The Pandemic Effect on Education: A Special Report

21 months have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit schools like a sledgehammer. Since then they’ve been through closures, distance learning from home, optional reopening of schools, mandatory reopening, and battles over mask mandates. Now that the first semester is nearly over, teaching and learning is happening in classrooms all over South Florida, but no one is pretending that the pandemic hasn’t changed education. “So what we’ve learned through COVID is that education is constantly fluid, and how we deliver services to our students is constantly evolving,” Dr. Vickie Cartwright, superintendent of Broward County Public Schools said. “Number one, we’re learned as a result of the pandemic that teaching and learning can actually happen 24/7 not just limited to bell-to-bell instruction in the school house,” Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools said. “I think the silver lining of this pandemic is that we actually upped our skill.” Read More