Louisiana Department of Education coming out with evaluations on what schools learned during the pandemic, and how they impacted students and teachers

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - It’s a new year and a fresh start for students, classes seem to be closer to normal, and teachers say they are happy about that.

“In most years, students struggle especially in math the calculation, you know, the negatives, the positives, but this year it was also many more concepts that they were behind on,” says Randall Lapointe who is a math teacher at White Castle High.

Lapointe says the first nine weeks were an adjustment. There was a learning gap for some students dealing with multiple learning platforms, and virtual lessons lacking that face to face interaction causing grades to slip normally than usual at the beginning of the year. Forcing teachers to rethink their plans and get their students to the level they need.

“It was really a struggle at the beginning and also it’s tough. They haven’t been in this type of environment before the hybrid and remote. It was an adjustment for them and it was even an adjustment for many of the teachers as well,” adds Lapointe.

Like many other schools, White Castle High provided extra services and resources to students like one on one office hours and wifi hotspots to help their students close the grade gap.

“I mean I think it’s pretty much the same thing across the board, everybody went through this together for the first time. So, you know, teachers and principals, students, everyone…so you know that technology gap implemented so much technology into it, and it did influence the grades a little bit,” says Robert Primaus who is the principal of White Castle High.

White Castle did have around 85 students out of 235 make the honor roll this past semester which the school does see as a sign their adjustments early on paid off. White Castle says that they do plan to do diagnostics tests on their students to where they are just like many other schools in the capitol region.

These are the findings for the Louisiana Department of Education.

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