Last year MRCR Education posted about the Summer Slide. A decline in student performance following the Summer break due to limited participation in academic activities. The flow of education that a student experiences is interrupted and continuity of learning suffers with it.
It takes time to get back into the flow of going back to school: Waking up, getting ready, going to school, heading back home or going to an after school program, etc. As a result of the Summer Slide, the first few days, and weeks, of school are utilized as a transition period where teachers use the time to familiarize students with expected classroom goals, behavior, curriculum to cover over the year ahead.
This year the Summer Slide got an unexpected head start due to COVID-19 shut down of schools. The COVID-19 Education Gap began in mid-March as schools were mandated to shut down in an effort to help prevent the spread of virus, continued through the Summer, and continues still as we prepare to start the 2020-21 school year.
Students and teachers were forced to abandon schools while education desperately turned to distance learning as a way to survive. Education has been hanging on to electronic devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones) as life jackets, waiting to be rescued by any passing ship.
There is great uncertainty in education right now. Administrators, teachers, parents and students prepare to start the new school year while the on going debate of reopening schools takes place in the offices of elected officials.
Time is running out and difficult decisions have to be made across the many schools and districts that prioritize safety, student learning, and closing the COVID-19 Education Gap.
Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator
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