going back to school after covid 19 essay brainly

COVID-19 & School: Keeping Kids Safe

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, students had their world turned upside down. Schools closed their doors as the virus spread quickly through communities. Since then, we have learned a lot.

One of the biggest lessons: students learn best in-person, and many are also exposed to vital relationships, resources, and other experiences they need to thrive at school.

A recent federal study found that for all students, reading and math scores are lower this year than they were in 2020. Scores were worst among students who were struggling before COVID. Daily attendance can make a big impact on long-term success and good health.

Read on for ways to keep your child or teen healthy and in school.

Vaccines & boosters

The AAP recommends COVID vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older. Kids who are fully vaccinated are at a much lower risk of missing school due to being ill with COVID-19. Fully vaccinated kids don’t have to spend more time away from learning, friendships, sports and other activities.

Remember that fully vaccinated people can still become infected and spread the virus to others, but less than if they were not vaccinated. If your child or teen has recovered from COVID illness, they should still get the vaccine to reduce the risk of getting sick again.

Your child or teen should be up-to-date on all recommended vaccines, including flu, HPV, meningococcal, measles and other vaccines. Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations can be given with COVID-19 vaccines or in the days before and after. Getting caught up will avoid outbreaks of other illnesses that could keep your kids home from school. See Back to School: How to Help Your Child Have a Healthy Year for more information.

Masks, testing & staying home when sick

Masks are still a good idea. Although not required in many school districts, indoor masking is still beneficial. Masks help stop the spread of COVID—and other infections like the common cold or the flu . It is especially important to use well-fitting masks if your child is ineligible for the vaccine for medical reasons; immunocompromised; if a family member is at high risk; or there is a high rate of COVID in your community. Masks can help protect kids with immune compromise or disabilities from getting COVID, so they won’t have to miss school.

Most children with medical conditions can wear face masks with practice, support and role-modeling by adults. Ask your pediatrician if:

• you need help choosing a mask or personal protective equipment that offers the best fit and comfort based on a child’s medical or developmental needs or
• you have concerns that a mask cannot be worn and want to explore all options.

Planning for outbreaks. Right now, COVID variants and other viruses are circulating. Schools need to plan for outbreaks that may occur. People who have symptoms or are at high risk should be tested, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines . And if you get a negative result on an at-home COVID-19 antigen test, the Food and Drug Administration advises repeat testing. This is because tests can sometimes show false-negative results.

COVID symptoms & what to do:

School-based support for students

Many families will be recovering from the impacts of the pandemic for years to come. Here are some of the supports that families can access through school.

• Resources for families affected by housing or food insecurity
• Access to high-speed internet and devices to complete schoolwork
• Support, testing and necessary accommodations for students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or chronic, high-risk medical conditions
• Emotional and behavioral support and resources for students with anxiety , distress, suicidal thoughts and other needs

If your child needs support, do not hesitate to talk with your pediatrician and school staff (including school nurses). They are there to help you explore options and connect your family with support and resources.

More information

• Back to School: Tips to Help Kids Have a Healthy Year
• COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools and Promotion of In-Person Learning (AAP.org)

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Headed Back to School: A Look at the Ongoing Effects of COVID-19 on Children’s Health and Well-Being

Elizabeth Williams and Patrick Drake Published: Aug 05, 2022

Children are now preparing to head back to school for the third time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools are expected to return in-person this fall, with most experts now agreeing the benefits of in-person learning outweigh the risks of contracting COVID-19 for children. Though children are less likely than adults to develop severe illness, the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains, with some children developing symptoms of long COVID following diagnosis. COVID-19 vaccines provide protection, and all children older than 6 months are now eligible to be vaccinated. However, vaccination rates have stalled and remain low for younger children. At this time, only a few states have vaccine mandates for school staff or students, and no states have school mask mandates, though practices can vary by school district. Emerging COVID-19 variants, like the Omicron subvariant BA.5 that has recently caused a surge in cases, may pose new risks to children and create challenges for the back-to-school season.

Children may also continue to face challenges due to the ongoing health, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic. Children have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic, having experienced this crisis during important periods of physical, social, and emotional development, with some experiencing the loss of loved ones. While many children have gained health coverage due to federal policies passed during the pandemic, public health measures to reduce the spread of the disease also led to disruptions or changes in service utilization and increased mental health challenges for children.

This brief examines how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect children’s physical and mental health, considers what the findings mean for the upcoming back-to-school season, and explores recent policy responses. A companion KFF brief explores economic effects of the pandemic and recent rising costs on households with children. We find households with children have been particularly hard hit by loss of income and food and housing insecurity, which all affect children’s health and well-being.

Children’s Health Care Coverage and Utilization

Despite job losses that threatened employer-sponsored insurance coverage early in the pandemic, uninsured rates have declined likely due to federal policies passed during in the pandemic and the safety net Medicaid and CHIP provided. Following growth in the children’s uninsured rate from 2017 to 2019, data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) show that the children’s uninsured rate held steady from 2019 to 2020 and then fell from 5.1% in 2020 to 4.1% in 2021. Just released quarterly NHIS data show the children’s uninsured rate was 3.7% in the first quarter of 2022, which was below the rate in the first quarter of 2021 (4.6%) but a slight uptick from the fourth quarter of 2021 (3.5%), though none of these differences are statistically significant. Administrative data show that children’s enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 5.2 million enrollees, or 14.7%, between February 2020 and April 2022 (Figure 1). Provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) require states to provide  continuous coverage  for Medicaid enrollees until the end of the month in which the public health emergency (PHE) ends in order to receive enhanced federal funding.

Children have missed or delayed preventive care during the pandemic, with a third of adults still reporting one or more children missed or delayed a preventative check-up in the past 12 months (Figure 2). However, the share missing or delaying care is slowly declining, with the share from April 27 – May 9, 2022 (33%) down 3% from almost a year earlier (July 21 – August 2, 2021) according to KFF analysis of the  Household Pulse Survey . Adults in households with income less than $25,000 were significantly more likely to have a child that missed, delayed, or skipped a preventive appointment in the past 12 months compared to households with income over $50,000. These data are in line with findings from another study that found households reporting financial hardship were significantly more likely to report missing or delaying children’s preventive visits compared to those not reporting hardships. Hispanic households and households of other racial/ethnic groups were also significantly more likely to have a child that missed, delayed, or skipped a preventive appointment in the past 12 months compared to White households (based on race of the adult respondent).

Telehealth helped to provide access to care, but children with special health care needs and those in rural areas continued to face barriers. Overall, telehealth utilization soared early in the pandemic, but has since declined and has not offset  the decreases in service utilization overall. While preventative care rates have increased since early in the pandemic, many children likely still need to catch up on missed routine medical care. One study found almost a quarter of parents reported not catching-up after missing a routine medical visit during the first year of the pandemic. The pandemic may have also exacerbated existing challenges accessing needed care and services for children with special health care needs , and low-income patients or patients in rural areas may have experienced barriers to accessing health care via telehealth .

The pandemic has also led to declines in children’s routine vaccinations, blood lead screenings, and vision screenings. The CDC reported vaccination coverage of all state-required vaccines declined by 1% in the 2020-2021 school year compared to the previous year, and some public health leaders note COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy may be spilling over to routine child immunizations. The  CDC also report ed 34% fewer U.S. children had blood lead level testing from January-May 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Further, data suggest declines in lead screenings during the pandemic may have exacerbated underlying gaps and disparities in early identification and intervention for lower-income households and children of color. Additionally, many children rely on in-school vision screenings to identity vision impairments, and some children went without vision checks while schools managed COVID-19 and turned to remote learning. These screenings are important for children in order to identify problems early; without treatment some conditions can worsen or lead to more serious health complications.

The pandemic has also led to difficulty accessing and disruptions in dental care. Data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) show the share of children reporting seeing a dentist or other oral health provider or having a preventive dental visit in the past 12 months declined from 2019 to 2020, the first year of the pandemic (Figure 3). The share of children reporting their teeth are in excellent or very good conditions also declined from 2019 (80%) to 2020 (77%); the share of children reporting no oral health problems also declined but the change was not statistically significant.

Recently released preliminary data for Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries under age 19 shows steep declines in service utilization early in the pandemic, with utilization then rebounding to a varying degree depending on the service type . Child screening services have rebounded to pre-PHE levels while blood lead screenings and dental services rates remain below per-PHE levels. Telehealth utilization mirrors national trends, increasing rapidly in April 2020 and then beginning to decline in 2021. When comparing the PHE period (March 2020 – January 2022) to the pre-PHE period (January 2018 – February 2020) overall, the data show child screening services and vaccination rates declined by 5% (Figure 4). Blood lead screening services and dental services saw larger declines when comparing the PHE period to before the PHE, declining by 12% and 18% respectively among Medicaid/CHIP children.

Children’s Mental Health Challenges

Children’s mental health challenges were on the rise even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent KFF analysis found the share of adolescents experiencing anxiety and/or depression has increased by one-third from 2016 (12%) to 2020 (16%), although rates in 2020 were similar to 2019.  Rates of anxiety and/or depression were more pronounced among adolescent females and White and Hispanic adolescents. A separate  survey  of high school students in 2021 found that lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) students were more likely to report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness than their heterosexual peers. In the past few years, adolescents  have experienced worsened emotional health, increased stress, and a lack of peer connection along with increasing rates of drug overdose deaths, self-harm, and eating disorders. Prior to the pandemic, there was also an increase in suicidal thoughts from 14% in 2009 to 19% in 2019.

The pandemic may have worsened children’s mental health or exacerbated existing mental health issues among children . The pandemic caused disruptions in routines and social isolation for children, which can be  associated with anxiety and depression  and  can have implications  for mental health later in life. A number of studies show an increase in children’s mental health needs following social isolation due to the pandemic, especially among children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). KFF analysis found the share of parents responding that adolescents were experiencing anxiety and/or depression held relatively steady from 2019 (15%) to 2020 (16%), the first year of the pandemic. However, the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor on perspectives of the pandemic at two years found six in ten parents say the pandemic has negatively affected their children’s schooling and over half saying the same about their children’s mental health. Researchers also note it is still too early to fully understand the impact of the pandemic on children’s mental health. The past two years have also seen much economic turmoil, and  research  has shown that as economic conditions worsen, children’s mental health is negatively impacted. Further, gun violence continues to rise and may lead to negative mental health impacts among children and adolescents.  Research   suggests  that children and adolescents may experience negative mental health impacts, including symptoms of anxiety, in response to school shootings and  gun-related deaths  in their  communities .

Access and utilization of mental health care may have also  worsened during the pandemic. Preliminary data for Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries under age 19 finds utilization of mental health services during the PHE declined by 23% when compared to prior to the pandemic (Figure 4); utilization of substance use disorder services  declined by 24% for beneficiaries ages 15-18 for the same time period. The data show utilization of mental health services remains below pre-PHE levels and has seen the smallest improvement compared to other services utilized by Medicaid/CHIP children. Telehealth has played a significant role in providing mental health and substance use services to children early in the pandemic, but has started to  decline . The pandemic may have widened existing disparities in access to mental health care for children of color and children in low-income households. NSCH data show 20% of children with mental health needs were not receiving needed care in 2020, with the lowest income children less likely to receive needed mental health services when compared to higher income groups (Figure 5).

Children’s Health and COVID-19

While less likely than adults to develop severe illness, children can contract and spread COVID-19 and  children with underlying health conditions  are at an increased risk of developing severe illness .  Data through July 28, 2022 show there have been over 14 million child COVID-19 cases, accounting for 19% of all cases. Among Medicaid/CHIP enrollees under age 19, 6.4% have received a COVID-19 diagnosis through January 2022. Pediatric hospitalizations peaked during the Omicron surge in January 2022, and children under age 5, who were not yet eligible for vaccination, were hospitalized for COVID-19 at five times the rate during the Delta surge.

Some children who tested positive for the virus are now facing long COVID . A recent meta-analysis found 25% of children and adolescents had ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 infection, and finds the most common symptoms for children were fatigue, shortness of breath, and headaches, with other long COVID symptoms including cognitive difficulties, loss of smell, sore throat, and sore eyes. Another report found a larger share of children with a confirmed COVID-19 case experienced a new or recurring mental health diagnosis compared to children who did not have a confirmed COVID-19 case. However, researchers have noted it can be difficult to distinguish long COVID symptoms to general pandemic-associated symptoms. In addition, a small share of children are experiencing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a serious condition associated with COVID-19 that has impacted  almost 9,000 children . A lot of unknowns still surround long COVID in children; it is unclear how long symptoms will last and what impact they will have on children’s long-term health.

COVID-19 vaccines were recently authorized for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, making all children 6 months and older eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccination has already peaked for children under the age of 5, and is far below where 5-11 year-olds were at the same point in their eligibility. As of July 20, approximately 544,000 children under the age of 5 (or approximately 2.8%) had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Vaccinations for children ages 5-11 have stalled, with just  30.3%  have been fully vaccinated as of July 27 compared to  60.2% of those ages 12-17.  Schools have been important sites  for providing access as well as information to help expand vaccination take-up among children, though children under 5 are not yet enrolled in school, limiting this option for younger kids. A recent KFF survey finds most parents of young children newly eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine are reluctant to get them vaccinated, including 43% who say they will “definitely not” do so.

Some children have experienced COVID-19 through the loss of one or more family members due to the virus.  A  study  estimates that, as of June 2022, over 200,000 children in the US have lost one or both parents to COVID-19. Another study found children of color were more likely to experience the loss of a parent or grandparent caregiver when compared to non-Hispanic White children. Losing a parent can have long term impacts on a child’s health,  increasing  their risk of substance abuse, mental health challenges,  poor educational outcomes , and  early death . There have been over 1 million COVID-19 deaths in the US, and estimates indicate a  17.5% to 20% increase  in bereaved children due to COVID-19, indicating an increased number of grieving children who may need additional supports as they head back to school.

Looking Ahead

Children will be back in the classroom this fall but may continue to face health risks due to their or their teacher’s vaccination status and increasing transmission due to COVID-19 variants. New, more transmissible COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, with the most recent Omicron subvariant BA.5 driving a new wave of infections and reinfections among those who have already had COVID-19. This could lead to challenges for the back-to-school season, especially among young children whose vaccination rates have stalled.

Schools, parents, and children will likely continue to catch up on missed services and loss of instructional time in the upcoming school year. Schools are likely still working to address the loss of instructional time and drops in student achievement due to pandemic-related school disruptions. Further, many children with special education plans experienced missed or delayed services and loss of instructional time during the pandemic. Students with special education plans may be entitled to compensatory services to make up for lost skills due to pandemic related service disruptions, and some children, such as those with disabilities related to long COVID, may be newly eligible for special education services.

To address worsening mental health and barriers to care for children, several measures have been taken or proposed at the state and federal level. Many states have recently enacted legislation to strengthen school based mental health systems, including initiatives such as from hiring more school-based providers to allowing students excused absences for mental health reasons. In July 2022, 988 – a federally mandated crisis number – launched, providing a single three-digit number for individuals in need to access local and state funded crisis centers, and the Biden Administration released a strategy to address the national mental health crisis in May 2022, building on prior actions. Most recently, in response to gun violence, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law and allocates funds towards mental health, including trauma care for school children.

The unwinding of the PHE and expiring federal relief may have implications for children’s health coverage and access to care. The  American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) extended eligibility  to ACA health insurance subsides for people with incomes over 400% of poverty and increased the amount of assistance for people with lower incomes. However, these subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year without further action from Congress, which would increase premium payments for 13 million Marketplace enrollees. In addition, provisions in the FFCRA providing continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees will expire with the end of the PHE. Millions of people, including children, could lose coverage when the continuous enrollment requirement ends if they are no longer eligible or face administrative barriers during the process despite remaining eligible. There will likely be variation across states in how many people are able to maintain Medicaid coverage, transition to other coverage, or become uninsured. Lastly, there have also been several policies passed throughout the pandemic to provide financial relief for families with children, but some benefits, like the expanded Child Tax Credit, have expired and the cost of household items is rising, increasing food insecurity and reducing the utility of benefits like SNAP.

• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Coronavirus

Also of Interest

• A Look at the Economic Effects of the Pandemic for Children
• Recent Trends in Mental Health and Substance Use Concerns Among Adolescents
• Mental Health and Substance Use Considerations Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Among Children Under 5 Have Peaked and Are Decreasing Just Weeks Into Their Eligibility

Mission: Recovering Education in 2021

THE CONTEXT

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused abrupt and profound changes around the world.  This is the worst shock to education systems in decades, with the longest school closures combined with looming recession.  It will set back progress made on global development goals, particularly those focused on education. The economic crises within countries and globally will likely lead to fiscal austerity, increases in poverty, and fewer resources available for investments in public services from both domestic expenditure and development aid. All of this will lead to a crisis in human development that continues long after disease transmission has ended.

Disruptions to education systems over the past year have already driven substantial losses and inequalities in learning. All the efforts to provide remote instruction are laudable, but this has been a very poor substitute for in-person learning.  Even more concerning, many children, particularly girls, may not return to school even when schools reopen. School closures and the resulting disruptions to school participation and learning are projected to amount to losses valued at $10 trillion in terms of affected children’s future earnings.  Schools also play a critical role around the world in ensuring the delivery of essential health services and nutritious meals, protection, and psycho-social support. Thus, school closures have also imperilled children’s overall wellbeing and development, not just their learning.   

It’s not enough for schools to simply reopen their doors after COVID-19. Students will need tailored and sustained support to help them readjust and catch-up after the pandemic. We must help schools prepare to provide that support and meet the enormous challenges of the months ahead. The time to act is now; the future of an entire generation is at stake.

THE MISSION

Mission objective:  To enable all children to return to school and to a supportive learning environment, which also addresses their health and psychosocial well-being and other needs.

Timeframe : By end 2021.

Scope : All countries should reopen schools for complete or partial in-person instruction and keep them open. The Partners - UNESCO , UNICEF , and the World Bank - will join forces to support countries to take all actions possible to plan, prioritize, and ensure that all learners are back in school; that schools take all measures to reopen safely; that students receive effective remedial learning and comprehensive services to help recover learning losses and improve overall welfare; and their teachers are prepared and supported to meet their learning needs. 

Three priorities:

1.    All children and youth are back in school and receive the tailored services needed to meet their learning, health, psychosocial wellbeing, and other needs. 

Challenges : School closures have put children’s learning, nutrition, mental health, and overall development at risk. Closed schools also make screening and delivery for child protection services more difficult. Some students, particularly girls, are at risk of never returning to school. 

Areas of action : The Partners will support the design and implementation of school reopening strategies that include comprehensive services to support children’s education, health, psycho-social wellbeing, and other needs. 

Targets and indicators

2.    All children receive support to catch up on lost learning.

Challenges : Most children have lost substantial instructional time and may not be ready for curricula that were age- and grade- appropriate prior to the pandemic. They will require remedial instruction to get back on track. The pandemic also revealed a stark digital divide that schools can play a role in addressing by ensuring children have digital skills and access.

Areas of action : The Partners will (i) support the design and implementation of large-scale remedial learning at different levels of education, (ii) launch an open-access, adaptable learning assessment tool that measures learning losses and identifies learners’ needs, and (iii) support the design and implementation of digital transformation plans that include components on both infrastructure and ways to use digital technology to accelerate the development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Incorporating digital technologies to teach foundational skills could complement teachers’ efforts in the classroom and better prepare children for future digital instruction.   

While incorporating remedial education, social-emotional learning, and digital technology into curricula by the end of 2021 will be a challenge for most countries, the Partners agree that these are aspirational targets that they should be supporting countries to achieve this year and beyond as education systems start to recover from the current crisis.

3.   All teachers are prepared and supported to address learning losses among their students and to incorporate  digital technology into their teaching.

Challenges : Teachers are in an unprecedented situation in which they must make up for substantial loss of instructional time from the previous school year and teach the current year’s curriculum. They must also protect their own health in school. Teachers will need training, coaching, and other means of support to get this done. They will also need to be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccination, after frontline personnel and high-risk populations.  School closures also demonstrated that in addition to digital skills, teachers may also need support to adapt their pedagogy to deliver instruction remotely. 

Areas of action : The Partners will advocate for teachers to be prioritized in COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, after frontline personnel and high-risk populations, and provide capacity-development on pedagogies for remedial learning and digital and blended teaching approaches. 

Country level actions and global support

UNESCO, UNICEF, and World Bank are joining forces to support countries to achieve the Mission, leveraging their expertise and actions on the ground to support national efforts and domestic funding.

Country Level Action

1.  Mobilize team to support countries in achieving the three priorities

The Partners will collaborate and act at the country level to support governments in accelerating actions to advance the three priorities.

2.  Advocacy to mobilize domestic resources for the three priorities

The Partners will engage with governments and decision-makers to prioritize education financing and mobilize additional domestic resources.

Global level action

1.  Leverage data to inform decision-making

The Partners will join forces to   conduct surveys; collect data; and set-up a global, regional, and national real-time data-warehouse.  The Partners will collect timely data and analytics that provide access to information on school re-openings, learning losses, drop-outs, and transition from school to work, and will make data available to support decision-making and peer-learning.

2.  Promote knowledge sharing and peer-learning in strengthening education recovery

The Partners will join forces in sharing the breadth of international experience and scaling innovations through structured policy dialogue, knowledge sharing, and peer learning actions.

The time to act on these priorities is now. UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank are partnering to help drive that action.

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2021

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Forever Changed: A Timeline of How COVID Upended Schools

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Educators’ two-year journey with the coronavirus pandemic started as early as Feb. 25, 2020, with a blunt call for school and district leaders, staff, and families to prepare for the coming disruption: “You should ask your children’s schools about their plans for school dismissals or school closures,” Nancy Messonnier, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a press briefing that day. “Ask about plans for teleschool.”

By the end of March 2020:

• COVID-19 had been declared a global pandemic by The World Health Organization,
• Education Week had recorded the first death of an educator linked to the virus,
• School buildings faced a near-total shutdown nationwide, and
• Congress had passed the first of three federal financial aid packages, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which included money to help schools with emergency costs related to mitigating the spread of the virus and supporting students.

In that same two-year timespan, educators were elevated as pandemic heroes—and later vilified as obstructionists for not opening school doors and classrooms quickly enough. Demands were just as vehement to keep schools closed and to deliver innovative processes, technology, and safeguards to keep students safe and learning productivity high.

This timeline captures how policymakers, federal agencies, two presidents, teachers’ unions, public health officials, and others wrestled with the protocols needed to get students back in schools learning and thriving, amid illness, deaths, three viral variants, and unremitting public pressure.

Coronavirus may yet graduate from pandemic to endemic status this calendar year, eased by vaccines, additional treatments, and immunity from prior infections. But the educational obstacles in the pandemic’s wake leave schools with a steep climb to boost academic growth and support the mental and emotional health issues that many students and educators carry from the pandemic.

Staff writers Evie Blad, Catherine Gewertz, Sarah Schwartz, Madeline Will, senior digital news specialist Hyon-Young Kim, and associate art director Vanessa Solis contributed to this article.

COVID-19 has shaken the education landscape. Here are key milestones.

Click each tab below to explore educators’ two-year journey with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jan. 19, 2020: The first recorded COVID-19 illness in the United States

An urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Wash., records the nation’s first COVID-19 case.

Feb. 25, 2020: CDC warns schools to prepare for ‘teleschool’ disruptions

Nancy Messonnier, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, holds a press briefing with a message to prepare for inevitable disruption in school routines because of COVID-19.

Feb. 27, 2020: Coronavirus scare prompts a school to shut down

The first school shuts down because of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Bothell High School in Washington state closes for two days for disinfection after an employee’s relative gets sick and is tested for the coronavirus.

March 11, 2020: The World Health Organization declares coronavirus a global pandemic

By month’s end, principals, superintendents, and then governors act to stop the virus’ spread and close schools across the nation .

March 23, 2020: New York educator an early casualty

Dez-Ann Romain, 36, a Brooklyn principal, is one of the first K-12 educators in the United States to die from COVID-19 . Romain was the principal of the 190-student Brooklyn Democracy Academy in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood. New York City—which was an early epicenter of the virus—had closed schools to students on March 16, but teachers and principals continued to come to work for a few days after the closure.

March 26, 2020: USDA waives school nutrition rules, making it easier for schools to serve grab-and-go meals

Under a U.S. Department of Agriculture waiver, parents can pick up “grab-and-go” school meals from school nutrition workers , even if their children aren’t present. “Typically, children would need to be present to receive a meal through USDA’s child nutrition programs,” then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue says in a memo. “However, USDA recognizes that this may not be practical during the current COVID-19 outbreak.”

March 27, 2020: Congress passes the CARES Act, with $13.2 billion for states and local school districts

The first COVID assistance package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, emerges from Congress as a response to the early days of the pandemic, as schools rack up emergency costs for remote learning and personal protective equipment.

Read more: Everything You Need to Know About Schools and COVID Relief Funds

April 2020: Educators’ stress skyrockets due to the pandemic

In the rush to distance-learning, the nation’s teachers scramble to manage unfamiliar technologies, to retrofit—or reinvent—their lessons, and to juggle emails, texts, and calls from principals, parents, and students.

Read more: Exhausted and Grieving: Teaching During the Coronavirus Crisis

April 2, 2020: All states are excused from federally-required statewide testing

The Education Department excuses every state from administering standardized tests that are required by federal law , something that hasn’t happened since the federal government first required states to test students’ achievement in 1994.

May 20, 2020: CDC issues first guidance on reopening schools

Education groups pressure federal agencies to provide clarity about how to safely operate schools as they begin to make plans for both academic and logistical issues associated with starting the new school year. The CDC offers guidance on issues like disinfecting surfaces, reducing students’ contact with peers on buses and in the classroom, and daily health checks. It also recommends that common areas like lunchrooms be closed.

Read more: When Schools Reopen, All Staff Should Wear Masks, New CDC Guidance Says

May 2020: Nearly all states say school buildings would be closed for the rest of the academic year

Forty-eight states, four U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity have by this time ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, affecting at least 50.8 million public school students. By early May, 80 percent of teachers report in an EdWeek Research Center survey interacting with the majority of their students daily or weekly, either online or in-person.

Read more: Map: Coronavirus and School Closures in 2019-2020

June 2020: Schools find creative ways to mark graduation day for Class of 2020

From car parades and quarantine diplomas made of toilet paper to signs on lawns and across entire streets, schools take many different approaches to celebrating the Class of 2020.

Read more: COVID-19’s Disproportionate Toll on Class of 2020 Graduates

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July 8, 2020: Trump threatens to withhold federal funding to schools that do not reopen

President Donald Trump says his administration “may cut off funding” for schools that don’t resume face-to-face instruction , and points to CDC reopening guidelines that he calls impractical and expensive. The next day, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says that rather than “pulling funding from education,” her department supports the idea that students in places where schools do not reopen should be able to take federal money and use it where they can get instruction in-person.

July 23, 2020: CDC stresses the importance of in-person learning

The CDC revises its school guidance to stress the importance of in-person learning. About “7.1 million kids get their mental health service at schools,” then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield says in a congressional hearing. “They get their nutritional support from their schools. We’re seeing an increase in drug use disorder as well as suicide in adolescent individuals. I do think that it’s really important to realize it’s not public health versus the economy about school reopening.”

Read more: The Pandemic Is Causing Widespread Emotional Trauma. Schools Must Be Ready to Help

July 28, 2020: AFT moves to delay reopening of schools to protect teachers

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten says the union would pursue various tactics, including lawsuits and strikes, to keep schools from reopening without adequate safety precautions. “If authorities don’t protect the safety and health of those we represent and those we serve ... nothing is off the table—not advocacy or protests, negotiations, grievances or lawsuits, or, if necessary and authorized by a local union, as a last resort, safety strikes,” she says at a remote meeting of the national teachers’ union’s biennial convention.

July 28, 2020: Fauci says there are still unanswered questions about how the coronavirus is spread

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, tells educators in a virtual town hall that when it comes to reopening school buildings for in-person instruction, there are still many unanswered questions about how the coronavirus is spread by children, and that teachers will be “part of the experiment.” His comment sparks uproar on Twitter from teachers, who say they didn’t sign up to be part of such an experiment.

Fall 2020: Many districts opt to start the school year in remote learning

Some districts provide hybrid instruction, and some are able to offer full in-person instruction to all students.

Read more: School Districts’ Reopening Plans: A Snapshot

Sept. 2020: Federal vaccine distribution plan says states should prioritize teachers and school employees, alongside other critical workers

Not only does a new federal plan identify teachers and school employees as priority recipients of a vaccine , it also identifies U.S. schools as a crucial partner for administering the shots.

December 2020: Teachers in line for the first doses of COVID vaccines

A wave of states announce that they will prioritize teachers and school employees in the ir vaccine distribution plan s, but most states—if not all—are still focused on administering vaccines to health-care workers and long-term care residents.

Dec. 27, 2020: Second federal COVID aid package provides $54.3 billion

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act allocates more than $190 billion to help schools pay for tutors and cleaning supplies and millions of computing devices.

January 2021: Biden calls for unified efforts to reopen schools within the first 100 days of his administration

A 200-page federal plan and executive orders from newly elected President Joe Biden call for “sustained and coordinated” efforts to reopen schools for in-person instruction, with the cooperation of states and new resources, guidance, and data.

Read more: Biden Launches New Strategy to Combat COVID-19, Reopen Schools

February 2021: In Chicago and other big cities, teachers’ unions influence school reopening plans

The Chicago teachers’ union reaches a reopening deal with the district that includes a delay that gives the district more time to vaccinate teachers, which was a sticking point in weeks of negotiations. Many big-city unions are in heated negotiations with their districts around this time period.

February 2021: CDC releases new guidelines as core part of Biden’s plan to reopen schools

“I want to be clear,” CDC Director Rochelle Walenksy says. “With the release of this operational strategy, CDC is not mandating that schools reopen. CDC is simply providing schools with a long-needed road map for how to do so safely under different levels of disease in the community.”

March 2021: Vaccine access speeds up for teachers

The vaccine landscape for teachers shifts dramatically the day after Biden announce s a federal push to get all teachers their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March.

Read more: Vaccine Access Speeds Up for Teachers After Biden’s Declaration

March 2021: Schools get federal aid for homeless students

The American Rescue Plan, the third major package of federal COVID aid, includes $800 million for homeless children and youth (allocated through states), which is money that wasn’t set aside specifically for them in the two previous relief deals.

March 19, 2021: CDC eases recommendations for social distancing in classrooms

The CDC issues recommendations saying 3 feet of space between students who are wearing masks is a sufficient safeguard in most classroom situations . Many educators and policymakers viewed the agency’s previous recommendation of 6 feet of space as a major hurdle to a full return to in-person school.

Early April 2021: Vaccines become available for teens

States begin to open vaccine eligibility to those 16 and up , a watershed moment for the pandemic. By early April 2021, two-thirds of teachers tell the EdWeek Research Center they’d been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. By the end of the month, that figure had shot up to 80 percent.

April 20, 2021: USDA waives school meal regulations through June 2022

After extending waivers of school meal regulations several times, the USDA says the flexibilities will last until June 2022 .  The waivers will also allow schools to continue distributing meals to students who are learning remotely without red tape that can make it logistically difficult to do so.

May 10, 2021: Pfizer vaccine approved for 12- to 15- year-olds

The approval is a major development in the overall campaign to vaccinate more Americans and help ensure healthy and safe operations of middle and high schools in the pandemic. Schools begin opening their buildings to facilitate getting school-age children vaccinated.

May 13, 2021: American Federation of Teachers says schools must reopen five days a week in fall

“We can and we must reopen schools in the fall for in-person teaching, learning, and support,” AFT President Randi Weingarten says in virtual speech. “ And keep them open—fully and safely five days a week .”

Graduation 2021: Health worries and financial instability impact college-going decisions

EdWeek Research Center surveys comparing the class of 2020 and 2021 graduates find that 74 percent of 2020 graduates who were planning on attending a four-year college followed through with their plans and ended up attending a university. Only 62 percent of the class of 2021 were able to do the same. Among students who had planned to attend a two-year college in 2021, only 44 percent succeeded in doing so, compared with 57 percent of graduates who wished to enter a two-year degree program in 2020.

July 9, 2021: CDC says students, educators, and staff should still wear masks

The CDC advises that all students, visitors, and staff should wear masks in schools , regardless of their vaccination status and maintain “layered mitigation strategies,” like handwashing, regular testing, contact tracing to identify threats of exposure to the virus, and cancelling certain extracurricular activities in high-risk areas. The recommendations also put a priority on getting schools reopened for in-person learning.

Read more: Unvaccinated Students, Adults Should Continue Wearing Masks in Schools, CDC Says

July 2021: Biden administration calls on school districts to host pop-up vaccination clinics

The Biden administration pushes to increase the number of vaccinations for kids 12 and older as the Delta variant of the virus intensifies worries that the upcoming school year will be disrupted just like the last two were.

August 2021: First state requires all teachers and school staff get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing

California requires all teachers and school staff to either get vaccinated for COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing—the first state in the nation to issue such a sweeping requirement.

August 2021: Teachers face pressure to get vaccines, or face discipline

Oregon and Washington states require teachers to get fully vaccinated or face discipline, which could include termination. A handful of school districts, including Chicago and Los Angeles, impose similar mandates. California, Connecticut, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Hawaii—as well as several more school districts, including Washington, D.C.—give teachers the choice between getting vaccinated or undergoing regular testing.

Sept. 24, 2021: CDC director approves booster shots for teachers, reversing panel’s decision

Hours after a federal vaccine advisory committee votes against recommending a booster shot for essential workers, including K-12 school staff, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overrule s the decision .

Read more: With Vaccine Mandates on the Rise, Some Teachers May Face Discipline

Fall 2021: More schools adopt a ‘test-to-stay’ policy

Many schools adopt a “test-to-stay” program to let students who test negative for COVID-19 keep attending school even if they have been in close contact with someone who tests positive. The policy is intended to minimize disruption to in-person learning.

Oct. 1, 2021: California announces statewide COVID vaccine mandate for students

California’s first-in-the-nation requirement for students to get vaccinated against COVID also makes it easier for families to opt out than existing state rules that require vaccines for routine illnesses, like measles, as a condition of school attendance. The mandate will be phased in as vaccines win full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for different age groups.

Read more: California Is Mandating COVID Vaccines for Kids. Will Other States Follow?

Nov. 2, 2021: Children as young as 5 can get vaccines

The CDC approves the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine for emergency use authorization for children as young as five. The White House develops a distribution plan, highlighting ways schools can contribute to the effort by vaccinating children on campus in partnership with local health providers as well as combating vaccine misinformation that may prevent families from getting vaccines.

Read more: All K-12 Students Can Now Get the COVID-19 Vaccine. Here’s What It Means for Schools

November 2021: Staffing shortages put a crimp on mandatory vaccine push

Districts start backing off consequences for vaccine mandates due to staffing shortages.

Dec. 27, 2021: CDC shortens its recommendations for quarantining

The CDC shorten s its recommendations for the length of isolation and quarantine periods . Under the new guidance, people who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for five days, instead of the previously recommended 10, and then, if they have no symptoms or their symptoms are resolving, can resume normal activities wearing a mask for at least five more days.

January 2022: Omicron variant causes concerns after winter break

As COVID-19 cases rise due to the more-contagious Omicron variant, some districts push back their return to school after winter break, or pivot to remote instruction for one or two weeks.

Read more: For Anxious Teachers, Omicron ‘Feels Like Walking Into a Trap’

Feb. 25, 2022: CDC relaxes mask guidelines for schools

The CDC releases guidance that universal masking in public settings, including schools, is only recommended in areas with high risk of serious illness or strained health-care resources .

March 15, 2022: Schools warn of hunger, higher costs when federal meal waivers end

Congress passes a spending bill that does not include flexibility for school meal programs, alarming child hunger and education groups . Federal waivers that let schools feed all students free meals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic will expire this summer, leaving school nutrition directors braced as supply chain issues and spiking costs eat up their already tight budgets.

March 31, 2022: Federal survey of high school students sheds light on mental health struggles

High school students experienced mental health challenges during the pandemic including hopelessness, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts or behaviors, the CDC finds. But those who felt close to people at school or reported strong virtual connections with family and peers were less likely to report such concerns.

Read more: Teen Mental Health During COVID: What New Federal Data Reveal

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Stress-Related Growth in Adolescents Returning to School After COVID-19 School Closure

1 Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

Kelly-Ann Allen

2 Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

Gökmen Arslan

3 Department of Psychological Counselling and Guidance, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey

4 International Network on Personal Meaning, Toronto, ON, Canada

Associated Data

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The move to remote learning during COVID-19 has impacted billions of students. While research shows that school closure, and the pandemic more generally, has led to student distress, the possibility that these disruptions can also prompt growth in is a worthwhile question to investigate. The current study examined stress-related growth (SRG) in a sample of students returning to campus after a period of COVID-19 remote learning ( n = 404, age = 13–18). The degree to which well-being skills were taught at school (i.e., positive education) before the COVID-19 outbreak and student levels of SRG upon returning to campus was tested via structural equation modeling. Positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use in students were examined as mediators. The model provided a good fit [ χ 2 = 5.37, df = 3, p = 0.146, RMSEA = 0.044 (90% CI = 0.00–0.10), SRMR = 0.012, CFI = 99, TLI = 0.99] with 56% of the variance in SRG explained. Positive education explained 15% of the variance in cognitive reappraisal, 7% in emotional processing, and 16% in student strengths use during remote learning. The results are discussed using a positive education paradigm with implications for teaching well-being skills at school to foster growth through adversity and assist in times of crisis.

Introduction

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread rapidly across the globe in 2020, infecting more than 70 million people and causing more than 1.5 million deaths at the time of submitting this paper (December 8, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020a ). The restrictions and disruptions stemming from this public health crisis have compromised the mental health of young people ( Hawke et al., 2020 ; UNICEF, 2020 ; Yeasmin et al., 2020 ; Zhou et al., 2020 ). A review assessing the mental health impact of COVID-19 on 6–21-year-olds ( n = 51 articles) found levels of depression and anxiety ranging between 11.78 and 47.85% across China, the United States of America, Europe, and South America ( Marques de Miranda et al., 2020 ). Researchers have also identified moderate levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in youth samples during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Guo et al., 2020 ; Liang et al., 2020 ; Wang et al., 2020 ).

Adolescence is a critical life stage for identity formation ( Allen and McKenzie, 2015 ; Crocetti, 2017 ) where teenagers strive for mastery and autonomy ( Featherman et al., 2019 ), individuate from their parents ( Levpuscek, 2006 ), and gravitate toward their peer groups to have their social and esteem needs met ( Allen and Loeb, 2015 ). The pandemic has drastically curtailed the conditions for teens to meet their developmental needs ( Loades et al., 2020 ). Gou et al. (2020 , p. 2) argue that adolescents are “more vulnerable than adults to mental health problems, in particular during a lockdown, because they are in a transition phase… with increasing importance of peers, and struggling with their often brittle self-esteem.”

In addition to the researching psychological distress arising from COVID-19, it is also important to identify positive outcomes that may arise through this pandemic. Dvorsky et al. (2020) caution that research focused only on distress may create a gap in knowledge about the resilience processes adopted by young people. In line with this, Bruining et al. (2020 , p. 1) advocate for research to keep “an open scientific mind” and include “positive hypotheses.” Waters et al. (2021) argue that researching distress during COVID-19 need not come at the expense of investigating how people can be strengthened through the pandemic. Hawke et al. (2020) , for example, found that more than 40% of their teen and early adult sample reported improved social relationships, greater self-reflection, and greater self-care.

Focusing on adolescents and adopting positive hypotheses , the current study will examine the degree to which a positive education intervention taught at school prior to the COVID-19 outbreak had an influence on three coping approaches during remote learning (i.e., positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use) and on student levels of stress-related growth (SRG) upon returning to school.

Can Adolescents Grow Through the COVID-19 Crisis? The Role of Positive Education

The calls for positive youth outcomes to be investigated during COVID-19 ( Bruining et al., 2020 ; Dvorsky et al., 2020 ; Waters et al., 2020 ) align with the field of positive education. Positive education is an applied science that weaves the research from positive psychology into schools following the principles of prevention-based psychology (e.g., teaching skills that enable students to prevent distress) and promotion-based psychology (e.g., teaching skills that enable students to build well-being; Slemp et al., 2017 ; Waters et al., 2017 ).

With the WHO focusing on student well-being as a top priority during the COVID-19 crisis ( World Health Organization, 2020b ), positive education is an essential research area. Burke and Arslan (2020 , p. 137) argue that COVID-19 could “become a springboard for positive change, especially in schools that draw on positive education research to …foster students’ social-emotional health.”

The field of positive education has developed a host of interventions that teach students the skills to support their mental health including mindfulness ( Waters et al., 2015 ), gratitude ( Froh et al., 2008 ), progressive relaxation ( Matsumoto and Smith, 2001 ), sense of belonging ( Allen and Kern, 2019 ) and, more specific to the current study, coping skills ( Collins et al., 2014 ; Frydenberg, 2020 ), cognitive reframing ( Sinclair, 2016 ), emotional management skills ( Brackett et al., 2012 ), and strengths use ( Quinlan et al., 2015 ). While prior research has shown that students can be successfully taught the skills to reduce ill-being and promote well-being, this research has been conducted predominantly with mainstream and at-risk students (for recent reviews, see Waters and Loton, 2019 ; Owens and Waters, 2020 ). Comparatively little research in positive education has been conducted with students who have experienced trauma ( Brunzell et al., 2019 ) yet, in the context of a global pandemic, the risks of trauma are amplified, hence is it worth considering the role of positive education in this context.

When it comes to trauma, a number of interventions have been developed based on cognitive behavioral principles (for example, see Little et al., 2011 ). These interventions teach students about trauma exposure and stress responses and then show students how to utilize skill such as relaxation, cognitive reframing, and social problem-solving skills to deal with PTSD symptoms ( Jaycox et al., 2010 ). Positive education ınterventions for trauma have been used with students who have experienced natural disasters, have been abused, have witnessed violence, or have been the victims of violent acts. These interventions have been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, and PTSD in students ( Stein et al., 2003 ; Cohen et al., 2006 ; National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2008 ; Walker, 2008 ; Jaycox et al., 2010 ).

The findings above, that positive education interventions help reduce the negative symptomology experienced by students in the aftermath of trauma begs the question as to whether these interventions can also promote positive changes following adversity. After first coining the term “ stress-related growth ,” Vaughn et al. (2009 , p. 131) defined it as the “experience of deriving benefits from encountering stressful circumstances” and asserted that SRG goes beyond merely a state of recovery following adversity. SRG also includes the development of a higher level of ongoing adaptive functioning. Those who experience SRG come out of the adversity stronger, with a deeper sense of meaning, new coping skills, broadened perspectives and newly developed personal resources ( Park and Fenster, 2004 ; Park, 2013 ).

In turning to see if positive education interventions can foster SRG, two studies were identified in the literature. Ullrich and Lutgendorf (2002) conducted a journaling intervention with undergraduate students (mean age = 20.05 years) who were asked to write about a stressful or traumatic event in their life twice a week for 1 month. Results showed that engaging in both emotion-based and cognitive-based reflection helped students see the adversity’s benefits and increase SRG. In Dolbier et al. (2010) study, college students (median age = 21 years) were placed in an intervention group or a waitlist control group. The intervention group participated in a 4-week resilience program that taught problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. At the end of the program, the intervention group showed more significant increases in SRG from pre- to post-test than the waitlist control group. The findings from these two studies suggest that positive education interventions can lead to SRG. However, given that both studies used college students, there remains a gap in researcher as to whether positive interventions can promote SRG for school-aged students. As such, the question remains, “Can positive education interventions help students grow from their experience of adversity?”

Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings from traumatology, coping psychology, and adolescent psychology have shown that young people can grow through adversity. Indeed, considerable research has shown the transformative capacity within young people to use aversive experiences as a platform for growth ( Levine et al., 2008 ; Meyerson et al., 2011 ). Children and teens have been found to grow following experiences such as severe illness (e.g., cancer; Currier et al., 2009 ), terrorist attacks ( Laufer, 2006 ), natural disasters (e.g., floods and earthquakes; Hafstad et al., 2010 ), death of a parent ( Wolchik et al., 2009 ), war ( Kimhi et al., 2010 ), abuse ( Ickovics et al., 2006 ), minority stress ( Vaughn et al., 2009 ), and even everyday stressors ( Mansfield and Diamond, 2017 ). These studies were not intervention-based but do provide consistent evidence that young people are capable of experiencing stress related growth. The findings above, showing that young people can use adversity as a springboard for growth, leads to our first hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: Adolescents will demonstrate stress-related growth during COVID-19.

The bulk of evidence for SRG in youth samples comes from cross-sectional or longitudinal research rather than intervention-based studies. While there has been intervention-based research working with school-aged students focusing on reducing PTSD, there has been none on promoting SRG. Moreover, the CBT interventions outlined above were run with students after the trauma had occurred. As there is no research looking at whether learning skills through a positive education intervention before a trauma influences the likelihood of SRG during or following a crisis. Drawing on the principle of promotion-based positive education, the current study seeks to explore whether teaching well-being skills to students before COVID-19 was significantly related to SRG during the global pandemic. Aligning with past research findings that the coping skills existing in individuals before a traumatic event are significant predictors of growth during and after trauma ( Park and Fenster, 2004 ; Prati and Pietrantoni, 2009 ; Zavala and Waters, 2020 ), hypothesis two is put forward:

Hypothesis 2: The degree to which students were taught positive education skills at school prior to the pandemic will be directly and positively related to their SRG upon school entry.

Coping Approaches in Remote Lockdown and SRG Upon School Re-entry

The possibility that the stressors of COVID-19 can trigger SRG in teenagers leads to the question of what factors might increase the chances of this growth. With reduced social contact during the pandemic, Wang et al. (2020 , p. 40) suggest that the development of intrapersonal skills are needed to optimize “psychological, emotional and behavioral adjustment.” Examples provided by Wang et al. (2020) include: (1) cognitive approaches that help students challenge unhelpful thoughts and (2) emotional approaches that give students the ability to express and handle their emotions. In research on everyday stressors with teenagers, Mansfield and Diamond (2017) found that cognitive-affective resources are significantly linked to SRG.

The coping factors examined in the current study were guided by the findings of Mansfield and Diamond (2017) together with the findings from college samples that cognitive reflection and emotional reflection ( Ullrich and Lutgendorf, 2002 ) as well as problem-focused and emotion-focused coping ( Dolbier et al., 2010 ) are significantly related to SRG. The recommendations of Wang et al. (2020) to investigate a student’s “psychological, emotional and behavioral adjustment” were also followed. The effect of three well-known coping skills during remote learning on SRG was examined: a cognitive skill (positive reappraisal), an emotional technique (emotional processing), and a behavioral skill – (strengths use).

Transitioning back to school, although a welcome move for many students, is still likely to be experienced as a source of distress ( Capurso et al., 2020 ). Re-entry requires a process of adjustment and a rupture of the “new-normal” routines that students had experienced with their families at home ( Pelaez and Novak, 2020 ). Some students may experience separation anxiety, others may be afraid of contracting the virus, and others may find the pace and noise of school unsettling ( Levinson et al., 2020 ; Pelaez and Novak, 2020 ). Even for those who adjust well, a “post-lockdown school” takes time and energy to get used to – wearing masks, lining up for daily temperature checks, washing hands upon entry into classrooms, and maintaining a 1.5-meter distance from their friends are foreign for most students and will require psycho-emotional processing ( Levinson et al., 2020 ). The better a student has coped during the period of remote learning (through positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use), the higher the chance they may have of growing through stress when they return to campus.

Positive Reappraisal

Positive reappraisal is a meaning-based, adaptive cognitive process that motivates an individual to consider whether a good outcome can emerge from a stressful experience ( Carver et al., 1989 ; Folkman and Moskowitz, 2000 ). Positively reappraising a stressful experience in ways that look for any beneficial outcomes ( Garland et al., 2011 ) has been shown to make people more aware of their values in life and to act upon those values ( Folkman and Moskowitz, 2000 ), thus, in doing so, it is linked to a deeper sense of meaning in life emerging from the stressor ( Rood et al., 2012a ). Positive reappraisal has been shown to reduce distress and improve mental health outcomes across various crises such as chronic illness, war, and rape ( Sears et al., 2003 ; Helgeson et al., 2006 ). Concerning the COVID-19 crisis, Xie et al. (2020) assert that an optimistic outlook may be critical. The reverse pattern has also been found in two student samples ( Liang et al., 2020 ; Ye et al., 2020 ) during the coronavirus crisis. Negative rumination (i.e., repeated negative thoughts about the virus) has been related to higher distress levels. Learning how to re-construct obstacles into opportunities during COVID-19 (e.g., “I miss seeing my teachers in person, but I am learning to be a more independent student”) can help young people to emerge from the crisis with new mindsets and skillsets. This logic leads to the third hypothesis of the current study:

Hypothesis 3: Higher use of positive reappraisal during remote learning will be significantly related to higher levels of stress-related growth when students return to school.

Emotional Processing

Emotional processing is described as the technique of actively processing and expressing one’s emotions during times of stress (in contrast to avoidance; Stanton et al., 2000 ). Emotional processing is a positive factor in helping children cope with and grow through adverse events such as grief ( McFerran et al., 2010 ), identity conflict ( Davis et al., 2015 ), and natural disasters ( Prinstein et al., 1996 ). To date, the role of emotional processing during a pandemic has not been explicitly studied; however, there is indirect research to suggest the value of this coping approach. For example, students in Chen et al. (2020) study who knew how to manage their stress levels displayed fewer symptoms of depression during COVID-19. Similarly, in Duan et al. (2020) study, emotion-focused coping during the coronavirus crisis was significantly related to anxiety levels in students from Grade 3 to Grade 12. These findings lead to Hypothesis four:

Hypothesis 4: Higher use of emotional processing techniques during remote learning will be significantly related to higher levels of stress-related growth when students return to school.

Strengths Use

The third coping factor to be examined in the current study is the skill of strengths use. Strengths are defined as positive capacities and characteristics that are energizing and authentic ( Peterson and Seligman, 2004 ). Strengths use is described by Govindji and Linley (2007) as the extent to which individuals put their strengths into actions and draw upon their strengths in various settings. Shoshani and Slone (2016) showed that strengths have a moderating role in the relationship between political violence and PTSD for young people exposed to lengthy periods of war and political conflict. In an adult sample, strengths were found to enhance PTG in earthquake survivors ( Duan and Guo, 2015 ). In the current COVID-19 pandemic, Rashid and McGrath (2020 , p. 116) suggest that “using our strengths can enhance our immunity to stressors by building protective and pragmatic habits and actions.” Adding to this, research shows that strengths use leads to an increased sense of control/self-efficacy in young people ( Loton and Waters, 2018 ), which may be an important outcome to combat the “uncertainty distress” ( Freeston et al., 2020 ) that many young people are currently feeling ( Demkowicz et al., 2020 ). The research and reasoning outlined above about strengths use has been used to formulate Hypothesis five.

Hypothesis 5: Higher strengths use during remote learning will be significantly related to higher levels of stress-related growth when students return to school.

Having established that the three coping approaches above are likely to foster SRG during COVID-19, the final question remaining is whether positive education interventions can increase the use of these coping approaches. Garland et al. (2011) and Pogrebtsova et al. (2017) found that mindfulness interventions increase positive reappraisal. In a related outcome, positive education interventions have been shown to help students better understand their explanatory styles (i.e., how they interpret adversity; Quayle et al., 2001 ; Rooney et al., 2013 ). Adding to this, emotional processing is significantly enhanced in students due to undertaking various positive education interventions ( Qualter et al., 2007 ; Brackett et al., 2012 ; Castillo et al., 2013 ). Finally, positive education interventions have been shown to increase strengths use ( Marques et al., 2011 ; Quinlan et al., 2015 ; White and Waters, 2015 ). These findings inform our final two study hypotheses.

Hypothesis 6: The degree to which students were taught positive education skills at school prior to the pandemic will be directly and positively related to their use of positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use during remote learning.

Hypothesis 7: The degree to which students were taught positive education skills at school prior to the pandemic will be indirectly and positively related to SRG upon school entry via their use of positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use during remote learning.

Materials and Methods

Participants.

After receiving Ethics approval from the Human Ethics Research Committee at Monash University, data were collected from 404 students at a large independent school in New South Wales, Australia. Participants were recruited from Grades 7 to 12 and ranged in age from 11 to 18 ( M = 14.75, SD = 1.59; 50.2% female/46.8% male and 3% identified as non-/other gendered or declined to answer). The vast majority of the sample (93.1%) listed English as their primary language. Prior to conducting the survey, parents were sent information packages explaining the nature of the research, resources available to students feeling distress, security and anonymity of the data collected, and the opt-out process. Participation was voluntary and students could opt out at any time.

Students in the current study were part of a whole-school positive education intervention that focuses on six key pathways to well-being: strengths, emotional management, attention and awareness, relationships, coping, and habits and goals ( Waters, 2019 ; Waters and Loton, 2019 ). The first letter of each of these six pathways forms the acronym “SEARCH.” In 2019, all teachers at the school were trained in the “SEARCH” pathways and given activities to run in classrooms that help students learn skill that allow them to build up the six pathways of strengths (e.g., strengths pathways: strength surveys and strengths challenges), managing their emotions (e.g., learning how to label the full spectrum of emotions and identifying emotions through a mood-meter), focusing their attention (e.g., mindfulness), building their relationships (e.g., active-constructive responding), coping (e.g., cognitive reframing and breathing techniques), and building habits and setting goals (e.g., if-then intentions).

Positive Education

Students rated the degree to which they had been taught positive education skills at school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic along the six pathways of the SEARCH framework. Students rated the degree to which they had been taught how to use their strengths, manage their emotions, and build their capacity to have awareness and so on, prior to COVID-19. There was one item per SEARCH pathway (e.g., “Prior to COVID-19, to what degree did your school teach you about how to understand and manage your emotions?”). The alpha reliability for this scale was 0.91.

Students rated the degree to which they engaged in emotional processing techniques (“I took time to figure out what I was feeling,” “I thought about my feelings to get a thorough understanding of them,” etc.) during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown using the 4-item scale Emotional Processing Scale ( Stanton et al., 2000 ). Answers were given on a 4-point scale from “I didn’t do this at all” to “I did this a lot.” The internal reliability of the scale was α = 0.78.

Positive reappraisal was measured using the 4-item “Positive Reinterpretation and Growth Scale” of the COPE inventory ( Carver et al., 1989 ). Students were asked to rate the degree to which they engaged in positive reappraisal techniques (“I looked for something good in what was happening,” “I learned something from the experience,” etc.) during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Answers were given on a 4-point scale from “I didn’t do this at all” to “I did this a lot.” The internal reliability of the scale was α = 0.82.

Students rated the degree to which they used their strengths during the remote learning using an adapted three-item version of the Strengths Use Scale ( Govindji and Linley, 2007 ), a 14-item self-report scale designed to measure individual strengths use (e.g., items included “During remote learning and family lockdown I had lots of different ways to use my strengths,” “During remote learning and family lockdown I achieved what I wanted by using my strengths,” etc.). Answers were given on a 5-point scale from 1“Not at all” to 5 “A lot.” The internal reliability of the scale was α = 0.89.

Stress-Related Growth

Using an abbreviated Stress-Related Growth Scale ( Vaughn et al., 2009 ), students were asked to think about whether their experience with COVID-19 changed them in any specific ways, including internal growth (“I have learned to deal better with uncertainty,” “I learned not to let small hassles bother me the way they used to,” etc.) and social growth (“I reached out and helped others,” “I have learned to appreciate the strength of others who have had a difficult life,” etc.). Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale from “Not at all” to “A lot.” The internal reliability of the scale was α = 0.85.

For students who elected to participate in this study, the school distributed the survey via an email link on the Qualtrics platform distributed by the teachers during the students’ mentor time. The first screen of the form provided information on the survey and reminded students that they could opt out or stop at any time. If distressed, several resources were made available, including teachers at the school, parents, and helplines. Teachers were present during the entire duration of the survey to provide clarification on instructions and/or support for students feeling distressed.

The data collected from the survey were anonymized and shared with the participating school administrators, and this was clearly stated to all participants of the study, including teachers, parents, and students. No personally identifiable information was made available in the data asset provided to the school. The original data source from the survey will be stored in a secure, password-protected file at Monash University for 5 years.

Through the survey, students were asked to reflect upon three different points in time: before school closures, during school closures, and after return to school. More specifically, students were asked to reflect on the positive education taught by their school prior to COVID-19. They were asked to reflect on what actions they took during COVID-19 lockdown to thrive cognitively (positive reappraisal), emotionally (emotional processing), and behaviorally (strengths use). And upon return to school, students were asked to reflect upon what they had learned as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown (SRG).

Data Analysis

We carried out a two-step analytic approach to examine the association between positive education indicators and student levels of SRG upon returning back to campus during the COVID-19 outbreak. Observed scale characteristics were first performed to investigate descriptive statistics and the assumptions of analysis. Normality assumption was checked using kurtosis and skewness scores, with their cut points for the normality. Skewness <|2| and kurtosis scores <|7| suggest that the assumption of normality is met ( Curran et al., 1996 ; Kline, 2015 ). Pearson correlation was additionally used to examine the association between the variables of the study.

Following this, structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating effect of positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use during the period of remote learning in the association between positive education (i.e., the degree to which well-being skills were taught at school prior to the COVID-19 outbreak) and SRG upon returning back to campus. Common data-model fit statistics and squared multiple correlations ( R 2 ) were examined to evaluate the results of structural equation modeling. Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and comparative fit index (CFI) scores between 0.90 and 0.95 indicate adequate model fit, whereas their scores ≥0.95 provide a good or close data-model fit. The root mean square error of approximation scores (RMSEA; with 90% confidence interval) and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) between 0.05 and 0.08 are accepted as an adequate model fit, while those scores ≤0.05 indicate a close model fit ( Hu and Bentler, 1999 ; Hooper et al., 2008 ; Kline, 2015 ). The results were also interrelated using the squared multiple correlations ( R 2 ) with: <0.13 = small, 0.13–0.26 = moderate, and ≥0.26 = large ( Cohen, 1988 ). All data analyses were performed using AMOS version 24 and SPSS version 25.

Observed Scale Characteristics and Inter-correlations

A check of observed scale characteristics showed that all measures in the study were relatively normally distributed, and that kurtosis and skewness scores ranged between −0.80 and 0.47 (see Table 1 ). As shown in Table 1 , correlation analysis found that teaching positive education prior to COVID-19 had positive correlations with the way students coped during remote learning (positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use) and with SRG when returning to campus. Additionally, positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use were moderately to largely, positively associated with SRG.

Descriptive statistics and correlation results.

Mediation Analyses

Several structural equation models were employed to analyze the mediating effect of positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use in the relationship between positive education and SRG. The first model, which was conducted to test the mediating role of emotional processing indicated good data-model fit statistics ( χ 2 = 1.20, df = 1, p = 0.273, RMSEA = 0.069 [90% CI for RMSEA: 0.00–0.13], SRMR = 0.010, CFI = 99, and TLI = 0.99). Standardized regression estimates revealed that positive education was a significant predictor of emotional processing and SRG. Moreover, emotional processing significantly predicted youths’ SRG. The indirect effect of positive education on SRG through emotional processing was significant, as seen in Table 2 . Positive education accounted for 7% of the variance in emotional processing, and positive education and emotional processing together explained 41% of the variance in SRG. These findings demonstrate the partial mediating effect of emotional processing on the link between positive education and student SRG upon returning to campus during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Standardized indirect effects.

Number of bootstrap samples for percentile bootstrap confidence intervals: 10,000 with 95% bias-corrected confidence interval.

The second model, which was conducted to test the mediating effect of positive reappraisal, indicated excellent data-model fit statistics ( χ 2 = 0.76, df = 1, p = 0.382, RMSEA = 0.00 [90% CI for RMSEA: 0.000–0.12], SRMR = 0.010, CFI = 1.00, and TLI = 1.00). Positive education had a significant predictive effect on positive reappraisal and SRG. Positive reappraisal also significantly predicted youths’ SRG. The indirect effect of positive education on SRG through positive reappraisal was significant, as seen in Table 2 . Positive education accounted for 15% of the variance in positive reappraisal, and positive education and positive reappraisal together explained 50% of the variance in SRG. Consequently, the findings of this model indicated the partial mediating effect of positive reappraisal in the relationship between positive education and student SRG.

The third model, which was carried out to examine the mediating effect of strengths use, indicated excellent data-model fit statistics ( χ 2 = 0.24, df = 1, p = 0.626, RMSEA = 0.00 [90% CI for RMSEA: 0.000–0.10], SRMR = 0.010, CFI = 1.00, and TLI = 1.00). Positive education significantly predicted strengths use and SRG. Strengths use also had a significant predictive effect on student SRG. The indirect effect of positive education on SRG through strengths use was significant, as seen in Table 2 . Positive education accounted for 16% of the variance in positive reappraisal, and positive education and strengths use together explained 40% of the variance in the SRG of youths. These results indicate the partial mediating effect of strengths on the association between positive education and student SRG.

The final and main model tested the mediating effects of emotional processing, positive reappraisal (see Figure 1 ), and strengths use yielded data-model fit statistics ( χ 2 = 5.37, df = 3, p = 0.146, RMSEA = 0.044 [90% CI = 0.00–0.10], SRMR = 0.012, CFI = 99, and TLI = 0.99). Standardized estimates showed that positive education had significant and positive predictive effect on emotional processing, positive reappraisal, strengths use, and SRG. Furthermore, SRG was significantly predicted by emotional processing, positive reappraisal, and strengths use. In this model, all variables together explained 56% of the variance in the SRG (before including mediators = 21%). The indirect effect of positive education on SRG through the mediators was significant, as shown in Table 2 . Taken together, the findings of this model demonstrate the partial mediating effect of emotional processing, positive reappraisal, and strengths use in the relationship between positive education and the SRG of students.

Structural equation model indicating the relationship between the variables of the study. ** p < 0.001.

As the COVID-19 global health disaster continues to unfold across the world, researchers are rushing to quantify adolescent psychological distress ( Marques de Miranda et al., 2020 ). Such investigation is important because children and teenagers have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group within our society during the pandemic ( Guo et al., 2020 ). Research into teen distress is crucial but it need not come at the expense of learning about the positive outcomes that young people might experience in a pandemic. In this time of global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, studies investigating how young people can come out stronger is vitally important given the findings from earlier pandemics that psychopathology and PTSD can last for up to 3 years post the pandemic ( Sprang and Silman, 2013 ).

The current study adopted a positive education approach, specifically a promotion-based orientation, to explore a range of factors that increase a student’s likelihood of experiencing SRG. Previous research has shown that young people can, and do, grow through adverse experiences ( Salter and Stallard, 2004 ). This same finding was shown in the current study where the mean score for cognitive/affective growth (e.g., “I learned not to let small hassles bother me the way they used to”) was 2.57 + 1.2 out of 5 and the mean score for social growth (e.g., “I have learned to appreciate the strength of others who have had a difficult life”) was 2.96 + 1.3. These scores are higher than other youth samples who have experienced minority stress (cognitive/affective growth 2.30 + 0.65/social growth 2.45 + 0.63; Vaughn et al., 2009 ) and those who reported on everyday stressors (cognitive/affective growth 2.10 + 0.60/social growth 2.15 + 0.63; Mansfield and Diamond, 2017 ).

In addition to demonstrating that teenagers can experience growth during the global pandemic, this study also sought to explore the degree to which a set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral coping skills used during remote learning could predict SRG upon school re-entry. All three coping skills significantly predicted the degree to which students reported they had grown through COVID-19. Positive reappraisal had the strongest effect, followed by strengths use and then emotional processing.

Positive reappraisal is a meaning-based, cognitive strategy that allows an individual to “attach a positive meaning to the event in terms of personal growth” ( Garnefski and Kraaij, 2014 , p. 1154). This cognitive coping skill has been shown to be an adaptive way to help teenagers deal with a range of distressing situations, including being bullied ( Garnefski and Kraaij, 2014 ) and coping with loss, health threats, and relational stress ( Garnefski et al., 2003 ). Interestingly, Garnefski et al. (2002) found that adolescents did not use positive reappraisal as frequently as adults, suggesting that this is a skill that is worth teaching in the positive education curriculum in the future. To this end, Rood et al. (2012b , p. 83) explored whether positive reappraisal could be experimentally induced in teenagers and found that it could by asking them to think of stressful event in their lives and then “try to think about the positive side effects of the stressful event. Examine what you have learned, and how it has made you stronger.” Moreover, Rood et al. (2012b) found that of the four cognitive coping skills induced in teenagers (rumination, distancing, positive reappraisal, and acceptance), it was positive reappraisal that had the largest impact on well-being.

The degree to which students reported using their strengths during remote learning was also significantly, positively related to the amount of SRG they reported once back on campus. Strengths use has been positively associated with a host of well-being indicators for adolescents during mainstream times (i.e., non-crisis times) including life satisfaction ( Proctor et al., 2011 ), subjective well-being ( Jach et al., 2018 ), and hope ( Marques et al., 2011 ). In the context of adversity, strengths have also been shown to assist coping. For example, Shoshani and Slone (2016) found that strengths were inversely related to psychiatric symptoms and PTSD in teenagers experiencing war and political violence. In times of natural disaster, Southwick et al. (2016) argued that strengths help young people deal with the crisis adaptively and find solutions for the obstacles. In the COVID-19 pandemic, Bono et al. (2020) found that the strengths of grit and gratitude fostered resilience and impacted grades in university students. Our study found that strengths use was a significant predictor of the degree to which teenagers experienced SRG, suggesting that teaching students to identify and use their strengths will be beneficial in preparing them to grow through the current pandemic and in future times of adversity.

The third coping skill tested in this study was that of emotional processing, which is characterized by the conscious way a person acknowledges and handles intense emotions that come along with a distressing event or experience ( Stanton and Cameron, 2000 ). Park et al. (1996) found that seeking emotional support from others and venting one’s emotions were significantly related to SRG in university students. The intensity, uncertainty, and fear surrounding the global pandemic has triggered youth depression and anxiety ( Ellis et al., 2020 ) as well as heightened the experience of many, sub-clinical, negative emotions such as loneliness, frustration, anger, and hopelessness ( Garbe et al., 2020 ; Horita et al., 2021 ). With this in mind, it is easy to see why it is important for students to have the skills to adaptively work through their emotions each day. The degree to which students identified, validated, and expressed, their emotions was a significant predictor of SRG in the current study.

The positive education intervention tested in this study was a factor that significantly predicted the use of the three coping skills during remote learning. More specifically, the more that students reported they had been taught the skills for increasing their levels of “SEARCH” (strengths, emotional management, attention and awareness, relationships, coping, and habits and goals; Waters, 2019 ; Waters and Loton, 2019 ), the more they were likely to utilize adaptive coping skills during remote learning. The positive education intervention in this study predicted 15% of the variance in positive reappraisal, 7% of the variance in emotional processing, and 16% of the variance in strengths use. Additionally, the positive education intervention had an indirect effect on SRG through its impact on the three coping skills. The degree to which students felt they had learnt well-being skills prior to COVID-19 explained 21% of SRG (before including mediators) and 56% of the variance when including the three coping skills. In non-pandemic periods, positive education interventions have been shown to promote coping skills and well-being in students. The current study shows the value of positive education interventions during times of crisis suggesting that this field plays an important role in preparedness and prevention for future challenges ( Almazan et al., 2018 , 2019 ; Mohammadinia et al., 2019 ).

The role of positive education interventions for a student’s ability to grow from the adversity created by COVID-19 has important implications for schools moving forward in the pandemic. At the time of writing this paper, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and parts of Europe have all announced a second wave of lockdown ( Khan et al., 2020 ; Kupferschmidt, 2020 ; Once more with dread, 2020 ) and many schools are moving back into remote learning, with no certainty as to when students will be back on campus. Schools, through a positive education approach, can help students to enhance their psychological immunity and psychological flexibility to this virus in order to cope with the multiple stages of the pandemic they are cycling through ( Arslan et al., 2020 ; Arslan and Allen, 2021 ). Positive education interventions equip students with the vital skills that enable them to build healthy relationships with others – crucial for building social support networks, strong student-teacher alliances ( Allen et al., in press ), and fostering a sense of belonging to their school ( Frydenberg et al., 2012 ; Allen et al., 2017 , 2018 , 2019 ). Given the challenges of social connection occurring during the pandemic, and especially during remote learning, these skills are vital to retain that sense of social connection needed by teens.

Capurso et al. (2020 , p. 66) assert that it is important for schools “to instigate a sense-making process in children by providing an arena where they can process critical events connected to the COVID-19 pandemic at both an emotional and a cognitive level, thereby building up their resilience and minimize the risk of long-lasting trauma.” Several other authors have also called for the need for school-family/school-community partnerships to build “resilient systems” around young people during times of crisis ( Prinstein et al., 1996 ; Brock and Jimerson, 2004 ; Masten and Motti-Stefanidi, 2020 ). Dvorsky et al. (2020 , p. 1) call for “school-wide wellness supports” that promote “adaptive coping and resilience-promoting processes.” Findings from the current study suggest that teaching students how to engage in positive reappraisal, emotional processing, and strengths use will increase their chances of growing through the stress they are experiencing.

The coping skills tested in this study could be seen to provide a “psychological formula” to help students validate the negatives (e.g., through emotional processing) and identify the positives (e.g., through positive reappraisal). Striking the balance between owning the pain and seeing the positives was a key factor in adversarial growth experienced by SARS patients ( Cheng et al., 2006 ). Adding strengths use to positive reappraisal and emotional processing provides the action element to round out a “cognitive-emotion-behavioral approach” recommended by Wang et al. (2020) and helps students to use their strengths to regain a sense of agency in a time of uncertainty. According to Rashid and McGrath (2020 , p. 119), focusing on strengths makes the negative “less powerful” and “reminds us that we have our personal strengths that can carry us through the crisis.”

Limitations

The results of this study must be considered within its limitations. First, the sample was obtained from only one school which was an independent grammar school in Australia (predominantly English speaking). This may limit the generalizability of the findings for students who attend schools from other sectors such as public/Government schools or other faith-based schools and for students in non-WEIRD 1 contexts. Second, the retrospective design means there is potential that the results were influenced by recall bias. Students were asked to complete a single survey recalling two previous time points (prior to the onset of the pandemic, during remote learning) and their SRG in the current return to campus. It is possible that some students either underrated or overrated the degree to which they learned positive education. Under ideal circumstances, student ratings of the skills they were learning through the positive education would have been collected prior to the pandemic; however, because the COVID-19 pandemic was not anticipated, the current design relied on retrospective recall.

Another consideration is the long-term duration of COVID-19 itself. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues through the time of writing this paper (December 2020), and is expected to go on for some time longer, the lasting effects of the pandemic may impact the nature of SRG experienced in students. The role that the duration of this crises plays on SRG is currently unknown, which means that there is benefit in exploring whether SRG grows, stalls, or reverses as the pandemic continues.

To assist adolescents during COVID-19, researchers need to provide a comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of their experiences. The addition of positive education science to the current COVID-19 research helps to provide researchers, teachers, and school psychologists with a deeper understanding of the factors that promote internal resources, strengths, and positive outcomes for teens.

Data Availability Statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. Implied consent was used and approved meaning that written informed consent from the participants’ legal guardian/next of kin was not required to participate in this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

Author Contributions

LW led the research, conceptualized the study, led the study design, sourced the bulk of the research measures, recruited the research site school, and wrote the abstract, introduction, discussion, and references. K-AA led the Ethics approval process, sourced some of the research measures, and wrote the materials and methods and limitations. GA sourced some of the research measures, led the statistical analysis, and wrote the results section. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

1 WEIRD: Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic.

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9 Students Share How They Really Feel About Going Back to School

These students, plus one parent, open up about the wave of emotions that comes with starting a school year unlike any other we've experienced before..

Madeleine Burry

Jessica Fregni

Writer-Editor, One Day

Laura Zingg

Editorial Project Manager, One Day Studio

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the country, students, families, and teachers are navigating the new normal of going back to school—while much of the country still shelters in place.

Some students are preparing for a return to remote learning. Others are still unsure of how exactly they will be attending school this year.

We spoke with a few students and their family members from different schools around the country to learn what school will look like for them this fall. They shared their personal experiences with remote learning and how they feel about going back to school in the middle of a pandemic.

Missing Everything About School

‘i just carry on about my day with no specific emotion’.

Syedah Asghar, College Sophomore, Washington, D.C.

Syedah Asghar will begin her second year of college at American University in Washington, D.C., where she studies public relations and strategic communications. After receiving some mixed messages over the summer about the status of her school reopening, Syedah recently learned that her school’s campus will remain closed for the fall semester. She plans to attend remote classes in a few weeks. And like many college students, she is grappling with staying motivated and missing out on the college experience.

College has been a safe space where I’m the most “me.” I would wake up much happier. I had confidence in my routine, and I was surrounded by friends who made me feel excited to start the day. With online learning, I just carry on about my day with no specific emotion. 

The hardest part about attending college remotely is maintaining a routine and motivation. For in-person classes, I would get dressed and have to physically be present which put a start to my day. Now, I sometimes turn on my computer as soon as I wake up and not give myself the mental space ahead of time to start my day. On the plus side, with online learning, there is a lot more flexibility in my schedule since I’m able to complete an assignment on my own timeframe. Most of my professors are honoring mental health, and are more understanding of external factors that impact the quality of education now that we're learning remotely.

Being part of the Enduring Ideas Fellowship has kept me busy working 20 hours a week. I’m also trying to get creative by learning how to cook and attempting new recipes. With my friends, we’ve all been checking-in and making sure we’re able to support one another through these mentally-draining times. Only two of my professors have reached out and asked how we’re doing, so there isn’t much support on that end. 

While it can be mentally challenging and exhausting, I’m very fortunate to have access to technology and internet connection so I can complete my coursework. And I’m able to stay at home and quarantine if need be.

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‘I'm Hoping That Jose Goes Back, Even Though I Know It's Scary’

Marisol Escobedo & Jose Manrrique, 4th grade, Kansas City, Missouri

Fourth-grade student  Jose Manrrique is returning to school at Carver Dual Language in Kansas City, Missouri, in September—virtually, for now. Schools in the Kansas City Public School System will not reopen for in-person instruction until the community’s COVID-19 cases decrease for at least 14 days. While Jose eagerly awaits the day when he can return to the classroom and see his teachers and friends again, his mother, Marisol Escobedo, feels much more conflicted.

Marisol: They're going to be starting online school first, on September 8th. They will do that for a couple of months while the cases keep decreasing, then they will start putting some of the kids back in school. I'm hoping that Jose goes back, even though I know it's scary at the same time for him to go. I'm really worried that he will get sick. I don't want to go through that, it scares me. But I really would like Jose to be able to develop his learning so that he can learn what he's supposed to in school. 

I don't really think that Jose learned much from online classes. Even though I know that the teachers do their best to teach them as much as they can, I don't think it's the same for the kids. 

Especially the younger ages, I think that it's hard for them to be able to teach them everything on a computer—especially because you have multiple children at the same time in the class. For an older student, like my sister, I know that she did really good because she's older. She's 16 and she already knows what she's doing. But for Jose, it was hard.

I'm hoping that they will make the school safe for students, to try to keep them as healthy as they can. I don't know what that process will be, but I'm hoping that everything that they do, they will plan it well. 

Jose:   I want to go back in the school building. I'm hoping that I can still play with my friends and also be in the same class with my friends.

Adapting to a New Normal

‘i have to push myself to get things done’.

Haanya Ijaz, 12th Grade, Dublin, Ohio

Haanya Ijaz is a rising senior at Hilliard Davidson, in Dublin, Ohio where she will be attending remote classes in the fall. She’s also taking classes at Ohio State University, which will be solely online. While she finds in-person classes more interesting and also values the face-to-face time with friends, she knows online learning is safer, and also allows her to independently create a schedule that works for her.

Online classes are definitely a lot more organized this fall than before.

I also think I've gained skills with handling procrastination and sticking to a schedule, so I should be more organized this fall. [The hardest part about online learning is] staying interested and motivated. Without sticking to a schedule, I easily fall into a cycle of procrastination and feeling down, so I have to push myself to get things done and stay on top of my responsibilities. 

Most of my classes should be done before 4 p.m., leaving me room to work on college apps and extracurriculars in the afternoon along with homework. 

I also think I'll have more time for my personal hobbies and interests which have always been something that give me a break outside of academics and keep my mental health in check. I read a lot! I also sketch landscapes, my friends, and characters from my favorite shows. Recently I've gotten back into skateboarding after a one-year-long hiatus, which has been great.

[I feel worried about] college applications and the situation with the state-administered SAT. It's still very gray. [I’m hopeful about my] self-growth and exploration with this extra time at home! I am also looking forward to the remote internship opportunities I will be participating in this fall. 

I would obviously love it if COVID-19 did not exist, but within the current parameters of the situation I'm excited for the courses I am taking and the extracurriculars I am involved in. I also have a huge list of books I need to get through, so staying at home is going to be great for that!

{ #card.dateline #}

Nothing Feels Normal Anymore

‘I Walked Out of My High School for the Last Time Without Knowing It’

Becoming a Teacher During the Pandemic

‘I’m Feeling Hopeful About My Ability to Sit in on More Online Classes’

Annabel Morley, 12th Grade, Baltimore, Maryland

Annabel Morley is a rising senior at the Baltimore School of Arts. At least the beginning of Annabel’s final year of high school will be spent at home, where she will be learning remotely. Although Annabel worries about how engaging and supportive online learning will be this year, she’s found a silver lining: More time at home means that she has more time for her artistic pursuits which include writing for CHARM , an online literary magazine that amplifies voices of Baltimore youth and spending time with her family.

I’m not really sure yet what my school day will look like, but I know it will be entirely online. I definitely don’t think I would feel very safe going back to school in person unless CDC guidelines were followed really well. Both my parents are at risk and I wouldn’t want to put them, or my friends’ families, at risk.

The hardest part of attending school remotely is definitely not seeing any of my school friends in person and having some difficulty understanding the content. We have a lot less academic support. I’m most worried about understanding what's going on in my classes—especially in math. I hope that we can find a way for online schooling to be more engaging because it was very difficult to understand or stay focused on a class last spring. 

Now that school is online, I definitely have more time to work on personal projects and interests. For example, I’ve started crocheting and oil painting, and have made a bunch of clothes. During quarantine, I've mainly been doing lots of crafts and baking, Facetiming, and having safe outdoor hangouts with my friends.

My mom and I are really close so it's been nice to be able to spend more time with her, and with all the Facetiming with my friends, I feel like I’ve been really loved and supported during this time. I’m feeling hopeful about my ability to sit in on more online classes and teach myself artistic and personal skills.

‘Honestly, I Would Prefer Learning in a Virtual Setting’

Amia Roach-Valandra, 12th Grade, Rosebud, South Dakota

Amia Roach-Valandra will begin her senior year of high school this fall on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. She is also an Enduring Ideas fellow, a student-led leadership initiative to reimagine the future of education. Amia's school will be online during the first quarter, with plans to reevaluate whether to open for in-person classes. Like many students and families, Amia is feeling anxious not knowing what lies ahead.

In this new school year, we are faced with challenges that we never had to face before. My high school reached a decision to go online for the first quarter and have a revaluation in nine weeks. As a student I feel in the dark about the decision that is being made, and anxious about it. If the school isn’t prepared yet, how do they expect students to be prepared? 

Not having a normal school setting may not allow me to be the best student I can be. I’ll have the safety of my health top of mind instead of learning the curriculum. Honestly, I would prefer learning in a virtual setting, and being able to learn from the comfort of my own home. I know I would be able to stay on top of assignments, although I know some students may not feel the same. 

I am also a student-athlete, and I am worried about my school's plan regarding sports. It is definitely a piece of my life that I would want to go back to normal, yet I want to be considerate of my health as well as others. A lot of students depend on sports as a place to escape for a while, and others depend on sports scholarships for college. I am also thinking about those students and how much that will impact them this school year.

‘My Overall Mental and Physical Health Improved Significantly’

Tehle Ross, 10th Grade, Baltimore, Maryland

Tehle Ross is a rising sophomore attending Baltimore City College and a contributor for CHARM , a digital magazine featuring voices of Baltimore youth. She loves studying history and plans to study abroad this year in Italy, a country that has made a remarkable recovery through the pandemic. Her Italian school will be a hybrid of online and in-person at the beginning of the year and Tehle is optimistic about transitioning to all in-person classes.

Attending school remotely has several benefits and shortcomings alike. Each family's living and working situation is different; however, in my personal experience, I noticed that my overall mental and physical health improved significantly when doing school online. I was less stressed because I was able to space out my work as I desired, and I also was able to complete every assignment from the comfort of my own home. Attending school remotely stunted my academic progress, though, I believe, for I am a more focused student when instruction takes place in the classroom with my peers.

The hardest part of attending school remotely was the social isolation from my classmates and teachers. At school, you always feel like you have a community around you, and it is tough to not feel that same sense of community when learning online at home. Additionally, it takes an innate sense of motivation to get assignments done in a timely manner when you are doing work online.

Quarantine has been tough for us all, but I cope and stay busy by doing what makes me happy. I have developed a passion for baking, and I have also been an avid reader and writer. Having game nights with my family and watching movies together lifts my spirits.

My community has been supporting me during this time by checking up on me and staying in touch virtually. Supporting others during this time means prioritizing their safety.

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Worries and Hopes About the Next Chapter

‘this pandemic is serious, but people have stopped taking it seriously’.

Shubhan Bhat, 11th Grade, Baltimore, Maryland

Shubhan Bhat will also begin 11th grade this fall at The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He enjoys poetry, writing for CHARM  magazine, and studying American government. His school will hold online classes this fall and possibly offer a hybrid option later on. Shubhan prefers remote learning because it’s less stressful and safer for students. But being at home while trying to learn has also been very difficult for Shubhan and his family. 

With remote learning, I gained more time to finish my work, had less stress, and more free time. What is lost is the social aspect of the classes, which is fine with me. I’m hopeful that online classes will be safer than an in-person school and there will be less work.

The hardest part about attending school remotely is being in the house when events happen. I was in my English class when the paramedics came to my house to try and revive my grandfather. I watched my grandfather die right in the middle of class. At that point, because my maternal grandfather also died a month ago, I lost all my motivation to be in class or do work. I left class, and haven’t come back since.

I’ve been getting support through classes and therapy. My family tries to work together on activities so I won’t be depressed during quarantine. My teachers also made my classes optional last spring so that decreased my stress. I don’t really have a lot of friends or go on social media as much as I used to. It used to entertain me, but it’s starting to get boring.

I wish schools in Texas and Florida wouldn't be in-person. I find that in-person classes during the pandemic aren't safe because students are going out in public and have a greater risk of spreading COVID. This pandemic is serious, but people have stopped taking it seriously. And now there is an increase in cases.

‘I Fear All of My College Plans Will Go Out the Window’

Me’Shiah Bell, 11th Grade, Baltimore Maryland

Me’Shiah Bell is a rising 11th grader at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, where students will continue to receive remote instruction this fall. While Me’Shiah believes that remote learning is the best and safest option for now, she worries about what remote learning will mean for her college plans—especially since she’s entering her junior year, a critical time for college admissions. In her free time, Me’Shiah also writes for CHARM online magazine.

I think remote learning is the best option, as it is the safest. However, I think there are quite a few downsides. 

I miss the social interactions, but I realize that it’s unimportant in the long run. The main downside for me is the lack of clarity and communication between the students and teachers. For example, last spring I had a grading error that would have been fixed immediately if I was physically at school. However, since I wasn’t there, there was no sense of urgency, and my concern was disregarded by multiple adults. This caused the situation to be pushed over for much longer than it should’ve been. 

Hopefully, this fall we’ll have a better system to avoid issues like this. I also hope classes will be scheduled like a typical school day, with multiple sessions in a row, and independent work to do between classes. Last spring, teachers could decide if and when classes sessions were held, and everything was very unorganized. Sometimes, the sessions would overlap with other responsibilities I had. 

The hardest part of remote learning has been keeping myself motivated and holding myself accountable. I’m going into my junior year, which is probably the most important year for college admissions, and I don’t feel like I’m able to put my best foot forward. I’ve worked hard to get to the point I’m at now, and I fear that all of my college plans will go out of the window due to circumstances out of my control.

Overall, I’m worried about how prepared I am mentally to adjust to such a huge change, while still continuing to perform well academically. I’m hopeful that my school will be more prepared to accommodate all of our needs so that everyone can have the best possible experience.

‘I Think COVID Gave Me a New Story to Tell the Next Generation’

Rosalie Bobbett, 12th Grade, Brooklyn, New York

This August, Rosalie Bobbett will begin her senior year at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA). The first three weeks of school will be held online, after which she will alternate one week of in-person classes and one week of remote learning. Rosalie lives with her parents, siblings, grandmother, and uncle so she’s been extra cautious about quarantining. Going back to in-person classes will be a big adjustment. But she’s ready.

My school is really on top of safety. They're going to make us wear masks. And we have to get a COVID test before we enter the school building. For in-person classes, we're going to stay in one room with 12 other people. The teachers have to rotate to us instead of us traveling in a big group. 

I think with online learning, it gives me an opportunity to move at my own pace and take accountability for my learning. The disadvantages are the lack of talking to people and being in the classroom. I'm very fortunate to be in a school where I have a computer. I know how to work Zoom. I know how to work from Microsoft. Most of my peers don’t even have a computer. And so I'm wondering—how are those students navigating this world right now?

I feel like a lot of students are going to be left behind because of resources or their parents—there might be other children in the home and it's going to be difficult for them to take care of their siblings. The teachers and principals and people who are responsible for their education—I don't want them to lose sight of that child who is behind the screen.

I’m excited about school. It's my senior year. This is the last chapter before entering my adulthood. I think COVID gave me a new story to tell the next generation. It's going to be a lot of mixed emotions, but I know my teachers are going to make my senior year the best that they can.

More Community Voices

“ COVID-19: Community Voices ” offers a glimpse of life and learning during the coronavirus school closures, in the words of students and parents in the communities we serve.

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Covid Changed Student Behavior—How Are Schools Responding?

In a visit to schools throughout Northern California, a reporter finds that teachers are still struggling with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It’s getting late down by the Oakland, California, harbor. The winter afternoon sun blares through the west windows of the Downtown Charter Academy (DCA); the rays force teachers to angle their grade-level team meetings toward the shadows. Three P.E. educators huddle in a classic training stance for the last hour of a daylong professional development: elbows on knees, shoulders curled, heads cocked up at whoever’s speaking. 

“It’s, like, totally flipped from before,” says Coach Gregg Pentony. “Used to be that most of the sixth graders would come in able to run the mile, and you’d usually be able to tell ahead of time which ones were going to struggle. Now? Now it’s the opposite: Most kids can’t make it, even the ones who look like they should be able to.” 

His colleagues nod along and commiserate. The pandemic’s homebound isolation did a number on kids’ fitness, they agree. In this, their students are typical— data suggest that the pandemic cost kids exercise all over the world . 

But children weren’t just physically languishing on their couches. Social life also stalled for much of 2020 and even into 2021, depriving kids of regular practice living, growing, and learning among their peers. Teachers are still seeing the impacts today. “I think they’re still resocializing,” says sixth-grade DCA teacher Kimberly Chang. “The way people interact in an online space is how students now interact in real-life space—no filter. And that was already hard for middle schoolers before the pandemic: that act of stopping, taking a moment to form your words and think through the consequences of each choice.”

Almost three years since the pandemic started and roughly 16 months since U.S. schools were universally reopened for in-person learning, the country has largely settled into its postpandemic “normal.” Covid-19 mitigation measures have largely vanished, and the federal government has declared that the pandemic is no longer an emergency . 

But it’s increasingly clear that these decisions didn’t suddenly end the pandemic’s impacts on kids. While there’s ample—and largely warranted—public concern about learning loss, this narrow framing underestimates the breadth and depth of the pandemic’s effect on children’s well-being. A real recovery will require not just intensive academic interventions, but also intentional efforts to rebuild students’ social skills and their sense of belonging in their school communities. That remains the central paradox facing teachers today: Despite all the attention being paid to “lost” learning, schools won’t actually be able to get kids back on track academically without doing more to address the pandemic’s deeper social and emotional impacts.  

Lingering Signs of Dysfunction

For at least the past two years, public education discourse has focused on getting students caught up to “normal” academic expectations for their grade levels. Each new round of the Nation’s Report Card brings fresh hand-wringing over the ways that Covid-19 derailed academic trajectories. 

But on a recent reporting tour of schools in Northern California, teachers told me that academic recovery is stalling as it encounters the consequences of prolonged social isolation and disrupted learning time. 

Early data on children’s mental well-being during ( and even before ) the pandemic should have been a warning sign. By May 2021, for example, 71 percent of families said the pandemic was negatively affecting their children’s mental health, and social isolation topped families’ list of unhealthy aspects of the pandemic—ahead of remote learning, excessive screen time, and even fear of the virus itself. It was inevitable that kids brought these struggles—and rusty social skills—back to campus as schools reopened. 

On cue, student misbehavior spiked in 2021, EducationWeek ’s Research Center reported, and has not improved through the early months of 2023, when the researchers last checked in with schools. Children’s marination in technology is an inescapable part of this story: The pandemic reignited a national debate about children’s access to and reliance on screens, with new studies suggesting possible links between smartphone usage, social media, and youth mental health challenges. A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that nonacademic adolescent screen time roughly doubled during the early pandemic, to an astonishing 7.7 hours per day. The researchers concluded that “despite the gradual reversal of quarantine restrictions, studies have suggested that screen use may remain persistently elevated.” In response to widespread concern from teachers, schools and districts are wrestling with ways of restricting student cell phone and technology use on campus. 

Accordingly, DCA’s eighth-grade team spends part of their professional development day huddling over how to manage in-school technology. They commiserate over the difficulty of keeping kids on task and off the internet during lessons and then share tips for limiting distractions. One teacher says he’s resorted to giving students free time on their school-assigned computers at the end of a lesson and then using the school’s classroom dashboard app to block inappropriate websites they visit. Another teacher periodically projects students’ dashboard screens onto the whiteboard so that their online activity is visible to the class. 

Technology is only one variable making it harder for many kids to reacclimate to ordinary classroom activities like small group work and class discussion. Two days after DCA’s professional development, a seventh-grade science class at the school is eerily quiet. Students complete a short assignment on geological time scales, and the teacher begins to work through the questions on their sheets. “OK,” he announces cheerfully. “What landforms occur at different locations on Earth?” 

No one volunteers a response. When the teacher calls on a student, she murmurs something that’s too quiet to hear, then shrugs and smooshes up her cheeks with her hands. He tries another student, then suggests that kids discuss their answers with classmates in their table groups. Despite the low-stress, open-ended format, the discussions flounder. “I know we just switched groups,” he pleads, “but you still know the people at your table. Don’t be afraid to talk.”

Strategies for Reengaging and Reconnecting 

Educators around the country are experiencing similar classroom dynamics and are scrambling to reengage with students. “Kids need more than ever to feel safe in a school space, they need to feel engaged in that space, they need to feel like the behaviors of that space support their mental health and well-being,” says Houston Kraft, the cofounder of CharacterStrong, a social and emotional learning curriculum. “It needs to feel like we are collectively honoring what happened and not just trying to go back to business as usual, because collectively, young people are like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” 

How can schools design “whole child” approaches to meet the full range of children’s needs at this particular, charged moment? Experiences from two Bay Area campuses, San Jose’s Edenvale Elementary and Oakland International High School, offer useful lessons for educators seeking to reengage students and support their social and emotional development. 

Defining the scope of the problem: Though the student well-being crisis is shaping teachers’ daily work around the country, the particulars of students’ social and emotional needs may vary by community, campus, classroom, and individual. Schools will be more effective if they have a clear understanding of their students’ specific challenges.

Upon seeing increased rates of chronic absenteeism after the pandemic, Edenvale, a K–6 school in San Jose, California, designed and administered surveys to identify students’ views of their own well-being. What they found was jarring: In the 2021–22 school year, only 53 percent of elementary students reported that they could connect with an adult on campus, and the number dropped to 42 percent for middle schoolers. A report issued in 2015 by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child suggests that a stable relationship with even one caring adult in school, meanwhile, increases student resilience and improves coping strategies.

Focusing on belonging: Staff members at Edenvale combed through their survey data to identify children who said they felt disconnected from the school. In a professional development session, they sifted through the list and assigned themselves to students, ensuring that each child had at least one adult dedicated to regularly checking in and forging a deeper relationship (you can see a similar strategy in practice at Cold Springs Middle School in Nevada, in the video below). Since research shows that students learn best when they are part of a community of trusting relationships, the school prioritized trust building in these connections.

Similarly, when the pandemic forced it to close, Oakland International High School, which serves newly arrived immigrants in Oakland, assigned educators call lists to (1) check on students’ overall well-being and (2) provide students with targeted practice in conversational English phrases to help them navigate new pandemic pressures. After reopening, these “case management” check-ins have continued: Educators and noninstructional staff alike commit to regular chats to ask how students are feeling, identify broader challenges they and their families may be facing, and help connect them with community resources to improve learning outcomes.

Funding real change: Fully addressing students’ current needs requires more than just identifying challenges and setting new priorities. In many cases, the scope of the problem will require a shift in budgetary allocations or staffing. Edenvale, for example, committed some of its federal ESSER pandemic recovery funds to adding counseling capacity and opening a wellness center where students can go to reset themselves socially and emotionally when things get tough. 

Oakland International found a local grant to enhance the school’s after-school programming with the aim of reengaging students and improving their attendance. The school partnered with a local nonprofit, Soccer Without Borders (SWB). The goal was to entice students to attend school so that they didn’t miss their biweekly after-school soccer practices, but SWB also incorporates case management practices, checking in with students and connecting them with community services when needed. Perhaps most important, says SWB founder Ben Gucciardi, the work of building a soccer team helps “students from different backgrounds and different cultures… work together concretely.” In other words, the team helps students find their place on campus—to find a sense of belonging. 

Reworking school spaces for a new era: In response to the stresses of the pandemic, Edenvale created unique, supervised spaces to build students’ sense of belonging on campus—beginning with the Wellness Center. After seeing that some students were struggling to reacclimate to the noise and intensity of recess, first-grade teacher Kerry Sommer began opening up her classroom for quiet group play or reading time.

To help students navigate the social tensions and mental health challenges that accompanied returning to in-person learning, Oakland International launched student affinity groups, usually organized around students’ ethnicities or home languages. They developed in response to the school’s desire to “create space for students to share what’s coming up [with] an adult who reflects their community and can support it,” says administrator Madenh Hassan. They give students a chance to process challenges—social, emotional, academic, and otherwise—with peers as part of rebuilding their sense of belonging on campus.

Can public education return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic?

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, paul t. hill and paul t. hill founder - the center on reinventing public education, research professor - the university of washington bothell, former nonresident senior fellow - the brookings institution ashley jochim ashley jochim senior research analyst, center on reinventing public education - university of washington-bothell @aejochim.

October 29, 2020

In the familiar nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty fell off a great wall and couldn’t be put back together again. After being broken apart by COVID-19, will public education be like Humpty, or can it be put back just as it was? The latter possibility seems simple enough: Wait until the pandemic is over and then, after a year of coping, bring all the students and teachers back into schools as if the shutdown had never happened.

But it won’t be so simple. The shutdown has caused new conflicts among and between parents , teachers , employers , and district leaders, as all negotiate the details of remote learning and whether schools should begin to offer in-person instruction. The crisis has also amplified long-brewing conflicts about inequitable funding and access to quality teachers and effective instruction , as the differences between educational “haves” and “have-nots” have widened .

For now, public education is in chaos, with different schooling combinations of in-person hybrid, fully remote, and plain homeschooling evident—sometimes all in one locality. The politics now and in the foreseeable future will be fierce, just as we predicted in an earlier Chalkboard post. Even when the health crisis wanes, there will be pressures in two directions: one to put the old arrangements back into place just as they were before the pandemic hit, and the other to keep the crisis adaptations that have worked, at least for some students and their families.

Colliding Pressures

We think a return to the pre-coronavirus status quo will prove impossible. Yes, there are strong pressures for a complete return to the pre-pandemic normal. According to CIVIS Analytics , of the families whose children enrolled in new options as a result of the pandemic, 82% say they would like to return to their pre-COVID-19 school once the crisis is over. States, by holding school districts harmless against enrollment losses suffered this year, are making sure the old arrangements don’t collapse. Some crisis adaptations, such as learning pods for children who need help and supervision when schools are not open, depend on private investments that might dry up once the crisis is over.

But there are serious barriers to putting everything back just as it was. The pre-COVID-19 school system was a product of years of small deals, governing everything from curriculum textbook contents to district budgets to the choice of holidays. These deals reflect the politics of days gone by. Today’s politics are very different.

No longer are school districts and teachers’ unions the only arbiters of instruction. Left without safe supervision and effective teaching, advantaged families are turning to private schools, homeschooling, and pandemic pods to fill the gaps. Families, long relegated to the outside of education, are by necessity playing a central role in shaping their children’s education. School leaders and teachers have adapted to the demands of remote learning by identifying new strategies to engage parents and students. Long-standing assumptions about when, where, and how instruction must occur are shifting in ways that make it impossible to simply return to “normal.”

New Politics Continue After 2020-2021

Coronavirus-based disruptions to schools could continue until at least 2024 , and worries about contagion will not go away. Lack of trust among parents about vaccinations and health practices, and worries about especially vulnerable children and teachers, will persist beyond this school year. When students do eventually return to the classroom, parents, teachers, and school systems will confront the reality of missed learning and trauma that will necessitate something other than a simple restart. Advantaged and disadvantaged families alike could demand new investments in small learning communities like pods, tutoring, and emotional support they have come to trust.

At the same time, districts will be struggling with declining enrollment and revenue losses due to the recession. If large numbers of advantaged families who have fled to schooling options outside of public education don’t return, districts won’t have the money to return to normal. Larger urban districts, in particular, will face mismatches between their central office structures and teacher corps as well as the demands and expectations of families.

Teachers’ unions have been strong opponents of a quick return to in-person schooling, but they also have a strong stake in continuing arrangements that leave negotiations over schooling behind closed doors and protect traditional uses of funds and teachers. Unions will eventually want a return to the old normal, but their memberships will likely be divided, with some teachers fearing a return to in-person schooling, some preferring new methods of instruction developed during the pandemic, and others favoring a return to in-person school. Whether teachers’ unions can hold together will depend upon school systems’ mounting effective responses to the crisis in the years to come that meet the changing needs of students, parents, and even teachers themselves.

State and local leadership also have a role to play in what happens next. States that are now requiring schools to reopen, largely led by Republicans, provide some political cover to local district leaders fighting unions’ resistance to in-person instruction. But partisan pressures might weaken after the election posturing ends. Even if partisan state pressures continue, these can’t bypass conflicts among parents and teachers, or prevent enrollment losses. Nor will state pressures stop families, teachers, and school leaders from testing new approaches to deal with day-to-day realities and learning from the results.

What Could Emerge

Horses and men couldn’t put Humpty back together, but good, new things can be built from parts. Forward-looking districts are using this moment to develop creative new possibilities, such as expanding access to their most-effective teachers via remote learning, building new learning communities to serve small groups of students in person, and expanding access to services like tutoring, mentoring, counseling, and enrichment. Some families, left with few options, have charted new paths by forming pods, joining microschools, and taking a much bigger role in ensuring their children have access to adequate instruction and social-emotional supports. Some are assembling their own combinations of in-person and online learning experiences. These efforts could supplement traditional schools or in some cases replace them.

Local leaders who can use this moment to test new approaches to delivering instruction and build new sources of political support will be better positioned to build on these approaches after the COVID-19 crisis. Regardless of how long or short a time the current pandemic lasts, the “normal” in politics and schooling is unlikely to return anytime soon.

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12 Ideas for Writing Through the Pandemic With The New York Times

A dozen writing projects — including journals, poems, comics and more — for students to try at home.

By Natalie Proulx

The coronavirus has transformed life as we know it. Schools are closed, we’re confined to our homes and the future feels very uncertain. Why write at a time like this?

For one, we are living through history. Future historians may look back on the journals, essays and art that ordinary people are creating now to tell the story of life during the coronavirus.

But writing can also be deeply therapeutic. It can be a way to express our fears, hopes and joys. It can help us make sense of the world and our place in it.

Plus, even though school buildings are shuttered, that doesn’t mean learning has stopped. Writing can help us reflect on what’s happening in our lives and form new ideas.

We want to help inspire your writing about the coronavirus while you learn from home. Below, we offer 12 projects for students, all based on pieces from The New York Times, including personal narrative essays, editorials, comic strips and podcasts. Each project features a Times text and prompts to inspire your writing, as well as related resources from The Learning Network to help you develop your craft. Some also offer opportunities to get your work published in The Times, on The Learning Network or elsewhere.

We know this list isn’t nearly complete. If you have ideas for other pandemic-related writing projects, please suggest them in the comments.

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Masks Strongly Recommended but Not Required in Maryland, Starting Immediately

Due to the downward trend in respiratory viruses in Maryland, masking is no longer required but remains strongly recommended in Johns Hopkins Medicine clinical locations in Maryland. Read more .

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COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know

The COVID-19 vaccine is very good at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. Because the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to change, vaccines are updated to help fight the disease. It is important to check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 vaccine information for the latest details. (Posted 11/22/23)

What is the COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine lessens the severity of COVID-19 by teaching the immune system to recognize and fight the virus that causes the disease.

For fall/winter 2023–2024, the updated COVID-19 vaccine is based on the XBB.1.5 variant. The updated vaccine is made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. This season, only one shot of the vaccine is needed for most people, and there are no boosters. (People who are immunocompromised or ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one 2023–2024 vaccine.)

How is the 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine different from previous COVID-19 vaccines?

The 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine targets XBB.1.5, a subvariant of Omicron. While none of the variants currently circulating are exact matches to the vaccine, they are all closely related to the XBB.1.5 strain. Studies show that the updated vaccine is effective against the  variants currently causing the majority of COVID-19 cases  in the U.S.

Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Because the 2023–2024 vaccine is effective for recent strains of COVID-19, it is recommended that everyone stay up to date with this vaccine. Previous vaccines or boosters were not developed to target the more recent strains. For 2023–2024, the CDC recommends:

• Everyone age 5 and older receive one shot of the updated vaccine.
• Children ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one shot to be up to date.
• People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may need more than one shot.

You can review the full recommendations on the CDC’s Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines webpage . Be sure to talk to your primary care doctor or pediatrician if you are unsure about vaccine recommendations.

What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine?

Side effects vary and may last one to three days. Common side effects are:

• Soreness at the injection site

COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy

COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safe and recommended for people who are pregnant or lactating, as well as for those r intending to become pregnant.

People who are pregnant or were recently pregnant are at a greater risk for severe COVID-19. Having a severe case of COVID-19 while pregnant is linked to a higher risk of pre-term birth and stillbirth and might increase the risk of other pregnancy complications.

What should parents know about the COVID-19 vaccine and children?

The CDC recommends the 2023–2024 vaccine for adolescents and teenagers ages 12 and older, and for children ages 6 months through 11 years.

• Children age 5 and older need one shot of the updated vaccine.

Children are less likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 than adults, although serious illness can happen. Speak with your pediatrician if you have questions about having your child vaccinated.

If I recently had COVID-19, do I need a 2023–2024 vaccine?

If you recently had COVID-19, the CDC recommends waiting about three months before getting this updated vaccine. If you encounter the virus again, having the updated vaccine will:

• Lessen your risk of severe disease that could require hospitalization
• Reduce the chance that you infect someone else with COVID-19
• Help keep you protected from currently circulating COVID-19 variants

How long should I wait to get this vaccine if I recently had an earlier version of a COVID-19 vaccine or booster?

People age 5 years and older should wait at least two months after getting the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine before receiving the 2023–2024 vaccine,  according to CDC guidance .

Is natural immunity better than a vaccine?

Natural immunity is the antibody protection your body creates against a germ once you’ve been infected with it. Natural immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 is no better than vaccine-acquired immunity, and it comes with far greater risks. Studies show that natural immunity to the virus weakens over time and does so faster than immunity provided by COVID-19 vaccination.

Do I need a COVID-19 booster?

The 2023–2024 vaccine is a one-shot vaccine for most people, and there is no booster this season. (People who are immunocompromised or ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one 2023–2024 vaccine.)

The FDA calls this an updated vaccine (not a “booster” like previous shots) because it builds a new immune response to variants that are currently circulating. This change reflects the current approach of treating COVID-19 similarly to the flu, with preventive measures such as an annual vaccination.

When should I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Like the flu and other respiratory diseases, COVID-19 tends to be more active in the fall and winter, so getting a vaccine in the fall is recommended.

How quickly does the COVID-19 vaccine become effective?

It usually takes about two weeks for the vaccine to become effective. The CDC website provides more information on how the COVID-19 vaccines work .

How long does the COVID-19 vaccine last?

Studies suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are most effective during the first three months after vaccination.

Is it safe to get a flu and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time?

Yes, it safe to get both shots at the same time. Keep in mind that each has similar side effects and you may experience side effects from both.

Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?

Yes. COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA meet rigorous testing criteria and are safe and effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. Millions of people have received the vaccines, and the CDC continues to monitor their safety and effectiveness as well as rare adverse events.

Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine is available at pharmacies. See vaccines.gov to find a convenient location.

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• Infectious Diseases

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How to Protect Yourself and Others

CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance  provides strategies you can use to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. These actions can help you lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission (spreading or catching COVID-19) and lower the risk of severe illness if you get sick.

Core Prevention Strategies

CDC recommends that all people use core prevention strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID-19:

• Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19.
• Practice good hygiene  (practices that improve cleanliness)
• Take steps for cleaner air

When you are sick:

• Learn when you can go back to your normal activities .
• Seek health care promptly for testing and/or treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness . Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness, but it needs to be started within a few days of when your symptoms begin.

Additional Prevention Strategies

In addition, there are other prevention strategies that you can choose to further protect yourself and others.

• Wearing a mask and putting distance between yourself and others  can help lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
• Testing for COVID-19 can help you decide what to do next, like getting treatment to reduce your risk of severe illness and taking steps  to lower your chances of spreading COVID-19 to others.

Key Times for Prevention

Using these prevention strategies can be especially helpful when:

• Respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV, are causing a lot of illness in your community
• You or those around you have risk factors  for severe illness
• You or those around you were recently exposed to a respiratory virus, are sick, or are recovering

Check Your Community

Find out if respiratory viruses are causing a lot of illness in your community. Data updated weekly.

Learn more about all three of these respiratory viruses, who is most at risk, and how they are affecting your state right now. You can use some of the same strategies to protect yourself from all three viruses.

Get the Latest on COVID-19, Flu, and RSV

• COVID-19 Testing
• COVID-19 Vaccines
• COVID-19 Treatments and Medications
• Preventing Respiratory Viruses
• Protect Yourself from COVID-19, Flu, and RSV

Additional Resources

• Respirators and Masks
• Improving Ventilation in Your Home
• Improving Ventilation In Buildings

Search for and find historical COVID-19 pages and files. Please note the content on these pages and files is no longer being updated and may be out of date.

• Visit archive.cdc.gov for a historical snapshot of the COVID-19 website, capturing the end of the Federal Public Health Emergency on June 28, 2023.
• Visit the dynamic COVID-19 collection  to search the COVID-19 website as far back as July 30, 2021.

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• You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
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