COVID-19 widened opportunity, achievement gaps among our kids
Of all the heartbreaking effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on young people could be one of its most damaging legacies.
Studies have shown that the impact of the pandemic on K-12 student learning was significant, leaving youth on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading. The pandemic widened pre-existing opportunity and achievement gaps, hitting historically neglected students hardest. Students of color and low-income students were disproportionately affected. High schoolers have become more likely to drop out of school, and high school seniors have become less likely to go on to post-secondary education.
Yet, academics are not the only concern. A national study showed that more than 35% of parents were concerned about their children’s social and emotional well-being. Parents are reporting a 5% increase in anxiety and 6% increase in depression amongst their kids.
Despite these concerns, we have only a murky picture of kids’ emotional wellness. There has been a 6.1% decline in mental health assessments done for children since 2019, the steepest decrease in assessment of any age group in a time when we need a better, not worse, understanding of what is going on with our kids.
Young people's well-being is connected to academics. When our kids fall behind in school, their self-esteem suffers. When they are struggling emotionally, they don’t do well in school.
The impact of diminished well-being in our youth can be seen in the choices they are making. A short visit with almost any local educator will confirm that some youth have dropped out of formal education, while chronic absenteeism has increased. The National Student Clearinghouse reports that college enrollment has declined, with low-income students and youth of color disproportionately affected.
The fallout from the pandemic threatens to depress an entire generation of young people's prospects and constrict their opportunities into adulthood. It may undermine their chances of attending college and finding a fulfilling job. Today’s young people could finish school without the skills needed to succeed in the workforce.
An analysis by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company posits that “unless steps are taken to address unfinished learning, today’s students may earn $49,000 to $61,000 less over their lifetime, owing to the impact of the pandemic on their schooling.” The term “unfinished learning” means that students were not given the opportunity to complete all the learning they would have finished in a typical year. Some kids disengaged and slipped backwards, while others learned less than they would have in a normal year, losing knowledge they once had.
However, there is good news. Significant funding has been put in place to address these critical issues. Locally, BGCPC is grateful for a new partnership with School District 70 and Pueblo County to open a Clubhouse in Pueblo West, a strategic goal our board set in 2019 and has been working diligently to achieve. School District 60 has increased its partnership to help us provide more social-emotional wellness and academic supports in our out-of-school-time program.
These partnerships demonstrate that our educational structures recognize the vital, symbiotic relationship between in-school and out-of-school-time efforts for our kids. We know that after school and summer programs have demonstrated a number of positive outcomes, including increased engagement in school, improved attendance, fewer absences and disciplinary actions, improved academic performance, reduced behavior problems and improved social and emotional competencies.
It is social-emotional wellness that Boys & Girls Clubs of Pueblo County will emphasize in “The Great Outdoors” Summer Camp. Running Monday to Friday for six to nine weeks starting June 6 at our eight clubhouses, this camp will build the social and emotional competence that enables youth to succeed in many aspects of their lives — in school, in their personal lives and at work. Our camp will get kids outside for hiking, nature walks, biking, kayaking, fishing, birdwatching, soccer, swimming and more, while offering fun activities that alleviate potential learning loss.
The ability to be a force for positive change in the lives of Pueblo’s kids can keep us all going. You can underwrite a week of “The Great Outdoors” Summer Camp by donating at our website at www.bgcpckids.org or sending a check to our office at BGCPC 635 W. Corona, Suite 201, Pueblo, CO 81004. A donation of $250 covers the full cost of a week of summer camp and changes the odds for one local kid.
Gifts at all levels make a difference. Your investment in kids makes our whole future better. Together, we can, and must, do whatever it takes.
Angela Giron is president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo County. She represented District 3 in the Colorado State Senate from 2011 to 2013.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: COVID-19 widened opportunity, achievement gaps among kids.
