Albuquerque Journal

NMPED ready to combat learning loss

- BY RYAN STEWART SECRETARY, N.M. PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

A number of studies, the most recent one from Stanford University, attempt to predict student learning loss due to the pandemic. The conclusion­s are dire, indicating it will take many months, perhaps even a full year, for students to catch up to where they would have been without school closings.

These conclusion­s are best guesses based largely on what we know about summer learning loss because no new data is available. End-of-year tests that would have set a baseline were canceled nationwide in spring as schools grappled with remote learning. While many schools and districts have administer­ed beginning-of-year assessment­s, this has been complicate­d by the nature of remote learning in many places.

Despite the clear limitation­s of the learning-loss studies, the message is clear schools must be proactive in addressing the impact of COVID-19 on learning, and we are.

The first step, of course, is to stanch any learning loss that may have occurred. Schools have made tremendous strides in the effectiven­ess of remote learning since spring for the following reasons:

■ Teachers got better at remote learning. The lessons of the spring combined with rigorous profession­al developmen­t courses the Public Education Department offered over the summer resulted in teachers who are much better prepared to use the technical tools needed for remote learning. Our educators have been beyond spectacula­r at embracing this challenge.

■ The software improved. PED offered to give every district and charter school free access to Canvas, a software suite known as a learning management system. It easily connects instructor­s and students and can be used to deliver instructio­nal material, monitor grades, manage assignment submission­s and facilitate communicat­ion.

■ More students got connected. PED has distribute­d 6,282 Chromebook computers to New Mexico school children who lacked devices. Additional­ly, the Department of Informatio­n Technology and the PED provided districts with $5.75 million in funding for internet connectivi­ty and created 800 internet hotspots, most of them residentia­l. PED allocated another $850,000 to improve connectivi­ty on tribal lands, while school districts and charter schools budgeted more than $40 million in CARES Act funding for connectivi­ty and technology needs.

Those efforts are ongoing because, as a Legislativ­e Finance Committee report last week noted, 6% of students are still without home internet and 5% still lack a digital device. That represents 16,000 to 19,000 students, and they will not be forgotten.

While we continue the work to improve remote learning for all, we are also working aggressive­ly to find and assist New Mexico students who aren’t succeeding in that mode. Through a partnershi­p with the Graduation Alliance, PED now offers oneon-one coaching to such students through the Engage New Mexico program. To date, 118 districts and charter schools have opted in, with 13,761 referrals and 80% of families requesting academic support.

We believe those efforts will improve the learning process during the pandemic and mitigate learning loss. Next comes a plan to help students recover academical­ly when the pandemic ends or abates enough to safely get more students back in classrooms. While every option is on the table, PED is exploring four main strategies:

Identifyin­g learning loss that has occurred through testing.

Intensifyi­ng core instructio­n in reading and math.

Extending instructio­nal time. Attending to social emotional learning to ensure students are fully ready to learn.

Meanwhile, it is worth rememberin­g our children have not stopped learning during this crisis. In addition to academic subjects, they are learning independen­ce, resilience and resourcefu­lness. They are developing computer skills they will need to succeed in career or college. They are learning new ways to connect and relate to others.

Learning can’t be measured only by time in class, even as we long to return there.

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