By Karen Gross
The pandemic had a serious impact on our educational system—there is little dispute about this statement. The identified negatives are plentiful. Students have been struggling ever since, both academically and socially. Standardized test scores are down. Mental wellness has declined, for both students and teachers. Educators are leaving the field or retiring early. There has even been evidence of increased aggression between students, teachers, administrators, and families.
During the pandemic I was training teachers and social workers, as well as hosting webinars and conducting workshops for educators alongside Edward Wang, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. Together we also ran, along with two other educators, the Virtual Teachers’ Lounge, a place where teachers could share and vent about their school experiences and garner suggestions and support.
Karen Gross, a former college president and senior policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Education (Obama Administration), is an educator specializing in trauma’s impact on learning. She is also a visual artist and author of adult and children’s books. Karen currently serves as a continuing education instructor at Rutgers School of Social Work and on the Advisory Council for Minority Serving Institutions at Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
