Full Citation
Title: Mapping Student Needs during COVID-19
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2020
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Abstract: Staff, teachers, and students experienced rapid change as school buildings closed in March 2020 because of the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. As school districts scramble to deliver lessons remotely, particularly as they consider long-term strategies and solutions, it is important to understand variations in the challenges that students are facing across the country. Although school districts may be aware of some of these challenges, such as student disability or English language learner status, other issues may be harder to identify and assess, such as a student’s crowded home conditions, her access to technology for remote learning, and her household’s vulnerability to pandemic-induced economic hardship. In this brief, we use American Community Survey (ACS) data to highlight different types of challenges to remote learning and point to district and educator strategies that might mitigate harm to students as districts navigate long-term school closures. Student needs during a period of remote learning are difficult to measure and do not all directly correlate with other student needs, such as the share of students living in poverty. States and districts need information on where different types of student need are greatest, so that new resources from the CARES Act1 and other aid can be deployed to facilitate remote learning. The identification of districts and regions with similar needs can also facilitate the sharing of best practices for serving a particular need, whether it is reaching linguistically isolated students or providing school meals to families that are vulnerable to COVID-19 job loss.
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Authors: Blagg, Kristin; Blom, Erica; Gallagher, Megan; Rainer, Macy
Publisher: Urban Institute: Education Data and Policy Center
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Education, Health
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