Inequities due to uneven teacher capacity and tech proficiency

~ The ability of teachers to adapt to distance teaching varied greatly – which led to very inequitable outcomes for students. I’m worried about how this will play out in the fall. (Sarah Frazelle)

~ Ours was very inequitable in regards to proficiency of the teachers. (Courtney Monnette, Alabama Community College System)   

~ Some teachers were reluctant to do any synchronous work, so some students had no synchronous or group work. (Jeremy Greenfield)

Student engagement suffered from lack of technology/ internet access

~ Con: Students’ engagement, especially students without technology access at home. (Scott Reveals)

~ We really pushed our students to stay engaged, but we still could not engage 35% of our students. (Peter Deswood)

Not enough live instruction from teachers 

~ Students and parents would have appreciated more live instruction from the teachers. ~ marisa

~ Some of the assignments given would have been better served with a mini-lesson to help students understand the concepts. (Avence Pittman, Jr.,  Pontotoc City Schools, MS)

Inequities for students with special needs

~ Students on IEP’s were not served well. (Christina Espinosa, Sacramento City Unified School District)

~ English language learners, students with disabilities, and those living in poverty had difficulty accessing the internet. (marisa)

Students were not prepared to use the technology

~ Students didn’t receive enough instruction on using technology before going remote. (Marilyn Ramirez)

Some teachers didn’t understand the need for empathy and shift in focus 

~ Some teachers insisted on blaming students. This may be an issue that will follow some students into the next year. (Sarah Frazelle)

~ A group of counselors summarized that teachers are most concerned about curriculum and administrators are most concerned about test scores. Bo one has room for a focus on SEL, which we know students will need when they come back, especially as we may need to alternate between distance and in-person learning. (Sarah Frazelle)

~ I agree. I just had to justify to my central office last week that we need to hold steady with the school redesign plan. (Peter Deswood)

Challenges in assessing learning and tracking attendance/engagement 

~ What did not work: Screen fatigue; authentic reliable assessment. (Sofia Russo)

~ Schools struggled with tracking accurate attendance and how to assign grades for 4th quarter (Felicia Walker, Talent Development Secondary)

~ Students benefit from recorded lessons, so they can rewind and revisit concepts with which they struggle. (Laura Tedesco)

~ Recording and having the ability to re-watch these lessons is critical. (Audra Bluehouse)

~ Choices and allowing students to work at their own pace. (Marilyn Ramirez)

~ Posting assignments at the beginning of the week so that if issues arise, students know and can plan accordingly. (Sarah Frazelle)

~ Asynchronous resources accommodate the fact that that some students at secondary level are essential workers, just as parents are. (Joyce Highhouse)

~ Innovative synchronous instruction options. Example: teachers at the same grade level or teaching the same content can offer live instructional segments over the day so students can engage when they have access to devices. (Kenya Wilson, Educate Texas)

~ School leaders reported that they noticed more opportunities for individualized learning for students. Teachers increased the number of student/teacher conferences and discussed student goals. (B. Jasmine White, NYSED) 

~ Virtual tutoring options to support students who can’t stay after school for traditional support. (Peter Deswood)

~ Support for teacher mental health is another important piece that we haven’t quite figured out. It can’t all be on counselors. (Sarah Frazelle)

~ We held two staff check-ins each week at the end of the work days, on Tuesday and Thursdays, and used talking circles. (Peter Deswood)

~ Our fall professional development is designed to help teachers who struggled with remote instruction. (Courtney Monnette)

~ I think we need to continue to be flexible, understanding, and empathic to our students’ needs. My staff tried several different learning options; it was different for each student. Very individualized. We focused a lot on SEL and leveraging our relationships. (Peter Deswood)

~ I’ve heard some districts are considering limiting the fall semester to core content. I don’t agree with this at all. But if it occurs, how can students who hae not attended school since March be expected to sustain full days of English, math, science and history? (Kenya Wilson)

~ Has anyone had success with peer tutoring/mentoring during remote learning? (Liesel Jan Carlson)

~ We didn’t use peer tutoring, but during our SPED IEPs, students would have individual sessions with an EA and a teacher to assist with work. Perhaps this process could work peer to peer as well. (Audra Bluehouse)

~ We’ve had some success with near-peer postsecondary advising support. Key to this was that (a) relationships were established before schools closed, and (b) we’re doing weekly training with the near-peer coaches. (Jeremy Greenfield)

~ Teachers adapted, but they may not have the capacity or endurance to continue providing effective remote learning through fall 2020. (Kenya Wilson)

~ It’s imperative that schools provide differentiated instruction strategies for professional development. (Kenya Wilson)

~ Our organization, with support from a licensed social worker, has created and provided a virtual Self-Care PD session for teachers.  This has been well received; many teachers indicated they would provide something similar for their students so they too will be able to create a self-care plan. (Tara Madden)

~ Many of our schools are planning an “SEL blitz” during the first 1-2 weeks of school, focused on creating a calming environment and working with students at the classroom and small group level to address well-being issues essential to a safe and secure learning environment. (Frances Dumas-Hines)

~ Leaders in our network are reframing the crisis to focus on “survive and thrive” as a motto going into the new school year. “Survive and thrive” takes away the potential stigma of student feeling like they are behind. This is also a good way to encourage student engagement and motivation. (Tara Madden and Felicia Walker, Talent Development Secondary)

~ Because of the many unknowns ahead, we’re preparing school teams to engage in multiple short-term PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles of inquiry with staff so that we can learn what is effective and capitalize on it. (Tara Madden)

~ We’ve used our EWS resource map to maintain a number of essential support structures, such as virtual “homerooms,” teacher champions for students who are struggling, and engagement of community and City Year partners to support students.

~ Looping is an approach that some schools are exploring, including some New Orleans charters. (Tara Madden; Jennifer Husbands, Gates Foundation)

~ In our district, culturally specific community liaisons are working to help bridge the relationship gap between classroom teacher and students from different linguistic and racial backgrounds. (Carla Gay, Gresham-Barlow School District, OR)

~ Success Mentors has proven to be an effective strategy when mentors and mentees are thoughtfully paired. MENTOR’s Elements of Effective Mentoring is a thorough guide to practices that can be adapted to the current situation. (Maria Waltemeyer, JHU/EGC)

~ During our “SEL blitz” in the first 1-2 weeks of school, we plan to address physical safety and hygiene as one of the essential topics at classroom or small-group level. (Frances Dumas-Hines)

~ One idea for collecting student voice (brought up by a student with unstable internet connectivity) was to use journaling. (Sarah Frazelle, Puget Sound Educational Service District)

~ Our districts are reaching out to students for their input on designing distance instructional activities, as well as Opening Strong plans that include Tier I interventions to help all feel welcome. Student input is being sought to inform weekly student recognition. (Tara Madden)

~ The National Teacher Project has released an excellent Learning Acceleration Guide to help educators plan for robust instruction in various possible scenarios for the return to school. (Carla Gay)

~ There are a number of high-level system change recommendations in the recently published Chiefs for Change/JHU brief “How Should Education Leaders Prepare for Reentry and Beyond?” (Carla Gay)

~ With grading options in our state limited to “pass” and “incomplete,” high schools are seeing many students receiving “incomplete” for key courses. Credit recovery for those courses is a high priority for the summer and going into the fall. (Carla Gay)

~ Our state is actually considering adding state testing in the fall. (Raegan Genovesi, Beecher Community School District, MI)

~ We’re working on figuring out how to use City Year corps members to support students in the coming year, especially if distance learning continues. Can we develop a virtual “after-school” space that would incorporate tutoring or homework help? (Alexis Urquhart)

~ Some schools and districts are seeking outside expertise from commercial educational services firms, such as EAB. (Carla Gay)

~ Some high schools are working with students to design project-based learning experiences where a rubric is used for assessment. (Tara Madden)

~ Also see the National Teacher Project Learning Acceleration Guide to address this issue.

~ The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT) has developed a guide to adapting curricula for students with disabilities to be used at various levels of tech capacity (or non-capacity); it offers insights and suggestions that can be applied in a non-disability context as well. (Amy Szymanski)

~ Our district is exploring a number of options to extend internet access for students who do not have it, especially since previous options such as Starbucks or the library have been closed. This includes offering connectivity in school parking lots or even in school buses strategically parked to be available to students in high-need communities. (Frances Dumas-Hines)

~ Some schools are offering technology boot camps for parents, whether online or even in the form of videos that are mailed to them, to help with essential access and troubleshooting skills that they will need to help support their children’s learning. (Tara Madden)

~ Our teachers have been monitoring students’ online contact with school as a proxy for engagement, using “no contact in a week’s time” as a proxy for absenteeism. (Carla Gay)

• One-on-one outreach and engagement is key, especially in high poverty urban areas like Buffalo. – Betsy Behrend
• I’ve been working with students whose parents have lost jobs due to COVID-19 on financial aid appeal letters, to see if colleges can help cover the additional costs that families can no longer afford. – Sade Ortiz-Lucin
• We are trying to transition the services already woven together through Say Yes Buffalo (e.g. mentoring, peer mentoring, FinAid support, PLUS basic needs, housing etc.) to virtual and distance methods. – Betsy Behrend
• In Massachusetts, we’re trying to figure out how to use MyCAP to keep virtual advising going. It is locally administered, so we are starting to survey districts on what the status is. – Nyal Fuentes, MA DESE
• Not sending a robotic-like response is key to engaging seniors in their transition from high school to higher ed. Personalizing messages and asking students how they’re doing during this time goes a long way; I’ve had more responses this way than through any other method/format. I echo the emphasis on doing 1:1 contact – Salvador Acosta, San Antonio Education Partnership
• At Chattanooga PEF, we are making use of our SIS to make sure educators and advisors are aware of where students are in on the PS trajectory, and using match and fit tools to offer students PS options that would still be a good fit/match, even if they’ve had to change plans. – Keith White
• Our Trio Program in WA has been pushing 1:1 contacts with students as well as parents. We used a needs assessment to assess family needs and try to gather resources to address those needs. Some families need food, cleaning supplies, or school supplies. We want to make sure parents and students know we are here to serve them as we help students review financial aid award letters, apply to schools, etc. – Jazmin Vasquez-Bueno
• Students can pick up a smile in the voice! I feel it is very important that students hear a voice they are familiar with. – Rachel Maldonado, San Antonio Education Partnership
• In Puget Sound, we are encouraging focused data-sharing across colleges, districts and CBOs to support individualized, virtual advising. We’re looking for data-sharing agreement templates to adapt that have worked across districts, colleges and CBOs. If you have one that may work for us, please send to psccn@psesd.org Thanks! – Kyla Lackie, Puget Sound Educational Service District
• We have some from our previous PAS work. – Sarah Frazelle
• Riverside County Office of Education has a data sharing MOU with our districts. We can create a “Boiler Plate” example to share. gcompton@rcoe.us – Gil Compton
• Big-picture reminder: many institutions–especially the smaller ones–are hit hard by COVID-19 in their own ways and may not have all of the student supports or financial aid packages available to students immediately when they reopen. While we hope they will emerge stronger and even more responsive to students post-COVID-19, as good partners we should talk with colleges and be aware of any modifications they’ve had to make, so we can communicate those to incoming or prospective students. – Nalani Linder