Fall 2020 – Planning a Successful Restart

The impact sudden school closures will have on academic growth remains to be seen. Some kids may see a boost from personalized, high-quality learning experiences at home, while students who did not have consistent support or instruction may slide. This session will provide high-level principles for how school and district instructional leaders can close gaps from the previous school year while teaching grade-level standards in a way that best meets students where they are. Additionally, moderators will discuss promising practices from schools, districts, and charter management organizations from across the country on preparing for back-to-school.

Students and educators alike have experienced trauma in the wake of this crisis. For kids to learn, their social and emotional needs must be addressed alongside their academic needs. Integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) with academic learning and funds of knowledge serves the needs of the whole child. This session will focus on the impact of trauma and stress on students and how to act on that information to build a districtwide and schoolwide plan to support students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) with an integrated approach.

Many students with disabilities may not have had access to the accommodations, instruction and services provided in their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) during school closures, and may face a steeper road to progress. This session will address how school and district leaders can create structures that provide equitable access and promote strong growth for students with disabilities.

What content would students have been exposed to if schools had not closed? How will important content from prior grades be integrated into the scope and sequence for the coming year? Dialing the time machine back to March 2020 and restarting instruction from there is not the answer. Instructional leaders should consider reviewing each grade level’s scope and sequence from the time frame of school closure to prioritize key standards, concepts, and skills to formatively assess and plan for in the coming year. This session will provide leaders with ideas to support developing plans to address unfinished student learning.

Students will likely have widely variable learning needs in the coming school year. More than ever, educators will need clarity in their instruction, and students will need agency in their learning. Engaging in classroom formative practice will help educators and students to partner in teaching and learning. This session will support leaders shaping their back-to-school expectations, conversations, and support for building stronger teacher-student partnerships in the classroom.

Educators will face unprecedented challenges as they work to address student learning loss and social-emotional needs. The uncertainty of what “school” might look like this fall will add additional complexity to these challenges.
With all that remains unknown, students and families will continue to rely on the relationships they build with teachers and the greater school community. This discussion will encourage educators to share effective distance learning strategies that keep relationships at the center in an effort to ensure distance learning meets the needs of all students.