WATCH — Special Report: How COVID’s K-Shaped Recession Could Widen Achievement Gaps and Spark a Classroom Crisis

The 74 has spent the last few months producing a series of stories that explore the ways in which the so-called K-shaped recession caused by COVID-19 is different from typical downturns, using a unique data tracker created by the economists behind Opportunity Insights as our jumping-off point. The researchers found that the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on income inequality, widening disparities everywhere — including in the classroom. And those effects may linger for long after COVID-19 is gone. 

The stories in our series examine the ways in which the crisis is showing up in schools in five communities: Wilmington, Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Reno, Nevada; Austin, Texas; and Colorado Springs. This video gives a quick overview of what we found. 

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—Edited by James Fields

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative provide financial support to Opportunity Insights and The 74.