It does not appear that they're achieving at the same level as when they were (learning) in person. So instead of that solid B, maybe they're getting a C.”

Bristol Warren Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Brice

They're all overwhelmed and it's almost like it's asking too much of them to perform at the same academic level they were previously at. I don't think there is enough understanding of what they are experiencing.”

Mt. Hope High School student advocate Sara Braganca

A high school student advocate who works with at-risk students here is seeing clear signs of lower achievement, higher stress levels and increased anxiety across the board, as students try to navigate what has been the strangest and in some ways most difficult academic year of their lives.

Sara Braganca, a student advocate who works with at-risk Mt. Hope High School students, is seeing more problems than in previous years as students attempt to learn at home, far removed from the traditional and structured classroom setting they were used to before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

And while those who she has seen struggle in the past generally continue to do so, she is also seeing students of overall higher achievement having a harder time as well. That is not surprising given the extraordinary times, she said, but is just as hard to see:

"The stress and anxiety level has gone up significantly in every student I've seen at the (high) school," she said. "They're hitting a wall. Regardless of academic achievement, they're all overwhelmed and it's almost like it's asking too much of them to perform at the same academic level they were previously at. I don't think there is enough understanding of what they are experiencing."

Though the district is tracking student academic performance, administrators do not yet have a full set of achievement data from the first half of the year to study and compare with previous years. However, superintendent Dr. Brice said Friday that other information, including attendance records, bears out Ms. Braganca's observations.

Close to 200 Mt. Hope High School students have missed some combination of 10 or more days of in-person and distance learning days this year, and close to 75 have fallen behind at the middle school, Dr. Brice said last week.

"Attendance isn't (normally) a problem for us," he said Friday. "So what we're seeing is it is becoming more of a concern."

This year, the district is taking a gentler approach to the old problem of truancy, he said, taking into account the extraordinary circumstances under which students have been placed.

“In the past, we told them and their parents that if you don’t improve, you are going to fail the class,” he said. “I think it is a problem in the midst of a pandemic ... for that to be the message from the schools. So the message instead has been, ‘How can we work with you? How can we help you? How can we try to get you better engaged in the school process?’"

As for grades and overall achievement trends, "we have not finished a good look at it, but I can tell you that we are concerned; maybe not that (some) are failing, but it does not appear that they're achieving at the same level as when they were (learning) in person. So instead of that solid B, maybe they're getting a C."

Increased truancy and other indicators of poor performance are among the reasons Dr. Brice proposed last week that the district conduct a summer academy to help reach students who had a hard time this academic year. Though the details need to be worked out, money would need to be found in the budget and teachers would have to voluntarily agree to participate, he believes it is a good idea.

"I don’t want to call it summer school; but I do believe that we want to have a program that would be enrichment to help students that have been really successful; the students that are sort of holding serve ... and certainly those students that have not been successful, to bring them in.”

"I would absolutely think it's something we need," he said.


Answers where there are none
Ms. Braganca works for the East Bay Community Action Program, and serves as a student advocate for Mt. Hope under a contract with the school district.

She normally works with at-risk teens who have family and other issues that impact their performance in school, and is usually brought in to work with a student after other avenues — talks with teachers and counselors, calls to parents and other outreach — fail. Her role is to develop a rapport from students and support them in their struggles, offering answers and resources to help where she can.

This year, as in most years, she sees food insecurity, housing security, children who are being left at home alone by parents, and other stressors. But now, those regular issues are being compounded by distance learning and the requisite discipline required to study alone in a remote setting.

"It's impossible to ask a teenager to get up and self-discipline all day," she said.

She isn't surprised that students physically disconnected from their teachers and traditional classrooms are having a hard time feeling truly engaged in their lessons. And without being able to be with their peers in school, they are feeling more isolated and stressed.

"Even (strong) students are experiencing a ton of anxiety," she said. "They feel like they're getting more work and it's harder to keep up with. The fact that they're not in school is difficult; they are having anxiety about what's coming next, no idea of what to expect and no adult has an answer for them, which is new for them."

Apart from attempting to develop trusting, fruitful relationships with her charges, and tutoring them informally when they're stuck on a problem, she said she does a lot of listening. As much as anything, she said, students want to talk about the issues they are facing, and they need an advocate — someone who will listen and help them navigate their issues.

That has been one of the hardest parts of the job this year, she said, as neither she nor anyone else has the answers she said many of them desperately need:

"It's really difficult to sort of put on a game face for them. I don't have the answers either. But I tell them, 'I don't know what's going to happen, but I know it's going to get better.'"