Students are filling up classrooms and learning in person again but Sylvan Learning Center Central Coast said parents are just beginning to understand the depth of the learning gap.
The major theme Sylvan touched on was fatigue, trying to catch up, and getting back to normal.
Yet, there was a lot of ground lost when it came to learning this last year.
“We've had a number of students, families come in here and they said that their students actually came to the parents and said I need help like I just can't do it,” said Phillip Toriello, the Center Director for the Sylvan Learning Center Central Coast.
He observed that parents are trying to create a sense of normalcy by filling up calendars with recreations, but the learning gap due to the pandemic is still there.
“The teachers have like 30 students, and so if you have a third of those students who are behind whether it's learning disabilities, challenges, deficits by COVID,” said Toriello.
He said many parents are trying to juggle jobs as well as overflowing schedules and students are exhausted after trying to keep up their grades.
“We've seen a number of students come in and they're just exhausted. They're tired of the whole thing,” said Toriello.
He explained many of the students they see don’t know the skills needed or even how to be in a classroom. Toriello said there has been an increase in people seeking supplemental education for their children since schools reopened, and Sylvan Central Coast has seen a 160% growth in clients over the last year.
Toriello recommends parents listen to children during this transition back to normal school and pay attention to their grades.
