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Times Higher Education
Education Dive
Ed experts fear rise in dropouts as remote learning continues
Shawna De La Rosa
Sept. 21, 2020
Dive Brief:
Though graduation rates steadily increased over the last few years,
education leaders expect remote learning will cause that trend to
reverse in the 2020-21 school year, The Huffington Post reports.
Last year when schools closed due to coronavirus, most seniors already
had enough credits to graduate. This year, however, incoming seniors
have already spent months out of school and may miss required credits
needed for graduation.
Teachers say their students are less engaged during remote learning
because some are helping their families pay bills or care for their
siblings, while others lack access to technology or internet
connections. Many students also face higher barriers to success when
learning from home, where they are without the schools’ support systems.
Dive Insight:
An America's Promise Alliance survey found nearly 30% of students did
not feel connected to adults in the school at the end of the last
academic year. Slightly fewer did not feel connected to their school
communities and classmates, at 22% and 23% respectively.
Remote learning puts students at higher risk of dropout due to loss of
connection with peers and support staff, reduction in available
services and the loss of extracurricular activities and events that
help keep students motivated. To reverse these risks, the Colorado
dropout prevention framework recommends school personnel identify
students who were already at risk of dropping out; offer counseling,
mentoring and credit recovery options; create family and school
partnerships that help prevent students from dropping out; and create
programs that help transition students back into the classroom.
In some cases, it takes relentless effort to find and keep track of
distance learning students. Alternative schools are going as far as
knocking on the doors of students’ neighbors to track down missing
pupils. Alternative school students are disproportionately
lower-income, Black or Latino, and are already at a higher risk of
dropping out.
For example, the Orange Grove alternative school in Corona, California,
has lost touch with about 20-25% of its students. Some educators have
adopted a mindset to stop at nothing to keep connections with these
students, even if it means reaching out to missing students’ friends or
siblings.
Maintaining student engagement is a challenge for traditional schools,
as well. In San Antonio, 54% of high school students reported feeling
less engaged during distance learning and 64% of parents of younger
students reported their children felt the same way. Professional
development can instruct teachers on how to boost student engagement
during remote lessons. Some teachers are taking cues from entertainers
by recording fun, interesting lessons and using social media, such as
Instagram, to answer students’ questions.
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