Gov. Whitmer releases student learning recovery plan
(The Center Square) – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday released the MI Blueprint for Comprehensive Student Recovery, giving guidance for schools to create COVID-19 recovery plans.
The Blueprint provides recommendations and research to address challenges across wellness, academics, school culture, and community engagement.
“The most pressing challenges schools face aren’t new, but they have been exacerbated by the pandemic, resulting economic hardship, and social divisions,” Whitmer said in a statement. “That is why I am so proud of the MI Blueprint for Comprehensive Student Recovery that the Advisory Council has created. It will not only help local education leaders comprehensively address immediate challenges, but it will also move us towards an education system that works better for all of our children.”
The challenges outlined in the report include:
Student mental health issuesStudents missing wellness visits and immunizationsLack of physical activityBurnout among educatorsStudents experiencing learning gapsAbsent studentsStudent inequitiesStrained relationships between schools and communitiesLack of afterschool activitiesLimited access to school nurses
The plan aims to combat, for some students, an entire year of learning loss via small tutoring groups, special attention, and more. Schools should assess student needs by January 2022, the report said.
The report recommended schools receive weighted funding allocation based on the higher of current or prior year(s) enrollment since Michigan lost 61,940 students from pre-K through 12th grade last fall to private, online, or homeschool options.
The plan also called for creating financial incentives for teachers who stay in the profession via loan forgiveness and service scholarships if that teacher works for a certain number of years.
One recommendation suggests expanding preschool for all 3-and 4-year-olds. Another goal is to increase access to postsecondary education through providing by the 2022-23 school year postsecondary advising from 9th grade and beyond.
Some praised the plan.
“The Blueprint lays out a clear multi-year plan for the holistic, whole child recovery for Michigan’s students,” Kevin Polston, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools and chair of the council, said in a statement. “Every recommendation is supported by leading research and designed to support Michigan students by those that know them best, leaders in education, health care, and child services from right here in Michigan.”
Whitmer on Feb. 4 grouped education and community experts to serve on the Student Recovery Advisory Council, which helped create the report.
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