How Did the Pandemic Make At-Risk Education More Challenging?

(In other words: How At-Risk Kids Just Got At-Riskier Because of the Pandemic)

Anthony Dallmann-Jones, PhD, Director

At-Risk and Alternative Education Program, Marian University

I sit in the catbird’s seat.

My graduate students are active teachers, youth workers, jail educators, social workers, etc., working all week with kids at-risk. I hear from all corners of this great country of ours what is going on in classrooms, schools, detention centers, media centers, and in the professional and, sometimes, personal lives of my adult students. I am so fortunate to have my finger on the (real) pulse of education…what is really going on in the schools and in the hearts and minds of the people there. I wanted to share some of the things I have learned in conjunction with what the US Government has also observed – how the pandemic has made our jobs just that more challenging.

Please add your observations if you wish.

OBSERVATION 1 (K-12): Emerging evidence shows that the pandemic has negatively affected academic growth, widening pre-existing disparities. In core subjects like math and reading, there are worrisome signs that in some grades students might be falling even further behind pre-pandemic expectations.

This was almost a no-brainer. It was already a challenge when the kids are right there in front of you…to motivate them, to encourage them, to demand performance from them – meaning holding a standard above their head like a high bar and saying, “You can do it!” and then changing tactics if that did not work.

As a teacher try to do that through a computer screen with kids working in their home at a dining room table.

OBSERVATION 2 (K-12) COVID-19 appears to have deepened the impact of disparities in access and opportunity facing many students of color in public schools, including technological and other barriers that make it harder to stay engaged in virtual classrooms.

AND, the kid you are trying to teach via online learning is using the only family computer…while his teenage sister wants to get on FB and the baby brother is making airplane sounds in his milk.

OBSERVATION 3 (K-12): Even before the pandemic, many students learning English struggled to participate on equal terms in the classroom as they confronted the dual challenge of mastering grade-level content while continuing to learn English. For many English learners, the abrupt shift to learning from home amid the challenges of the pandemic has made that struggle even harder.

So, Julio, who could barely speak English, is now immersed in his family instead of in your classroom. They only speak Spanish at home. Julio is regressing daily.

OBSERVATION 4 (K-12): For many elementary and secondary school students with disabilities, COVID-19 has significantly disrupted the education and related aids and services needed to support their academic progress and prevent regression. And there are signs that those disruptions may be exacerbating longstanding disability-based disparities in academic achievement.

And, the teacher’s aide you had, the one who was bilingual, is no longer there. She is long gone, so you have to keep pulling out that app on your phone that changes Spanish into English and back again with every phrase you use with Julio. Because of the sunlight in his room, Julio cannot see your smartphone held up to the screen very well. What used to take you two minutes to convey what you wanted, now takes 20…with just one student.

OBSERVATION 5 (K-12): During the pandemic, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) students in elementary and secondary schools have faced particularly heightened risks for anxiety and stress and have lost regular access to affirming student organizations and supportive peers, teachers, and school staff. These students also are at an increased risk of isolation and abuse from unsupportive or actively hostile family members.

Robertino was just getting comfortable with their gender issues in your school last year but now, is stuck at home with two homophobic uncles who seemingly love to do nothing more than try to embarrass and humiliate Robertino.

OBSERVATION 6 (K-12 and postsecondary): Nearly all students have experienced some challenges to their mental health and well-being during the pandemic and many have lost access to school-based services and supports, with early research showing disparities based on race, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity, and other factors.

Four out of every ten students have mental health issues during their tenure in school. Of that 40% population, only 1 in 10 will get any help for their condition. Now with the pandemic, and lack of privacy at home, how can any counseling, psych evaluations, or treatments possibly be effective?

OBSERVATION 7 (K-12 and postsecondary): Heightened risks of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence during the pandemic, including from household members as well as intimate partners, and online harassment from peers and others, affect many students and may be having a continued disparate impact on K-12 and postsecondary girls and women and students who are transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming.

An increase in cyber-use has increased cyber-bullying, and the availability of protective services has been hampered.

OBSERVATION 8 (K-12 and postsecondary): Identity-based harassment and violence have long had harmful effects on targeted students and their communities. Since the pandemic’s start, Asian American and Pacific Islander students have faced an increased risk of harassment, discrimination, and other harms that may be affecting their access to educational opportunities.

OBSERVATION 9 (postsecondary): COVID-19 has raised new barriers for many post-secondary students, with heightened impacts emerging for students of color, students with disabilities, and students who are caregivers, both for entry into higher education and for continuing and completing their studies.

Few realize how many underage students are expected to carry adult loads outside of school. Now that school is in the home, the lines between school and home have not only blurred, they have disappeared.

My granddaughter is 15. She has been a partial caretaker of my (now) 12-year-old grandson for most of her life. Now she is trying to do maintain her straight-A record and timely turning in homework while keeping Markus, who has an ADD issue, glued to his screen long enough to complete even one assignment. If she is not right there, he wanders off physically as well as mentally – usually to play with easily available video games.

Conclusion

Online learning was supposed to make things easier…and it did, but that was because we could pick and choose when and how to use it. Suddenly the whole educational world might as well have been called ZOOM. No picking and choosing…just one big online blanket approach, useful or not…appropriate or not.

OBSERVATION 10 (postsecondary): Many institutions of higher education that disproportionately serve students of color and students from low-income backgrounds have seen declines in enrollment since the pandemic began. During the 2020-21 academic year historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) also had declines in enrollment that in some cases far outpaced enrollment declines in their predominantly white peer institutions. Higher-education institutions also reported a sharp drop-off in enrollment in 2020 of students graduating from high-poverty high schools compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

OBSERVATION 11 (postsecondary): Students with disabilities in higher education are facing significant hardships and other barriers due to COVID-19, threatening their access to education, including through remote learning, and basic necessities.

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Sources:

Dallmann-Jones, A. (2020). How to Connect with Students At-risk. Amazon Publishing.

Department of Education – United States of America. (June 9, 2021). Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students. ?Ed.gov.