To understand the pandemic’s impact on middle-schoolers, picture the pain of lunchtime. A bunch of uncomfortable adolescents are navigating social distancing rules while figuring out when and if to take down their masks. It’s not going well. Some have given up eating lunch entirely, which worries Phyllis Fagell, a school counselor and author of the book, “Middle School Matters.” She knows this age group. And she knows all this anxiety is not just about masks.…
Many school districts, and many parents, say they don’t want classrooms to close again, but can American public schools really handle omicron? Several major school systems have said they would not shift districtwide to remote learning, or would do so only if forced to by public health officials. But the looming Omicron wave could challenge the rickety infrastructure that has kept schools running this year. Some classrooms are closing temporarily, as more people test positive…
Student stress is ever on the rise, and schools across the country say they’re seeing an uptick in disruptive behaviors as students are returning to classrooms. Some are obvious and visible, like students trashing bathrooms, fighting over social media posts, or running out of classrooms. Teachers report that others, however, are quieter calls for help, like students putting their heads down and refusing to talk. Alyssa Rodriguez expected a rocky readjustment this school year. The…
Most years, we might have wished that education was more present in the news. This year, though, gave truth to the old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Here are the best and worst pieces of education news in 2021, listed in no order of importance. The obvious choice for worst piece of education news: the COVID-19 pandemic that sickened and killed countless numbers of our students and members of their families, along with…
As the omicron variant rapidly spreads, more colleges are adopting policies to discourage—or in some cases ban—students from being on campus in January. Generally, the colleges that are acting start up the first week in January. Institutions with later starts tend to be waiting to decide. DePaul, Harvard and Stanford University students won’t have in-person classes the first weeks of the semester, those universities announced; Pennsylvania State University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and…
The number of school disruptions due to COVID-19, including school closures early ahead of the holiday break or announcing temporary returns to virtual learning next week, is on the rise – nearing the total number of disruptions recorded in late August, when schools were struggling to reopen against the backdrop of the delta variant. The increased interruptions, as reported by Burbio, which has been tracking school responses to the coronavirus, is due to both increasing…
The vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 is well under way. California has become the first state to announce that it will add this vaccine to its list of the shots required for all school children, and a handful of districts in 14 states are making similar moves, starting with vaccine mandates for student-athletes to participate in sports. Because almost every child attends school, vaccine mandates have been uniquely effective against diseases like…
In the wake of COVID-19 and remote learning, some families are considering having their children repeat grades. This was true for Lauren Phillips, 37, of Los Angeles. After months of schooling through a screen, her 6-year-old daughter, Lola, would finally get the real kindergarten experience. As it turned out, in-person kindergarten wasn’t much different from remote learning. Lola sat in a room with her classmates while her teacher, who was home for medical reasons, taught…
Mental health has only become more important and more fraught as the pandemic has confined children to their homes and limited their social interactions. With parents losing jobs and COVID-19 claiming loved ones, adolescents are experiencing a lot more strain on their mental health, so it’s essential to try to improve mental health for students at school. “There’s just a lot more worry about everyday things. So there’s anxiety about things – and I’m not…
For Muniya Khanna, strong emotional reactions and increased social discomfort are predictable responses as youngsters emerge from more than a year of isolation and students re-adjust to altered routines caused by the pandemic. Khanna is a clinical psychologist in Pennsylvania who specializes in treatment of childhood anxiety. She explained that anxiety is part of the body’s fight-or-flight response to uncertainty. While in-person activities may be billed as a “return to normal,” Khanna said it also…
