No dreams deferred: Sacramento students need support to regain what they’ve lost during COVID

As the pandemic rages on, the casualty list keeps growing — lives lost, businesses shuttered and dreams deferred. On this list are the hundreds of students in our region who find themselves at risk of not graduating from high school or having their dreams of college delayed or ultimately denied.

These are students for whom school closures and distance learning have simply not worked. And as we have all seen play out this summer, the disproportionately negative effects of distance learning are magnified during a pandemic.

In Dec. 2020, we surveyed 169 high school students, all young men of color, who are part of Improve Your Tomorrow, a regional program that helps young men get to and through college. We knew that many of the young men we served were struggling with distance learning and we wanted to learn more. Of those we surveyed, 64% indicated that their grades had dropped in one or more classes while 42% said they are at risk of not passing one or more classes. Among school districts, our largest group of respondents came from Elk Grove Unified, where 19% of seniors believe they are at risk of not graduating from high school.

What’s negatively impacting our students? Eighty percent indicated they were suffering from heightened anxiety and stress. The survey reveals what all of us who work with youth daily have been seeing for months: They are struggling with isolation. They miss their friends and peers, as well as their connections with caring adults on school campuses — with teachers, coaches, after-school staff, and others.

So what needs to be done? This situation calls for a community-wide response. Our school districts need to intervene now with students whose grades and attendance have plummeted. We need to support students one-on-one and in small groups, so they can get back on track.

We need to vaccinate teachers and prioritize getting these students back into in-person instruction this school year. The cities and the county must step up and partner with local school districts. Our local governments can partner with nonprofits to ensure students have access to mental health and academic support. The City of Sacramento paved the way for these efforts in 2020 when it used CARES Act funds to support youth mental health. Other cities should follow their lead.

Our organizations, Improve Your Tomorrow and the My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento Collaborative, are prepared to do our part and reach out to local leaders to see how we can intensify our efforts. After a year of distance learning, getting students back on track will take all of us working together; we can’t afford to sit and replay the impacts of the past year’s events on our youth and their academic potential. Our students need support now. Let’s not defer their dreams.