Michigan parents, worried about the effect the pandemic is having on their children’s learning, say state leaders need an academic recovery plan to make sure students who fall behind can catch up.

Part of that recovery, an overwhelming majority say, should include free summer school.

Those are some of the main findings in a new report out Thursday from the Education Trust-Midwest, an education advocacy and research organization based in Royal Oak. The organization surveyed 400 parents from across the state in mid to late December.

The report comes as educators and policymakers place increased focus on the academic well-being of students. In Michigan this school year, enrollment is down, thousands more students are being educated at home by their parents, and about 13,000 students are unaccounted for. Meanwhile, some of the students who are attending school — whether in person or online — are struggling. Educators say they’re seeing more students earning Fs in Michigan and across the nation.

Amber Arellano, executive director of the organization, said in a statement that state leaders need to prepare and act now.

“We call upon state leaders to invest in solution-based strategies that both address children’s educational recovery of student learning, as well as the long-standing inequities and opportunity gaps that have plagued the state’s vulnerable students for decades.”

In addition to the organization’s call for an academic recovery plan, Arellano said in an interview that state leaders also must address the short-term and long-term effects of the pandemic. That includes school funding. While the recent federal stimulus bill has provided billions more for schools, there remains concern about whether the pandemic will force state budget cuts.

“We’re calling on state leaders to prioritize vulnerable students if there will be cuts, and if there are available dollars, to invest more in those students,” Arellano said, referring to children from low-income homes, students of color, English language learners, and special education students.

Read the full article about schools in the pandemic by Lori Higgins at Chalkbeat Detroit.