Governance

Essential actions that will foster a shared understanding of goals, responsibilities, and accountability.

District LeadersSchool Leaders
Large brick High School Building
Photo by Gautam Krishnan on Unsplash

Do First

  • Launch a Return to School Committee and name a leader with single-point accountability, meaning there is one person who is ultimately responsible.
    • The Return to School Committee should include staff with oversight of the essential workflows detailed in the roadmap (this may include the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Academic Officer, Head of Facilities, Head of Human Resources, and Head of Student Health, among others).
    • The Return to School Committee should have a representative from each school in the district.
  • Articulate a vision in line with local values and community needs relative to the Return to School Committee’s work and communicate this vision with all district stakeholders.
  • Define and assign roles and responsibilities of Return to School Committee work. This may include creating subcommittees relative to essential actions within each workflow.
  • Institute a regular virtual meeting schedule. 
  • Assess where additional capacity and support may be needed from external partners to support the Return to School Committee’s work. Subsequently, develop strategies, including procurement considerations, for securing assistance.

Do Before School Opens

  • Establish/Reestablish a district-level Pandemic Response Committee and name a leader with single-point accountability, meaning there is one person who is ultimately responsible.
    • The Pandemic Response Committee should include representative stakeholders, such as administrators, teachers, and parents, in addition to subject matter experts. 
    • Define/Redefine the core structure of the Pandemic Response Committee including,  operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration.
  • Create or amend any existing District Pandemic Response Plans and Emergency Recovery Plans based on lessons learned from the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak to date that will help inform responses to a second wave in school year 2020-2021, should it materialize.
  • Scenario plan with Pandemic Response Committee and Return to School Committee.  Multiple scenarios should include:
    • School begins on time and remains open
    • School begin on time and closes due to a second wave of SARS-CoV-2
    • School opening is delayed 
  • Meet with key stakeholders to understand their expectations for return to school across issue areas  (e.g., teacher and administrator unions).
  • Refine and update communication protocols and tools for information sharing between local and state public health agencies and policy leaders as well as district stakeholders relative to return to school.
  • Socialize the work of both the District Return to School Committee and District Pandemic Response Committees broadly to facilitate communication and shared understanding.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating

  • Continue District Pandemic Response Committee workflows based on community pandemic-response alert level.
  • Provide consistent updates on return to school work and pandemic response planning with district stakeholders.
  • Conduct a post-mortem of the Return to School Committee’s work and codify recommendations for future improvement.
  • Update the Return to School Committee’s procedures and processes based on post-mortem conclusions and recommendations.