Drawing on federal aid, New Paltz School Board members have created three new positions around helping students process and recover from the jarring transition to learning from home, which has resulted in learning gaps and emotional trauma for many youngsters. Even as the final details are put into place for a summer academy that will be part of the efforts to catch kids up on formal education, there is a parallel effort to help evaluate and address the needs of children who have gone through an experience for which adults have no clear point of reference. Two social workers and a director of social and emotional learning will be a big part of this emphasis on the needs of the children in the district. The new director will oversee programs that are funded largely through this federal money, which is made available because these unprecedented issues are at play throughout the country.
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