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The disruption to education presents an opportunity for policymakers and educator to seize the moment to reimagine schooling using safe, equitable, and student-centered approaches. A new, comprehensive framework by the Learning Policy Institute outlines how policymakers and education leaders can address the pressing question of how to reopen schools safely, effectively, and equitably to serve the needs of the whole child.
Jennifer DePaoli Laura E. HernándezLinda Darling-Hammond
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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?
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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.
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Community schools are an evidence-based approach to advance whole child education by offering integrated student supports, expanded and enriched learning time, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership and practices. Local government and nonprofit agencies in two California counties—Los Angeles and Alameda—have effectively provided technical assistance to support community school initiatives. Evidence shows that technical assistance from county offices and nonprofit agencies can be a powerful element of successful community schools.
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Oakland Unified's school-based health centers, part of the district's full-service community schools initiative, are a trusted source of information and services for students and families in the district. This institutional trust is essential to providing care in "typical" times, and became even more critical when schools closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, enabling staff to identify and support both ongoing and emerging student and family needs.
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A community schools initiative, launched by the Los Angeles County Office of Education in September 2019, provides personnel, infrastructure, and funding support for 15 high schools throughout the county. The structures and relationships developed as a result of the initiative enabled schools’ rapid response to support students and families during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Adults—including teachers, principals, and family members—play important roles in supporting children’s social and emotional development. But to create the relationships and learning environments that promote students’ SEL, adults themselves need to feel empowered, supported, and valued. This is especially true in the post COVID-19 world, given the disruption to lives and routines caused by the pandemic.
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School systems have implemented a variety of practices to support students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting disruption to traditional schooling. These include developmentally appropriate strategies for understanding and regulating emotions and practicing self-care, guiding families on how to create supportive home environments, and fostering an overarching commitment to creating connectedness across physical distance.
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A positive school climate—where students feel a sense of safety and belonging and where trust prevails—improves academic achievement, test scores, grades, and engagement and helps reduce the negative effects of poverty on academic achievement. To bring about such environments, teachers, paraprofessionals, and school and district leaders must be prepared to create the school and classroom structures that encourage secure relationships.
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A positive school climate can be an effective counter to harassment, bullying, and other forms of social identity threat that many students experience. This blog explores how strong, trust-based relationships and other “whole child” strategies can facilitate a student’s sense of belonging. This improves learning, development, and wellness among students, especially for those who are harassed or marginalized because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual identity.
