Impact of COVID-19 on education in the USA

Nearly all industries and aspects of our lives have been affected by the spread of COVID-19. And education is not an exception. It faced so many challenges in these uncertain times that its system was completely transformed. Some schools were closed while others managed to somehow adapt to the new reality.

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a near-total shutdown of school buildings, so at their peak, the closures impacted at least 55.1 million students in 124,000 U.S. schools. For more information, check  the detailed coverage of the pandemic and its influence on American schools.

The 2020-21 school year is going to be challenging due to a historic disruption of education. This national map tracks the situation in each state and provides updated information on the school statuses. The states colored in yellow allow schools to make decisions regarding in-person instruction on their own but provide them guidelines and recommendations. The schools in states that are in red on the map are fully closed, so in-person instruction is forbidden there. In blue-colored states, schools must provide students with in-person instruction either full- or part-time. The states marked with light red allow hybrid instruction or restrict in-person instruction for certain regions of the state or certain age groups.

Currently, schools have made a huge shift toward online courses. Though it’s impressive how they did it so quickly, the effects on both teaching and learning are very mixed. Even those schools that already had a viable online system before the pandemic are struggling with adaptation to an entirely virtual program.

Today, both teachers and students experience major difficulties at school. As the adaptation process is long and not easy, there may be a dramatic drop in the academic achievements of most students. To avoid it, they often decide to get quality help at EduBirdie which is a qualified service that can complete an essay or any other kind of academic assignment for students. Using writing help from Edubirdie can be a solution for students who fall behind with the studies during the pandemic.

The Coronavirus forced all educational institutions to explore digital options and other ways of studying beyond traditional schooling. To ensure that education does not stop completely for many students, studying in digital classrooms has become a new reality. Moreover, parents have started taking a more active role in educating their children as classrooms merge with homes now. It helped to strengthen the bonding between parents and their children and improved the collaboration with teachers.

With the uncertainty of  school closures, teachers have moved on from being just knowledge providers to a larger role. Nowadays, they have taken on the additional role of counselors to provide support to students who may be suffering due to the lockdown. In current circumstances, teachers need to think out of the box to come up with creative teaching solutions. Certainly, they have to keep updated with all the essential online tools to be able to teach a digital classroom with the same or higher efficiency than a physical classroom.

Undoubtedly, schools that transitioned all learning to online in a very short period of time can observe the impact of virtual learning on students’ success as well as retention. Brian Jones, director of admissions at Minnesota State University, says that the retention rates and tuition revenues decline in many institutions because fewer students are successful in their courses due to the current circumstances. Also, colleges are not able to actively engage with potential students through various on-campus experiences, for instance, admitted student days or open houses. No matter how many webinars a college organizes, they are not so impactful for students who want to get a feel for a certain campus.

All in all, the coronavirus crisis in the educational sector made people reimagine the way learning experience is delivered to students. Alongside the challenges, it gave an opportunity to break out of outdated habits and create innovative relevant learning models that take advantage of modern technology. Unintentionally, education is becoming significantly more accessible.

But even when schools open again, education will be very different. Apart from some infrastructural changes that ensure social distancing and safety norms, most social events that involve big gatherings such as inter-school events, sports events, and excursions may have to be put on hold.

Author’s Bio

Emma Rundle is an experienced tutor and academic writer at a top essay service. Emma realizes all the difficulties students face in their education so she does her best to help them adapt to the new reality. Emma organizes webinars and online workshops that teach students essential skills of being efficient during the pandemic.