COVID-19-related school closures disrupted students’ academic learning on a global scale. With increasing evidence calculating the extent of real COVID learning loss, no research synthesis has attempted to compile findings from different studies. To fill this gap in the literature, our interim findings illustrate that the learning loss is real and significant compared to previous school years, and provide a basis for refining the research on COVID learning loss.
Cover photo: Shutterstock Dr. Robert Slavin and his wife, Nancy Madden, are the leaders and co-founders of the Success for All Foundation, and they developed the Tutoring with the Lightning Squad (TWLS) program based on their research. Slavin did not participate in the research and writing of Part Two of this report, but Madden was a key informant for the discussion of TWLS given her on-going role with the program. Slavin reviewed and commented on the draft and helped craft the report's recommendations.
BACKGROUND: In 2012, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Department of Public Health partnered together to create the Chicago School-Based Vision Program (CSBVP). This ongoing, city-wide program provides school-based vision services (eye examinations, eyeglasses provision, and eye care referrals) to students with limited access. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of the program operations from 2012 to 2020, including number of students served and exam findings during 2017-2020, as well as lessons learned and recommendations for reproducing the successes of the CSBVP in other contexts. RESULTS: During its first 8 years, the CSBVP provided eye examinations to over 350,000 students. During the years 2017-2020, this included 126,238 eye exams and provision of eyeglasses to 73,751 students.
CONCLUSIONS:The CSBVP is built upon strong community and school relationships. The program offers vision services, equitably, to all students across the district. The lessons learned through the implementation of the CSBVP may provide guidance for future district-wide vision programs.
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