Continuity of Learning During COVID-19 Resource Database

The U.S. Department of Education released a new resource to provide information and resources to enhance the promotion of mental health and the social and emotional well-being among children and students. This resource highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools, and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations. This resource includes many real-world examples of how the recommendations are being put into action by schools, communities, and states across the country.

This tipsheet includes suggestions and resources to help you take care of yourself so you can support your child.

Helping your child during the pandemic provides families with a few strategies to help their child cope during the pandemic. Programs and professionals are encouraged to post this resource on their web sites or share through social media.

Tips for helping your child during the pandemic provides families with suggestions and resources for helping their child cope with stress, changes, and staying at home.

Here are tips and ideas for helping children identify emotions when your face, your most expressive feature, is covered by a mask. Use these strategies to let children know that behind the mask, a kind and warm expression is still there!

This scripted story helps to explain to children the how, why, and when of wearing face masks.

Use this tip sheet to help practitioners of infants and toddlers intentionally plan and think about how to reconnect, help children transition back to the classroom, and support children's social and emotional development after being away from the program.

The current pandemic has resulted in the need for educators and service providers to find ways to deliver services remotely; yet students and communities have unequal access to internet and technology resources. This resource helps practitioners make decisions about the most appropriate method for distant delivery and has organized resources and indicated the level of technology necessary to use them when providing instruction and services for transition-age students with disabilities.

The Unified Young readers Club is a great inclusive activity for a younger audience and accompanies Special Olympics Young Athletes play with books and study guides that support teachers as they address such topics as inclusion, awareness, friendship, bullying, and acceptance to audiences of both students with and without intellectual disabilities. Each book has a theme that relates to multiple state academic standards, and aligns with the precepts of positive school climate initiatives.

The purpose of Inclusion Tiles is to support understanding of the true meaning of diversity and meaningful inclusion. Meaningful inclusion is hard to put into words and action, and these tiles help to start the conversation and support people of all ages along their inclusion journey.

This Voices from the Field video shares the experiences of four teachers in the Exceptional Children department in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as they adjusted to delivering instruction during COVID-19 restrictions. They discuss the importance of communicating with families, how they have adapted virtual instruction and used instructional materials, their thoughts for continuing efforts in fall 2020, and their advice for other teachers.

NCSI presented a multi-part webinar series sharing best practices for state special education leaders to make the best use of available resources during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. NCSI and invited experts shared information to help state leadership teams make informed decisions amid current circumstances, ensuring leaders are poised to continue high-quality educational programming for students and families.

To successfully launch the 2020-2021 school year for students with disabilities, state education agencies (SEAs) have an essential leadership role to play in supporting local school systems to plan for multiple scenarios, including services delivered in-person, through distance learning, and via blended approaches.

Brief guidance provided on key questions to consider when planning purposeful adaptations to evidence based practices for new contexts such as online learning or blended learning environments.

This guide is designed primarily for use by district teams seeking to reduce racial and ethnic disproportionality in school discipline, regardless of whether they are implementing SWPBIS. It provides examples of content that could be included in board policies or district administrative rules and regulations. School teams may also use this guide in developing school- specific policies and procedures. This guide is not intended to replace legal counsel for policies required by local, state, and federal legislation.