School Closures During the Pandemic
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states around the country shut down their schools in an attempt to stop the spread of the contagious virus.
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During this time, even Republican-led states held off on sending their students back to school. However, eventually, many states quickly reopened their schools, allowing their students to return to class.
California’s Schools Remained Closed
California differed from other states, as they had one of the first — and one of the strictest — state lockdowns seen during the pandemic.
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This strict lockdown attempted to stop the very quick and deadly spread of the virus that California was trying to deal with. As a result, schools remained closed.
Virtual Learning
Instead of allowing students to return to class during this time, California pushed for virtual learning at home. Therefore, students had to go to school through video chats, like Zoom.
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All ages of students had to learn how to adapt to this new virtual learning process. Many parents and school board officials criticized this move at the time. Others supported it, mainly because of the ongoing pandemic.
Learning Loss
Unfortunately, many studies have since learned that students throughout the nation have suffered from what is being called “learning loss.”
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Because of these school closures seen during the pandemic, many students didn’t accurately learn vital lessons. Now, they are behind in school.
California Approves $2 Billion for Students
Now, Newsom has set aside $2 billion for students who have suffered from this learning loss — many of whom are low-income or minority students.
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This money will go to tutoring and other services dedicated to helping students who have fallen behind because of the school closures seen during the pandemic.
A Settlement
This aid to students comes after California settled its Cayla J. v. California case earlier this year. This suit, which was first filed in November 2020, blamed the state for failing to help students during school closures.
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The suit further insinuated that California didn’t accurately help parents and students during the time when school was virtual — and when students had to use digital devices to attend class.
The Damage Is Done
Though Newsom seemingly is admitting fault by approving these billions of dollars to help students, many parents and school board officials aren’t happy.
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Sonia Shaw, the Chino Valley Unified School District Board President, recently said, “Unfortunately, the damage is done, and this should have been a priority to the Department of Education and the Governor. I’m grateful to those who never gave up to ensure resources are used to help students.”
Attacking Teachers’ Unions
Some parents didn’t just go after Newsom. They also went after California’s teachers’ unions.
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Lance Christensen, a father of California students, said, “It’s time for the legislature to cut its ties with teachers’ unions who regularly rebuff any opportunities for educational reform.”
Parents Face Growing Frustration
Some parents also voiced their frustration over the fact that they feel they don’t have any resources to help their children in school.
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“Parents who have no real resources or options for their children in poor-performing public schools will see funds go to bureaucrats rather than programs they know will benefit their children,” Christensen added.
Newsom and Accountability
Christensen further stated that, even though Newsom has approved $2 billion to go to these students affected by school closures, Newsom still isn’t facing real accountability.
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He said, “Rather than acknowledge how our state’s elected officials have consistently failed millions of children in our public schools, the legislature passed and the governor signed a bill that will not only send more money into our sub-par government schools, but have no real accountability other than reports that no one will read or seriously consider.”
Learning Loss Throughout America
Since the pandemic, many studies have been done on students who have suffered from learning loss.
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A recent Harvard study found that this learning gap hasn’t closed since school reopened. In the years since, this gap has only widened — allowing students to fall even further behind in school.