(WWJ) Pandemic learning has led to many students struggling academically this past year — and the repercussions are startling in Detroit.
Data presented at Tuesday night's Detroit School Board meeting shows about 30% of students in kindergarten through 8th grade in the Detroit Public Schools Community District are at risk for being held back a grade.
That's roughly 15,000 kids.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says Detroit schools have seen increased chronic absenteeism, lower attendance and higher failure rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Frankly I'm going to be unapologetic in saying there should be no excuses as to why our students aren't showing at least one grade level of improvement in reading and math at the minimum level if they're not chronically absent," Vitti said at the meeting.
"But when I look at this data I don't see the potential of our students," he said. "I see the impact of a pandemic."
Vitti said the district overall does not believe that holding students back a grade is the right policy.
When it all shakes out, he said he expects only about 3% of students will have to repeat a grade, which is about 1,500 students.
Vitti said getting kids back on track this next school year is critical.
"When we think about next steps, number one and most important is we have to get our students back in school," Vitti said. "There's nothing that replicates being in a classroom, face-to-face, with a certified teacher engaging with other students in the classroom."
He said about 90% of the district's 3,000 teachers are ready to return to face-to-face learning, with only 118 teachers saying they want to continue to teach virtually.
"This district, like a lot of districts, did what it had to do to meet families and to meet families and to meet teachers where they were in this pandemic, but now is the time is to look ahead and to look at what has to be done as we move into the fall," Vitti said. "...This past year it's been doing what we could do, what we had to do, but it wasn't necessarily doing what kids need, and this is where we're moving to in the fall. Because when we are with our kids in the classroom on a day-to-day basis we can move student achivement, and I beliee that's where we're headed as we go into the fall."
For students who want to continue learning remotely, the district is launching a stand-alone virtual school. It will operate independently with its own principal and teaching staff. Students who sign up for the virtual school must remain there for at least the first semester.
Vitti said so far only 60 students have indicated they want the virtual option, but he expects that number to grow as the virtual school is promoted.
The first day back to school for DPS is Sept. 7.