IDENTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 In addition to restructuring their programs for better alignment, Lakeville is also discerning the best ways to help students in a post-COVID learning environment. Emily McDonald, Assistant Superintendent, explains their unique approach to the academic, social, and emotional effects of the pandemic on students. Lakefield Area Public School District views the pandemic as a time of “corrupted learning” not “learning loss” she explains, since students did not lose knowledge, but rather faced large chunks of time where they had no opportunity to learn normally. Post-pandemic, Lakeville is focused on understanding exactly where students and families find themselves and developing strategies to accelerate their learning. They are wary of a “faster” approach, McDonald explains. Instead, they want to identify the skills students are lacking and integrate those skills into their regular grade benchmarks. The school district is also considering how to respond to and integrate the new standards of Minnesota’s READ Act, which was implemented last fall. The READ Act requires all educators in Minnesota to be trained in evidence-based practices. This means that Lakeville will soon have 400 teachers and educators who have 60 hours’ worth of training in evidencebased practices for teaching reading. McDonald is optimistic that this new training “will allow us to see some acceleration and a return to pre-pandemic levels of learning. 281 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 03 LAKEVI LLE PUBL IC SCHOOL DISTRICT
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx