This article serves as an explainer related to one of the key issues — post-pandemic learning— raised during candidate forums for the 2022 Savannah-Chatham County School Board election. It is part of a larger series of articles about the issues influencing the school board race.
As a more widespread return to in-person learning comes to Chatham County, the effects of the seesaw response to the COVID-19 pandemic still linger. The back-and-forth effect of switching to in-person and virtual learning, or shifting into a week-long lockdown on a dime due to rising cases has taken a toll on students and teachers as they attempt to re-establish a stable learning environment.
Despite all that, the classroom has forever changed.
A CDC study of four U.S. school district from 2014-18 found thatabout 1 in 6 students had enoughbehavioral or emotionalsymptomsand impairment to be diagnosed with a childhood mental disorder, based on reports from their teachers and parents.
That study was released in 2020, nearly four months into the beginning phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. That fall,the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children's Hospital Association and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry all declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health.
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Previous reporting on EMBRACE:Savannah-Chatham teachers prepared to see students make learning leaps when school opens Wednesday
In December 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General's office issued an order to deal with the "urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis." "The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating," Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in a press release.
"The future wellbeing of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation."
Entering the May 24 election, mental health resources for students and staff have been identified as great needs in the district by many of the candidates running for seats on the school board.
What is being done already in Savannah-Chatham to navigate COVID learning
To address those issues, the Savannah Chatham County School has used CARES and American Rescue Money funds to address learning loss in the district. Among those responses is the continuation of thesummer EMBRACEprogram, which will be funded for the next three years using money from the American Rescue Plan.
The program is separate from summer schooland was createdfor students to earn credit recovery in reading and math, and also to explore opportunities in science, technology, engineering, artsand math (STEAM) projects. The program'semphasis was to provide more learning time through district resources for students struggling to re-acclimate to the classroom after large periods of virtual learning over the past two years.
Rather than focusing on learning loss, Gadsden Elementary principal Renee Bryant-Evans told the Savannah Morning News last year that EMBRACEfocuses on what she calls“unfinished learning.”
"One thing that I believe all the teachers in Savannah Chatham County Public Schools [are] good at is catching children up," Bryant-Evans said. Teachers are the biggest factor indetermining a child's success, she added. "We're going tomake sure our teachers are equipped with the resources and the tools that they need [and] thoseengaging lessons and activities."
For more than a decade, the Georgia Department of Education has been tracking the mental wellbeing of the state's students through their annual Georgia Student Health Surveys (GSHS), whichare administered to students from third grade onward, one for students in grades three-five and another for those in grades six-12.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the GSHS was not administered during the 2020-21 school year; instead, administering an abbreviated version that was called theStudent Wellness Survey, which included questions on peer and adult social support, bullying, stress, mental health, substance abuse, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
The surveys are part of the state’s CCRPI measure, a platform for educators and parents to determine the college and career readiness of Georgia’s public-school students and to assess individual schools’ climates.Statewide, participation reached only 24.9% while only 3% of Savannah-Chatham County students participated.
In 2021, the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education adopted The Way Forward 2026 Strategic Plan, in which a primary objective is to “provide support and services to address students’ learning recovery, social and emotional learning, and life skill development.”
SCCPSS contracted withPanorama Education, a Boston-based educational software platform company that provides professional development, student achievement, and social and emotional learning surveys to school districts in all 50 states. This contract was aimed at providing a survey tool similar to the GSHS while that survey was not being issued during the 2020-21 school year.
More on Panorama controversy:Political climate, lack of transparency, missteps by SCCPSS lead to distrust of SEL, surveys
The Panorama survey, which was administered in October 2021, was met with a degree of controversy, as outlined in a recent series in the Savannah Morning News.
What do the candidates think should be done
Roger Moss, a candidate for Savannah-Chatham school board president,said he would use every resource inside the classroom such as investing in mental health resources and hiring more school counselors. "The children, the parentsand the teachers all experienced a pandemic that was a physical pandemic and an emotional roller-coaster," he said.
Moss said he would help find ways to prepare teachers and students for another pandemic should it come. He said he would offer teachers online training and work with the community to help students access computers.
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Moss said he would help prepare teachers for another pandemic by online training for teachers. He didn't explain what those online tools are or what forms of online learning will be available. "Let's explore what technologically we can do to bring out kids up and how to maintain that," he said.
Another school board president candidate, Todd Rhodes, said the pandemic can't be fixed overnight but said he would work with the board to address those issues. He said he would use any funding the district gets to help meet the needs of students, butdidn't say what those needs are.
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The third school board president candidate, Tye Whitely, said she would support the superintendent with their goals. She would also advocate for in-school, after schooland summer programs for students to catch up and would ask the community to helpwith tutoring.
All three candidates said they would support children and school staff mental health services. "I think teachers need access to mental health services outside the school system and more like a third party, wrap-around services, social workers, etc.," Whitleysaid.
With the possibility of the pandemic happening again, Whitely said the district should have a contingency plan in place to be prepared for another pandemic. Candidates didn't clarify on what programs are and not working in the district.
Bianca Moorman is the education reporter. Reach her at BMoorman@gannett.com or 912-239-7706. Find her on Twitter @biancarmoorman.
