Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

According to the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, emerging evidence shows that the pandemic has negatively affected academic growth, widening preexisting disparities causing some students to fall even farther behind pre-pandemic expectations. The Crisp County School district is no different and is still recovering from the pandemic affects. “Our kids did lose a lot,” said Cindy Hughes, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning and Student Services, “so trying to catch that up is a challenge and we have employed a lot of extra intervention teachers in order to help.” The global pandemic has created many challenges especially in America’s school systems. “For the kids that are in third grade now, they were so greatly impacted because third grade is the first grade in which we give standardized testing,” said Hughes, “it’s a gateway grade, but those kids have been impacted since they were in kindergarten.” The fundamentals of learning form a necessary base of basic skills such as language and math. “Those fundamental skills if they do not learn them then the curriculum spirals,” said Hughes, “because these fundamental things that you are supposed to learn at this place in order for you to get to this place.” For example, in first grade, the student is taught how to read. “How impactful it is,” said Hughes, “to try to catch kids up with something that is so fundamental to everything else.” The pandemic has widened that gap making filling the gap a challenge for educators. According to the Department of Educations Civil Rights Data Collection, COVID-19 appears to have deepened the impact of disparities in access and opportunity facing many students of color in public schools, including technological and other barriers that make it harder to stay engaged in virtual classrooms. “A lot of the kids come to us about two years behind anyway so to catch those years up is a challenge,” said Hughes, “it sounds simple but its not.”  For more information on the Department of Education, individuals may visit: www.ed.gov.