COVID-19 and the Public School System

Winner of the Judge’s Choice Award - 3rd place

Hallie Caroway

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in the United States. One area especially affected are America’s classrooms. In mid-March 2020, numerous schools began shutting down as a result of the worsening pandemic. With schools closed under state of emergency orders, teachers scrambled to provide a virtual education throughout the spring. Both teachers and students were facing a steep learning curve and, unfortunately, the virtual model was simply not working as well for many students. To better understand current education problems, a thematic analysis was conducted by analyzing a reddit thread about virtual learning. The research question was: What are the specific challenges students are facing and how can we help? The primary theme was that virtual/hybrid learning is putting students, specifically children in poverty, at a significant disadvantage. Many secondary themes revolved around monetary issues, meaning there is likely a funding problem in our public schools. Although there is no perfect or immediate fix, improvements can be made based on the results of the thematic analysis. For example, the children who are most at-risk for academic difficulty within the virtual model, those with little to no resources at home, should be given every opportunity to come into the building to learn in person, if their safety can be assured.

• Hallie Caroway graduated from Lancaster High School in Lancaster, SC and currently resides in Greenwood, SC. She is a full-time student and is looking forward to graduating from Lander in May 2021 and beginning graduate school at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to get her Masters in School Counseling.