Join Dr. Anna Johnson, Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University and editor of a new special section of the journal Child Development on the sustained effects of COVID, for a webinar on what the pandemic did – and did not do – to children.

Drawing on 17 longitudinal studies across six countries tracking children from pre-pandemic baselines through today, this session tells a story far less catastrophic than predicted. Participants will explore findings that impacts were real but rarely disastrous, often fading over time – evidence that challenges dominant narratives of universal "learning loss." The session will equip providers with research-backed framing for counseling families, highlighting resilience and the role of context in children's development.

Dr. Anna Johnson is a full Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University, where she teaches and serves as Co-Director of Graduate Studies for the PhD program. She also co-leads the Context, Development and Social Policy lab, where she is Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded longitudinal evaluation of one of the nation's first universal public pre-kindergarten programs. Additionally, with funding from NICHD and NIMH, she is studying the impacts of COVID-induced school closures and other pandemic-era disruptions on child learning and development. Across all of her work, she combines public policy and developmental science to generate rigorous, actionable evidence to guide sound policy decisions.