Phaedra Simon News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Phaedra Simon, a single mom of three from Opelousas, Louisiana I'm not trained to teach them how to read. It's totally different from how I learned. Quote icon Simon worked hard to keep her children — ages 9, 8 and 7 — on track when they started the year virtually like everyone else in the St. Landry Parish school district. She even quit her job to give her youngest the attention he needed. As soon as the chance came to return to in-person learning, she seized it, even as she worries about their health. "I'm not trained to teach them how to read," Simon said. 

Students in southwest Louisiana were out of school for six months in 2020, with varying degrees of "learning opportunities" offered during that time depending on the school district or family situation. Educators fear the time out of the classroom may take until next school year to bring students back to where they were in March 2020. Some connected with teachers via Zoom or weekly phone calls. They were encouraged to log in to online reading programs like Amplify. The younger ones or those without internet access were given paper packets of worksheets to complete. All of it was voluntary and...

Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID-19, but ‘expectations are no different’ Leigh Guidry, Mandy McLaren, Laura Testino, Isabel Lohman and Gabriela Szymanowska, USA TODAY © Mary Ann Lawrence, USA TODAY Network Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID-19. Reading brings out the competitor in 8-year-old Uriah Hargrave. The second grader at Eaton Park Elementary in Vermilion Parish along Louisiana's southwest coast was thrilled to return to in-person learning in January. One of his favorite things is the Accele...

Early data shows elementary students are falling behind in reading. We visited schools to find out how teachers are meeting the challenge.

Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID-19, but ‘expectations are no different’ Leigh Guidry, Mandy McLaren, Laura Testino, Isabel Lohman and Gabriela Szymanowska, USA TODAY © Mary Ann Lawrence, USA TODAY Network Students are struggling to read behind masks and screens during COVID-19. Reading brings out the competitor in 8-year-old Uriah Hargrave. The second grader at Eaton Park Elementary in Vermilion Parish along Louisiana's southwest coast was thrilled to return to in-person learning in January. One of his favorite things is the Accele...