The 74 Million.Org news channel hopes to provide unfiltered, non-partisan news about the state of U.S. education. It reviewed input from 800 public schools before writing an article about COVID-19’s impact on U.S. education. And published it on July 19, 2022 listing six major impacts it found.
How U.S. Education Was Impacted by COVID-19’s
74 Million.Org surveyed 800 schools between January and May, 2022. Because it wanted to know how the pandemic shaped absenteeism, student behavior, mental health and staffing problems. The results suggested “The pandemic years have taken a dramatic toll on the nations’ public schools, including nutrition and mental health too”.
- Firstly, COVID negatively affected student development. Some 80% of schools reported “stunted behavioral and socio-emotional development” in their students, plus a “49% increase in rowdiness outside of the classroom”.
- And then chronic teacher absence increased. Two thirds of schools reported administrators covering classes, and sections and classes combined. Student absence also increased. The extent to which quarantine played a role is unclear.
- But staff and students were also in greater need of mental health services, with disadvantaged and special need ones prominent. Additional pressures on teachers culminated into an unhealthy work environment.
- Moreover, there were barriers in the way of mental health services for students. Some 61% of public schools reported “insufficient mental health professional staff coverage to manage caseload.” 48% mentioned “inadequate access to licensed mental health”.
- A quarter of schools also changed their daily or yearly academic calendars to mitigate potential mental health issues for students and staff. However by May 2022, 90% were offering full-time, in-person instruction.
- Finally, challenges faced school breakfast and meal programs too. Almost 40% experienced difficulties obtaining food, beverages, and meal services. The root causes mentioned were “orders arriving with missing items, reduced quantities, or product substitutions.”
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