OMAHA- Some of Nebraska's kids have been able to keep pace academically, but many others have fallen so far behind that they are failing or at risk of failing according to teachers and school leaders. Normally, students who struggled before the pandemic were those without parental support or engagement, but now even the normally successful students have been having a much more difficult time. Teachers are saying it could take years to know the full scope of learning losses.

“Some kids have really truly benefited from it,” she said. “They will do well with whatever situation you give to them. ... I think that even the struggling students, I feel I’ve been able to reach some of them.”

Several teachers have said they spend hours trying to get students to participate. Much of the time students won't turn their cameras on and won't respond to questions or emails. It takes so much effort to remote teach and success is much harder to come by. There will still be a fully remote option for students which more people are signing up for after spikes in cases at school towards the end of the semester. Other schools are experiencing a decrease in students selecting the fully online option.

OPS students will begin the semester fully online until the middle of January. The district will then transfer to a hybrid model which divides students into two groups in which the groups alternate days they spend at home versus in school.

Teachers also worry that the procrastination and low expectations that came from remote learning will continue to hurt students and will be a problem for much longer than the pandemic will be.

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