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The pandemic has forced policymakers and educators to rethink and retool in order to ensure continued student learning, despite school closures. The crisis of COVID-19 also creates an opportunity to build long-term capacity and enact new policies and practices to advance more equitable and student-centered school systems. This blog provides an overview of a comprehensive framework for restarting and reinventing school.

As U.S. schools closed their doors this past spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-considered effect was the impact of school closures on the preparation of the next generation of educators. Leaders of educator preparation programs affiliated with EdPrepLab share how they have adapted to the changing landscape. The crisis has created opportunities for programs to innovate, while maintaining high standards and a commitment to equity.

COVID-19 hasn’t stopped teachers and students from engaging in powerful teaching and learning. As schools shifted to distance learning in the closing months of the 2019–20 school year, course adaptions created opportunities for students to make new discoveries about themselves and topics of interest. Through authentic projects and presentations of learning, students have demonstrated that they remain hungry for and capable of doing rigorous, meaningful work. 

As school and district leaders prepare to start school—whether in person or virtually—their work should be grounded in two essential questions: How can we address the acute needs of young people, who continue to grapple with the dual impacts of COVID 19 and systemic racism? And, how can we use this crisis as an opportunity to transform schools into nurturing communities that are committed to equity, diversity, and antiracism?

Educators with the Hawaiian-focused charter schools have adapted their practices, grounded in Hawaiian culture and students’ relationship and responsibility to natural environments, to the constraints brought on by COVID-19. While nothing can replace the ocean voyages, agricultural work, and community service activities that are central elements of their “typical” school year, staff have developed new virtual ʻāina-based (land-based) activities and assessments to respond to the new reality of distance learning.

The decision of when and how to reopen schools is one of the most critical of our times. To do so effectively, we would do well to look at what has worked—and what has not—around the world. Adequate federal funding is also necessary for the additional staff and equipment needed to make schools safe.

As federal policymakers craft future COVID-19 relief packages, two key questions should guide their analysis: First, what will it take to make school districts whole—that is, make sure they have sufficient funding to cover the myriad of added costs and budget cuts associated with COVID-19? And, how can federal funds be used to address historic and current inequities in ways that put us on a path toward a more just educational future?