Until recently, Aiden, a Minnesota 7th grader, had a rocky K-12 career. He got into fights. He was suspended multiple times. He sat alone in the cafeteria. Though he is gifted, his string of Bs and Cs didn鈥檛 reflect that, partly because his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder made it tough to focus.
Now, Aiden, 12, who is also on the autism spectrum, is having his best school year yet.
鈥淭he kids at my school were just mean and annoying and distracting me from doing work during class,鈥� he said. This year, with all virtual classes, 鈥淚 feel relieved and able to concentrate on school.鈥�
Aiden鈥檚 grades have shot up to mostly As. He鈥檚 on the top honor roll for the first time, and he is finally beginning to figure out how to keep himself organized, a key goal of his Individualized Education Plan.
Aiden, who is being identified by his first name only to protect his privacy, is a fortunate exception during COVID-19. Many students鈥�especially those in special education鈥攁re struggling with virtual or hybrid learning models during the pandemic. Eighty-three percent of educators say kids are making less progress in English/language arts than they were before the virus hit, according to an August survey by the EdWeek Research Center.
But, for a small number of students, the pandemic cloud has a thick silver lining: They are now learning better than ever.
Many of these unexpected standouts fit a similar profile, said Ellen Braaten, the director of the learning and assessment program at Boston鈥檚 Massachusetts General Hospital.
The students whose work has improved through virtual learning often have 鈥渟ome level of anxiety, tend to be more introverted, tend to have a history of some social issues,鈥� she said. Or they may just be the kind of kid who learns better when working independently, she added. Many, like Aiden, are considered 鈥渢wice exceptional,鈥� meaning they are gifted students with significant learning differences.
With online instruction, Aiden no longer complains about teachers going too slowly because he can speed through the content that is easy for him through asynchronous lessons that he completes at his own pace. If his mind wanders during a tougher subject, he can take his time puzzling through it, and even watch a video of the lesson.
In the past, Aiden鈥檚 teachers would text his mom, Paula, about his disruptive behavior. Now that those messages have stopped, Paula realizes how stressful it all was.
鈥淚t is pandemic time, and I should be worried and more anxious but I鈥檓 actually more relaxed now,鈥� said Paula, a former teacher who preferred to use her first name only to protect her privacy.
It is pandemic time, and I should be worried and more anxious but I鈥檓 actually more relaxed now.
For Many Students, 鈥楴ormal Wasn鈥檛 Good鈥�
The coronavirus crisis has given schools a rare chance to rethink how they are serving students like Aiden, experts say.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this overwhelming desire to get back to normal. And normal wasn鈥檛 good鈥� for many kids, said Bob Cunningham, the executive director of learning development at , an organization that works on behalf of students with learning differences. 鈥淚f our goal is to get back there, then we鈥檝e missed an opportunity.鈥�
Educators and parents are wrestling with how best to take advantage of that opportunity as they consider the sudden success of students who seemed unreachable less than a year ago.
For instance, for most of the 2019-20 school year, special education teacher Melody Bradley, a 21-year veteran educator, was in a state of high stress and even beginning to consider other career options. A part of the reason: One student, Precious, who has significant learning differences and behavioral issues.
But this school year, with her Texas school doing online only instruction for many kids, Bradley feels like she is dealing with a whole different Precious. The teenager has brought her C level grades up to mostly As and Bs and is motivated to graduate this year.
Being able to do lessons at home has given Precious, 18, the freedom to ask for help, something she was embarrassed to do before, Bradley said. She has more autonomy to complete her assignments, and she doesn鈥檛 have to contend with the school rules that bothered her as an older student. Plus, she鈥檚 no longer worried about anyone鈥檚 behavior but her own.
鈥淪ome people just don鈥檛 go to school to actually learn. And I was one of those people last year,鈥� said Precious, who is using only her first name to protect her privacy. 鈥淚 get easily triggered with certain things people tell me. It gets me in a bad mood,鈥� and then it鈥檚 tough to concentrate on schoolwork.
Precious, who wants to pursue a career in health care, is likely to graduate before in-person classes resume. But Bradley is thinking ahead about the lessons learned for how to meet the needs of students like her. Should the district consider offering more virtual instruction-only options for some students in the future?
Better Learning at Home
Kevin Wofford, a 17-year-old senior at a public high school in Chicago, has a similar story. This fall, he begged his mother to pick up his report card at school, so that she could see he had risen above his string of Cs and Ds to become a straight-A student.
That鈥檚 not what his teacher, Daphne Whitington, expected when she saw him on her roster this school year. 鈥淗e had a reputation,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e would act the fool.鈥�
Getting away from the personality clashes and violence in school has helped Wofford focus his full attention on his classwork. 鈥淚 feel like the man now. I left all that drama stuff,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never been on the honor roll until this year.鈥�
Part of what helped Wofford step up: He鈥檚 a technology whiz. At the beginning of the school year, he helped his classmates and teachers master the intricacies of different online learning platforms. That evolved into assisting others with their schoolwork and asking the kind of smart questions that help others learn, Whitington said.
Wofford, who wants to pursue a career in graphic design, said he would be up for finishing his K-12 education online if it鈥檚 an option.
Stephanie, a teacher in North Carolina who requested that her last name not be used, has also given the idea some serious thought as she has watched this school year unfold for her introverted 16-year-old daughter, who has attention difficulties.
The high school junior gets excellent grades. But she doesn鈥檛 often feel comfortable talking in class because many students can鈥檛 relate to her cerebral speaking style. She鈥檚 found it鈥檚 much easier to participate in an online chat box, where it feels acceptable to use a scholarly tone. And she鈥檚 more focused.
Her teachers say, 鈥渟he鈥檚 the chattiest one in the class, which we never heard in 16 years,鈥� Stephanie said. But she worries about what her daughter would be missing out on if she spent the rest of high school behind a computer screen.
Experts agree that there are no easy answers here. Having a child do online learning during a pandemic, when everyone else is in the same boat, is very different from keeping them out of school buildings for the long haul, Cunningham said.
鈥淚f the vast majority of kids are going back to school on a full-time basis and you decide your kid is not going to do that, then there鈥檚 a marginalization that occurs,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our own kids are going to look at otherness and difference.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, asking kids to navigate a tough social scene is good preparation for life鈥檚 challenges, Braaten said. 鈥淜ids need to stretch themselves. They need to get out of their comfort zone,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is just part of building resilience.鈥�
When students return to in-person instruction, schools have an 鈥渙bligation鈥� to try to replicate what worked in the online environment, said Jerome Schultz, a former special education teacher turned clinical neuropsychologist who is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. But, he added, that鈥檚 not an easy ask, particularly if the problem is bullying.
If they are doing better in a virtual learning environment and go back to a physical environment, their skills may tank or flat line again.
One way to begin figuring out how to tackle the problem: Ask the students, Schultz said. Before schools reopen for in-person instruction, teachers should have kids write about how learning virtually has been good, and not so good, for them as individuals. They should ask questions like: What are you looking forward to when you come back? What are you worried about?
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to look at why the kids who are thriving are thriving. If they are doing better in a virtual learning environment and go back to a physical environment, their skills may tank or flat line again,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e coming back to an environment that was toxic to you before.鈥�
鈥業 Would Never Have Tried It鈥�
Stephanie is likely to send her daughter back to her brick-and-mortar school when it reopens. She wants her to continue to experience the social aspects of high school.
鈥淪he needs to be around it because she needs it鈥� to be successful in life, Stephanie said.
Aiden, on the other hand, will be learning online for the rest of his K-12 career, Paula said. She鈥檚 noticed he鈥檚 more comfortable making friends outside of school and will work to get him some peer interaction through sports.
鈥淚f this hadn鈥檛 happened, I would never have known that this was a better environment鈥� for him, she said. 鈥淚 would never have tried it.鈥�
