$7 billion dollars of federal funding is being directed to Illinois schools. Those dollars come as the real impact of the pandemic on K through 12 education is being tallied up. Melissa Figueira (FIG-air-uh) with Advance Illinois, an education policy organization, says early data they have collected shows a dramatic impact on enrollments over the past year.
“The state has seen an estimated drop in enrollment of 35,822 students or 1.9% of the prior years enrollment. That represents nearly twice what the decline was projected to be. Kindergarten through 3rd grades saw the steepest declines by far. As much as 20 to 50% in some areas, which is especially concerning in light of how important those early years are for children’s development.”
Figueira notes even though much was done to overcome educational short falls there is a long way to go to get kids caught back up.
***Report Courtesy of farmweeknow.com***
