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District Administration Magazine
The closing of schools in March was very surreal and unsettling. COVID-19 rocked the world and changed the reality of schools in general and the concept of leading in particular. Leading and operating in challenging and unpredictable circumstances is the norm for school leaders, but the COVID-19 pandemic came crashing down with little time to prepare or plan.
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EdTech Magazine
School districts are planning for the upcoming academic year under a cloud of uncertainty, especially around funding. Due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, states are facing steep declines in income and tax revenue, leaving district leaders worried about budget cuts in the new fiscal year. Reopening schools during a pandemic will also require new investments in technology — from thermal body temperature scanners to sanitation tools — and additional staff hiring.
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By Brian Stack (commentary)
 In case you hadn’t noticed, our nation is divided, and I’m not talking about politics here. I am talking about one of the most fundamental ideals that our country was founded on: That all were created equal. As debates surge around the nation on how we as a society can finally put an end to racism, we need to be mindful that many of our children are set to return to their schools this fall and need our guidance as adults to help them make sense of this very important issue that we are all facing.
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District Administration Magazine
Students with emotional and behavioral disorders may not have received consistent responses to their challenging behaviors during school closures and in the summer, particularly if one or both of their parents had to return to work in person. This may have allowed students to develop some inappropriate behaviors and regress in their ability to self-regulate.
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MindShift
The students are met at the school door with a thermometer and a health quiz, answering questions like "Are you feeling sick today?" Once they pass this quiz, the students in this summer enrichment program outside St. Louis proceed to folding chairs spread 10 feet apart across the gymnasium to eat breakfast alone.
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EdSource
With students facing ever-growing levels of depression and anxiety as the pandemic wears on, nearly everyone agrees that school districts need to expand their mental health services. But budget uncertainties have stymied school districts' efforts to hire more counselors and psychologists, leaving mental health advocates worried that thousands of students in California won't receive the help they need.
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MiddleWeb (commentary)
Like so many times before, the slow burn of racial injustice erupted in a blaze of protests — illuminating long-standing social, economic, and educational disparities and divisions. Only this time was different. This time, as George Floyd pleaded to breathe, the world held its collective breath too. Wrenching in pain with his face buried into the asphalt by a policeman's knee, we anxiously watched his life slip away, hoping the outcome would be different.
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Our extensive online curriculum includes over 280 graduate-level, self-paced courses in 20 different subject areas. Get help with:
• Online Instruction
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Learn more about Advancement Courses!
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The Brookings Institution
One of the most enduring — and maddening — aspects of Betsy DeVos's legacy as secretary of education will be the way she has politically charged complicated issues in education. By reducing nuanced issues to a simple directive or judgment, she has attached her reputation — and President Donald Trump's reputation in turn — to those positions, making the issues as polarizing as the two of them. Examples abound, from charter schools to Title IX.
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EdSurge
Erin Simon had big goals for this school year. The director of student support services for Long Beach Unified School District wanted to reduce the number of local students who were chronically absent, a term that refers to those who miss 15 or more school days of the academic year.
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The 74
Back in April, when New York and New Jersey were blowing up like Sodom and Gomorrah, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was golden. Despite its being one of the first states to record cases of COVID-19, California's outbreak seemed to be well under control. Newsom was optimistic enough to announce a phased reopening that included sending kids back to school in July.
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Fast Company
Times are incredibly tough right now, and you may feel beaten down by quarantines, job loss, stress and worries about your health. This is natural and can take a significant toll. The key to survival will be building your resilience and finding ways to persist and persevere.
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By Terri Williams (commentary)
Millions of Americans are currently out of work, so those who still have jobs are feeling grateful just to be employed. However, these workers also report feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work they're doing. A new study by VitalSmarts reveals over half struggle to say "no" when they've hit their project threshold, only about a third successfully negotiate their workload as needed, and fewer than 30% successfully manage urgent requests so their to-do list won't be wrecked.
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Training Industry Magazine
What happens when you go to sleep in one world and wake up in another? In what feels like a significant and dramatic shift, our illusion of safety has shattered. Activities such as taking a walk through the park, hugging our neighbors and spontaneously meeting for coffee have been paused in the spirit of reaching a collaborative health goal.
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Harvard Business Review
Do you have a feeling in the pit of your stomach that you and you boss just don't click? Are you flummoxed about why your manager seems to interact so effortlessly with your colleagues but then avoids you or acts like you're not there? Do you worry that they don't trust you or, even worse, don't like you?
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Forbes
Anxiety can affect work in a variety of ways: Anxiety from outside work can impact concentration; work stress itself can be a source of anxiety; and people feel more easily overwhelmed when they're feeling anxious. This can mean that tasks that usually feel well within your capacity can feel overwhelming.
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Leadership Freak
"Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference," Aristotle. It doesn't matter how much jewelry you put in a pig's snout. It still stinks. Unattractive people can be like gentle rain in the wilderness. It doesn't matter how bulbous their nose, they refresh everything that comes near. Beauty invites. Ugly repels.
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As we head into the new school year, it is going to be essential to have the flexibility to provide both in-class, as well as distance learning opportunities. Online curriculum resources will play an important role in helping to support teachers and students.
Essential Skills has been providing comprehensive and affordable digital learning solutions for over 20 years. We invite your school to try our popular online learning platform risk-free until September 30th.
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Education Week
Backtracking slightly on his aggressive push for schools to reopen President Donald Trump conceded that some districts in areas heavily affected by the coronavirus may have to delay returning students to their buildings. "In cities or states that are current hot spots — and you'll see that in the map behind me — districts may need to delay reopening for a few weeks, and that's possible," Trump said at a White House briefing. "That'll be up to governors.
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Chalkbeat
Should schools administer standardized tests next year? Many state and local education officials from across the country are pushing for cancelling federally required testing for next school year. Most recently New York City council members made the case, writing, "Amidst the extreme conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting state tests cannot possibly be fair to students." One state, Georgia, has formally requested a waiver, and others have indicated they will as well.
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CNN
New U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on education and child care come down hard in favor of opening schools, saying children don't suffer much from coronavirus, are less likely than adults to spread it and suffer from being out of school. But the new guidelines do recommend that local officials should consider closing schools, or keeping them closed, if there is substantial, uncontrolled transmission of the virus. The CDC has been promising new guidelines after demands from President Donald Trump that the agency alter its recommendations for opening schools.
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EdTech Magazine
Any K–12 district CTO will tell you that transitioning a school community to a remote learning environment involves long-range strategic planning, allocation of resources, focused sustainable professional development and equitable access to devices and connectivity for students. However, the race was on when when coronavirus pandemic-related state mandates closed school buildings earlier this year. Understanding the detrimental impact that school closures can have on student access to education, school districts rushed to create online learning plans that would ensure educational continuity for the last months of the school year.
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Education Week
Few schools in the United States will get through the 2020-2021 academic year without some form of remote learning, for some portion of the student body, for some period of time. Until an effective vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available and distributed, the possibility of viral spread will pose an obstacle to many forms of in-person interaction, particularly in indoor spaces such as school buildings.
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eSchool News
Revenue for game-based learning and education is projected to reach more than $24 billion by 2024, according to a new market forecast. Metaari's 2019-2024 Global Game-based Learning Market study, released by Serious Play Conference, notes that growth in AI game-based learning also is expected to skyrocket, analysts say.
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Classcraft
In an effort to adapt to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, many school administrators are going virtual overnight and are, understandably, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Transitioning from a brick-and-mortar to a virtual school is no small task, and you may find yourself in uncharted territory.
So, where do you start?
Here are five questions you should ask about online learning to help get you started.
EdTech Magazine
Videoconferencing platforms have become an essential part of K–12 education during the coronavirus pandemic. With many schools continuing remote learning through the fall, maintaining connections among students, parents and educators is even more crucial. According to a Phi Delta Kappa International survey conducted this spring, 70% of high school students said increased communication would make them feel more connected to their peers and teachers during remote learning; 19% said video chats would help them feel that way.
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NPR
Wayne Banks is a middle school math teacher and principal in residence for KIPP charter schools. These days, like many teachers around the country, the 29-year-old is working from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Banks has never been formally trained to teach online, but that hasn't stopped him from trying to make his classes as engaging and challenging as possible. "I really took the opportunity in March to be like, 'I just have to figure this out.' [It was] a do or die for me," Banks says.
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Edutopia (commentary)
Vicki Davis, a contributor for Edutopia, writes: "As educators face uncertainties this fall, it helps to focus on a few things that are certain. The modern classroom is more than a physical room — it's also a digital space for learning and collaboration. As I look at the fall, I'm certain that no matter what happens, my students and I will need to master our digital classroom."
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Teaching Channel
While teachers are especially good at filling up their calendars amongst an ever-changing world and preparing for what's next, be sure to pause and take your well-deserved break. You've earned it. The world around us moves fast and, for a teacher, the summer moves even faster. You probably won't conquer everything on that ever-growing list. But if you choose just a few things in your personalized professional learning plan to work on this summer, you'll start the school year refreshed, recharged, and ready to take on the challenges this year will bring.
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By Sheilamary Koch (commentary)
When Christina Bethell was little, she lived in a low-income housing complex where her neighbor, a quiet lady the kids called Mrs. Raccoon, always had her door open for neighborhood kids. Every Saturday she threw a tea party with candy to celebrate any child with a birthday that week. Bethell fondly remembers the woman's kindness as source of comfort during her challenging childhood. Dr. Bethell, now a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, shared this story on the release day of her study on the long-term effects of Positive Childhood Experiences on mental health.
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The 74
With their students stuck in their homes for months on end, the leaders of the Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools know that the return to school in the fall will bring a range of challenges, logistical as well as emotional. Seeking a solution that promotes learning in the best environment for all students, staff and families, Brooklyn LAB created the Equity by Design project, linking together leading school thought leaders, architects and designers to create a Back to School Facilities Tool Kit, to map a safe journey from home to school, and an Instructional Program Scheduling Map, a blueprint for how to best rearrange teams of educators and groups of students for safe, in-person instruction.
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“Together, We Thrive,” the latest series of webinars and resources from Classcraft, is designed to equip educators with the tools they need to support students through MTSS or PBIS, maintain consistency when shifting between in-person and remote learning, actively engage parents, and promote equity. Join us!
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Enhance social distancing during dismissal with student backpack tags & parent car line signs.
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eSchool News
As a certified virtual teacher for the past three years, my life and general routine has changed very little since school closures were put into effect in March. That being said, it was heartbreaking to watch the mass majority of teachers adjust to virtual teaching with little guidance or preparation. With the school year wrapping up, summer will look very different for teachers who are now left wondering how they should prepare for September; will they continue distance learning? Will they return to their classrooms?
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Edutopia
Some schools are changing the way they teach reading — based on research that shows background knowledge is more critical to comprehension than general skills like "finding the main idea."
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Tech & Learning
The sudden shift to distance learning was difficult for everyone. What's clear is that educators need data and flexibility for teaching anywhere, through any challenge. In this Tech & Learning Remote Learning webinar, Dr. Kecia Ray talked with thought leaders about how they use data in planning for the year ahead, including to deliver personalized learning, identify and address learning gaps, manage hybrid scheduling and attendance, and more.
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MiddleWeb
Independent reading provides students an opportunity to build vocabulary, increase comprehension, and build confidence, while fostering a love of reading. However, it can be challenging to motivate middle grades students and hold them accountable without turning free reading into a laborious process for both the student and teacher.
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Education Week
More than half of teachers don't think there should be any in-person instruction at the beginning of the school year — and nearly 1 in 5 say they won't return to work if their district does reopen school buildings. Teachers are more likely than administrators to express concerns about returning to school. The vast majorities of school leaders (96%) and district leaders (90%) say they are willing to return to their school building for in-person instruction, compared to 81% of teachers.
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District Administration Magazine
School districts weighing options for the 2020-2021 academic year have new data to consider from Junior Achievement and teen students. In a recent Youth CARAVAN survey done by Engine Insights of 1,000 students ages 13-17, two-thirds said they are concerned about a return to school and nearly 40% are "extremely" or "very" concerned about going back to in-person instruction. Only a quarter of the respondents say they would prefer a live, five-day-a-week schedule.
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The New York Times
Is it possible to reopen school buildings in the fall in a way that keeps kids, educators, staff and their families and communities safe from COVID-19? Is it possible not to do so without harming them in other ways? Already, school closures have set children behind academically. More than 20 million children rely on school breakfasts and lunches. Too many parents face the choice between losing their jobs or leaving their children at home unsupervised.
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The Hechinger Report
As the coronavirus pandemic spread through the country, a common (socially distanced) conversation among friends and families compared how many hours of remote learning kids were getting. Preliminary results from a new survey of school districts confirm what many parents learned through the Zoom grapevine. The number of hours your kids got varied wildly depending on where you happen to live. But the amount of time was not the only difference, according to a recent survey: the type of instruction students received also diverged dramatically.
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NPR
The head of a powerful national teachers union told members that its leadership would support "safety strikes" if health precautions are not met amid calls for schools to reopen as coronavirus cases surge. Randi Weingarten, who leads the American Federation of Teachers, is leaving the final decision to local unions on whether to strike. The AFT — the nation's second-largest teachers union, with 1.7 million members — also unveiled several benchmarks that it said should be met before schools can fully welcome back students and staff.
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Super Star Online: Phonics, Reading & Math. Engaging and Affordable interactive online courses for campus and distance learning.
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The Colorado Sun
Before Alamosa School District, No. Re-11J can begin teaching its students this fall, its leaders, teachers and staff members have a lot of their own learning to do. They need to get to know the students they'll instruct this next school year, understand what might concern them about returning to school and hear from families about what worked for them during remote learning and what didn't. And so leading up to the start of the school year on Aug. 26, the district's teachers will interview students one on one — all 2,300 of them — along with their families.
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NAESP
Are you a teacher leader, an assistant principal or an early career principal searching for quality professional learning to take your leadership to the next level? If you are an aspiring leader who is committed to building your leadership knowledge, skills and dispositions to create a culture for improved student learning, then the National Aspiring Principal Academy will support your goal.
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NAESP
Join a moderated discussion with panelists of principals and school leaders who will share strategies on using previous knowledge of students, as well as challenges involved in the spring shutdown of their schools, to help drive their current reopening plans.
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