WICHITA, Kansas — The children in Susie Kelley’s class at Harry Street Elementary School were kindergartners when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and sent students home for remote learning.
Now they’re finishing fifth grade and preparing for middle school.
And though it’s been years since they were wearing masks in class or tapping into reading lessons online, they still reflect the effects of the pandemic.
“Those formative, foundational skills and those years were lost, and it’s going to take us some time to get it back,” Kelley said. “Even though it was five years ago, we’re still behind.”
Kansas educators say the pandemic’s stress and isolation affected children differently depending on their age and level of development. But students who began their schooling around 2020 are at greater risk of falling behind academically.
For Kelley, that means fifth grade students who lack some basic developmental skills.
“I had to teach a child how to hold a pencil,” she said. “By the fifth grade, you shouldn’t have to do that. But if they were on the computer, they didn’t learn how to hold the pencil or how to form letters.”
Teachers try to address gaps with one-on-one instruction. Kelley worked an extra 10 minutes a day with a student who needed help learning to write.
But learning losses go beyond reading, writing and math. Numerous studies point to a generation of students who also lack social skills, such as managing their emotions, communicating their needs or working with peers.
“They have grown, even from the beginning of the year to now,” Kelley said. “But there’s still something about not wanting to be close to people. Or just the opposite — being very, very clingy. … And I have both extremes in my classroom.”
Shortly after schools returned to in-person classes, Kansas schools reported more fights between students and behavioral blow-ups. Educators blame the increase in part on the COVID pandemic, saying long stretches of online learning meant limited socialization and difficulty adjusting to life back in the classroom.
Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said those challenges continue.
“It’s easy to say, ‘This was five years ago. The impact is over,’” and with some children that’s true, Bielefeld said. “But with other groups, I think the impact is still very, very real.”
Another persistent challenge since the pandemic: Getting kids to show up for class. During the 2023-24 school year, nearly one in five Kansas students was chronically absent, which means they missed at least 10% of instruction time.
Older students struggled with the transition to remote learning and then back to a normal school routine. Some saw their mental health suffer and lost the motivation to attend class.
With younger students, families are more likely to keep them home with minor cold or allergy symptoms, so the once-rare sick day is becoming more commonplace.
Wichita district leaders challenged schools this year to return to pre-pandemic attendance rates. Jamie Junker, principal at Harry Street Elementary, said it’s been difficult.
“We’re celebrating a lot of growth this year, creating a sense of belonging so our kids want to be here when they get up in the morning. They want to come to school,” Junker said.
“But for many of our families, they have circumstances that are way outside of (having) an alarm clock to wake them up and get here,” Junker added. “It’s much more than that.”
Harry Street’s average daily attendance was 92% this school year — an improvement over last year, but still not at the 93% before the pandemic.
Congress approved three COVID-19 relief packages that sent about $276 billion to K-12 schools and universities. Kansas received nearly $2 billion, which schools and colleges used to reopen safely and help students who had fallen behind.
Wichita and other districts spent some of that federal aid to expand summer school programs. But despite incentives such as free breakfast, lunch and transportation, only a fraction of students enrolled.
Federal funding also paid for additional psychologists, counselors and social workers at many schools.
Junker said that has made a difference.
“Having the (federal) money funneled for the purpose of social and emotional well-being, that sense of belonging in our school, that then helps us to be able to tackle those academics,” she said.
As Kansas districts celebrate the end of another school year, teachers say they’ll continue to monitor and address pandemic learning gaps and other challenges.
“It’s far from over,” Junker said. “Luckily, we have amazing middle schools, and our sixth grade teams, they know the challenges. They are ready for them.”
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KMUW, KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
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