Continuity of Learning During COVID-19 Resource Database

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.

This resource includes instructions and tips for families on how to create a calm down area at home.

As early childhood programs work on re-opening, they can use these online communication and phone scripts to help guide your conversations with families.

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.

To support educators, as well as state and district leaders, in answering critical data questions, these centers shared how the four essential elements of data literacy can guide teams in using data, both virtually and in-person, to make accurate and feasible decisions in times of unknown. Additionally, SEAs were given tools to help support their LEAs to work together to meet student’s diverse needs during this webinar.

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.

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.

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.

In the time of widespread virtual and distance learning models, leadership and training opportunities for students may look different, but it is essential that inclusive youth leadership remains a priority among schools, educators, and students. To provide an easily accessible opportunity to build upon this key component, the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® team is offering four FREE Digital Inclusive Youth Summits for high school and college-aged students during the 2020-2021 school year

STEP, the Parent Training and Information Center in Tennessee released an easy-to-use Return to School Planning Guide to help families prepare for how their children with disabilities will receive the services and supports outlined in their IEPs. A Spanish version of the guide can also be found on the STEP website.

Practice guides for teleteaching for educators and families. English and Spanish translations of behavior, low intensity strategies, and overall guidance for engaging with children with disabilities in virtual learning spaces

These videos illustrate how parents and grandparents can implement the NCII reading and mathematics sample lessons to provide additional practice opportunities. In addition to the video examples, a tip sheet is available to help parents implement the lessons.