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The 2021 restart will be much more than “flipping a switch” to turn school back on, consider how the pandemic has impacted students, families, and educators. We have all experienced multiple disruptions to instruction during 2020 and resuming school in 2021 will be another change to the schedule. School will be different in the upcoming months; there may be new adjustments with new ways to move about, new schedules to maintain, and new variations to their remote, hybrid, and in-person learning.

Let’s reflect on what we know works…

…and get ready for January 2021

Set the stage by creating positive behavior momentum; start each lesson or activity with a review and a few easy to answer problems before moving to the more difficult material. Remember that every time an adult positively interacts with a student, either in-person or virtually, it is an instructional moment; research indicates that you can improve a student’s behavior by 80% just by pointing out what they are doing correctly.

Be intentional as you plan each lesson, embed and focus on connecting, screening, supporting, teaching, and monitoring for progress.

Frequently connect and check in with co-workers, students and families (make time to greet and check in, plan to have purposeful conversation).

Identify students and families that need additional support. Support them by reaching out, socially, behaviorally, academically (review data, screen, make decisions based on data and level of risk).

Work to increase supports by teaching connections, prompting and acknowledging positive behaviors and effort. (Design safe environments, use predictable routines, teach positive expectations, positively acknowledge others often, and maintain a 5:1 positive interaction ratio).

Increase engagement in conversations and learning opportunities, while offering positive learning experiences with supportive feedback (use positive reminders and embed social, emotional and behavioral skills within academic instruction). Prioritize academic skills to emphasize what is needed, explicitly teach background knowledge, provide explicit and systematic instruction with gradual release (I do, we do, you do) and provide consistent, supportive, and corrective feedback during instruction.

Collect data, match the intensity of monitoring to the intensity of need (review data often, watch for limited skill growth or behaviors that impede learning of self or others).

Teach, Model & Practice the school’s PBIS virtual and in-person Behavior Expectations often. Revisit and Reteach the expectations as needed for consistency and clarity.

Resource: PBIS.org

Consider sharing strategies with families…

Given the current and future unpredictability of COVID-19, the return to school in January may be challenging. Here’s a quick video to share with staff and parents to help with non-traditional/virtual instruction. The purpose of this video is to assist adults with instruction that happens in the home.

Video can be found at www.CIBRS.org

“Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” - Rita Pierson, Educator

Creative Community Spotlight

After receiving a call from a local neighborhood director seeking help for students in their area, Elizabethtown Independent Schools (EIS) decided to take a new, innovative approach. Instead of the district leaders of Elizabeth Independent Schools seeking ways to get these families and students to the schools, they found a way to bring school and support to them! The idea: their teachers, instructional assistants, peer tutors, and community members would spend each Friday supporting the members of two of their most disadvantaged communities.

Their focuses are to:

1. Assist with academics

2. Establish community connections and build relationships with both the students and families.

This program continues to grow and help EIS build partnerships between families and the community. When the program first began, they had only 2 students from both locations show up. So Ms. Kim Iman, community and board member, and Mrs. Kerr, a teacher, decided to start going door to door to spread the word about this support. They now serve an average of about 25 students each week.

Their family engagement has increased they believe because the families see that the school district is invested in their child and their lives. They have used these times to not only help the students but also help the families understand and navigate digital platforms such as Infinite Campus and Google Classroom.

With the change in weather, EIS needed a warmer location for the students that met at a local playground, so again, looking out to the community, EIS partnered with the community college to allow the use of their mobile classroom. Way to go EIS!