Students’ social-emotional skills have suffered since the pandemic started and some predict it will only worsen Summer programs help children with learning losses and give them a chance to connect, advocates say. Attendance at Dallas summer programs was down dramatically in 2020 during the pandemic. Area advocates said those students who did attend were able to connect with others. Here Diego Rincon, 7, received an art kit that was distributed to students attending a program at the Wesley Rankin Community Center in July.(Steve Hamm / Special Contributor) Dallas-area children and teenagers are struggling with their social-emotional skills more since the pandemic started, but summer programs gave some a chance to connect with others their age, according to a new report.