School...through a screen.
It was just one of the ways life changed unthinkably at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and for many, it wasn't an ideal way to learn.
“There’s no interaction, there’s no movement, there’s no anything, other than sitting there staring at a screen for hours so that’s how she ended up falling behind," said Serena Mann of her daughter, a student at Churchland High School in Portsmouth.
To help her daughter catch up, Mann enlisted the help of a tutor. She's just one of many parents Shayla Spencer says reached out to her business, Tidewater Tutors, in the last couple years.
“A lot of times, kids fail in the classroom because they’re not getting that one-on-one attention," Spencer told News 3.
Even with most kids long back in the classroom, studies show they still haven't caught up — An extreme case of what's known as "learning loss."
“In the early grades in math, some of the declines we’re seeing in achievement are larger than what you saw after Hurricane Katrina," said Jim Soland, an Assistant Professor in the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development.
Soland and his research partners have been closely following the impact of pandemic-era safety measures on learning.
A study published earlier this year focused on achievement in math and reading using testing data from more than 5 million third through eighth grade students across the country.
It found that, compared to fall of 2019, math scores from the same time a year later had dropped. They fell even further in fall of 2021. For reading, scores were equal to 2019 or even higher at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, but then fell across the board the following fall.
Looking at Virginia students specifically, Soland says he noticed a trend.
“The number of kids needing reading intervention support has gone way up since the pandemic started," he told News 3. "We see big differences by socioeconomic status, so kids in lower-income schools tend to be affected more."
For the diverse cities in Hampton Roads, it's a finding that literally hits close to home.
“The difference between what was able to be accomplished was so individualized based on what the home environment could provide during that time," said Tina Manglicmot, who joined Newport News Public Schools as the Chief Academic Officer during summer of 2020.
Manglicmot and her team are tasked with helping all students across the city get back on track. She says the district is taking several measures this year to make sure the kids are learning what they need to.
"We identified with help and support from experts…priority standards. What are those standards that you essentially have to do," she told News 3. “We’re really personalizing our instruction and our plans. We’ve hired more interventionists with CARES (Act) money.”
But learning loss is by no means only a Virginia problem. Local school districts in North Carolina report seeing the same problems.
Sammy Fudge is the Executive Director for elementary schools for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, where he says the social loss has had just as big an impact as academic loss.
“In the classroom, we’re using small groups to address that piece. We do a piece every day dealing with S.E.L. – social-emotional learning – and talking through things with kids," Fudge told News 3. “We feel with our commitment and the commitment of parents, our kids are going to be successful."
Because schools say the job is too big to fall solely on teachers and administrators, especially when local districts continue to be severely understaffed.
Spencer, who's also taught in Portsmouth Public Schools, says parents should pay attention at home and take action if their children are falling behind.
"(Do) not push them to keep going, but step in early enough and put someone in place where they’re getting that one-on-one (attention)," she said.
And schools say they can help with that part, if they're made aware.
They say turning learning loss into learning gains will take a team effort.
“You put the right tools in place and you put the right people in place and I feel confident that we can get our students caught back up," said Manglicmot. "It’s not going to happen within a year, maybe not two years, but within three years, our students are going to be caught back up.”
