Hudson County schools look to expansive summer programming to help combat COVID-19 learning losses

Every time school districts in Hudson County pushed back their reopening dates to protect their communities from COVID-19, they knew it would come at the steep cost of many students’ educational progress.

New Jersey students lost a significant amount of expected learning during the first half of the school year, according to a new report.

The average student lost 36% of expected learning in math and 30% in English language arts, a study published by the nonprofit JerseyCAN found. The learning gap was greatest for Black students — who on average lost 50% of their expected learning in math — and students in low-income families.

“Our schools must implement high-quality interventions to accelerate student learning and get as many students back on track as soon as possible,” JerseyCAN Executive Director Patricia Morgan said.