Children and Schools During COVID-19 and Beyond: Engagement and Connection Through Opportunity

Over the past eighteen months, the pandemic has not only claimed the lives of millions world-wide, it has also upended nearly every public and private institution around the globe. Healthcare and long-term care were hit especially hard, but so were school systems, with over 90% percent of the world’s 1.6 billion students (along with their caregivers and educators) impacted by school closures. In Canada, all provincial and territorial schools were closed for extended periods at some point during the pandemic, the longest being in Ontario where children and youth were out for more than half of the 2020-2021 academic year.

Educators and school boards adapted to the unprecedented disruptions in education, developing multiple models of educational provisions, including fully remote online learning and blended learning programs for children and youth who could not attend school in person. Parents and other caregivers, many of whom were lacking necessary resources, also shouldered the weight of supporting their children’s learning during the pandemic. Despite these valiant efforts, these variations in versions of learning developed urgently at a time of crisis, were experienced by 5.7 million Canadian children and youth who were dealing with numerous challenges, with far-reaching and potentially long-lasting consequences.