The initial COVID-19 lockdown was troublesome for everyone, especially for schoolchildren who were too young to be able to sit still at a computer and learn for hours a day while not in a school setting.

If more effort is not put into catching these children up on the content that they have missed or glossed over while attending "zoom academy," they will continue to struggle with these learning gaps and statewide test scores will never reach pre-pandemic levels.

Immediate action is necessary because the students who missed Elementary School material are now in Middle School or late Elementary, and are unable to rely on some of this prior knowledge that is necessary for them to succeed. It is imperative that they review or relearn the foundational basics of reading and math while continuing to progress through their current grade level material if they are to achieve academic success.