Written By: Ratan Kaliani

The very structure of primary education (i.e. elementary school) that we’ve seen develop over the past two centuries in the United States is what makes it so susceptible to being irrevocably transformed by COVID. With primary schools providing “fundamental skills in reading, writing, mathematics, history, music, science, art and physical education”, the physical, emotional, and mental development of students is increasing at the highest rate at the primary education level. Due to this, we’ll see in the future that the transition to online learning will have long lasting impacts upon each student’s educational journey. In breaking down the impacts of COVID on primary education, it’s important to separate the three key categories where the ripple effect of the pandemic is most significantly seen: social, economic and educational. 

To understand the wide-ranging impacts of COVID on primary schools, we must take a deep dive into how specific counties are handling the coronavirus outbreak. Fairfax County Public Schools, where my hometown of Herndon, Virginia is located, recently decided to transition from a mixed in-person, online system for fall semester to an entirely virtual environment for school due to health concerns. Typically, there are many points in the day to socialize with classmates and teachers, from riding the school bus, discourse and interaction within classes, and most of all, lunch and recess. These activities are difficult to translate and emulate in a virtual environment, and according to the CDC, the lack of these activities will likely stunt the “development of language, communication, social, emotional, and interpersonal skills” in students. In fact, several studies focusing on the long-term effects of pandemics found a “strong association between length of quarantine and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, avoidance behavior, and anger,” with post-traumatic stress scores nearly 4 times higher than those who were not quarantined. The lack of access to facilities within schools, including counselors and therapists, within a virtual environment will result in significant mental health impacts within young children, possibly leaving unfixable obstacles preventing educational progress in many students’ lives.

Without a clear sense of direction at state and federal levels, it’s clear that the impacts of transitioning to virtual learning will be extremely severe. For both students that are unable to have direct 1-1 interaction with their teachers and those whose families have been impacted financially due to the economic effects of the pandemic, ensuring that no child is left behind will be essential to flattening the impact of COVID. However, COVID’s impacts extend far beyond the classroom.

Across the United States, nearly 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program and 15 million participate in the School Breakfast Program. For low-income families and students, these meals provide a necessary form of affordable, healthy food and deliver a sense of security that is sure to be lost as students are forced to stay at home and are unable to access those resources, especially in rural areas. With an increased strain on the resources to deliver food to low-income families during COVID, it will be more important now more than ever to ensure that students have the ability to access affordable food and have security at home. Parents forced to juggle work responsibilities, lack of childcare options and educating their children all while adapting to uncertain school schedules will prove to be a key driver between inequality created directly from the pandemic.

Though the situation seems bleak, school districts are breaking ground on many key initiatives to ensure that all students will be able to continue their learning with equal access to resources during virtual learning. Furthermore, within the United States, we can look towards countries both in Asia and Europe that have managed to bring students back into school with minimal health impacts via stringent and effective back-to-school policies. By implementing concrete, mindful plans about how to best manage the transition to online learning, as well as providing a stable and supportive environment for all students, elementary school administrators across the United States can ensure that the learning experience for students will retain its value. 

To understand how the educational administrators in the United States can bring back in-person learning, we must dive directly into similar nations which can offer a model that the United States can replicate. Denmark and Finland provide prime examples for how to do so. After initially transitioning to remote learning, decision-makers coordinated with the central government in Denmark to provide blanket regulations paired with local rules to bring students back into school. The decision to come back was staggered by age, as significant evidence has indicated that children play a small role in spreading the virus, with primary school students (ages 5-9) among the first age groups to come back. New measures include staggering arrivals, banning food sharing and eliminating pre-class student meetings. Within the classroom, social distancing and hygiene became the new paradigm, with students seated a minimum of 6 meters apart, required to wash their hands every two hours and educational equipment being cleaned twice per day. Regardless, some sacrifices in the greater community needed to be made: the opening of public parks just for students, families with one parent at home keeping their children at home, and those who are immunocompromised to stay home as well. By implementing similar standards health-wise in the United States, the transition to in-person learning in certain localities can be ensured with safety and efficacy in mind. However, the importance of truly reevaluating the way we conduct virtual learning cannot be understated.

In the past, remote learning has been characterized by content overload with a lack of focus on specific students. With the need for online learning in areas deeply afflicted by COVID, the educational archetype is in need of transformation to a model that is more reflective of each individual student’s needs: Engagement, Personalization and Fun (E.P.F.). Teachers can make the most of online learning by maintaining the personality and engagement that comes from 1-1 and classroom interaction with students. This includes making material personalized through gamification – from Kahoot to Jeopardy to in-classroom debates – to leveraging small breakout rooms via platforms like Zoom, teachers drive student engagement. Engaged students are students who will learn the material better, remember it more effectively and build interest in the material. Furthermore, teachers and administrators must also realize that the gap between students is exacerbated when online learning is conducted, so leveraging platforms like Dreambox Learning or Zearn will enable teachers to adapt to the learning of each individual student. By putting into place Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), teachers can improve existing teaching systems and help usher in a new era – where education and technology are intertwined to make student learning more effective. In a time when the events in our daily lives are uncertain, the educational system can be the stalwart of stability.

 The actions, policies and decisions that we put into place over the next year will be scruitized for decades. In a time so consequential to the future of our nation and our values, it is vital that we place our focus on those who will usher in the new era – the youth of this country currently in the educational system. By interweaving effective policies for both in-person and remote learning that drive student engagement while ensuring safety, we can shape our future.

Unprecedented times are frightening. But, they’re not impossible to weather. Instead, they provide a blank canvas upon which we can paint our future. Today, that begins with navigating the transformation of our educational system in the era of coronavirus to ensure that future generations have the resources to make their impact on the world. As for what’s revolutionized tomorrow, that’s up to you.

Edited by: Blair Hoeting