So, how will districts make up for the loss of in-person learning?
The grim reality is that in order to make up for the year they lost, it will take money, lots of it, and time, an estimated three to five years. San Francisco has a plan.
When COVID-19 forced schools to close last March, school districts still provided all the services offered in a normal school year, add to that thousands of chrome books and technical support beyond anyone s predictions.
Now one year later, the road to academic recovery will far exceed what districts will have already spent.
Earlier this year the nonprofit Education Resource Strategies analyzed the cost of COVID.
Bay Area school district grapples with learning loss among students of color, low-income households abc7news.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc7news.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There was this idea that you don t have to be that smart. It s not as complex, said Ingersoll. Or as difficult as being an accountant, working with numbers. Or being a dentist, working with teeth.
Experts worry that some of these concerns will be increased by the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately burdened teachers. But salary increases are unlikely at the moment. State tax revenues have plummeted and federal relief for teachers is uncertain.
Instead, Karen Hawley Miles, president and CEO of Education Resource Strategies, said that the best way to solve this is to restructure available money and create leadership roles. That way better teachers with more responsibilities can earn more, while those underperforming or choosing part-time work can earn less. Experience matters, but it only matters if it leads to good teaching, she said.