The kids are not alright—but they will be. According to national data, the impacts of the pandemic on early education and childhood development are becoming evident: In a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 percent of survey respondents “indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic ‘highly impacted’ early identification of developmental delays and disabilities in young children from birth to age 5.”
Area grade schools are working to combat these delays, which came as no surprise to educators of grade schoolers, who seemed to struggle most with virtual and masked learning.
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Local schools report that reading skills took the greatest hit in early academics. Among the ways that area schools are supporting students: Chesterfield Montessori hired a language and literacy specialist. Miriam School and Learning Center educator Casey Gonzalez says the school has developed a more individualized reading group approach to meet children where they are. St. John’s Lutheran School is conducting interventions to fill in the gaps on skills students might have missed. City Academy innovated the WIN (“What I Need”) program, designating time each day for students to gather in groups for direct instruction based on ability levels.
Area educators also report significant social-emotional developmental delays in students. “We’re seeing a big uptick in behavioral issues, emotional regulation issues—all the kind of things that we sort of expected we would see from this lack of socialization during the COVID years,” says Ilya Eydelman, head of school at Raintree School.
To support both educators and students, Raintree provided mental health services, contracted training from a research psychologist, and added a full-time therapist. Chesterfield Montessori head of school Kimberly V. Schneider says it has implemented staff yoga and an employee-assistance program to combat staff burnout. Rohan Woods provided trauma-informed training for its staff, as well as professional development on digital instruction.
For students, Rohan Woods head of school Sam Templin-Page expresses the importance of embracing lessons learned during the pandemic. “One thing we started doing during the pandemic—and it’s continued because we’ve seen such great outcomes—is teaching executive functioning skills, the ability to manage time and to be organized and able to follow through on things and work in groups,” she says. “We also throw out preconceived notions of, let’s say, what a 10-year-old should be able to do and look at kids more individually and meet them where they are.”
St. John’s Lutheran Association for Special Education resource teacher and consultant Mara Springer notes that much post-pandemic work has involved mindfulness. “It’s a lot of slowing down, breathing, and modeling, and reminders before transitions, such as, ‘We’re going into the hallway; this is how we act in the hallway,’ Springer says. “Also, working with students on empathy, labeling and regulating their emotions, and thinking about the situation from the other person’s point of view.”
To help close the developmental gap for children, educators also suggest decreasing screen time; encouraging socially engaging play, such as playing educational board games, reading with parents, and cooking with family members; increasing communication between parents and educators; and spending time in nature.
Despite all of the challenges, educators also express resounding hope for the future of this generation.
“I’ve seen great outcomes for our kids in the mere fact that the adults in their lives are cognizant of the fact that they have been through a traumatic experience, and that it’s OK if kids don’t hit developmental milestones because kids develop at their own rate,” Page says. “These kids are getting their skill sets back now, and I think that they did learn about perseverance during the pandemic.”
