What Washington’s Schools Are Doing to Support Students After the Pandemic — and How Families Can Help
Because of the significant impacts to students’ cognitive, social, and emotional development, Washington’s school counselors agree that it will take time for all students to fully recover from the pandemic.
Regina Brown, an elementary school counselor in the Centralia School District, cited studies from Harvard University, the American Institutes for Research, and assessment company NWEA that document the effects of the pandemic on student learning. These studies indicate that, depending on students’ needs and the types of supports provided, it could take two to four years for students to close any gaps in the knowledge and skills expected at their grade level.
“The typical ways in which we try to close those gaps — the gap is too big to do it in one year,” Brown said. “It’s going to take time.”
Rashi Abajian, a middle school counselor in the Issaquah School District, said an exact timeline for students to get back to “normal” can’t yet be determined. She emphasized, though, that students in her school district are already making progress.
“We have a lot of really academically motivated students in my district and in my school,” she said. “I see a lot of students who are still showing up, who have high attendance, who are striving to earn strong grades, who are accessing academic rigor, who are asking great questions about their college options, who are future-focused. By no means do I think school has been devalued.”
(This is the final part of a two-part story. Read the first part here.)
How schools are supporting social and emotional well-being
School districts across Washington state are undertaking significant efforts to support students’ recovery from the pandemic, and these efforts are paying off.
Elizabeth Benitez, a high school counselor in Federal Way Public Schools, said educators in her building are doing social-emotional learning (SEL) lessons with students every day. Those lessons cover subjects like bullying and the differences between the impact of an action as compared to its intent. (Learn more about SEL and what it looks like in the classroom.)
Teachers are also working to be more flexible depending on how their students are doing, Benitez added.
“Our teachers are so aware,” Benitez said. “They can read the room really well or ask the students, ‘What is it that you need?’ And they’re being flexible and adjusting to that.”
Abajian said the Issaquah School District is focusing on reteaching behavior expectations and building connections with students to foster a sense of belonging.
The district is going “back to basics [and] trying to meet students where they’re at,” she said.
Much of her work during the last school year also went towards supporting families with students who were experiencing anxiety about attending school in person. Abajian has been working with families to have conversations with their students about the importance of school and that attendance is required by law.
“When we’re experiencing anxiety, if we choose to avoid the thing that’s making us anxious, the brain then gets this relief,” Abajian said. “The more we expose [ourselves to] that trigger, the more we try to get into school, the anxiety starts to recede over time.”
The elementary school where Brown works is doing more developmentally appropriate instruction in mental health, as well as teaching regulation strategies like meditation and breath work.
Brown’s focus is on creating a school community where all students feel safe.
“All of their identities [are] welcomed,” Brown said. “I want more of that — not tolerated; welcomed and celebrated.”
How schools are supporting academic achievement
Because of the connection between social-emotional well-being and academic performance, the efforts of Washington’s public schools to support student well-being are also supporting student learning.
The steps that Washington’s public schools are taking to support students specifically in their academic achievement vary depending on student needs.
In Benitez’s building, the school offers a variety of course equivalencies, where students can earn required credits through a variety of course offerings that align with their interests and goals — for example, earning a math credit by taking a statistics class instead of algebra.
When it comes to measuring student progress, Benitez emphasized the importance of looking at classroom grades instead of just state assessment scores.
“State testing, that has never shown how smart they are [or] how much they can accomplish,” Benitez said.
Washington’s youngest learners are, however, making gains in state assessments, particularly in literacy. Brown’s school is approaching teaching reading with a focus on phonics, which is associated with improved literacy rates for students in kindergarten through third grade. (Read more about the progress that Washington’s public school students are making in literacy.)
Tutoring has also been proving effective in Centralia, Brown said.
In addition, OSPI is supporting projects with investments of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to help schools and students in recovering from the pandemic. Along with projects that support student mental and emotional wellbeing, ESSER projects are enhancing learning recovery, promoting reengagement, and advancing learning in innovative ways.
Abajian believes that students will be able to adjust.
“Humans are incredibly resilient, and our brains are adaptable,” she said.
What families can do to support their students
Brown, Abajian, and Benitez all agree that students are best supported when recovery efforts at school carry over to the home. And for families looking for ways to better support their students, all three also agreed that parents and guardians should actively reach out to their schools to collaborate.
“We truly are partners,” Abajian said. “At least as a counselor, that’s my philosophy, is that it takes a village.”
She added that it’s important for parents and guardians to ask open-ended questions and really listen to their students. If students need help, Abajian said school counselors can provide resources and referrals.
Brown suggested that all students should see a primary care provider for regular anxiety screenings starting at age 8, and regular depression screenings starting around age 11. She encourages families to make mental health something that they talk about at home.
It’s also important for parents and guardians to model healthy coping strategies, Brown added.
“If we’re only relying on the schools to teach empathy and model empathy, some of it might stick, but it won’t work on weekends,” she said. “It’s something that needs to be in the water, to a degree.”
This story was written by Chelsea Embree, Director of Publications and Engagement Strategy at OSPI. You can contact the Communications Team at commteam@k12.wa.us.
