COVID-19 started in March of 2020 and students were told that we would not have school for the next week. For many of us, we thought it was just a quick event and we would be back to school in no time. Soon after, we realized that this was going to stick around. Schools were not prepared for this. Teachers started questioning how they would teach, how will the students learn, what do the parents do? It was not the easiest in the beginning but in 2021 we have learned ways to adapt in and out of the classroom. We have learned that the U.S. is hitting a negative learning curve and what that means for all students. From Pre-K to college students and teachers, some never fully adapted. Throughout this lesson, you will learn how some students and teachers began embracing and trying to make the most from the Lasting Impacts of COVID.

Three Main Learning Targets

Define the Ways that COVID will positively impact classrooms

Explain the lasting effects of COVID in schools

Describe how schools are accommodating students in the middle of COVID

Defining the ways that COVID will positively impact classrooms

At the start of the pandemic, schools didn’t have much guidance on COVID when schools shut down in March of 2020. They didn’t know how school was going to be taught or when it would be taught.

Now that we have been in a pandemic for over a year now, we have started to implement new ideas that are listed below.

Some examples would be:

1. Teachers who usually lecture straight from the book now had to become innovative and move everything online/remotely.

2. PowerPoints, multimedia and even games such as Quizlet(Quizlet) have introduced new ways to learn. Instead of everyone being in classrooms, it seemed more one on one with the teacher.

3. Because of remote learning, it was reported that some kids felt like they were bullied less since they were not in person (Goldberg 2021).

4. Some students would get anxious and nervous in a school setting but being home for remote learning put them more at ease. The change to their lifestyle and being home helped in creating a less anxiety inducing environment.

5. Having a four-year-old has also shown me new rules that schools are implementing. Before he goes to class, all students must wash their hands before entering (CDC 2021).

Explain the lasting effects of COVID in schools

Due to COVID, starting in March of 2020, it has been seen that academics have been radically affected. Pre-schoolers to college students were all upended from the norm that they were used to. Not only has it affected students in school, but parents were also forced to accommodate these changes. The United States was already seemingly behind in STEM subjects but due to COVID, we are expected to fall farther behind. According to Garcia and Weiss (2020) low-income families were seen to have been hit hardest by this as they faced technological barriers such as no Wi-Fi/ internet access, no computers, no microphones, and no cameras. Learning loss will probably be greatest for black and Hispanic students (Dorn, Sarakatsannis, Viruleg, & Hancock 2020). Next, because schools were closed, students were more at risk for depression and other mental health issues (CDC 2021). Students didn’t have access to teachers or other support staff that otherwise would have helped them.

Describe how schools are accommodating students in the middle of COVID

1. Since COVID is still around, the CDC (2021) has formally been the ones to give guidance on schools opening.

2. The vaccine (as of September 2021 at the time of this writing) is available to people 12 and older. This does not mean that every student will get it but there are ways to mitigate a potential outbreak.

3. One of the ways to accommodate students is to suggest indoor masking for everyone.

4. Some schools were required to have PPE for all staff, students, and teachers to implement this (Juli Anna Lambert 2020). Next, the CDC wants school administrators to have resources to support physical and mental health.

5. Another protection protocol is to have physical/ social distancing in the classroom.

6. During the pandemic many schools had an on/off day school schedule where half would be online, and the other half of students would be in person. Rotating this schedule meant that if a student was potentially sick, they still had online schooling to fall back on.

7. Some cities and states have also gone above and beyond to provide technology to children i.e. iPads, Chromebooks, and other laptops!

Reflection and Conclusion

• COVID-19 has affected everyone on Earth. It showed that we were not prepared for a pandemic on a grand scale like we thought we were.

• Schools, parents, and students had no warning and had to make do with what they had. Despite this, nationally, we have tried our best for students. Laptops, iPads, Chromebooks and even internet vouchers were given out to assist students with remote learning (Garcia and Weiss 2020).

• Although there have been countless struggles accommodating and adjusting to both the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are learning to progress.

• In the long run, schools will be more flexible for all situations, for example snow days, and will ultimately be prepared if something of this nature occurs again (CDC 2021).

• It has been an exhaust of trial and error, but our schools will ultimately be positively affected by some of these new changes.