AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News) – The head of the Texas Education Agency gave a stark assessment of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on school operations and student achievement.
Mike Morath told members of the Texas Department of Education Wednesday that ongoing outbreaks of the virus within school districts has led to closures and lapses in learning which he said led to the undoing of years of progress.
“COVID hit and you can see the degree of decline that has occurred. In mathematics, very clearly lost a decade worth of academic progress. The impact on elementary and middle school students has been nothing short of catastrophic,” he said.
Morath said school districts statewide are constantly having to deal with the threat of an outbreak due to community spread amid an ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Princeton ISD in Collin County had to close the Smith Elementary School campus this week until September 7th due to a COVID-19 outbreak among students and staff.
Connally ISD, located in north Waco, closed all of its campuses this week until after the Labor Day holiday after two teachers died of the virus within days of one another. Both teachers had been on campus days before they got sick.
The TEA said it’s delivered rapid COVID-19 tests to districts statewide in recent weeks to help prevent an outbreak and short staffing as more teachers become infected.
To help combat the learning loss issue, TEA head Mark Morath told parents about its new Parent Conference tool the agency said will help improve student learning amid the pandemic.
Interested in partnering with your child’s teacher to support their learning? Download our new Parent Conference Tool to help you have this conversation.
To download and learn more, visit: https://t.co/b6co752jVK #txed pic.twitter.com/tYSxNfE4RU
— Texas Education Agency (@teainfo) September 1, 2021
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