Texas students are heading back to the classroom this month and, in many cases, it’s for the first time since the pandemic upended schools in March 2020.
Parents and educators must now navigate how to get children back on track after so many disruptions. But where to start?
In a reporting collaborative, the Education Labs at The Dallas Morning News, AL.com, The Fresno Bee and The Seattle Times partnered with the Christian Science Monitor, The Hechinger Report and the Solutions Journalism Network to produce a series stories exploring promising efforts and research that could help students.
International newcomer academies offer lessons on how to quickly catch up children learning English
The Dallas Morning News
Children learning English were among the students hardest hit in the pandemic as they faced challenges with language and technology.
They had fewer opportunities to interact with teachers and peers who could help them practice English, a summer report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights noted. Meanwhile, their parents often struggled with their own language barriers and strains on the family that made it even more difficult to help their children thrive, particularly when it came to online learning.
Some school systems estimated that less than half of all English-language learners were logging on to virtual learning regularly — many because they lacked digital access, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
As schools try to address widespread learning loss caused by COVID-19 disruptions, particularly for students learning English, those who work at international newcomer academies offer lessons they’ve learned in how to quickly identify needs and fill learning gaps so that children can get back on track.
“These kids come with a lot of experience — whether it’s good, bad or ugly — they come with experience,” said Flavia Romero, a facilitator at Grand Prairie’s International Newcomer Institute at Fannin Middle School. “The goal is to foster that and tie that into their current learning so that they can be successful.”
The science of catching up
The Hechinger Report and The Fresno Bee
Students across the country have fallen months -- if not years -- behind in their education because of pandemic disruptions. Children who live in poverty, have a disability or struggle with English are particularly struggling.
Schools are launching multi-prong approaches to catch them up with the help of billions in federal pandemic aid.
As the Hechinger Report and The Fresno Bee report, no one strategy can possibly benefit all students. But studies do point to what’s worth trying, how they can best be implemented—and what approaches might be a waste of time and money.
Take a look at the most relevant research regarding tutoring, grade retention, afterschool programs, remediation and more.
Learn more about what research says works and doesn’t here and here.
Children’s brains on stress
The Seattle Times
Stress can have long-term consequences for mental health, which in turn can have profound effects on a child’s ability to learn in school. But what, exactly, happens to kids’ brains?
Answering that question became even more urgent when the pandemic hit, and the daily lives of so many children and teens were suddenly plagued by stress. Adolescents are generally more prone to anxiety and depression, but an unusually high number — more than half — were reporting these symptoms around six months into the pandemic, researchers found.
The Seattle Times explores what researchers are learning about the impacts of economic adversity in a child’s early life and what factors affect students’ ability to bounce back, which can offer insight into how to help students now.
Scientists don’t yet know if the pandemic altered children’s brains. But even without a complete picture, the urgency is clear.
“As kids begin to return to school, what do we see about patterns of recovery for kids who did develop symptoms during the pandemic? … Will these symptoms persist over time?” said Harvard researcher Katie McLaughlin. “We’re going to need to begin grappling with, what do we do [to help them]?”
The digital divide is narrowing, but how will schools maintain progress?
The Christian Science Monitor
With more technology and hot spots in student hands, schools face new questions about uneven access and the best way to incorporate devices in class.
Nationwide, significant progress has been made since March 2020 on closing the digital divide – the chasm between those K-12 students who have access to reliable internet and devices at home and those who don’t.
Like many school districts, Brunswick School Department in Maine suddenly has a lot more laptops and tablets to manage than it planned for. School officials in the seaside town scrambled to purchase enough devices for all their students to learn online last year after the pandemic hurtled kids out of buildings.
As the district prepares to reopen for full in-person learning on Aug. 30, teachers are attending training sessions and figuring out just what role technology will play in their classrooms. There’s a simmering sense of anticipation about how far educators have come with technology, and its potential to enhance student learning.
“I am excited,” says Brunswick kindergarten teacher Stephanie Lucas, who describes herself as slow to get on board with technology, but more experienced after teaching remotely. “My goal for this year is to see how I’ll make [digital tools] effective in the classroom.”
Read more from The Christian Science Monitor here.
How an Alabama community college overhaul improves the odds for unprepared students
AL.com
Dawn Overton returned to college early this year, a mother of five boys looking for a career change and less time on her feet after 22 years as a nursing assistant. It had been 26 years since the 45-year-old had sat in a math course, but in January she found herself surrounded by fellow students, many as young as her sons, at Wallace State Community College.
But instead of starting with remedial courses, Overton jumped straight into math at the college level, with the aid of a one-hour course meant to help her be successful. “I was very thankful for taking that lab course,” she said. “It helped out a lot.”
Overton’s placement in the college-level course with a companion course, called a co-requisite, is part of a developmental education redesign launched by the Alabama Community College System in 2018-19, AL.com reports. The revamped program combined co-requisite courses -- essentially one-hour workshops or seminars that give students additional time to practice basic skills -- with a tiered placement model that sought to reduce the overall number of students placed into developmental education programs.
The redesign, community college leaders said, has not only been effective at keeping more students on-track to gain degrees but also proved to save money and time while helping educators better identify who needs additional support.
Those lessons will be crucial in helping both returning and first-time college students navigate another fall semester during the pandemic.
Read more about helping college students here.
When kids pick their ‘trusted adult,’ it pays off
The Hechinger Report
A Colorado school district made it every employee’s job -- from math teachers to custodians -- to support student mental health in the pandemic.
After 12-year-old Jayla learned a friend had died by suicide during the pandemic, she was terribly upset and struggled with guilt and anxiety attacks.
“He told me he was having a bad day earlier that week and I didn’t ask him why. I told myself it was my fault because if I wasn’t so fixated on myself and if I would have called him to check up on him, he would still be here,” she said. She was in a “bad place.
While no one person or factor causes suicide, guilt is a common reaction among family and friends, experts say.
Jayla didn’t feel like she could turn to anyone at home, so having someone at her Aurora middle school who could help was “really, really important.” The campus doesn’t just have one counselor on hand, but a full mental health team — plus teachers who have received training in how to respond to mental health issues.
Jayla’s trusted adult happened to be one of her school counselors, Katie Humphrey. During a hallway conversation, Jayla confided her guilt and anxiety over her friend’s suicide. The counselor then checked in on her every day to ask how she was doing.
“That really helped because I was not able to talk about him without crying,” Jayla said. Talking with Humphrey, who counsels seventh graders, helped Jayla understand the suicide wasn’t her fault. “If it wasn’t for them asking me if I was OK and checking on me mental-health wise, I don’t think I would be in the place I am now.”
Read the Hechinger Report’s story here.
Can catch up on our first collaboration Learning from Lockdown. That series of stories explored what was working in virtual education and how schools could leverage those lessons beyond the pandemic.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
