K-12 Resources
K-12 Resources
SREB is working with states to find ways to help schools as they face the challenges of virtual and face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve been working with educators and school, district and state education to provide resources and guidance for online teaching, state and district planning, serving students with disabilities, school counseling and more.
COVID-19 Effects on the Teacher Workforce
In April, my mom called me with the news that my high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Metcalfe, who was rounding out his 42nd year of teaching, had died from COVID-19. I knew him from class, of course, but I also went to school with his son for 13 years and his family attended my grandparent’s church.
He was respected, loved and honored for his excellent teaching. His funeral was an all-day parade of cars through the high school parking lot, where community members waved and shouted condolences to his family. My mom said the cars stretched down the street for miles.
New digital tools proving valuable for teachers, students in long run
As a former teacher and principal in New Mexico who now works with educators across the country for SREB, I shared many educators’ concerns when the pandemic forced most schools online.
As the new school year starts, however, I’m discovering that some of the digital tools we’ve learned to use while teaching online can provide new ways for teachers to support students’ academic growth.
Addressing Inequity in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond
Given the diverse array of urban,
rural and suburban schools and technology centers SREB serves,
you might assume that students’ school and classroom experiences
would vary more based upon where they live — for example, a
student in urban Atlanta compared to a student in rural South
Carolina — rather than the classroom or school in which they are
enrolled.
We found that this is not always the case.
Consider a Virtual+ Approach to Blended Instruction
Since early April, I’ve participated in SREB’s K-12 Education Recovery Task Force, a coalition of state, district and school leaders and educators committed to safely reopening schools. You’ll find our work and related tools, templates and resources in SREB’s K-12 Playbook in Progress.
Promoting Student Collaboration in the Age of COVID-19
As schools and districts prepare for
the new year, student and staff safety is top of mind. Many are
buying extra cleaning supplies and developing protocols for
social distancing, wearing masks and proper hygiene.
At SREB, we hear daily from teachers and leaders in search of strategies for delivering quality instruction while meeting safety guidelines. They ask:
“How do we reconnect with “lost” students who lacked access to online learning this spring?”
“Will social distancing require teachers to lecture to students sitting in rows?”
Online or Not: Four Actions for Quality Instruction of Elementary Students
“I learned how to support all of my students, no matter what format I’m asked to teach in — even those students I thought we could never serve outside school walls.”
That’s what an elementary teacher
told me when I asked her what positives emerged from the shift to
remote learning this spring.
As we prepare to enter the new school year, one thing is certain — education is not going to look the same. The uncertainty of these times offers us opportunities to create a better experience for each of our elementary students, especially those with special needs, such as students with special needs, English language learners and students who need Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional supports.
Webinar Follow-Up: School Counseling From a Distance
Supporting Students During COVID-19
View the Webinar Recording
This webinar, hosted by SREB in
partnership with Common Application Inc. (Common App), built on
the previous webinar of the same name on how to provide school
counseling services virtually. In this webinar, a panel of
leading experts in school counseling shared their insights
on how they are supporting students’ academic, college/career,
and social-emotional needs when schools are closed or have moved
to online instruction.
School Counseling From a Distance
Supporting Our Students During COVID-19
View webinar recording
In this webinar, Brian Coleman of Chicago Public Schools and 2019 ASCA School Counselor of the Year, shared his insights on how to support students’ academic, college/career, and social-emotional needs when schools are closed or have moved to online instruction. Brian stressed the importance of having a strategy first before diving in. Important things to consider are the legal and ethical issues involved, school district policies, and what technology tools your students have access to.
Sample video. In this video, Mr. Coleman describes the Self-Assessment project for Juniors at Jones College Prep during the COVID-19 school closure.
Resource for teaching and learning amid COVID-19
We have compiled resources for educators, districts and states on topics including online teaching, district planning, students with disabilities, school counseling and more.
Resources from Virtual Schools
Virtual Schools in SREB States, links to the region’s statewide online learning sites
Advice from North Carolina Virtual School Leaders
Handling Extended School Closures
View webinar recording
As states across the country manage the COVID-19 global pandemic, districts and schools have been forced to rethink teaching and learning methods as they have moved to digital learning and online platforms. In this webinar, state virtual school leaders in North Carolina will share resources that could be useful in other states and districts.
Advice from Georgia Virtual School Leaders
Handling Extended School Closures
View webinar recording
As states across the country manage the COVID-19 global pandemic, districts and schools have been forced to rethink teaching and learning methods as they have moved to digital learning and online platforms. In this webinar, state virtual school leaders in Georgia will share resources that could be useful in other states and districts as they grapple with extended school closures.
K-12 Education Recovery Task Force to Serve 16 States
Leaders from 16 states will serve on a new regional Education Recovery Task Force to help states determine the best strategies for reopening K-12 public schools, providing each student with the support they need, and planning for a possible COVID-19 resurgence and future emergencies, the Southern Regional Education Board announced today.
Better Together
After weeks of struggling with the
fallout of COVID-19 — working remotely, social distancing,
helping neighbors when we can — I’m quite sure no one needs to be
told that we’re living in “unprecedented times.” That seems clear
enough.
Our teachers are coping with a digital environment that most were not trained for, trying to maintain their focus on equity to be sure every child has a chance at a quality education, meanwhile managing houses and budgets and families and concerns about their health, as we all are. It’s more than anyone was prepared for.
CTE Centers: Answering the Call for Care Amid COVID-19
Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” In this unprecedented time of crisis, many are rising to be helpers. All across the United States, healthcare workers are leaving their families and risking their lives to take care of all who are suffering with the coronavirus. Schools and career and technology centers are also coming together to donate much-needed resources and use their equipment to make face masks for those on the front line.
Virtual Labs for STEM and CTE Teachers and Students
We know that this is a challenging time for teachers across the country. Many of you have been plunged into the world of virtual learning without a lot of time to prepare. Following sudden school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve had to move quickly to shift your carefully planned lessons online so your students can continue learning at home. And those of you who are STEM and career and technical education teachers in particular face unique challenges as you work to adapt hands-on learning experiences to a virtual format.
What Admissions Professionals Want You to Know
Advice for School Counselors and Access Advisers During COVID-19
View webinar recording
The sudden onset and rapid spread of the coronavirus has caused many unforeseen consequences in (and rapid changes to) the college admissions process. In this webinar, Rick Clark, director of admissions at Georgia Tech and nationally-known author, shared the most up-to-date information that school counselors need to know about virtual interviews and campus visits, May deposit deadlines, incomplete high school transcripts, entrance exam testing, financial aid appeals and more.
School Counseling and Mental Health
Tips and guidelines for parents, counselors and mental health professionals on talking to children, crisis response, countering stigma and more, from the National Association of School Psychologists
Updates and Resources from the American School Counselor Association
Online Professional Development Support for Educators
As we enter our second and third
weeks of school closures and social distancing, I am amazed and
proud of our educators. I see school systems scrambling to feed
children. I see teachers preparing lessons, packets and online
resources. I see principals giving weekly messages, reading
bedtime stories online, leading virtual parades and calling every
teacher for weekly check-ins. I see heroes. But to be
quite honest, I saw these heroes before the advent of COVID-19.
Right now, our teachers need extra support.
Keep Next Year’s Teachers on Track
Immediate and longer-term policy actions for student-teachers
With colleges and schools closed for COVID-19, state leaders will need to act quickly to keep 60,000 teacher-candidates on track to graduate and enter the workforce in Southern states next year. SREB convened college of education and K-12 leaders from five states to discuss barriers and share ideas, and a new brief recommends short-term policy changes.
Distance Learning for Rural Schools During Extended School Closures
As we move further into the
COVID-19 crisis, rural schools across the U.S. are struggling
with how to continue students’ learning amid school closures. In
recent weeks, SREB instruction coaches have been collaborating
with educators in our region on how to deliver learning
virtually, and we’ve learned about the specific challenges rural
schools are facing.