'RECIPE FOR DISASTER': Former principal 'not that surprised' by continuing learning loss despite federal aid

America's failure to curb post-pandemic learning loss despite increased federal aid is unsurprising given the education system's many deep-rooted problems combining to create a "recipe for disaster," a former school principal turned homeschool mom told Fox News.

"Even after billions were put into the system, to see that learning loss is only continuing, I'm not that surprised," said Mandy Davis, who left her education job last year. "We're seeing a lot of different factors come to a head right now."

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Students have shown steep and ongoing academic decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the federal government spending billions in aid. Students, even after returning to in-person learning, are learning at a slower rate than before the pandemic, meaning gaps may be widening, according to a report the research group NWEA released Monday.

"We are trying to close that gap on learning loss, but at the same time, we're working with an all-time high of behavioral issues in the classroom," she said. "We're in a mental health crisis in our public schools for our children, and we're watching more and more teachers leave. All of this has just become this recipe for disaster."

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Math scores for 13-year-olds this school year were the lowest since 1990, while reading scores dropped to a nearly 20-year low, according to a report the National Assessment of Educational Progress released in June.

"Children are needing more support," Davis said. "That support is leaving because of the environment that we're currently seeing in our public schools."

"The learning loss is set to continue because there's less and less instructional time happening in the classroom and more and more time needed for management in larger and larger class sizes," she continued.

Davis began teaching in 2008 and advanced her education career all the way to becoming a private school principal in Central Oregon during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the former principal quit in June 2022 to home-school her three kids after witnessing the education system struggle from the exodus of well-qualified teachers and schools' inability to provide one-on-one instruction amid managing large classrooms.

"It wasn't every student," Davis said of the learning loss she noticed. But when some students fall behind it impacts every student as teachers have to cater to different learning levels, she said.

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In March 2021, Congress provided over $122 billion for schools to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential academic loss and mental health decline in students.

"That's the question and biggest concern," Davis said. "Where has all of this money gone?" 

School districts nationwide had spent more than half of the relief funds as of May 31, according to the Department of Education. By law, the funding must be spent or committed by September 2024. 

"When you look at education and you look at what's happening in the schools, I don't know that it's so much a single group, a single person to blame, but more so we need to reprioritize," Davis told Fox News.

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Debates over what topics are appropriate for classroom discussions, such as critical race theory and gender identity, have become flashpoints in schools nationwide over recent years. Parents have increasingly spoken out at school board meetings to voice concerns and advocate for a say in their kids' education.

"Instead of having these hot topic debates, maybe we need to get back to the core offerings of school, math and reading," Davis said. "Where are our priorities?"

Davis told Fox News if learning loss continues, she would fear for the negative impact on kids' future well-being and success.

"How children perceive school affects their learning for the rest of their life," Davis told Fox News. "It affects their confidence in learning and how they learn."

"I think that that needs to be the number one thing we remember through all of this as, hopefully, we reprioritize and start closing the gaps on these issues," she said. "I think it's going to be a very long journey."