Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 6
Parents and educators are well aware of the heavy toll that COVID-19 has taken on learning, school attendance, the mental health of students and educators, and school staffing. Over the course of the pandemic, Congress set aside billions of dollars through three stimulus acts to help schools cope. That money won’t be available much longer – and any left on the table means fewer kids getting the support they need to succeed and thrive.
Tracking by Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab finds that while some districts have used all or a good chunk of their Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund dollars, others still have hundreds of thousands left. Districts must make plans by September to spend the money by Jan. 28, 2025, or lose the funds and a critical opportunity to address their communities’ biggest post-pandemic education challenges.
Several recent reports on intensive tutoring – including Teach For America’s Ignite program, in which college students virtually tutor K-8 kids in reading – have highlighted conditions that make in-school tutoring successful. Among the prerequisites are solid technology for virtual tutoring; quiet places for students being tutored; a pipeline of tutors from universities, community organizations or businesses; a district-level leader to manage tutoring across schools; a willingness to rethink the school-day schedule to accommodate tutoring; and a willingness to pursue multiple funding sources.
Tutoring can be combined with a focus on literacy among the youngest students and science-backed practices for teaching reading and literacy, the foundation of all learning, across grades.
At this point in schools’ continuing recovery, promoting mental wellness, accelerating student learning and attracting diverse and exceptional leaders into teaching should be top priorities. Let’s not allow a moment of opportunity to slip away. Because this much is certain: Despite the struggles of the past few years, we have a lot of evidence about approaches and practices that work; we have committed educators; and we know our students will meet the highest expectations when they have the support to do so.
