Shared Destiny. Shared Responsibility.

Biden administration takes steps to address pandemic learning loss

“Now — more than ever — students need to feel supported, seen, heard, and understood by adults in their schools and communities.”

Story at a glance


  • A new WalletHub survey looked at the 182 largest cities in the U.S. to see which places are the happiest.

  • The survey found that Fremont, Calif., just outside of San Fransisco, is the happiest city in the U.S.

  • While different things make different people happy, the survey linked Fremont residents’ annual income, low divorce rate and low depression rates as contributing factors to the city’s happiness level.

The Biden administration launched Tuesday a new effort to help K-12 students who have fallen behind academically due to school closures and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The White House announced a series of actions to push back against pandemic learning loss, which includes urging schools nationwide to use the $122 billion in funds from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan COVID-relief package to bolster tutoring, summer learning and after-school programs and increase staff. 

Part of the administration’s efforts include the creation of the National Partnership for Student Success, a coalition of leading national education and youth development organizations that will work to expand tutoring and mentoring programs across the country. 

The partnership led by the Department of Education will bring school districts, non-profit partners and higher education institutions together to recruit, train and place screened adults in high impact roles as tutors, mentors and student success coaches.

The White House says the goal is to provide American students with an additional 250,000 tutors and mentors over the next three years. 

“Now — more than ever — students need to feel supported, seen, heard, and understood by adults in their schools and communities,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement

“Today’s announcements and the launch of the National Partnership for Student Success will mean more students have a trusted adult in their corner, and more adults are prepared to address students’ academic, emotional, social, and mental health needs.” 

The White House says it is taking steps to ensure such support is available in every district and noted school districts already plan to spend more than half of their American Rescue Plan funds to expand tutoring and mentoring programs and staff.  

According to the White House, students are on average two to four months behind in reading and math due to COVID-19 closures.

Published on Jul 06,2022