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• Figure out the spectrum of student stressors from low stress to high stress with the changes that occur in the school environment (Disruption of normal routines, food insecurity, loss of family members, etc.)
• Pay close attention to students who are at an increased risk for stress such as those who have anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation as well as those who have a loved one who is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19

• Be observant and recognize your signs of stress
• Practice mindfulness techniques that strengthen self-awareness, such as mindful breathing, body scans, compassion exercises
• Monitor your thinking and practice positively reframing negative self-talk and beliefs

• Integrate school psychologists and into online learning.
• Utilize virtual approaches to consultation, intervention, assessment, and counseling are possible through video conference
• Ensure educators maintain a consistent pattern of communication and share hopeful messages

1. Elevate student voice in reflecting and acting on data

Have students take a short survey to learn how they are experiencing school, review results to see how experiences are promoting or hindering equitable learning, learn new practices to try with students, and track improvement over time

2. Support Educators in reflection on instruction & environment

Use the “SEL Look Fors in Blended Learning” tool to reflect on a learning activity you have designed or led after it has taken place, or ask a colleague to use it as they observe you

Cocreate a safe, supportive space where teachers and students can work together to explore values like empathy, patience, kindness, open-mindedness so people can be willing to share openly and honestly in circle.

2. Weave in opportunities for SEL practice and reflection

Recognize and respond to students’ social and emotional needs as well as build in trauma-informed practices that will support all students

3. Implement a comprehensive system of supports

Create a trauma-informed learning environment as well as identifying, assessing, addressing and treating traumatic stress.

Develop a plan to assess student learning process and loss

Create Self-Care circles that can be used with adults or students to center themselves and reflect on and share ways to practice self-care

2. Ensure access to mental health and trauma support

Support educators in gaining a greater awareness of how their current personal and professional context affects their levels of stress in the time of COVID-19

Create student privacy policies based on state guidelines and provide guidance to educators and families, as well as to help families understand their options regarding distance learning.

• Assess the percentage of students/families reporting feeling supported, engaged, and connected
• Assess the percentage of students meeting standards of progress and mastery on systemwide assessments
• Assess the percentage of tailored student supports being implemented with fidelity
• Assess the percentage of students with special needs receiving a strengths-based, developmentally appropriate response

If students are using their own devices make sure that communication includes the district’s bring-your-own-device policy (if you don’t have one, create it)

2. Regularly provide student progress updates to families and parents to ensure students and families are aware of each student’s current academic standing

Engage with staff to obtain feedback and review to make any updates necessary

This will help to understand the quality and progress of technology processes in your building or district

2. Identify chronic technology issues that arose during the school closure period

Use there issues to begin the development of a long term technology maintenance plan

• Require visitors report through a single access point as standard school safety procedures remain critical
• After-school egress and exit points may be opened based on the pandemic alert level and in concert with local health official recommendations

Use this information to develop a plan for how the data will be analyzed and reported.

2. Communicate to relevant stakeholders expectations around data collection and usage

This will ensure that stakeholders have a clear understanding of the data that is being used to inform your improvement strategy

• Families
• Students
• Staff

2. Align school website with district website information

Ensure all communication is up to date and aligned across the school and district to avoid uncertainty

This repository of devices can be used by staff in times of need

2. Stage device processing areas as needed to run procedures.

• Supplies, instructions, and equipment should be moved to areas where work will take place to make school opening as smooth as possible
• The designated device-return lead should oversee this work

The procedures should include:

• safely bagging devices collected at schools.
• transporting them to a central location.
• sanitizing the devices prior to a repair or replacement evaluation.
• conducting prepared maintenance routines to remove malware and fix standard issues including, screen, keyboard, or battery replacement

• Master schedules for arrival/dismissal
• Lunch Schedules
• Bell Schedules

2. Audit all school areas and classrooms with a focus on:

• How many classrooms are available
• The size of each classroom
• Additional spaces that are available (e.g., gym, lunchroom, auditorium); and
• The ventilation in each school area and classroom

Update WiFi access points and devices as needed

Ensure regular communication with stakeholders to maintain alignment

Continue to monitor device usage and compliance with online learning programs.

2. Assign technology process leaders to key efforts and publish their contact information on the district intranet and/or internet.

Only the vendor management lead roles require any technology knowledge. All other lead roles are primarily communication and process roles, including:

• Family device return leader
• Staff device return leader
• Device vendor management leader
• Internet/Intranet communication leader
• Technology Infrastructure evaluation leader
• Infrastructure vendor management leader

Establish a focus on connecting with, caring for, and affirming the experiences of members of the wider school community.

2. Develop and implement two-way communication strategies

Be sure to create structures to communicate the importance of SEL in navigating upcoming transitions and be responsive to student & family concerns.

While assessing the needs of your organization, focus on areas such as, but not limited to, Wellness, Logistics, Communication, Instruction, and Crisis Response.

2. Assess survey results and establish Back to School Committees

Conduct a basic data analysis protocol to assess survey results to create appropriate committees to address identified stakeholder needs.

Review feedback from families and identify most important themes Use the feedback collected through family engagement to identify most common family needs and requests. Use these to guide schedule creation.

Collect information about relevant system constraints

Collect relevant data to determine all physical and logistical constraints that will impact the schedules.

Survey families to identify scheduling needs

Identify which families will choose to have their students attend remotely and which siblings need to be on identical schedules (if feasible).

Given academic priorities, make school system decisions about which grade levels and student groups will be on in-person, hybrid, and remote learning schedules

Determine which groups of students the school system will serve entirely in person, in a hybrid setting, or entirely remotely.

Design daily schedules for hybrid, in-person, and remote learning

Design schedules that align to the instructional priorities and reflect student and family preferences. Try to ensure students within the same family have compatible in-school and out-of-school schedules.

Establish criteria for shifting in and out of all-remote scenarios

Consult with public health officials to identify school closure thresholds that will result in moving into or out of all-remote settings.

Clearly communicate school schedules to students and families, community stakeholders, and staff.

Implement the schedules and adjust based on family, teacher, and school leader feedback.

Gather feedback from families, teachers, and school leaders on challenges and inefficiencies in the schedule, and make adjustments.

Connect families to partners that can provide safe places for students to learn when they have remote learning days and are not in the classroom.

Secure any necessary agreements with community partners and communicate partnerships to families, teachers, and school leaders.

Understand educators’ learning needs and the resources (e.g., time, people, and money) available to be used to respond to these needs. Use this information to develop a yearlong plan for professional learning.

Plan traditional professional learning sessions

Develop system- and school-based professional learning sessions aligned to system professional learning priorities and available in remote or in-person settings.

Plan collaborative learning

Create a system of teacher collaboration focused on the system’s professional learning priorities and guided by strong rationale and clear expectations that can function in remote or in-person settings.

Plan observation, feedback, and coaching

Develop a system of observation, feedback, and coaching anchored by clear expectations. Align it to broader system priorities and a coaching methodology that can function in remote or in-person settings.

Run an improvement cycle focused on access

Collect the relevant data to monitor professional learning access, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Develop clear and consistent communication channels

Establish a system of two-way communication that ensures all key stakeholders are informed about professional priorities, expectations, and practices, and ensures user feedback to drive improvement.

Implement system- and school-based professional learning sessions aligned to system professional learning priorities and available in remote or in-person settings.

Implement collaborative learning opportunities

Implement a system of teacher collaboration focused on the system’s professional learning priorities and guided by strong rationale and clear expectations that can function in remote or in-person settings.

Run an improvement cycle focused on implementation:

Collect the relevant data to monitor professional learning access (where remaining) and implementation, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Communicate professional learning opportunities updates to stakeholders

Establish a system of two-way communication that ensures all key stakeholders are informed about professional learning priorities, expectations, and practices, and ensures user feedback to drive improvement.

Determine the impact of budget reductions and personnel opting out of returning in person to individual school staff allocations, minimizing negative impacts on schools with the highest concentrations of vulnerable students or high concentrations of more novice teachers.

Determine which staff intend to return

Reach out to all school leaders and school staff to confirm their intent to return and identify any limitations on their ability to attend in person.

Identify key roles that will be essential and assign school-based staff to each role

Determine the key student wellbeing, academic, and operations roles needed for every in-person, remote, and hybrid schedule to function. Identify which roles are new and which will require staff to operate outside of their normal expectations.Support school leaders to assign staff to these roles.

Determine any remaining vacancies and continue hiring and onboarding new staff

Fill vacancies and onboard new staff, providing mentors to all novice teachers.

Plan observation, feedback, and coaching

Develop a system of observation, feedback, and coaching anchored by clear expectations. Align it to broader system priorities and a coaching methodology that can function in remote or in-person settings.

Plan for teacher absences

Strengthen substitute pools to address potential increases in teacher absenteeism.

Run an improvement cycle focused on providing access for staff to support

Collect the relevant data to monitor access to staff support, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Share new staff roles and expectations and provide training.

Conduct fall budget adjustments.

Conduct any necessary fall budget adjustments to minimize negative impacts on high-risk students. Determine any necessary changes to staffing as a result of the fall leveling or staffing adjustment process.

Develop training material for substitutes

Prepare a training for substitutes on procedures (e.g., taking attendance) technology, curriculum, and student connection/wellbeing needed to teach in remote, hybrid, and in-person settings

Run an improvement cycle focused on the implementation of staff support.

Collect the relevant data to monitor access to staff support (where remaining) and its implementation, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Implement traditional professional learning sessions

Implement school-based professional learning sessions aligned to system professional learning priorities and available in remote or in-person settings.

For each prioritized focus area, identify the quality, implementation, and access goals, and decide those for which data collection will be prioritized.

Identify the team responsible for each prioritized goal and its associated data collection and analysis

It is important to identify the members who will manage data collection and analysis and also those who will act on the information.

Identify the specific data required for each goal

Be sure to account for how remote versus in-person instruction will affect data collection.

Ensure appropriate data access

Make sure that the team has the data that is needed and that data sharing agreements are in place with vendors, community partners, and others, where necessary.

Run an improvement cycle focused on access

Be sure to collect the relevant data to monitor access, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Build the system to collect and communicate the required data and the timeline for collection

This information should be used to develop a plan for how the data will be analyzed and reported.

Communicate to relevant stakeholders expectations around data collection and usage

This will ensure that stakeholders have a clear understanding of the data that is being used to inform your improvement strategy

Collect data on set timelines

For more support on tools for using data to drive systems-level improvement, see this seminal report from the Carnegie Foundation on Transforming Educational Systems Toward Continuous Improvement

Determine gaps in the overall population, and disaggregate data to assess whether there are inequities to address

As a leadership team, investigate the reasons for the gaps and address them

Rerun the cycle and monitor for improvement

Prepare for your next learning cycle

Collect the relevant data to monitor for access (where remaining gaps exist) and to monitor implementation, analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Build the system to collect and communicate the required data and the timeline for collection

This information should be used to develop a plan for how the data will be analyzed and reported.

Communicate to relevant stakeholders expectations around data collection and usage

This will ensure that stakeholders have a clear understanding of the data that is being used to inform your improvement strategy

Collect data on set timelines

For more support on tools for using data to drive systems-level improvement, see this seminal report from the Carnegie Foundation on Transforming Educational Systems Toward Continuous Improvement

Determine gaps in the overall population, and disaggregate data to assess whether there are inequities to address

As a leadership team, investigate the reasons for the gaps and address them

Rerun the cycle and monitor for improvement

Prepare for your next learning cycle

Ensure that students who need more supports have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of background or circumstance

Create a referral pathway for when student and family needs are identified

Include procedures (e.g., follow-up assessment, communication with caregivers) for connecting students to more targeted, intensive (Tiers 2 and 3) supports matched to needs either within school or from identified community partners.

Plan system to ensure two-way communication with families and students (when developmentally appropriate) on the plan for targeted support.

Allow families and students to self-select or opt-in/out as they choose, and provide feedback on progress.

Create a plan to collaborate with community partners to help ensure tailored student supports are implemented effectively and equitably.

- Review the community outreach plan to ensure it includes the identification of external resources available (e.g., community providers, community mental health center) to increase the school’s capacity to provide tailored student supports and ensure they are implemented effectively and equitably.
- Conduct outreach to local providers. Plan opportunities for regular communication between the school and community providers. Establish formal partnerships to provide services and ensure a data sharing agreement for student success. Recommend school systems do this in partnership with schools.

Run an improvement cycle focused on ensuring schools have a plan in place to provide targeted and intensive (Tiers 2 and 3) strategies to each student who needs more support.

Collect the relevant data to ensure schools have plans in place to provide targeted and intensive (Tiers 2 and 3) strategies to each student who needs more support. Analyze gaps, and address issues to reach goals.

Implement selected Tier 2/3 screening or assessment tools to guide decision-making, and identify students who need deeper supports.

If a universal screener is not used, it is essential to identify and train licensed professionals on more targeted, culturally-relevant assessments for identification of needs for Tiers 2/3 supports.

Implement the system for identifying and responding to more targeted and intensive student needs (Tiers 2 and 3)

Connect the students who have demonstrated a need for more targeted or intensive supports with appropriate supports, leveraging the referral pathway

Ensure two-way communication with families and students (when developmentally appropriate) on the plan for support and progress.

For detailed steps and aligned resources on running an improvement cycle focused on engagement access, see the Managing and Improving section.

Use multiple data sources to identify what healing needs to happen - to repair frayed relationships or to help people rejuvenate after the challenging experience.

Re-create your narrative to use during summer communications and especially with the start of school

Connect the experience people have gone through to who you are as an organization and who you are becoming. Try to find new ways to infuse your equity commitments and your values as you reform 2.0 remote structures and you reopen schools.

Re-assess your communication structures, frequencies, and methods for summer and start of school

If COVID-19 closures persist, recognize that you may need to communicate more than average for summer to help combat isolation and stress.

Work with your leadership team to identify and communicate your Q1 priorities for the start of school

As a leadership team, identify your key priorities as your return to school. It is essential that your stakeholders are well informed of your oath forward.

Identify and calendar key start of year communication forums
Think about events such as staff back to school PD, new staff orientation, new family welcome events, etc where you can share priorities and highlight key goals.

Develop a communication strategy for future crisis/closure moments

Identify your key learnings from this crisis to develop a communication strategy for future crises.

Evaluate the benefits of how you have operationalized this challenge

As a leadership team, assess the challenges and successes that your team has had using collaborative structures and distributed leadership during crisis management.

Identify your team’s successes that you want to take into SY ‘20-21

Identify and communicate the successes your team will continue to build upon during the 20-21 school year.

Create and conduct ongoing listening forums for students, families, and staff

To help you keep a pulse on stakeholder needs, conduct ongoing sessions with your various stakeholder groups to communicate your strategies and assess their impact