isease 2019 Resources: Provides guidance and numerous resources to assist school nurses in planning for post-COVID return to school for students, provision of virtual care, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), safe transmittal of resources between home and school, teaching students and families about risks and safe behaviors, and more.
Return to School Roadmap - A Resource for Parents on Returning to In-Person Learning (en Espanol): Offers a checklist to help parents prepare for their children’s safe return to school for the 2021-2022 school year. The US Department of Education’s roadmap provides information to help parents:
- Plan for eligible children to get vaccinated
- Talk to your school about health and safety protocols
- Talk with children who are not yet eligible for a vaccine about strategies to keep them safe at school
- Make a plan to access safe transportation to and from school
- Talk with your child’s teacher about your child’s needs, and
- Connect to support
Preparing Your Child to Go Back to School In-Person (en Espanol): Offers insights to understand nature of predictable anxiety in young students and family members in anticipation of return to in-person learning after more than a year of interrupted learning. “Parents are out of practice when it comes to commuting and kids are out of practice dealing with full days and a full week of in-person school. The beginning of the school year is always a time of adjustment, with some anxiety, but now that’s amplified for a lot of kids, because it’ll be a long day for many who have been used to shorter days, intermittent study times, and lighter demands.” Child Mind Institute offers several recommendations, including trying to not subject students to all the changes at once.
Catalyzing Family, School, and Community Partnerships: Reports about the programs and services that 12 current statewide family engagement centers (SFECs) are providing to families, practitioners, community stakeholders and state leaders; provides highlights of specific resources and services the SFECs have developed; provides insight into how grantees have supported their constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic; and demonstrates how SFECs offer critical services to strengthen connections between home, school, and community to support students, families, and schools. Though September 2021, 12 SFECs representing 13 states (AZ, CT, HI, KY, MD, MA, MN, NE, OH, PA, SC, SD, WV) have been funded by the U.S. Department of Education to create systemic partnerships with State Education Agencies [SEA] to provide technical assistance and training to schools, districts, community partners, and SEAs, as well as to provide parenting education and family engagement programming.
Helping Children Cope with Changes Resulting From COVID-19: Provides insight and guidelines for parents and caregivers to provide guidance and reassurance to children who can feel anxious about this new type of virus. The National Association of School Psychologists advises that acknowledging a level of concern without panicking is appropriate and can generate actions that reduce the risk of illness. Helping children cope with anxiety requires providing accurate prevention information and facts without causing undue alarm. This website provides extensive tip sheets and other resources in numerous languages.
Talking with Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks (en Español): Helps parents, caregivers, and teachers learn some common reactions to anticipate in children and youth at each developmental stage. SAMHSA provides guidance to parents and caregivers to help manage children’s responses, how to listen and respond in a helpful way, and to recognize when children, youth, parents, caregivers or teachers might need more (professional) help.
Partner Resources, Tools and Guides - COVID-19 Resources: Lists links to national and international resources that can help families, school social workers and other helpers to address a variety of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. E