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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the greatest disruption to the U.S. education system in our country's history. The closure of schools and other education spaces has forced millions of students to adapt to available learning opportunities and reduced social interaction - and has significantly limited access to support services that are delivered through schools.

Moreover, the crisis has exacerbated pre-existing disparities in learning and has had a disproportionately negative impact on the most vulnerable students. Schools and teachers have had to work to minimize the impact of learning loss, yet many students in disadvantaged communities still don't have access to the tools and learning supports needed to participate in instruction, including online and blended learning.

Reopening schools for in-person learning will be a big step in towards a more stable education landscape. However, newfound challenges will extend beyond promoting behaviors that reduce the spread of the virus and maintain healthy environments. It won't be enough for schools to simply have a plan for how to act when there has been a COVID-19 exposure.

School systems will need comprehensive strategies designed to meet the needs of students from an academic and social-emotional perspective. Combatting learning loss will be a primary challenge. However, schools will also need to expand social-emotional and behavioral supports as the mental health needs of students is expected to be at an all-time high.

It's possible that compensatory services will need to be provided, and that additional supports will be required to re-engage disconnected students.

School District Strategies For Reopening Schools

Districts will need to plan and implement well-defined strategies for reopening schools; strategies that can be revised and adapted to changing conditions. Those strategies are likely to include a mix of best-practices and recent innovations that have been developed over the course of the past year, many through trial and error.

In the remainder of this article, we'll discuss the key areas experiencing the largest impacts on our school systems and students. We'll share best practices for school systems looking to adapt, make adjustments, and innovate their education strategies in the wake of newfound challenges.

The Largest Reopening Impacts on School Systems & Students:

Learning Loss (Closing Wide Gaps)

Integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Integration of Behavioral and Mental Health Supports

Compensatory Education Services

Re-engaging Disconnected Students

Learning Loss (Closing Wide Gaps)

According to a December 2020 report by McKinsey & Company, "the cumulative learning loss could be substantial, especially in mathematics-with students on average likely to lose five to nine months of learning by the end of this school year." 1

Students of color and students from lower socio-economic groups are likely to experience greater-than-average learning loss due to technology accessibility and availability. As noted by the McKinsey study, "the pandemic has forced the most vulnerable students into the least desirable learning situations with inadequate tools and support systems to navigate them." If these opportunity gaps are not addressed, it will almost inevitably result in even wider achievement gaps.

It's imperative that school systems minimize the impact of learning loss and address the need to rebuild students' skills, as learning losses tend to compound over time. Immediate priorities include preventing further learning loss by bringing students back to in-person school and improving remote education offerings. School systems are also implementing measures designed to help students catch up.

Best Practices for Addressing Learning Loss Include:

Focusing on content or skills that are prerequisites to future learning. For example, students will struggle with fractions if they have not learned the mathematics skills/lessons leading up to the introduction of fractions.

Creating a school schedule that includes longer classes and / or blocks of learning time where teachers can address content that is a prerequisite for moving to the next level.

Offering intensive tutoring services.

Creating short-term and/or accelerated catch-up courses that teach missed content, to help ensure that students have mastered prior-year content.

Building in time for students to seek extra help.

Integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Now, more than a year into the global pandemic, it's clear that the effects of the pandemic aren't limited to learning loss and other academic issues. The pandemic environment has weakened students' social support systems, which in turn has compromised their ability to adapt to and recover from disruption and trauma.

A representative survey of 6,000 educators conducted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators indicates that "more than 75 percent of those surveyed reported higher social-emotional needs among their students, including increased depression, anxiety and social isolation."2 Schools and communities are also reporting increases in online bullying and abuse ³ and in sickness, loss and grief associated with friends, relatives, and family members becoming ill and dying from COVID-19.

"School closings have [also] been associated with the rise in adolescent suicides due to feelings of isolation and hopelessness," notes a new research publication that discusses evidence-based practices for assessing the social and emotional well-being of students. 4 The same research reminds us that disruptions to student mental and emotional health, not to mention disruptions to education environments and social systems of support, call for a renewed focus on social and emotional wellbeing.

Suggested SEL strategies include:

Additional Strategies for Helping Students Going Back to School:

Consider offering small group or one-on-one counseling sessions.

Assign an in-house point person to work with outside partners and resources like local mental health agencies and universities; partners who can help bolster your mental health services for little to no cost. In many areas, the services provided by community-based mental health counselors, substance abuse specialists, therapists, and social workers can be funded by donations, government, or insurance, offsetting much of the cost.

Try to maximize the talent, time, and expertise of your staff by planning as a team and minimizing the time in which meetings and paperwork take from working with students.

When it comes to behavioral issues, be proactive rather than reactive. Consider utilizing experts who are trained to identify and reduce behavioral triggers, thereby working to prevent problems before they occur.

Assess results and get feedback directly from students. For example, if you add advisory periods to help students build relationships with teachers, ask them if those periods are increasing the connection they feel with their instructors.

The bottom line is that incorporating SEL practices in everyday schooling is going to increasingly become an expectation on the part of students and families, not just a supplemental school service offering.

Greater integration of SEL can also be invaluable to teachers, who have reported dramatically increased workloads in the wake of the pandemic.

Factors include:
- The need to spend more time communicating with parents.
- The need to manage teaching both in-person and virtually.
- Expanded responsibility in terms of teaching at grade level while also helping students make up for learning loss.

Teachers are spending so much time and energy focusing on the academic needs of their students that they may not be able to adequately support their students' mental health needs. The presence of dedicated mental health professionals in the education environment is more important than ever before.

Integration of Behavioral and Mental Health Supports for Returning to School After Covid

While it's normal for students to experience a certain amount of anxiety about returning to school, this year obviously has produced additional anxiety-inducing factors for students. In the age of COVID-19, students everywhere are dealing with a myriad of pandemic-related stressors, compounded by adjusting to drastically altered school routines while also facing greater anxiety and uncertainty about the future.

Surveys continue to indicate that the pandemic has resulted in extremely high levels of stress and mental health morbidity in students, including higher prevalence of depression, fear, anxiety, and other serious mental health conditions.

The problem begins with the disruption of the traditional school day. According to a survey conducted by Active Minds, a nonprofit advocacy group supporting mental health education for students, 74 percent of students say they have found it challenging to maintain a routine because of COVID-19. ⁵ Eight in ten students are struggling to focus on school or work and avoiding distractions.⁶Moreover, because of schools closures and community events cancellations, students can feel isolated and disconnected. In a Gallup poll of parents with school-age children, 45 percent of parents said being separated from classmates and teachers has been a major challenge for their children. ⁷

In a California state-wide student assessment survey affiliated with American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, more than half of respondents reported needing mental health support. That includes the 22 percent who said they were receiving support before school closures, but now have little to no access to services. ⁸

The challenge is to implement best practices to expand and improve social, emotional, and behavioral supports for students without further burdening current staff. This may include developing systematic ways for teachers to build and maintain interpersonal relationships with students via small group lunches and advisory groups, for example.

Providing additional supports for classroom teachers and staff or hiring additional professionals who are skilled in behavior management may be necessary. Such professionals can help identify and manage behavioral triggers and reduce undesirable behaviors.

Compensatory Education Services

Another area where additional supports and resources may be necessary is compensatory services; a fast-evolving, resource-intensive component of the education landscape.

In accordance with FAPE, schools can and must provide education to all students, including Special Education students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Schools also must ensure, to the greatest extent possible, students are provided with the appropriate SPED and related services as identified on their IEP.

Even under normal circumstances, many districts are significantly challenged by the resources and efforts required to remain in IEP compliance for all of their student population with IEP documentation. Furthermore, Special Education students and students with disabilities typically need customized or individualized approaches to address challenges caused by COVID-19. Some services that were once provided in-person may now need to be delivered through alternative approaches. This requires making an individualized determination that includes input from parents.
One of the most common challenges facing SPED students in the pandemic environment is connectivity. Those challenges go further than having access to the basic technology needed to facilitate a video call. Many students with disabilities may have developed additional social, emotional, mental health, or academic needs during the pandemic, possibly necessitating additional supports. In some students' cases, complex health and safety needs may call for development of a "contingency learning plan" designed to navigate the uncertainties related to COVID-19.

To meet these increased support needs, many school systems are calling on outside providers to help with all aspects of IEP review and compliance, along with other compensatory services.

Re-engaging Disconnected Students

Finally, one of the most troubling trends we've seen over the course of the past year is a dramatic rise in the number of disconnected students, which has reversed ten years of progress in a matter of months. In a recent national attendance and public records data research initiative, Bellwether Education Partners published their findings estimating that between 10% and 25% of students in many marginalized groups are likely to have had minimal or no educational access since schools shut down in March [2020] ⁹. This range equates to 1-3 million U.S. students who have become disengaged and disconnected from school, since the beginning of the pandemic.

As noted in "A Decade Undone," a study issued by Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council, the youth disconnection rate (the share of young people in the United States who are not working nor in school) dropped for eight years in a row, from a recession-fueled high of 14.7 percent in 2010 to 11.2 percent in 2018. ⁹ In contrast, in the past year, we've seen an increase in the unemployment rate and reductions in school enrollment, especially among minorities and students who live in disadvantaged communities.
According to Measure of America data:

1. Almost one-third of disconnected young people live in poverty and are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as connected young people.

2. 16.9 percent of disconnected youth have a disability, as compared to 5.1 percent of connected youth.

3. Disconnected young women are more than four times as likely to be mothers as their connected counterparts; 25.2 percent versus six percent.

4. Disconnected youth are more than 20 times more likely to be institutionalized as their connected peers.

5. Disconnected youth are nine times as likely to have dropped out of high school. One in four young people who are disconnected didn't earn a high school diploma.

Experiencing a period of disconnection as a young person can have a profound effect on earnings, employment opportunities, and health later in life. That's because a young person's formative years are critical to developing the capabilities required to realize a full, flourishing adulthood. Such capabilities include:

- Knowledge and credentials
- Social skills and social networks
- An understanding of one's own strengths and preferences
- The ability to handle stressful events and regulate one's emotions
- The ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships.

It may seem daunting to take on the additional effort and resource of re-engaging disconnected students, but districts have the power to make decisions which prioritize initiatives focused on student re-engagement. Options for intervention services and re-engagement supports are available. By choosing to dedicate effort and resource to re-engaging disconnected and marginalized students, America's future generations can benefit significantly.
Sources Consulted:
1 COVID-19 and Learning Loss-Disparities Grow and Students Need Help, December 8, 2020.
2 Voices from Georgia Schools: Georgia Educators on Supporting Public Education During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, Professional Association of Georgia Educators, 2021.
3 Calls to Domestic Violence Centers Spike During SIP, by Todd Guild, The Pararonian, April 17, 2020.
4 Evidence-Based Practices for Assessing Students' Social and Emotional Well-Being, by Heather J. Hough, Joe Witte, Caroline Wang and Dave Calhoun, February 2021.
5 The Impact of COVID-19 on Student Mental Health, Active Minds Student Survey: https://www.activeminds.org/studentsurvey.
6 Ibid.
7 How Parents Say COVID-19 Harming Child's Mental Health, by Valerie J. Calderon, https://news.gallup.com/poll/312605/parents-say-covid-harming-child-mental-health.aspx.
8 Summary of Student Mental Health Survey Results, Youth Liberty Squad, May 2020, https://www.schoolcounselor-ca.org/Files/Student%20Wellness%20Survey%20Summary%205-08-20.pdf.
9 A Decade Undone: Youth Disconnection in the Age of Coronavirus, by Kristen Lewis, Measure of America of the Social Science Research Council, 2020.

10 Missing in the Margins: Estimating the Scale of the COVID-19 Attendance Crisis, October 2020, https://bellwethereducation.org/publication/missing-margins-estimating-scale-covid-19-attendance-crisis

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Learning Loss Strategies For School Districts - Chancelight Education

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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the greatest disruption to the U.S. education system in our country's history. The closure of schools and other education spaces has forced millions of students to adapt to available learning opportunities and reduced social interaction - and has significantly limited access to support services that are delivered through schools.

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Address Learning Loss - it is inevitable as some topics are difficult to teach online

Address opportunity gaps - some have better oppirtunity than others

Focus on basic skills that can help with more complex concepts in their future learning

Students' socio-emotional needs to be addressed. Support system needs to be put in place, especially in students' mental health

Students will feel disconnected after some time away from school.

- Cg Firdaus, SR Semabat

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1) Learning loss-closing wide gaps in knowledge and skills if any. If
HBL was implemented successfully then
gap might not be as wide as previously
assumed/ feared/ rumoured. However, knowledge and skill prerequisites are vital in progressing to acquiring now knowledge and skills. Hence disparag ing this fact could impact students in the long
run.
2) Social & emotional student well-being. Mental
health is an issue in the USA due to the
family structural nature eg. Asians are more
family-oriented than our western counterpart. Spiritual enlightenedment is not at the forefront
of a child's upbringing where freedom
of speech and freedom of religion is their
philosophy.
3) Students who suffer from a sense of
disconnection from the school setting due
to disproportionate opportunities and economic
backgrounds. Readapting and readjusting to
the new norm could prove challenging coupled with non-
supportive parents. Back to school activities, evidently
aided in reorienting students to returning to school
more openly.

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Addressing knowledge and skill gaps through intervention programs or longer period lessons. Involving brilliant scheduling.
Be vigilant, of any discrepancies in children mental and emotional health. Contact Counselling Unit for additional support.
Reconnecting students with basic positive reinforcements and motivation to build up grit and the growth of mindset.

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Focus on learning loss
Create or block learning time or remedial class where teachers can address content that is necessity to move to the next level or future learning.

Teacher create or catch up the missed content to help or to ensure  the ways that prior knowledge contributes to learning.

Closing Wide Gaps
students from lower socio-economic groups are likely to experience more  learning loss due to technology accessibility and availability.

To preventing further learning loss by bringing students back to school and improving remote education offerings.

Instead focus on teaching and learning, teachers also responsible to  helping students by spending more time talk or communicate with parents.

SHI

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It is inevitable that students learning was affected heavily due to the pandemic. Learning loss of students when school reopens need to be address as soon as possible so that the learning gap can be minismise as much as possible. Some of interesting the best practices that can be taken as learning point from the article are:-1) Focusing on content or skills that are prerequisites to future learning , 2) Creating a school schedule that includes longer classes and / or blocks of learning time for teacher to teach prerequisite content before moving to the next level (although this will be quite difficult to be done in our government primary school since the students have to attend religious school in the afternoon, thus creating a longer period or classes may not be practical for some), 3) Offering intensive tutoring services (or school offer intensive intervention program for let out students)

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The Largest Reopening Impacts on School Systems & Students:

Learning Loss (Closing Wide Gaps)

Integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Integration of Behavioral and Mental Health Supports

Compensatory Education Services

Re-engaging Disconnected Students

ChanceLight can work help to create customized programs that fit the unique needs of our student population, thereby maximizing academic, behavioral, and social success. They can also provide centralized behavioral teams, including teachers, behavioral specialists, and mental health therapists; that can provide support across several classrooms or schools

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A.     PRACTICES CAN BE ADOPTED

Focusing on content or skills that are prerequisites to future learning. For example, students will struggle with fractions if they have not learned the mathematics skills/lessons leading up to the introduction of fractions.

FOR SR PAP Besar Sg kebun

Revisit the topics by integrating into the normal lesson (modified Lesson plan)

Creating a school schedule that includes longer classes and / or blocks of learning time where teachers can address content that is a prerequisite for moving to the next level.

FOR SR PAP Besar Sg kebun

Blocked the ECA period to revisit EMS subject especially Maths to revisit the HBL topics.

Offering intensive tutoring services.

FOR SR PAP Besar Sg kebun

Insya Allah to reallocate the program during the school holiday or Friday just for the topics that need to be reteach.

Creating short-term and/or accelerated catch-up courses that teach missed content, to help ensure that students have mastered prior-year content.

FOR SR PAP Besar Sg kebun

Insya Allah to reallocate the program during the school holiday or Friday just for the topics that need to be reteach.

Building in time for students to seek extra help

FOR SR PAP Besar Sg kebun

Insya Allah to reallocate the program during the school holiday or Friday just for the topics that need to be reteach.

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* Other than learning loss, we should also focus on the children's mental well-being especially after being away from school for several months.
* we should also focus particularly more on under/less privileged students as they are more likely to experience larger learning loss/wider achievement gaps compared to their more privileged peers

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The pandemic have a huge impact on Education system through out the world.  Students from low economic status were the most affected.  Education system minimize learning loss by creating learning framework & strategies.

School need to look at social & mental health of students as well as academic point.  School need to find ways on how to get students back on board and on track.  Schools implement best practices that are proven to help the students catch up what they have missed.

Students emotional & mental health was also very important and needs to be addressed.  Therefore schools need to give support such giving talks or give peer support.  School need to look at student behavior management in order to improve students mental health.

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Practice that can be adopted.

·        Design academic support such as learning support or look as best practices that can be implemented in school.

·        Focus on the most important topics that needs to be covered.

·        Involve parents support.

·        Give support to the affected students, such as giving resources, gadgets.

·        Build on improving the mental health of students by focusing on giving support such as motivational talks, counseling, etc.

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Minimize the impact of learning loss and address the need to rebuild students' skills & implementation of measures designed to help students catch up. 

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Minimize the impact of learning loss and address the need to rebuild students' skills & implementation of measures designed to help students catch up. 

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Best practices;
- Focusing on content or skills
- creating school schedule such as longer classes or blocking learning time
- offering intensive tutoring service
- teach missed content to help ensure that students have mastered prior - year content
- Building time for students to seek extra help

Integration of social - emotional learning (SEL)
- Developing a comprehensive system for monitoring student well - being
- utilizing concise student survey to supplement screening & monitoring.

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Learning loss - closing wide gaps
- minimize the impact of learning loss and address the need to rebuild students' skills

Best Practices for addressing learning loss;
- Focusing on content or skills
- Creating a school schedule; longer classes or blocks of learning time where teachers can address content that is a prerequisite  for moving to the next level.
- Offering intensive tutoring services
- Creating short - term and accelerated catch-up courses that teach missed content, to help ensure that students have mastered prior-year content.
- Building in time for students to seek extra help.

Integration of social - emotional learning (SEL)
Strategies;
- Developing comprehensive system for monitoring students well-being
- Utilizing concise student surveys to supplement screening and monitoring.

Increase need for behavioral and mental health support

# data[].attributes.body
Learning loss - closing wide gaps
- minimize the impact of learning loss and address the need
to rebuild students' skills

Best Practices for addressing learning loss;
- Focusing on content or skills
- Creating a school schedule; longer classes or blocks of
learning time where teachers can address content that is a prerequisite
for moving to the next level.
- Offering intensive tutoring services
- Creating short - term and accelerated catch-up courses that
teach missed content, to help ensure that students have mastered prior-year
content.
- Building in time for students to seek extra help.

Integration of social - emotional learning (SEL)
Strategies;
- Developing comprehensive system for monitoring students
well-being
- Utilizing concise student surveys to supplement screening
and monitoring.

Increase need for behavioral and mental health support

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ADOPTED & ADAPTED
- Focusing on content and skills; modified curriculum ( integrate with miss content that have not mastered/taught prior year) and focus on weakest items;
- Subject blocking (Core subjects)
- Learning support/pull out system
- Extra classes (school holiday)

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Team building
- Counselling / motivational talk
- Spiritual program
- Acknowledgement / celebrate the success