Board Discusses Plans for Mitigating Learning Loss

March 25, 2021 – Guilford County Schools is considering ways to combat learning loss students have experienced since the start of the pandemic.

At Thursday’s Board of Education work session, board members heard an update on student assessments given to help district leaders understand what is needed to get students get back on track academically. Click here to learn more. 

To target this learning loss, district leaders proposed the following mitigation strategies:

• Targeted tutoring for middle and high school, including high-dose math tutoring for middle and high school students at risk of not graduating;
• Acceleration academies for elementary and middle school students that provide small-group instruction in reading and math during the summer;
• A “fifth quarter” to allow high school students failing a core course to improve to a passing grade during the summer;
• Learning hubs for high school students who are at risk of not graduating, which were established earlier this year;
• Summer programming for students on the adapted curriculum and those enrolled in the district’s four public separate schools for children with special needs;
• Extended learning with highly effective teachers for incarcerated students and students in transition;
• Resume summer programming used in the past, including rising kindergarten camps for English learners and the Summer Arts Institute enrichment programming for K-12 students.

Tutoring would be a primary method of learning recovery. When done well with intentional training and with high-quality instructional materials, tutoring can be more effective than 80 percent of other academic interventions. High-dosage tutoring that is tied to classroom content can substantially accelerate learning in both math and reading for the most struggling students. Summer learning programs must be high-dose and high-quality to have an impact on student learning.

The district would consider implementing a balanced calendar for its restart schools, which are those that have been granted calendar flexibility and additional funding to improve student achievement through highly effective teachers.

Schools on a balanced calendar would be in session for nine weeks and then break for three weeks, with a shorter summer break. During the breaks, specific students would have access to targeted interventions for one week, and staff members would have a full week of professional development.

Sixteen GCS schools are currently operating as restart schools: Bessemer Elementary, Bluford Elementary, Cone Elementary, Fairview Elementary, Falkener Elementary, Foust Elementary, Frazier Elementary, Gillespie Park Elementary, Vandalia Elementary, Washington Montessori, Wiley Elementary, Ferndale Middle, Hairston Middle, Jackson Middle, Northeast Middle and Welborn Middle.

At Thursday’s meeting, the school board approved submitting an application to the state to add eight new schools: Alderman Elementary, Montlieu Elementary, Oak View Elementary, Sedgefield Elementary, Eastern Middle, Swann Middle, Western Middle and Smith High.

To help students entering a new grade span, the district would stagger start dates for students in kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade, allowing them to return to school one week early.

GCS would also reinstate the extended-year calendar for Brooks Global Studies, Johnson Street Global Studies and Allen Jay Preparatory Academy.

For more on reopening schools, visit www.gcsnc.com/reopening.