What is going on with the post pandemic learning gap?

The pandemic hit and swept across the entire world. It caused a deadly impact on many families as it’s variants became stronger and stronger. People stayed home; they were fearful. Zoom and FaceTime became the norm for communication. Hospitals were  overcrowded and turning people away. Doc-in-the-box and Tele-Med were overloaded. Stores were running out of disinfectant cleansers,wipes, gloves, toilet paper and water. Prices gouged, businesses, and schools closed. The impact was devastating to say the least.

But here we are back in the classroom live. The Pandemic  and it’s variants are still here and now, Monkey Pox. Despite efforts to continue to educate our students through Zoom, Google Meets, See-Saw, Nearpod and the like, it wasn’t enough. Many of our students were left behind, stressed, depressed, and not learning. Although kids were moved to the next grade level some classes did not resume fully to in-person, some days were hybrid. Depression stumped many teachers who were fearful for their safety being enclosed in a classroom full of students. Parents were hesitant about sending their children back to class for safety reasons as well. Because of these changes many lessons and resources were limited thus  producing limited learning. Some schools never reopened and some educators escaped returning to the classroom. School districts scramble to get jobs filled just as other careers. Some positions were filled and class-size crepted back to normal yet, the student rate of learning was still at a deficit. How then do we increase learning possibilities? What strategies and interventions are needed to help students catch up? Let’s talk about it!