Weekly Update

_{A child care owner closes her business and starts a new career. A mom copes with her daughter’s stunted education. A teacher learns to love the profession after a miserable first year}

10 lives, 5 years later: How the pandemic altered the futures of these parents, kids and educators

Today, more than five years after Covid arrived on U.S. shores, the pandemic’s toll on student learning lingers. The billions in aid that the federal government spent to help students recover had some modest impact, but students are still behind where they would have been academically. During the pandemic, behavioral problems and mental health issues surged, leading schools to invest in counseling and social and emotional programs, which they’ve had to scale back as federal money has dried up. Some kids never went back to school at all.

The pandemic left other marks too. School closures triggered anger that led to the rise of parent groups including Moms for Liberty. Much of the Moms for Liberty agenda, including book bans and anti-trans advocacy, has been embraced by the Trump administration, in the form of executive orders and Office for Civil Rights investigations into diversity, equity and inclusion programs and related work. School choice programs, which gained steam during Covid, are also a key part of Trump’s education agenda.

Five years later, lots of kids are still behind at school — and life. How about yours?

Help The Hechinger Report tell this story by sharing how your life has changed

Reading list