COVID-19 has disrupted American life in many ways, but its effect on our children has been particularly devastating.

Experts estimate that the shift to remote learning last spring alone set students of color back three to five months in math. Learning losses are concentrated among students from less-educated homes, who lose 55% more than their more advantaged classmates. School districts report that more students than ever failed a class this fall. Thousands of the youngest students in the nation’s largest school districts have simply stopped showing up for “class,” and 20% of students in the United States still lack the technology to show up, even if they wanted to.