More than 80 percent of Virginia’s local K-12 school divisions have begun efforts under a program called ALL In oriented toward helping students struggling with learning loss from the extended pandemic closures.
The Virginia General Assembly approved $418 million of funding in this year’s budget specifically for the implementation of the Virginia Literacy Act and learning loss recovery efforts.
“Virginia’s superintendents and school divisions are making major efforts to find specific and meaningful ways to help their students tackle learning loss,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said in a statement in a press release from the Virginia Department of Education issued on Wednesday.
“They have embraced proven methods for tackling these issues, and we anticipate that Virginia students will begin to catch up and get a step ahead as they progress through this school year. I’m appreciative of Gov. Youngkin and the General Assembly’s leadership and funding to support local school divisions’ efforts,” Coons said.
Recent data released by the DOE from the 2022-2023 Virginia Standards of Learning assessment shows the scale of the need. More than half of Grade 3-8 students are at risk or failing to meet grade level expectations in reading, and two-thirds of Grade 3-8 math students are at risk or failing to meet grade level expectations.
The numbers also show that many students in Grades 3-8 are struggling to meet the same performance as their pre-pandemic peers, with students in Grades 3-8 continuing to be 6 points behind their pre-pandemic peers in reading and 15 points behind their pre-pandemic peers in math.
As of today, approximately 110 school divisions have submitted ALL In spending plans.
Currently submitted ALL In plans have been posted online:
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Chris Graham
