School districts continue to be hit hard by the pandemic

Youngstown City Schools CEO Justin Jennings said trying to plan has been one of the most difficult things to do, because “Every two or three weeks it’s something different.” It’s forced YCSD and districts all across the state and country to adjust every time there’s a change.

While he and so many others have come to expect frequent change, there was a hope early on that with vaccine availability and lower COVID-19 case counts in the summer, that things would be better; however bus driver shortages, substitute teacher shortages and student and staff absences have pushed some of them to their limits.

Around the holidays, Jennings said, at one point, 25% of YCSD staff was out for all those reasons and more, even forcing the central kitchen, which feeds the district’s students, to close.

“We’ve had teachers, one teacher covering three or four classes, because there’s no subs,” Jennings said. “If we have one teacher who’s covering three classes at three different levels, that some of the students aren’t going to learn and it has nothing to do with the teacher.

“They don’t have the opportunity to teach three different math lessons in the same block with with different kids. Then you compound that with we don’t have enough bus drivers. So some of our kids never even make it to school.”

Jennings said learning is taking place, but the progress is minimal because of all of the compounding factors, which at times has pushed them into remote learning.

What concerns him now is a greater need for remediation. While he is not a proponent of student retention, he knows that student absences could be a problem down the road as well. Jennings said the next two to three years will be key as educators look at how well students are prepared for the future.

Scott DiMauro, President of the Ohio Education Association is also concerned.

“There are going to be things that you have to compromise on because there just simply aren’t enough hours in the day,” DiMauro said. “And there are so many pressures that you have to triage.”

With that, DiMauro said the pressure to build healthy relationships between students and staff, while producing quality education and maintaining good mental health is at stake, as everyone seeks to stay afloat.

Added to that are concerns about educators not only leaving the profession early, but fewer people entering the profession as a result of the pandemic toll.