Resources for Educators and Schools

This resource collection provides available resources for school leaders and educators for preparing to return to school during and after significant disruptions.

• White House Summit on Safely Reopening Schools The White House hosted a half-day Summit on Safely Reopening America’s Schools focusing on reopening America’s schools in safe ways that respect the holistic health and learning needs of America’s students. The Summit included state and local leaders, health professionals, teachers, administrators, parents, and higher education institution leaders from across the Nation.
• Returning to School Resource Collection. This blog Returning to School: Reflections About Our New Resource Collection by the National Comprehensive Center acknowledges and is attuned to the several scenarios in which students will return to school in the fall. To support the complicated work that states, districts, and schools have in planning the return to school, the National Center has created a collection of resources from national organizations to support school districts and states planning for returning to school.
• 9 Questions for District and School Leaders to Consider in Getting Ready for the 2020-21 School Year This blog released by Region 9 Comprehensive Center supports school principals and district leaders reflect and plan for multiple reopening scenarios this fall. Region 9 Comprehensive Center and their advisory board members determined top priorities and questions for school leaders to consider.
• Student Perspectives on a Changing School Climate This webinar presented by Region II Equity Assistance Center – IDRA EAC South for schools and districts explores what the future holds for re-openings, mental health and student emotional well-being in the wake of myriad of issues facing today’s students. Student panelists help us understand the needs of their peers on issues, such as COVID-19, school safety, immigration, and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements. This webinar is part of the School Reopening Webinar Series.
• Nurturing Students’ Hearts and Minds – School Reopening Webinar Series This webinar provided by Region II Equity Assistance Center – IDRA EAC South features a panel of advocates and practitioners will discuss the needs of students on issues such as COVID-19, school safety, immigration, and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements that schools need to attend to as they reopen. This webinar is part of the School Reopening Webinar Series.
• Planning for an Appropriate Return to School. The webpage by The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) has identified resources to support schools in communicating key information and building a safe, supportive, virtual learning environment. This page includes the category, “Planning for an Appropriate Return to School” that provides districts and schools with several resources to support with the planning the return to school.
• The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Community of Practice Page. This virtual collaboration space from the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center offers a forum for schools, school districts, institutions of higher education (IHEs), and their community partners the opportunity to gain guidance, resources tools, and training as well as to collaborate, share, and learn from the experiences of others in the field. Interested education leaders can join the community to engage in conversations and access available resources.
• Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Coronavirus Disease 2019 Resources. This webpage from the REMS Technical Assistance Center was created to support new and experienced school safety leaders with school emergency management planning. The webpage is designed to provide education agencies with information, products, and services needed to respond to, continue to operate during, and recover from COVID-19. This page is updated on a regular basis to provide the most up-to-date information.
• Returning to School During and After Crisis: A Guide to Supporting States, Districts, Schools, Educators, and Students through a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Framework during the 2020-2021 School Year. This guide published by the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Technical Assistance Center describes the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following the global pandemic in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.
• PBIS and Continuity of Learning: Getting Systems Back Up and Running. This presentation published by the PBIS Technical Assistance Center for educators and schools describes establishing and maintaining systems to keep education safe, predictable, and positive, in the wake of school closures, trauma, and distance learning.
• Getting Back to School after Disruptions: Resources for Making Your School Year Safer, More Predictable, and More Positive. In this practice guide, provided by the PBIS Technical Assistance Center, six strategies are recommended for school teams to ensure a safe, predictable, and positive school year. These strategies are beneficial for all students if the school has been closed, as well as for individual students returning from extended time away from school.
• Using Assessments to Identify and Address COVID-19 Learning Gaps. This webinar presented by the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central shares with district and school leadership considerations for conducting assessments when students return to school and describes what resources are needed to effectively implement the assessments in different scenarios (online, in-person, hybrid). The following handout accompanied the presentation: Using Assessments to Identify and Address COVID-19 Learning Gaps: Handout
• Personalizing Instruction to Address COVID-19 Learning Gaps. This webinar presented by Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central shares a spectrum of personalization options and specific actionable strategies for classroom teachers that can be implemented to meet the needs of students whose learning has been disrupted and help them to recover lost academic growth. The following handout accompanied the presentation: Personalizing Instruction to Address COVID-19 Learning Gaps: Handout
• Reflecting Towards Success. The article released by The Office of Educational Technology, Reflecting Towards Success is intended for education leaders to begin to develop clear plans of action for remote learning in supporting elementary and secondary students with disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic and extended school building closures.
• Reopening High School: Addressing Reopening Safely for Instruction after COVID-19 This video presentation and brief from Western Educational Equity Assistance Center (WEEAC) provide educators with tools for reopening districts and high schools to ensure all groups of students achieve at high levels.
• Reopening Instructional Programs for Our Most Vulnerable Students: A Reopening Guidebook for the 2020-2021 School Year. This guidebook by Region 3 Comprehensive Center for educators help address the pressing issues that students face, particularly the most vulnerable learners as schools reopen their programs. It includes the following four chapters: (1) Virtual Learning, (2) Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3 Parent Supports, (3) English Learners and Spanish Learners, and (4) Students with Disabilities.
• Back to School During COVID-19: Developers and Researchers Continue to Respond to Support In-Class and Remote Teaching and Learning. This blog by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) for educators share a new resource, Guides to Education Technologies that presents information on government-supported education for in-class and remote learning. The resources are web-based and include a mix of no-cost products as well as ones that are fee-based. The following guides present resources across a wide range of educational topics appropriate for young children through postsecondary education and special education, for English Learners, and for teachers: Early Learning, Mathematics, Science and Engineering, Social Studies, and Special Education.
• Returning to School: Considerations for Students with the Most Intensive Behavioral Needs, A Guide to Supporting Students with Disabilities, Their Families, and Educators During the 2020–21 School Year. This document from the Center on Positive Behavior and Intervention Support (PBIS) shares a set of strategies and key practices to restart classrooms and schools in a manner that students, their families, and educators can use effectively, efficiently, and relevantly utilize in the current climate.