While the decision to keep central Maryland school buildings closed through January may protect students and staff from the coronavirus, education advocates say the choice also means thousands of children will likely suffer lifelong academic consequences.
The historic gaps in achievement between low-income students of color and middle-class students will grow deeper, they say, even as protesters across the nation call for a reckoning on racial inequities.
In addition, they warn that the youngest students, English learners and students with disabilities are all going to find it difficult to make academic progress because they will not get the in-person teaching they need.
“There will be large pockets of our children who will not be able to access education — and those are the most vulnerable students in our city, who can least afford to lose another quarter of learning,” said Roger Schulman, president of the Fund for Educational Excellence, a
