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Students learn basic coding during a computer science class on April 4 ,2019 in Stamford. The Beyond Limits Academic Program offers free computer science classes to middle school students.
Photo: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut MediaStudents learn basic coding during a computer science class on April 4 ,2019 in Stamford. The Beyond Limits Academic Program offers free computer science classes to middle school students.
Students learn basic coding during a computer science class on April 4 ,2019 in Stamford. The Beyond Limits Academic Program offers free computer science classes to middle school students.
Students learn basic coding during a computer science class on April 4 ,2019 in Stamford. The Beyond Limits Academic Program offers free computer science classes to middle school students.
Like everyone during these most disconcerting times, I have so much on my mind. First and foremost, the health and safety of my family, my friends, my colleagues, our participating families, and our whole community. However, there is also this pain in my heart when I think about how many students must be struggling socially, emotionally and, of course, academically.
As a program of Stamford Peace Youth Foundation, Inc., the Beyond Limits Academic Program commenced operations almost seven years ago. Our focus is on the academic opportunity gap. We seek to level the playing field for Stamford community’s economically disadvantaged and under-served students with year-round, high-quality, subsidized tutoring, enrichment programming, academic advocacy and mentoring.
We are passionate about our work and fully committed to our mission. Our nonprofit model generates a net loss every time we book a math or science tutoring session. In other words, we pay our tutors more than the highly subsidized fees we collect.
Studies have shown that personalized tutoring, in or outside of a school setting, is quite effective. We are inspired daily to do more by the fact that families of means have an ever increasing array of academic programming available to them, which those less well-off do not. This is just one of many components of the opportunity gap. Prior to shutting down due to the health crisis we were scheduling more than 60 one-hour individual weekday and weekend sessions per week. We are now actively providing remote tutoring sessions for our participants and many are taking advantage of the additional support.
The short- and long-term effects this new world order will have on our district students, especially those for whom the playing field was already heavily sloped against them, will be substantial. The two-month summer slide that is well-documented could now be a minimum six-month slide and it is multi-faceted. Many of our participants already struggle with social/emotional issues and lack self-management tools.
Summer programming, which we actively engage in to support our participating families, and quality after-school programming will be more important than ever. Without high-quality, impactful programming, the academic resource gap between low-income families and their wealthier counterparts will continue to grow.
This crisis, although predicted by some scientists for quite some time, has understandably thrown our education system into some turmoil. Schools in other countries have transitioned far more smoothly. In Stamford, teachers have not been sufficiently and equitably prepared to teach effectively with technology — designing for inclusivity — and then, due to forces beyond anyone’s control, they were suddenly thrust into teaching remotely with technology. The rapid shift to remote learning has only illuminated and exacerbated the digital divide.
“We know kids in low socioeconomic communities lose two to three months in reading and math skills over a normal summer. With schools letting out now and potentially not returning before the end of the school year, learning loss may be profound,” said Betsy Zorio, vice president of U.S. programs and advocacy at Save the Children. (Gaudiano, Nicole, “The lost school year,” Politico, March 19).
There is a silver lining for our public secondary school system and undoubtedly other segments of the education landscape. This massive disruption will place a magnifying glass on all system components, and it will have to be redesigned to truly meet the needs of its clients, the students. One particular area, long overdue for significant focus and investment, is summer and after-school programming.
The days of just checking boxes versus digging deep and setting a high bar that must be met are over. Due to the epidemic, Gov. Ned Lamont recently waived the 180-day requirement for schools. While these decisions are driven by numerous factors, including contracts, the focus will now inevitably shift to the knowledge and skill set of our students and whether they are really prepared to move up to the next grade. Social promotion, seat time as the threshold measure, will finally be in full view.
Beyond Limits has rolled up its sleeves and is eager to collaborate in providing additional academic supports to district families.
Andrew Sklover is co-founder of the Beyond Limits Academic Program in Stamford.
"Opinion" - Google News
April 22, 2020 at 05:00PM
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Opinion: Addressing gaps on new education landscape - The Advocate
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