Alejandro Diasgranados: Addressing learning loss in DC Public Schools
Educators in DC Public Schools and across the country are formulating plans to address so-called “learning loss.” As a DCPS teacher, I see every day the losses that students, families and teachers face due to COVID-19. But I also see how resilient our communities are — and how harmful it is to focus solely on learning loss when addressing the myriad challenges facing them.
When the pandemic began, teachers had to copy learning materials and deliver books to students’ homes until they could get online. My fourth and fifth graders at Aiton Elementary School in Ward 7 lost almost an entire month before I was able to secure outside funding for laptops. Once online, students experienced every kind of distraction. Even today, as all of my students are still learning remotely, some are babysitting, pet sitting, and sharing rooms and devices with siblings.
Students are suffering from having been cut off from friends, teachers and the usual learning routines that help them focus and allow for rigorous instruction. What have they missed out on? They’ve been unable to see their teacher’s facial expressions during reading time, borrow books from the library, get extra enrichment last year from summer school, take field trips, or participate in hands-on learning activities.
Yet in spite of this, students have shown remarkable determination. They work more independently and use previously unavailable technology to do research (and even type their assignments). This year, my students have lived through history and become activists, writing to policymakers and sharing their opinions about the social unrest at the Capitol. And they have learned to value education and become more intrinsically motivated to learn.
Parents especially need to be reassured that their children won’t be part of a “lost generation” of learners. Parents are stressed out enough from all they have had to do this past year — they don’t need to feel like their kids are lost.
That’s not to say there have not been lost instructional hours. DCPS plans to address learning loss through in-person and virtual instruction during the summer and fall for students who are furthest behind. Some students will receive one-on-one or small-group tutoring, and the school system will integrate social and emotional learning into academic study.
These changes are sensible — particularly if they can serve all students who need them, and if a focus on social and emotional learning is paramount. There are three things the District and the community can do to ensure that students make up lost ground.
- Help students return to normal life. To close learning gaps, the District must first ease students back into instruction. Students need to spend time with other students and experience a regular schedule: waking up at 7 a.m., having math and reading, and joining their friends at recess and lunch. Summer school will be an opportunity for children not to simply make up for lost academic ground but to repair their lost connections with peers and school routines that will help make them ready to learn in the fall.
- Recognize that teachers can’t do it alone. Making up for lost ground will require outside tutoring as well as counselors and therapists, academic coaches, teachers, administrators and parents all working together to help ensure that students can get on grade level, as well as prepare for the next level.
- Students need role models whose backgrounds are similar to theirs. Research shows that Black students who have Black teachers in grades three to five are nearly 40% less likely to drop out of high school and nearly 30% more likely to go to college. As a Black boy, I wasn’t able to experience the benefits of having a teacher who shared my identity until I reached middle school. This teacher not only shared my background but took special interest in me and made sure that I went to college. DC’s teaching force is diverse (63% teachers of color) compared to the national average (16%), but it needs to be even more fully representative of the student population, which is 90% Black and Latino.
Every day, my students inspire me despite the fallout from the pandemic. Focusing on their academic, social and emotional development — and providing them with more Black and Latino role models — will ensure that our students have what they need to thrive in a post-pandemic world. If we give them a chance, our students will show us that they are anything but lost.
Alejandro Diasgranados is a fourth and fifth grade English and Social Studies teacher at Aiton Elementary School in Ward 7. In March, he was named the national winner of the National University Teacher Award, which comes with a $50,000 prize and a full scholarship to National University’s graduate programs in education. He is also DC’s 2021 Teacher of the Year and a finalist for National Teacher of the Year.
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