The not-so-normal school year: Post-COVID trauma continues to plague elementary schools

<p>With COVID-19 quarantines in the rearview, grade school students are now meeting in person after years spent learning at home. USA TODAY reporters Alia Wong and Kayla Jimenez observed classrooms in California and Virginia to see how students, teachers, admin staff and parents are coping.</p><p>They asked, "Are we back to normal yet?" The short answer is no. The reporting team found <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2023/06/12/us-schools-still-face-big-problems-post-pandemic/70198186007/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new challenges</a> on top of old ones. Veteran teachers are worrying that students may never catch up.</p><p><br></p><p>Episode Transcript&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/02/post-covid-trauma-drives-elementary-schools-challenges-distracted-students-and-stressed-teachers/70375859007/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">available here</a></p><p>Also available at&nbsp;<a href="https://art19.com/shows/5-things" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">art19.com/shows/5-Things</a></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>