CLEVELAND — The “summer slide” may be more prevalent than ever before as COVID-19 continues to impact education.

And some educators like Paula Franks are particularly concerned about the youngest students and those in low-income neighborhoods falling behind.

Franks always knew she wanted to work with kids. She grew up in East Cleveland with seven siblings.

“We used to help my mom with her daycare at home and it’s something I always wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to teach.”

But she said she went to beauty school instead.

Then, at age 50, Franks went to college, switched careers and followed her passion.

“I enjoy working with my babies I really do," she said.

She’s now living her dream as "Ms. Franks" in Room 1 at Rainbow Terrace Head Start.

“I wanted to retire," said Franks. "I’m almost at that age. But right now I see a need.”

That need relates to the pandemic and its effects on education, especially when it comes to the youngest, most disadvantaged children.

Right now, these kids are learning how to learn from Ronald Collier, or "Mr. C," and Ms. Franks.

“At the end of the day, they’re our future," said Collier.

Franks said pre-K is the foundation of education and it’s almost like her preschoolers lost a full year of education because of COVID-19.

“A lot of them had forgot their letters or how to write their names," she said. "We have to go back to square one.”

A lot of the students in her class live in the Section 8 housing that surrounds the school. 

“I want to go and be where the need is," said Franks.

Franks said some of her students' parents don't read and write well and that made it next to impossible for them to teach their children the basics when school was at-home only. 

“It was hard for them as well because they couldn’t understand the work the kids were sent home with, the packets they were getting," she said.

More than 43 million adults in the United States cannot read, write or do basic math above a third-grade level, according to ProLiteracy. 

“Kids will take the learning as serious as the parents present it to them," said Franks.

And in many cases, that’s how the cycle of limited education and poverty continues for generations.

“Long-term, they’re behind," said Franks.

But right now, there’s no telling just how behind these kids are in these formative years or how big of an impact remote learning will have on their development.

Socialization is a huge part of attending school at this age. 

Franks said it’s important for kids to have a place where they can eat a healthy lunch and get quality sleep during nap time. Not having that in 2020 may also lead to more issues down the road. 

“Children tend to act out. You know, they might cry, or fight, or hit or just shut down because they don’t know it. They don’t know how to express themselves," said Franks.

All of this puts the weight of the world on the teachers working to make a difference — teachers like Ms. Franks.

“I need for them to know that they can grow up and aspire to be lawyers and doctors and teachers," she said.