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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Hi all—This is the perfect time of year to be planning professional development for the fall and the coming year with school staffs. If they are looking at test scores, they are seeing that students didn’t
learn much during the pandemic. Attached is one article and a list of other articles that focus on the COVID slide and the decline in academic skills that students are experiencing. My guess is that we are not really seeing the full extent of the slide and
its consequences. Once students pass the fourth-grade year without learning to decode multisyllable words and to use comprehension strategies, they are going to be in a world of hurt. This is a key time for us as leaders to supply energy and instruction for
teachers who will have to face these students in their courses. It is also a key time to start up Xtreme Reading courses for students who are entering middle schools reading two or more years below grade level. Please share these articles with school staff
members in your area, and let us know if we can do anything to help you. Thanks for all you are doing for teachers! You can give them a real boost this fall with new ways to help students. They need your help at this difficult time. Jean<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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