CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Just a fraction of students in New Jersey are at or above grade level, according to a new study. It may come as no surprise at all for a lot of people. More students will need summer school to catch up.
The study, from the group JerseyCAN, blames online learning during the coronavirus pandemic for the devastating impact on student progression.
Executive Director Patricia Morgan says just one in three students statewide will be up to par in English, and one in four in math, for the start of the next school year.
"We must prioritize our students who are furthest behind," Morgan said.
And that often falls along racial lines. Students in minority communities, facing racial inequities and disproportionate effects from the pandemic, are progressing at lower rates than white students.
“The good news is that there is significant federal resources coming to our state from the federal stimulus that can provide our schools with the financial resources to help alleviate this learning loss,” Morgan said.
In Camden, Superintendent Katrina McCombs and her team have been working on a two-year summer plan.
“Expanding our summer school programming, making it available to any parent who would like their child to be a part of summer school. We can’t mandate it, but we could definitely strongly suggest," she said.
"What we’re going to do is implement trips, fun activities, build in recreational activities as well as our academically focused enrichment, which is really what we want to target."
The district is also looking at ways to increase one-on-one time for teachers and students and to design lessons around an individual’s interests.