Since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools across the nation and we are unsure of what the next school year will bring, we need to support our children and families in every way possible to help prevent even more damage caused by this pandemic.
I think we have all heard of the Summer Slide, where learning achievement declines over the months that children are out of school, but now, we must contend with the COVID-19 Slide. As defined by NWEA Research, “COVID-19 Slide is when students show patterns of academic setbacks typical of summers throughout an extended closure.” Because not all at-home learning is equal, due to many extenuating factors, some students will be affected differently.
As stated in the NWEA Research, “Preliminary COVID slide estimates suggest students will return in fall 2020 with roughly 70% of the learning gains in reading relative to a typical school year. However, in math, students are likely to show much smaller learning gains, returning with less than 50% of the learning gains.” Although both teachers and parents are doing their best to educate the children during the pandemic, it is not the same as in class instruction.
Chatham County Schools (CCS) offer many resources to add to learning now and during the summer months. Two of the educational platforms that are offered for K-8 will help keep your children learning. One is called Freckle. It has reading, math, and science and moves kids along at their own pace and provides enrichment and skill remediation. MyON will also be offered. It is similar to Netflix, but with books. It will allow students to access online books over the summer. Please refer to the Chatham County Schools’ Summer Learning website for additional resources that are offered: https://sites.google.com/a/chatham.k12.nc.us/ccs-summer-learning/learning-resources
Students can also utilize the free resources provided by Khan Academy, explore nature, prepare a meal, or perform a science experiment and read, read, read! Chatham Education Foundation has also compiled a list of resources to use: https://www.chathameducationfoundation.org/at-home-learning-resources
Families, schools, and communities are working in countless ways to support their children academically during this crisis. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!! THANK YOU!!
