kindergarten graduation ideas during pandemic

What have we learned about unfinished learning?Īs the 2020–21 school year began, just 40 percent of K–12 students were in districts that offered any in-person instruction. Across all of these priorities it will be critical to take a holistic approach, listening to students and parents and designing programs that meet academic and nonacademic needs alike. The immediate imperative is to not only reopen schools and recover unfinished learning but also reimagine education systems for the long term.

Although it is too early to fully assess the effectiveness of postpandemic solutions to unfinished learning, the scope of action is already clear. They can ensure rigorous implementation of evidence-based initiatives, while also piloting and tracking the impact of innovative new approaches. States and districts have a critical role to play in marshaling that funding into sustainable programs that improve student outcomes. The deep-rooted challenges in our school systems predate the pandemic and have resisted many reform efforts. The impact on the US economy could amount to $128 billion to $188 billion every year as this cohort enters the workforce.įederal funds are in place to help states and districts respond, though funding is only part of the answer. Our analysis suggests that, unless steps are taken to address unfinished learning, today’s students may earn $49,000 to $61,000 less over their lifetime owing to the impact of the pandemic on their schooling. The ripple effects may undermine their chances of attending college and ultimately finding a fulfilling job that enables them to support a family. The fallout from the pandemic threatens to depress this generation’s prospects and constrict their opportunities far into adulthood. And the crisis had an impact on not just academics but also the broader health and well-being of students, with more than 35 percent of parents very or extremely concerned about their children’s mental health. High schoolers have become more likely to drop out of school, and high school seniors, especially those from low-income families, are less likely to go on to postsecondary education. In math, students in majority Black schools ended the year with six months of unfinished learning, students in low-income schools with seven. The pandemic widened preexisting opportunity and achievement gaps, hitting historically disadvantaged students hardest.

Our analysis shows that the impact of the pandemic on K–12 student learning was significant, leaving students on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading by the end of the school year. Many students, however, chose to keep learning virtually in districts that were offering hybrid or fully in-person learning. By the end of the school year, only 2 percent of students were in virtual-only districts. 1 “Burbio’s K-12 school opening tracker,” Burbio, accessed May 31, 2021,. Although the 2020–21 academic year ended on a high note-with rising vaccination rates, outdoor in-person graduations, and access to at least some in-person learning for 98 percent of students-it was as a whole perhaps one of the most challenging for educators and students in our nation’s history. As this most disrupted of school years draws to a close, it is time to take stock of the impact of the pandemic on student learning and well-being.

Kindergarten graduation ideas during pandemic