Impacts of Literacy Programming During the COVID-19 and Recovery School Years.
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| Title: | Impacts of Literacy Programming During the COVID-19 and Recovery School Years. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Meredith, Julie1 jmeredith@policystudies.com |
| Source: | Rural Educator. Winter2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p74-88. 17p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Literacy programs, *COVID-19 pandemic, *Educational intervention, *School closings, *Grants (Money), *Rural education, Statistical models |
| Company/Entity: | Save the Children (U.S.) |
| Abstract: | While numerous articles and research reports have focused on understanding the impact of COVID-19 recovery interventions on students in urban and rural schools, fewer have addressed the impact of school closures and efforts to recover lost learning time on children in rural schools. Children in rural areas faced challenges similar to their peers in urban and suburban areas, but infrastructure challenges in many rural places, such as lack of broadband, required tailored approaches guided by educators' knowledge and connection to their communities. This article examines the impact of Save the Children's school-age literacy program, supported by 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, comparing growth in literacy between participants and nonparticipants who attended the same rural schools between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years. I was interested in understanding how participation in programming may have served as a buffer against the adverse effects of school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and how participation may have helped students during the COVID-19 recovery school years. The study uses hierarchical linear growth models to examine differences in literacy growth between participants and nonparticipants. This study builds on earlier work to understand the program's impact using only participant data from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. Results from the current study found a significant effect of program participation, indicating that the program had success in mitigating the pandemic's impact on children's literacy learning. The study also contributes to understanding how elementary-age children in these rural schools have recovered from the effects of school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Rural Educator is the property of National Rural Education Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 191901577 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Impacts of Literacy Programming During the COVID-19 and Recovery School Years. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meredith%2C+Julie%22">Meredith, Julie</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jmeredith@policystudies.com</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Rural+Educator%22">Rural Educator</searchLink>. Winter2026, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p74-88. 17p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Literacy+programs%22">Literacy programs</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19+pandemic%22">COVID-19 pandemic</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+intervention%22">Educational intervention</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+closings%22">School closings</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grants+%28Money%29%22">Grants (Money)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+education%22">Rural education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Statistical+models%22">Statistical models</searchLink> – Name: SubjectCompany Label: Company/Entity Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Save+the+Children+%28U%2ES%2E%29%22">Save the Children (U.S.)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: While numerous articles and research reports have focused on understanding the impact of COVID-19 recovery interventions on students in urban and rural schools, fewer have addressed the impact of school closures and efforts to recover lost learning time on children in rural schools. Children in rural areas faced challenges similar to their peers in urban and suburban areas, but infrastructure challenges in many rural places, such as lack of broadband, required tailored approaches guided by educators' knowledge and connection to their communities. This article examines the impact of Save the Children's school-age literacy program, supported by 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, comparing growth in literacy between participants and nonparticipants who attended the same rural schools between the 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school years. I was interested in understanding how participation in programming may have served as a buffer against the adverse effects of school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and how participation may have helped students during the COVID-19 recovery school years. The study uses hierarchical linear growth models to examine differences in literacy growth between participants and nonparticipants. This study builds on earlier work to understand the program's impact using only participant data from the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. Results from the current study found a significant effect of program participation, indicating that the program had success in mitigating the pandemic's impact on children's literacy learning. The study also contributes to understanding how elementary-age children in these rural schools have recovered from the effects of school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Rural Educator is the property of National Rural Education Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=191901577 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.55533/2643-9662.1494 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 17 StartPage: 74 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Literacy programs Type: general – SubjectFull: COVID-19 pandemic Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational intervention Type: general – SubjectFull: School closings Type: general – SubjectFull: Grants (Money) Type: general – SubjectFull: Rural education Type: general – SubjectFull: Statistical models Type: general – SubjectFull: Save the Children (U.S.) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Impacts of Literacy Programming During the COVID-19 and Recovery School Years. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Meredith, Julie IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Winter2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0273446X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 47 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Rural Educator Type: main |
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