Disrupted: How Will Life after High School Look Different Due to the Pandemic?

More than a year after schools were forced to shut down, districts continue to grapple with reopening plans, and are reckoning with the systemic problems magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disrupted: How COVID Changed Education, explores the impact of the pandemic on the nation’s schools, students and educators. The special featured teen voices, with a focus on the issues that affected young people, from learning loss to mental health challenges.

In the first video, SRL Gwen Ifill Fellow Jayla Moore-Ross spoke with four graduating seniors about how the pandemic changed their view of life after high school and their ideas for improving student experience in the future. The second video features other seniors from different parts of the country talking about their own experiences and thoughts on their futures.

Use the videos and activity to learn how young people can process the pandemic and how COVID impacted the decisions students made about their education and career paths after high school.