Gov. Doug Ducey said the state is sending funds to the local Boys & Girls Clubs, citing the significant learning loss and emotional distress on Arizona’s children.
Ducey announced his office would send $1 million in federal funding to the Arizona Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs to help kids recover from the “social and emotional implications” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re working around the clock to get our kids caught up, but learning loss is just the beginning of the challenges they face,” Ducey said Tuesday. “Our kids also suffered socially and emotionally from being away from their classrooms, teachers and friends. Arizona’s kids missed out on a year of spending recess on a playground, participating in sports, learning how to engage with others and far too much more.
“Our Boys & Girls Clubs were critical in giving our kids a safe place to play and learn during the pandemic, and they will continue to be as we emerge from it. We’re dedicated to supporting Arizona’s Boys & Girls Clubs in their efforts to help our kids fully recover from a year as tough as last,” Ducey said.
The funds will be spent on a one-year program aimed at helping 5,000 kids with life and social-emotional skills training.
“Our kids have been through so much, and we should do everything in our power to get them back on track,” said Josh Stine, director of the Arizona Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. “This investment will help us improve our kids’ emotional and mental wellness after all the devastation of last year.”
The program will use the Positive Action curriculum, a method focusing on a positive mindset in students that will lead to better involvement, among other learning methods geared toward youth who have experienced trauma.
Ducey closed Arizona’s schools March 15, 2020, as state and federal officials came to grips with the enormity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though schools reopened the following August, most schools remained in virtual-only learning with districts making accommodations for students that had nowhere else to go.
The effect of the prolonged isolation, according to multiple sources, led to decreases in physical activity, time spent outside, in-person and virtual time with friends, and worsened mental or emotional health in students.
One study by McKinsey & Co. found a year of virtual learning leaves a student months behind in core subjects such as math and reading, eventually costing students up to a year of pay as adults.
