State panel to help students recover from educational disruption

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked unprecedented havoc on school children in Michigan as many schools were forced to move to remote, online education throughout much of the past year. That has led many students to fall behind where they would be during a normal school year.

Education officials hope a newly formed state council can help reverse some of those learning deficits before the start of the next school year.

The Student Recovery Advisory Council will be made up of 29 people from around the state and from a variety of different backgrounds. Their charge is to make recommendations on how students can recover from this pandemic year.

That recovery planning isn’t strictly educational either. The panel will discuss other ways students have suffered during the pandemic, both physically and mentally.

“It is important to remember that schools also provide other services that students need to succeed including reliable access to the internet, nutritious meals, and mental health supports,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer in a press release announcing the council. “COVID-19 has exacerbated inequities in our education system, and we know more work is needed to address the significant impact this pandemic has had on our children.”

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