 “far from normal.”
American Rescue Plan Funds Can Transform Education for Young Adults: Delineates program and funding strategies states can adopt to effectively support students who are in great need. This brief from JFF Foundation and the National Governors Association [NGA] explains the American Rescue Plan Act [ARPA] opportunities states now have to use federal stimulus funds to create innovative educational programs to support students who have fallen behind, or have disappeared from schooling altogether during the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief shows how LEAs can partner with local employers, community colleges, alternative high schools, training programs and other community-based organizations to provide pathways and supports that connect disconnected youth to build college- and career readiness skills.
Addressing Student Re-Engagement in the Time of COVID-19 -- Resource Guide: Highlights emerging strategies, tools, frameworks, and policy guidance to address the subset of students considered missing or “non-contactable” since March 2020 who need reengagement. On behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families, and the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Coalition for Community Schools intend for readers to “blend and braid” the included strategies and tools to match each community’s unique needs, cultures, and priorities.
Attendance Playbook: Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism in the COVID Era: Provides ideas and strategies from FutureEd and Attendance Works for addressing absenteeism during distance learning. Attendance Works has recently added a new implementation guide.
Re-engaging Disconnected Students Online and at School: Focus on Intrinsic Motivation: Presents practice notes from UCLA’s Center for Mental Health in Schools and Student Learning Supports that consider numerous options for reconnecting with students and then sustaining their involvement in instruction. Favored strategies should be predicated on and understanding that students who are intrinsically motivated to learn are most likely to seek out opportunities and challenges and go beyond requirements, in contrast to those who are extrinsically motivated. Practices should appeal to students’ fundamental personal needs to feel self-determining, competent, and related to others; and should avoid over-reliance on “extrinsics” (rewards and punishments) that can undermine intrinsic motivation.
Family Support Toolbox (Louisiana Dept. of Education): Offers parents of Louisiana’s K-12 students with a toolbox and information to empower them to decide the best education for their children. A family support library, an easily navigated set of current school information, guidance about student assessments and state tests, back-to-school guides in numerous languages (Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese), and special sections on college and career preparation, as well as for students with disabilities, provide parents with extensive information to support their substantial and constructive engagement in their children’s learning, especially in light of continuing challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preventing A Lost School Year Guide: The Crucial Importance of Motivating Students & Engaging Families: Asserts “six essentials for motivating and supporting students,” and links directly to several guides and other supportive resources addressing grading practices, student advisement, social-emotional learning for students, and family engagement tools. Although originally prepared in advance of the 2020-21 school year, this guide developed by the Stand for Children Leadership Center includes strategies that remain pertinent in 2021-22.
Students Need Emotional Support When Returning to School in Person. Here's How: Offers six recommendations from a licensed professional school counselor in the District of Columbia about ways that schools can prioritize students’ emotional well-being as they resume in-person classes.
Transitioning Back to School: Tips for Parents: Discusses tips for pa