Instruction

Essential actions to achieve a comprehensive understanding of students’ academic and social-emotional well-being when they return and to effectively transition back to instruction in the classroom

District LeadersSchool Leaders
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Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash

Do First 

  • Maintain regular communication with district leadership to understand and inform the district’s approach to instruction, assessment, and eventual onboarding of the school community.
  • Establish virtual structures for teacher teams to continue collaborating on curriculum planning and assessing student academic and social-emotional well-being when they return to school. Encourage teacher teams to:
    • Continually assess and analyze student work that is submitted from remote learning assignments, if available.
    • Engage in intentional curriculum planning for now and the return to school that is clearly documented with curriculum maps, pacing plans and calendars, and lesson plans, in case of any additional disruptions to school time.
    • Evaluate and share knowledge around the use and effectiveness of digital tools and online programs for remote learning.
    • Identify the most vulnerable students and design targeted intervention plans for when they return.
    • Select the most appropriate assessments to assess students’ academic and social-emotional health when they return.
  • Strengthen intervention programming and social-emotional supports by working closely with intervention specialists, school counselors, and school social workers and psychologists. 
  • Support teachers to create feedback loops with parents and families about students’ academic and social-emotional health and well-being, through use of virtual conferences and/or surveys to parents about their child’s experience and learning while out of school.
  • Create a technology use survey to assess the number and types of technologies teachers are using to conduct remote learning and begin to assess their effectiveness.

Do Before School Opens

  • Meet with staff to align expectations around instruction and learning for the rest of the school year and/or upcoming school year, with students’ academic and social-emotional health at the forefront. Explicitly acknowledge equity and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable students as a priority.
  • Analyze data from any student work that was submitted during remote learning, along with feedback from parents, to support teachers to make adjustments to curriculum and instruction to meet students where they are.
  • Revisit students’ Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in partnership with teachers and parents to reflect each student’s evolving needs based on time away from associated services including OT, PT, and Speech while schools were closed.
  • Develop a parent communication strategy to inform parents about their child’s assessment data and progress, which could include grade-level and standards-specific activities they can use to support their child at home.
  • Share information and guidance on grading, report cards, and promotion policies with teachers and parents.
  • Survey teachers about their needs around restorative and social-emotional supports and professional learning on topics, such as SARS-CoV-2 and trauma, equity and implicit bias, Social Emotional Learning, inclusion and appropriate use of digital and online learning tools and systems.
  • Assess the effectiveness, appropriateness, and sustainability of certain digital and online tools for supporting instruction and meeting students’ instructional needs.
  • Communicate with teachers about their plans to onboard students and reestablish the classroom environment through emphasizing relationships with students and parents and resetting routines.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating

  • Understand every student’s academic health by using assessments and assessment methods, including formative assessments, diagnostics, conferences, advisories, and parent feedback.  Maintain systems to continually monitor learning progress and loss.
  • Analyze data to design instruction and adjust curriculum, potentially in teacher teams, to meet students where they are and address learning progress and loss.
  • Identify additional students in need of intervention and/or services, whether academic or social-emotional and prioritize support for the most vulnerable students.
  • Procure any additional programs, tools, or materials to support differentiation, intervention, and remote learning, based on students’ needs.
  • Communicate with families and parents about every student’s progress and plans for students in need of additional support.
  • Explore the inclusion and integration of select digital and online learning tools and practices at certain grade levels and classrooms where they can be used appropriately, effectively, and sustainably. 
  • Integrate best practices in Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive Education to ensure high-quality instruction and ongoing support for all students.