PEPPER PIKE, Ohio— Five years after the start of the pandemic, schools across the country are still dealing with learning loss and its effects, including absenteeism and lower test scores.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange City Schools is the only school district in Ohio to see post-pandemic learning growth, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard

  • Superintendent Lynn Campbell says the district's commitment to each student inside and outside of the classroom helped them experience growth

  • Chronic absenteeism and lower test scores are the main lingering effects the pandemic is having on Ohio students 

Here in Ohio nearly every school district has seen a decline in learning, except for one. 

“I knew we’d be poised to still be right where we were," Orange City School District Superintendent Lynn Campbell said. 

The Orange City School District is the only district in Ohio that is performing above its pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard. Campbell says the reason the district has had success is its commitment to each student. 

"We knew going into the pandemic there would be challenges, but we also knew that everybody would be facing them," Campbell said. "We doubled down on doing what we do best and that’s focusing on every kid, keeping it about the standards, and addressing every kid’s needs.” 

The Education Recovery scorecard is a study conducted by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth. It combines the National Assessment for Educational progress with state test results. Campbell explained that his school district not only prepares kids for those tests but invests in more ways to enhance learning. 

“Behind the scenes what you wouldn’t see is the amount of collaboration we’ve invested in within our district. We have built time into our contract, allowing our teachers to work together to study data, study kids and not just achievement in testing but looking at behaviors and social and emotional needs.” 

Stéphane Lavertu is a professor at The Ohio State University and has conducted significant research on the topic of pandemic learning loss in Ohio. He said the pandemic is still having lingering negative effects on other school districts across the state. 

"Whether people value going to school, chronic absenteeism is very high, and that really jumped with the pandemic," Lavertu said. "There were some changes in norms and discipline levels at the schools.” 

In order for the rest of the schools across the Buckeye state to begin the process of bouncing back to pre-pandemic learning levels like Orange City Schools has, Lavertu said focusing on economically disadvantaged students and prioritizing funds is the key. 

“One thing we need to do is think about what’s going on with those lower income kids and why is that decline happening with them? If we go back to using those funds how we were pre-pandemic maybe we’d have more gains in student achievement.” 

Campbell agrees and thinks that other Ohio schools need to adapt to the “Orange Way” of supporting each child inside and outside of the classroom. 

“I think what’s most important is focusing on the day to day experience and the growth of each individual student," Campbell said. "Having top notch teachers in the classroom as well as having some of those supports like nursing psychologists and social workers looking at the whole child. That’s been the Orange way and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”