• The Gift of Learning: Recovering the Learning Lost In the Pandemic

    • Share:
    January 10, 2023


    Learning Enhancement Acceleration Program

    COVID-19 Learning Loss Recovery Initiative

    Since we opened the doors of our very first Club in 2003, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley has been committed to enhancing the lives of young people and their families, providing a positive environment that cultivates academic success, healthy lifestyles, good character, and citizenship.

    The recent use of remote learning has put our children and our community in a precarious position. At no time in our history has it been more important for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley to help young people and their families recover from the challenges and learning losses that have accumulated over the past few years.

    The pandemic and the ensuing school closures and/or hybrid learning formats resulted in learning loss in youth worldwide. For example, UNICEF and the World Bank, in the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel’s report, found that children around the globe have experienced severely impaired overall learning and social emotional well-being. In the U.S., recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals that 4th and 8th graders across the country suffered significant declines in their Mathematics scores. Reading scores also declined across every region in the country for 4th graders and in three regions for 8th graders. The pandemic is cited as the main reason for these precipitous drops in learning.

    Through generous support, we were able to keep our doors open during the pandemic, and we were the only out-of-school program able to do that. In fact, the need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been so great that we extended our hours to full days and organized our members into learning cohorts to ensure they got the attention necessary to complete schoolwork. The meals we were able to provide addressed the food inequities experienced by many of our families. The technology we have available in our Clubs made it possible for our members to complete class assignments with the assistance and support of staff who encouraged our members during times of uncertainty by employing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) practices. Our expertise attracted attention and our results have been incredible.

    Our research-based programing designed around academic success, along with our facilities and our well-trained staff were crucial to our local member families. Now we need to begin the next pivotal step towards repairing the damage done by this pandemic. It now time to help our youth recover the learning loss they suffered during the last few years of isolation. We have both a wonderful opportunity and a significant obligation in front of us. We are calling this new initiative LEAP; Learning Enhancement Acceleration Program.

    Please visit our website to learn more about our goals, results, and needs going forward with this amazing initiative.

    Contact:
    Chris Tusler, Marketing Coordinator
    ctusler@bgcconejo.org, (818) 706-0905