Geoffrey Canada Urges Action on Pandemic Learning Loss on MSNBC’s ‘Stephanie Ruhle Reports’

A new report is raising the red flag on pandemic-era learning loss for kids, especially kids from under-resourced communities. Geoffrey Canada is urging educators to take it seriously.

“Break the glass, pull the alarm — we’ve got to do something,” Canada said during his recent appearance on MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle Reports. “And it’s not going to be a short-term intervention.”

Canada, founder and president of Harlem Children’s Zone, joined Ruhle and Karyn Lewis, Senior Research Scientist at NWEA, to discuss Lewis’ new report showing “pandemic-affected disruptions to achievement” on students across the country.

Canada emphasized that these disruptions are particularly acute for young people who have been hit hardest by the pandemic: students of color, those from low-income backgrounds, and those with learning disabilities.

Citing Lewis’ study, Canada urged educators to enact aggressive new measures to save students who have fallen behind because of the pandemic and address the yawning disparity in educational outcomes for under-resourced communities.

“If schools that were failing before continue to do what didn’t work, we’re going to see an even worse gap,” he said. “As educators, we have to act differently.”