Learning loss, mental health needs, staff shortages: Most read Newark education stories of 2022

Newark students and educators called for an improvement to their school environments.

Standardized test scores gave educators a glimpse of the COVID-19 pandemic’s toll on learning — and led the teachers union to declare a “war on learning loss.”

And mental health needs reached unprecedented levels, prompting students to protest for more counselors in schools. 

Chalkbeat Newark covered all of this and so much more in 2022. Below is a list of our most-read stories this year.

Demands escalate for safer, fairer school environments

Students and educators throughout the city’s charter and traditional public schools raised their voices — either in public protests or through the legal system — for better learning and working conditions.

Educators across the country were reporting a rise in behavioral issues as students returned to full-time in-person learning for the first time since remote or hybrid instruction began amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But while those behavioral issues might have intensified after the pandemic, students and teachers also said that in many schools, such as Malcolm X Shabazz High School, they weren’t new. 

In the years before the pandemic, the school community at Shabazz pleaded with school officials to improve the school environment in terms of safety, academic achievement, and stability with enrollment and leadership.

Want to read more? Check out these stories:

• Science Park HS principal accused of making racist comments in ongoing lawsuit
• Newark charter school’s Black educators, community members speak out about inequities 
• ‘I want Black students to feel valued’: Newark Global Studies students describe pattern of racism

Test scores show pandemic’s impact on student learning

The switch to remote instruction for 18 months caused a disruption to learning, especially for many Newark students who struggled to keep up with virtual lessons due to a language barrier, lack of laptop or mobile device, or no internet access. Standardized test scores released over the last year show just how much the pandemic had an effect on students’ education, especially in math and reading. 

The first snapshot of a significant drop in grade-level proficiency sparked the Newark Teachers Union to call for a “war on learning loss” and urge city leaders, educators, parents, and residents to unify in an effort to help catch students up academically.

Results from the New Jersey Standard Learning Assessments, which were administered for the first time this spring since the pandemic, showed that 13% of Newark students are proficient in grade-level math compared to 27% in 2019.

Want to read more? Check out these stories:

• Black and Hispanic students shut out of AP classes in New Jersey
• New Jersey students did better than country’s average on NAEP math, reading tests despite dismal drops
• Newark students score low on state science tests
• New Jersey’s test scores for 2022: See the math and literacy results for your district

Children’s mental health needs reach unprecedented levels

The pandemic also took a toll on the mental health of students, teachers, and the entire school community. Newark ramped up mental health services for students by partnering with third-party providers, including universities, nonprofits, and private companies. 

As the need for mental health services reached unprecedented levels, access to those resources became top of mind. A study released over the summer found that Black and Latinx students in New Jersey have less access to school mental health staff than they did a decade ago.

Want to read more? Check out these stories:

• Struggling during COVID, I helped my school develop a class about mental health
• New Jersey students protest policing in schools, call for more counselors, teachers
• N.J. immigrant students face barriers to mental health aid. What needs to change?

Students with disabilities need more support, parents say

As the 2022-23 school year started, a familiar issue came to light: school bus assignments were delayed or missing. For students with disabilities, a lack of district-provided safe transportation to school can completely derail their routine and impede access to crucial services they can only obtain in school. 

Parents this fall began to raise concerns about the months of missed in-person services, including speech, occupational, and physical therapies, during the pandemic for their students with disabilities. Under a law passed earlier this year, school districts have until Dec. 31 to determine if compensatory education must be provided to students with disabilities as a result of disruptions to consistent services during remote instruction.

Want to read more? Check out these stories:

• Newark summer camp helps autistic kids and their families connect
• Newark schools missed federal requirements for students with disabilities, state finds
• NJ advocates urge state to ensure schools address students with disabilities who missed services during COVID

BONUS: COVID spending, staff shortages, and more

How are schools spending the millions of dollars pouring in from federal COVID aid? From tutoring to infrastructure, readers can see how Newark charter schools and the traditional public school district is spending this money using data look-up tools provided in these stories: 

• $160 million in COVID aid is going to Newark charter schools. Here’s how they plan to spend it.
• Newark to use roughly half of $182 million in COVID aid on buildings, 5% on tutoring

Newark raised salaries for veteran and rookie teachers, and even brought back retired teachers to fill in gaps left by staffing shortages. Read more about those recruitment strategies here:

• Newark will recruit retired teachers as staff shortages persist
• Newark raises pay for veteran and rookie teachers amid staffing crunch
• In COVID grievance case, Newark teachers win $1 million in back pay, sick days, union leaders say
• Newark Public Schools promised $1K bonus for employees but per diem staff say they were left out

New Jersey stopped charter schools in Newark from expanding this year, slowing a rapid growth the schools had under the previous administration in 2016. The largest Newark charter school networks made a major decision to shift from the nearly decade-old public and charter school agreement to collaborate under one universal enrollment system, and created their own. Catch up on these stories here:

• New Jersey stops three Newark charter schools from expanding
• Newark charter school faces threat of takeover or foreclosure
• Newark charter school faces threat of management takeover due to loan default
• Newark’s largest charter schools break ties with universal enrollment system ahead of new cycle

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark, covering the city’s K-12 schools with a focus on English language learners. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.