” Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. The country needs “ideally, a reinvention of public education as we know it,” Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. Students need more days in school and smaller classes. Short of extending the school year, experts say intensive tutoring is the most efficient way to help students catch up. Short of extending the school year, experts say intensive tutoring is the most efficient way to help students catch up. Saturday school or doubling up on math or reading during a regular school day would also help. Too few school districts have made those investments, Harvard economist Tom Kane said. Too few school districts have made those investments, Harvard economist Tom Kane said. Summer school is insufficient, Kane says — it’s voluntary, and many parents don’t sign up. Adding school time for students is politically impossible in many cities. Adding school time for students is politically impossible in many cities. In Los Angeles, the teachers union filed a complaint after the district scheduled four optional school days for students to recoup learning. The school board in Richmond rejected a move to an all-year school calendar. The school board in Richmond rejected a move to an all-year school calendar. There are exceptions: Atlanta extended the school day 30 minutes for three years. Hopewell Schools in Virginia moved to year-round schooling last year. Hopewell Schools in Virginia moved to year-round schooling last year. Even the federal government’s record education spending isn’t enough for the scope of kids’ academic setbacks, according to the American Educational Research Association. Researchers there estimate it will cost $700 billion to offset learning loss for America’s schoolchildren – more than three times the $190 billion allocated to schools. Researchers there estimate it will cost $700 billion to offset learning loss for America’s schoolchildren – more than three times the $190 billion allocated to schools. “We need something on the scale of the Marshall Plan for education,” said Kamras, the Richmond superintendent. “Anything short of that and we’re going to see this blip in outcomes become permanent — and that would be criminal."Anything short of that and we're going to see this blip in outcomes become permanent — and that would be criminal. ” ___ Gecker reported from San Francisco. Collin Binkley in Washington, D. Collin Binkley in Washington, D.C., Sharon Lurye in New Orleans, Arleigh Rodgers in Indianapolis, Claire Savage in Chicago and Brooke Schultz in Harrisburg, Pa., Sharon Lurye in New Orleans, Arleigh Rodgers in Indianapolis, Claire Savage in Chicago and Brooke Schultz in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report. ___ . ___.