One of the top-scoring public high schools in Maryland, Baltimore City College, admits students based on grades and test scores, writes Jennifer Gaither, who worked there as a librarian. "City" built a culture of "academic excellence and educational equity."
But the pandemic response broke "the culture that once supported student success," she writes on The Grade. "Long after schools returned to in-person instruction, students struggled to find motivation and connection, administrators implemented harmful policies, and educators began treating students with indifference rather than care."
Before the pandemic, students worked hard to earn A's and complete challenges, such as the International Baccalaureate's extended essay, Gaither writes. They feared failure.
That work ethic didn't survive 18 months of virtual schooling. Students failed, and nothing happened. "Teachers delivered lessons to muted microphones and blank screens, while students grew isolated and overwhelmed," she writes. Students failed without consequences.
Student engagement didn't rebound when "City" returned to in-person instruction. Upperclassmen, who once set the standard for younger students, had spent too much time online, she writes. "The rituals, routines, and social dynamics that make student leadership meaningful had been lost."
"Fights, drug use, and vaping became rampant," Gaither writes. "Administrators responded with strict(er) policies, but these often backfired."
An administrator told her the school's current students are a "lost generation." Perhaps the students starting ninth grade would be better. But they missed years of learning -- and socialization -- too.