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By: Bambi Majumdar (commentary)
 Over 55 million K-12 students have been affected by school closures across the country, impacting 124,000 U.S. public and private schools. Students previously used a blended format for learning, which evolved over the years. Traditional schoolwork and classroom learning were supported by a digital infrastructure and tools like iPads. But in a matter of days, everyone had to shift to 100% online learning. For teachers, this has been an even harder challenge to overcome.
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EdTech Magazine
As school districts across the country adopt e-Learning, it's critical that K–12 leaders and educators promote digital citizenship among students. When Loudoun County Public Schools closed their school buildings and shifted to remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia hosted a virtual panel discussion on digital citizenship via Zoom, Nathaniel Cline reports for the Loudoun Times-Mirror.
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MindShift
Three-quarters of U.S. states have now officially closed their schools for the rest of the academic year. While remote learning continues, summer is a question mark, and attention is already starting to turn to next fall. Recently, governors including California's Gavin Newsom and New York's Andrew Cuomo have started to talk about what school reopening might look like. And a federal government plan for reopening, according to The Washington Post, says that getting kids back in classrooms or other group care is the first priority for getting back to normal.
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Education Week
Recently, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that state school chiefs could officially apply for more than $13 billion in federal aid to assist K-12 schools as they deal with the fallout of the coronavirus. DeVos said this program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act comes with "very few bureaucratic strings." But the application for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds makes it clear that states and districts should expect to provide some information about how they use the aid.
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Education DIVE
As the coronavirus pandemic blindsided the nation at large in early March, school districts were suddenly faced with an unprecedented upheaval of the academic calendar. Nearly halfway through the backend of the school year, most would shut down and transition, as best they could, to a remote learning environment while navigating a variety of other needs their students and families may have.
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EdSurge
We are all grappling with an unprecedented environment these days. As we search for ways to navigate this often-challenging new context, it's been encouraging to see that professionals across the early childhood field are increasingly exploring mindfulness as a tool to do just that.
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Education Week
The vast majority of states have closed their school buildings for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year — an unprecedented event in the history of American education that raises a host of difficult new questions for school leaders. How can they refine remote learning to be more effective for the next six to eight weeks? How can they continue to support students' academic and social needs, especially as unemployment ramps up pressures on their food systems? Is there any way to bolster summer learning?
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Champions is an opportunity to exceed every parent’s expectations of what before and after school can be. Our programs immerse K–6 students in an inquiry-based, whole-child learning environment that supports academic and social-emotional learning. Support your teachers’ goals outside the school day without costing your district’s budget. Learn more
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The Hechinger Report (commentary)
Jill Barshay, a contributor for The Hechinger Report, writes: "My Hechinger Report colleagues have written many stories about how low-income students don't get nearly as much help as wealthy students do when it comes time to apply to college. The gap in college counseling is yet another example of how students who need more tend to get less in the United States. So it caught my attention when the American School Counselor Association issued a press release in April 2020, heralding a surprising increase in the number of school counselors, whose jobs include college counseling and career planning as well as student discipline, social-emotional development and addressing students' individual academic needs and learning problems."
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The Brookings Institution
In the midst of an unprecedented crisis, it can be hard to see more than a few days into the future. It's as if we were wandering around in a dense (and deadly) fog. Some commentators are predicting that this will change the way we live; one even predicts that it will "change us as a species." Perhaps, but in what way? We will certainly remember this time for the rest of our lives. At least briefly, we will appreciate the smaller things in life a bit more. But will it really change anything fundamentally, for the long-term? If so, how?
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Edutopia
The extended closure of schools has caused confusion within the special education community. Not only are educators worried about the ability to provide appropriate services to meet the needs of each student, but they also fear falling out of compliance with the child's individualized education program. For many, spring also marks a busy time in the academic calendar, as it is when many annual review meetings are completed.
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Move This World
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The Lead Change Group (commentary)
Randy Conley, a contributor for The Lead Change Group, writes: "As I write this in mid-April 2020, it appears that here in the United States we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several areas in the country are starting to report a decrease in the number of new infections, which mirrors the experience of several countries around the world. I hesitate to even think we may be on the downhill side of this journey, because a lesson I've re-learned many times this year is to hold my assumptions about the future very lightly. The Yiddish proverb that 'man plans, God laughs' rings true."
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Harvard Business Review (commentary)
Gianpiero Petriglieri, a contributor for Harvard Business Review, writes: "When I ask groups of managers what makes a good leader, I seldom have to wait long before someone says, 'Vision!' and everyone nods. I have asked that question countless times for the past 20 years, to cohorts of senior executives, middle managers, and young students from many different sectors, industries, backgrounds, and countries. The answer is always the same: A vision inspires and moves people. "
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The 74
As the social and economic shutdown triggered by COVID-19 stretches into a second month, sobering jobless numbers indicate that America is headed into a recession. And experts say one group of K-12 employees is subject to particular uncertainty: non-teaching personnel. With 21 states and three U.S. territories already recommending or ordering that their schools remain closed for the duration of the 2019-2020 school year, and with most students learning from home for at least the near term, the pandemic has sidelined millions of workers — from building custodians to classroom aides to school psychologists — who normally attend to a huge range of school needs.
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EdTech Magazine
Cybersecurity threats are a persistent problem for K–12 schools, and that's true even when classes move online for remote learning. Phishing is the primary gateway for cyberattacks, according to the Consortium for School Networking. Phishing emails are a tool to trick people into revealing personal information or to click links that lead to malicious software, CoSN explained.
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District Administration Magazine
As school districts strive and struggle to serve students and communities through the COVID-19 crisis — as we work to provide the best possible education to our diverse student bodies from a distance, under circumstances we've never before encountered — the issue of equity is at the forefront. In schools, poverty is largely hidden as students come through our school doors with eager minds. The disparities in students' lives outside of school can be masked by the equality within our schools. Students make friends, share lunch tables, and run and play together at recess, often without giving much thought to each other’s home lives.
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EdScoop
The coronavirus pandemic has forced school districts to take a longer-term view on ways to facilitate distance learning. In order to deliver a valuable student experience, however, educators need the right tools. In an on-demand webinar from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, three education technology experts offer insights into how a suite of tools — including the company's MyRoom application — can enable teachers and administrators to deliver a more productive distance learning experience for students.
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District Administration Magazine
Even the students in rural Gilmer County, West Virginia, who have WiFi or broadband internet access at home sometimes get caught on the wrong side of the digital divide when the weather's bad. And students learning remotely without connectivity can snap a picture of a completed homework packet and, if they can find a way to share it with teachers, they get a boost in their grade.
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Language Magazine
Mattie Mendez, executive director for Community Action Partnership of Madera County, runs Head Start Centers for children from migrant families in Madera and Fresno counties. Almost all of the children who come to these Head Start centers are learning two languages — their native Spanish (though some speak native dialects like Mixteco) and English.
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The Hechinger Report (commentary)
Jill Barshay, a contributor for The Hechinger Report, writes: "The coronavirus school closures have triggered a mass experiment in using educational technology, from video conferencing to automated feedback. Many users are underwhelmed and longing for the moment we can return to traditional in-person instruction. But now that teachers are getting a lot of practice in using technology, I wonder if the long-term effects of this pandemic will be increased use of technology not by students but by teachers behind the scenes. One area that researchers have been investigating is how to use computerized classroom simulations for teacher training at schools of education."
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School shut down? Looking to expand your teachers' professional learning? IRIS can help. Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, we offer free online PD, covering behavior management, differentiated instruction, accommodations for students with disabilities and more, to increase your teachers' knowledge of evidence-based
practices:
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/pd-hours/
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EdTech Magazine
Next-generation education emphasizes the "Four C's of learning" — critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity — which have become cornerstone skills for learners of all ages. In K–12 schools, integrating technology into the curriculum can bring those skills to life and transform the way students learn.
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District Administration Magazine
Turning school buses into mobile WiFi hotspots will provide broadband access and equity in narrowing the digital divide in online learning during the coronavirus crisis and when K-12 education begins to return to normal. When Florida schools closed, leaders at the School District Of Manatee County knew about 20% to 30% of their students would need devices and access, and handed about 10,000 devices and about 400 mobile WiFi hotspots, Chief Technology Officer Scott Hansen says.
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Tech&Learning
PBS KIDS has released the newest app in The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! family called The Cat in the Hat Invents, which helps young children to learn more about STEM concepts through activities such as designing their own robots and exploring different worlds.
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District Administration Magazine
Students with dyslexia may already feel inadequate and incompetent because of their difficulty reading, but add to that the stress of having to learn remotely and these students may enter into a fight, flight or freeze response. "They want to retreat because they're overwhelmed," says Terrie L. Noland, vice president of educator initiatives at Learning Ally in Princeton, N.J. This is why it's important to talk with them about how they're doing and make sure they're socially and emotionally ready to learn before starting a session with them on phonological awareness and other literacy skills.
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MiddleWeb
There is a terrible sense of pressure in this Zoom meeting with my grade-band colleagues. Like most teachers in the country, we've just invented an online public school within a week. We seem to be used to it, ironically — processes tumbling forward, nearly out of our grasp. This turning on a dime, dismissing one initiative to embrace another, learning on the fly, gulping down our lunches in 5 minutes, handling six platforms at once.
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Edutopia
The things that used to be routine in schools — morning announcements, bells ringing, classroom interactions, hallway gatherings, lunch chats and peer bonding — are temporarily gone with the wind. As virtual learning continues with no end in sight here in New Jersey, staying on track and motivated can be a challenge for all students. This is particularly true for high school students with learning disabilities that affect processing, retaining information and comprehension, who are more inclined to experience struggles in completing schoolwork.
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eSchool News (commentary)
Jenny Kendall, a contributor for eSchool News, writes: "For the past 20 years, I've been fortunate to help students with special needs receive the high-quality education they deserve. During this time, I've guided them and their families as they navigate the common misconception that online learning can't work for them. It can and it has. But for those who are new to the online learning environment, making the switch during such a tumultuous time in our nation can be overwhelming to say the least."
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Education Week
Demand for curricula that teach social and emotional skills is soaring, as schools increasingly come to see those skills as something teachers should be teaching. A survey last year by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL, a leading advocacy group on the topic, found that 70% of principals think teachers need a formal curriculum to teach SEL. Two years earlier, 43% thought so.
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We Are Teachers
Now more than ever, it's critical for kids to know how to wash their hands. But they'll never do it if they don't know why. They need to know what germs are — microscopic bacteria and viruses that can make you sick — as well as how easily germs spread. But germ education doesn't have to be a lecture or a health textbook.
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Edutopia
What an educator with experience teaching online has learned about structuring students' online and offline experiences and how to provide feedback to keep the learning going.
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eSchool News
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country struggle to move their brick-and-mortar classrooms to remote online learning environments. While empowering students to take the lead in their education is the vision and mission of school districts, the abrupt move to distance learning has put a heavy burden of responsibility on our students.
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MiddleWeb
During regular times the goal of most educators is to provide students with choice in their learning and a voice in sharing their learning with peers and the world at large. In enacting choice and voice, the continuous goal is cultivating a community of engaged and passionate learners. But what does it mean to create choice, voice and community and what happens when learning goes online?
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Language Magazine
What if every child could be offered a bilingual education? According to NYC's Fabrice Jaumont, the power is in our hands to do it and he's hosting a series of informative webinars on how to champion bilingual education, gather community support, locate a host school and ultimately launch a dual-language program at your local school.
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Edutopia
Though remote learning has brought many challenges, some students seem to be thriving in the new circumstances. What can we learn from them?
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Ruhr-University Bochum via Science Daily
During learning, the brain is a prediction engine that continually makes theories about our environment and accurately registers whether an assumption is true or not. A team of neuroscientists has shown that expectation during these predictions affects the activity of various brain networks.
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Chalkbeat
Schools are bracing for a recession. State budgets are cratering, leading education advocates to seek federal help. And though most teachers' jobs have been safe so far, schools may soon face painful cuts. For many education leaders, this sounds all too familiar. American schools had to make substantial cuts a decade ago, following the Great Recession and many states have only recently seen their education budgets recover.
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NAESP
Check in with your staff, monitor your students, communicate with your parents, oh and balance teleworking! Does it feel as if you are building and flying the plane at the same time? In this session participants will hear best practices on how to structure their work day amidst our new normal. Dr. Ryan Daniel and Dr. James Edmond Jr. will discuss balancing wellness checks with staff, monitoring students and communicating with parents. We will focus on tips to balance the work-life balance while making sure to remember the most important person of it all, YOU! Recommended for all principals — especially early career!
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NAESP
A few weeks ago, like many, our household received notification that school would be moving to remote learning because of the coronavirus pandemic. Soon after, my wife (a math specialist teacher in a public elementary school) immediately began collaborating with colleagues about how to meet student needs. Because we (like you!) are all working from home, I couldn't help overhear some of the conversations they were having through videoconferencing and the like.
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