Unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic

Never before has the education system needed to address what U.S. educators are facing now. Districts and school leaders must consider the immediate and ongoing health needs of students and staff as the world begins to recover from a global pandemic. At the same time, leaders must plan for and implement strategies to address the impacts of the lost instructional time on the learning and wellbeing of students. Even for districts that were able maintain in-person learning, adhering to health protocols and maintaining a learning environment often interrupted by quarantines has been a challenge.

Recovering from learning opportunity loss

"Recovery" from learning opportunity loss caused by the pandemic will not be a quick fix. It will take long-term planning and efforts beyond summer 2021 activities. And it is important to keep in mind that not all students went into the pandemic at grade level. As school and district leaders work to address the impact of the pandemic on learning and wellbeing of students and staff, a variety of new and existing strategies may need to be considered for the near term and into the future. And for some students, the impacts of the pandemic will take months or years to address.

Educational leaders are in the challenging position of making sense of student learning data, family feedback and supporting staff and students, while making the best decisions about prioritizing limited resources and providing reassurance and direction for your staff, students and communities.

Working together to support students and families

Colorado education leaders have amazing creativity, innovation and passion for education. Working together, CDE is confident that we will continue to find new ways to serve our students and families in 2021-2022 and beyond. CDE extends our appreciation for all that Colorado’s school and district leaders have already done to support students and families during the pandemic and all of the work ahead to recover.

How to Use the Response Plan Toolkit

The Response Plan section of the Learning Impacts Toolkit is intended to provide structure and support as schools and district leaders create Response Plans for addressing long-term impacts of COVID-19. The Response Plans are intended to articulate the school or district’s key focus areas to address impacts of COVID-19.

It is important to note that this toolkit may be used to draft a Response Plan, as well as complete a school and district’s Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). This approach is intended to reduce duplicity and increase streamlined communications.

• Principal and school leaders: You may use this to structure your ongoing annual planning process and ensure your team is reflecting on key areas of need that have arisen due to COVID-19. This may include adding or restructuring use of resources. The details of your Response Plan can be included within components of your UIP.
• District leaders: District leaders may find this useful in providing more structure to your district response plan for addressing long-term impacts of COVID-19, including ongoing improvement planning and budgeting.

Response Plan Overview

The Response Plan section of the toolkit is designed using best practices from school and district improvement planning processes that begin with the Establish the "Why."

Establish the Why

Districts and schools are encouraged to first establish "why" creating a response plan with a shared purpose and approach is needed. There are two key steps to establish the "why."

Create a shared purpose for the response plan: consider how the school or district’s identified needs align with the community’s vision for graduates. Identify what this means for how we respond in this moment of identifying and responding to learning opportunities due to the pandemic.

Based on these questions, identify guiding principles that will anchor the rest of your planning. Examine the key verbs in your mission and vision that can be used as guiding principles to focus resources toward identified needs. Consider how the toolkit can be utilized in applying for various funding streams from federal and state sources.

Sample Narrative: Our district has identified multiple areas of academic need due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has amplified previously identified concerns as well as to create new challenges that the district wishes to address through expanded learning opportunities and the associated resources to provide these opportunities. To access funds for expanded learning opportunities, the district is using this response plan template as a key part of any application for such funding.

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Identify and Prioritize the Needs

Once the "why" has been established, districts and schools may more readily engage in a thoughtful process to identify and prioritize the needs of the school community within the response plan. Using a robust data analysis process and identifying root causes are important steps of the response plan.

Area 1. Assessing students' academic progress, growth, well-being, and engagement.

Resources:

• Data and Root Cause Analysis Resources
• Data Resources for Education Stakeholders
• Trend Statement Examples

Area 2. Engage Students

Resources:

• Student surveys - Learning and Adapting
• Want to Tackle Learning Loss? First Listen to Your Students
• Best Practices Guide for Dropout Prevention
• District to District Student Transfer and Transitions

Area 3. Engage Parents and Community

Resources:

• Survey examples - Learning and Adapting
• Family Preparation
• Family, School, Community Partnerships Framework and Self-Assessment Rubrics
• Teacher and Family perception survey for gap analysis
• Promising Partnership Practices
• Local community need strategies with evidence-based solutions using the local context

Area 4. Engage Educators

Resources:

• Survey examples - Learning and Adapting
• Teaching and Learning Conditions Colorado (TLCC) survey
• CDE Educator Resources

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Consider Return on Investment (ROI)

Return-On-Investment (ROI) is a tool for improving resource efficiency to maximize the impact of limited resources. This approach begins with considering the fundamental needs of students that need to be addressed. It is not intended to determine which program is better, or what resources will meet the need.

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) issued a publication in October 2014 entitled Return on Investment in Education: A "System-Strategy" Approach to K-12 ROI that provides useful information in considering ROI. Below is a summary of guiding questions in the publication that may be used by districts to think about ROI as they consider both existing practices and new practices.

Guiding Questions to Support Determination of ROI:

Identify the core need

• What fundamental student performance needs is the district focusing on, and what is the theory of change for addressing it?
• What fundamental student needs are being targeted?
• What performance target does the district want to reach, and what outcome measures will be used to gauge progress and success?
• What evidence- and/or research-based strategies might meet the identified need? See CDE’s ESSA Planning Requirements page for more information on strong evidence-based practices and ESSA’s levels of evidence.​

Consider a broad range of investment options

• What are the investments the district has currently made to address this need, and what else could be done?
• What is our theory of action for meeting this student's needs?
• What seems to cause the need?
• Have you conducted empathy interviews to determine and better define the problem you are working to solve?
• What activities or programs can we stop to create staff capacity?
• What does the district currently invest in this area or toward this end?
• What people, time, and money does the district currently invest in programs, instruction, and support targeted at related outcomes?
• Do current investments align with the district's theory of action, and is there evidence that current investments are working?
• Are there things that are not working well? If these are discontinued, can these resources be redirected toward more productive options?
• What evidence- and/or research-based practices might be more effective than current programs/investments?
• What broader alternatives can be imagined that would address the same set of student needs?
• How does what is currently being done support or interact with the proposed option? Are there dependencies that should be clarified?
• What would have to be true of any new investment for it to be better than what is currently being done? How likely is that scenario?

Define ROI metrics and gather data

• What are the relative returns (costs weighed against benefits) to the set of current/potential options?
• In defining an RIO metric, three major questions should be considered. First, what is the likely impact on student learning? Second, how many students will this impact? Finally, How much will it cost to fully fund the initiative?
• Teaching and Learning Toolkit - shows the cost, evidence strengths, and impacts (months) from the Education Endowment Foundation
• What is the likely Impact on Student Learning?
• What kind of data is currently available on the impact of the various policies, investments, or initiatives that have been identified? What’s the source?
• How relevant is the data to the particular student performance need the district has identified? Was the same question studied or an analogous one? How closely does it match the district’s current context, capabilities, and planned change?
• How reliable were the observed outcomes? Was there wide variation in results across studies? Were they gold standard randomized controlled studies, small local pilots, or anything in between?
• Did fidelity of implementation play a role in outcomes?
• What are the mitigating or enabling factors?
• Does this policy generate a one-time or a multiple-year impact on student learning?
• How does combining various policies affect the expected impact of each on student performance?
• How transferable are the observed outcomes to our context? What are the limitations? Or what could go better?
• How Many Students Will This Impact?
• What student group(s) will benefit from the investment?
• Are there students who are not targeted but will also be affected?
• How Much Will it Cost to Fully Fund the Initiative?
• Start-up or Transition Cost:
  • What are the start-up/one-time costs required to initiate and transition to a steady state?
  • How long will the district need to invest above steady state and at what level to achieve the planned sustained student improvement?
• Ongoing or Sustaining Cost:
  • What is the annual recurring cost to sustain the initiative at steady state? (e.g., staff, materials, PD, regular updates) Is it expected to rise or decline over time?
• Indirect Cost:
  • What else will need to be spent to achieve the desired result?
  • Is there infrastructure on which this initiative depends? Will that need to be upgraded?

​Weigh investment options

• What other factors do we need to consider, in order to select from among the options?
• Which option(s) have the highest likely return in the district’s current context?
• How does this choice fit with other district priorities, performance targets, and constraints?
• What is likely to happen if the district does not move forward with this option now?

Make investment decisions

• How can the district free existing resources to do what it wants to do?
• Is the district pursuing high-cost strategies that are not shown in the literature to be effective?
• Is the district investing a lot of money, per-pupil, in areas that may not be district goals?

Districts may also find additional resources to fund priority investments by identifying misalignment, those accumulated spending patterns based on historical policies and practices, but which no longer achieve the necessary student impact results nor align with current strategic priorities.

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Make a Plan to Address the Needs

Components of a High-Quality Action Plan to Address the Identified Needs

The following items listed below are recommended components of a response plan. As you will notice, many of the areas are parts of the improvement planning process. Many schools may be able to build their response plan into their UIP. Brief descriptions of each category as well as resources for each that may help the team in creating a plan are below:

Timeline: The plan should include a timeline of key events and activities aimed at implementing the strategy.

Human Resources/Talent: The additional staff members, training, or support that are needed should be included, especially given the funding available that is targeted to learning impacts.

• Professional development
• Teacher evaluation
• Leadership structure / ownership

Communications: The goal of this section is to articulate and plan out how the team will ensure that the entire community (families, board, district staff, school staff) understand what the team is focusing on, what it is addressing, and how this will help the community impact students and staff.

Budget/Fiscal Resources: The intention is to identify the large funding sources that are being used to support this initiative and strategy. The team may consider starting with the stimulus funds and include other large sources. This is to help ensure continuity and to communicate how the district/school is using the funds to address COVID-19 impacts.

Progress Monitoring/Benchmarks: The length of the plan is determined by the team and there is space to identify what practices, changes, or intermediate outcomes might be visible that help the district see progress. This is recommended both at intermediate and end of plan components.

Targets/Outcomes: Student level targets and outcomes should be set to identify the goals of the overall response plan.

Template

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Attending to Wellbeing and Connectedness

Students learn best in a safe and supportive learning environment, a condition that is even more important for students who have experienced long periods of remote learning and potential trauma due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  When establishing out of school programs, district and school leaders should intentionally plan for attending the wellbeing of students.  

The following considerations from CDE’s resources for Wellbeing and Connection During COVID-19 can help:

• Maintain staff/student relationships
• Create a sense of belonging and connection for students and staff
• Emphasize respect, safety and community
• Monitor students and develop a process for those who are struggling
• Practice mindfulness with students and staff

Equity and Cultural Responsiveness

Intentional focus on equity considerations and cultural responsiveness is critical when planning and implementing expanded learning opportunities.  Attention should be paid to providing:

• Opportunities that are free, at locations and times convenient to students and families
• Transportation options that work for students and families
• Multi-age options to enable participation of all children in a family
• Options that reflect the culture, interests, and needs of participating students

Community Partnership Considerations

Engaging with community partners can help schools and districts provide a greater range of options and resources for students and families.  Collaboration between schools, districts and community organizations such as nonprofits, public libraries, museums and other cultural and arts institutions, faith-based organizations, private businesses, and philanthropic organizations enables meaningful, well-rounded educational opportunities for students. In particular, public libraries provide many resources to assist communities without high speed internet, devices, and/or technical knowledge, including extended wifi into the parking lot, circulating hotspots and devices, computer classes, print on demand services, and one-on-one tech assistance, all for free.

References

¹National Conference of State Legislatures, 2021.

Planning for Summer Learning

A key to achieving outcomes for summer learning programs is effective planning.

• Establish the purpose and goals of summer programming by ensuring that there is a clearly articulated purpose for summer learning that connects to the school’s vision and mission.¹
• Establish goals for summer learning that are tied to learning and school-year metrics, such as fall assessments² or diagnostics.³
• Plan for sustainability to encourage consecutive summers of participation for students.⁴

Structuring Summer Learning

The structure for summer learning sets the stage for student outcomes.

• Summer learning has the largest effect on student achievement when it is five⁵ or six weeks⁶ in duration and four to eight hours a day.⁷
• Summer learning programs create the highest gains in achievement when there are small class sizes. Twenty students or less⁸ with as few as thirteen in grades K-3.⁹
• Identify ways to reduce barriers by providing, transportation, and meals free of charge to facilitate access for families with low incomes
• Provide flexibility for families through full and part day options, flexible drop off times, and regularity of attendance, especially when early planning was not available for families.¹⁰

Designing Instruction for Summer Learning

In order to achieve positive outcomes, instruction must be carefully designed.

• Use curricula that is evidence-based, aligned to school-year activities and students’ learning goals¹¹, and is experiential.¹²
• Maximize participation and increase engagement and time on task through hands-on activities, project-based learning, enrichment, and field trips.¹³
• Focus on success in the upcoming academic year by aligning activities to the upcoming grade in a few critical areas.¹⁴
• Support effective instruction through teacher professional development¹⁵and coaching¹⁶provided by administrators and/or coaches, and include any additional staff (paraprofessionals, tutors, mentors) who will be supporting instruction.¹⁷

Staffing Summer Learning

Ensuring qualified, trained, and motivated staff for summer learning is critical.

• Select highly qualified teachers and tutors for academic programming, and provide opportunities for effective personnel development.
• Teachers selected to deliver summer instruction have been found to be most effective when they are:
  • motivated
  • certified and highly effective during the school year.
  • teach a grade level that they teach during the school year, or the grade level immediately below.
• Tutors have been found to be most effective when having participated in effective professional development on the topics for which they will be providing professional development and receive ongoing support or coaching.¹⁸

Engaging Students and Families for Summer Learning

Summer learning can only be effective if the right students are targeted and families are effectively engaged.

• Target outreach to families and enroll students.
  • Determine which students summer programming will target, prioritizing demonstrated student needs, students from families with low-incomes, and students that do not typically access educational experiences during summer months.¹⁹
  • Target families for enrollment, providing:²⁰
    • clear dates which are communicated early,
    • an easy registration process,
    • clear enrollment deadline, and
    • clear attendance policies.
• Engage the community
  • Engage the whole community²¹ to provide culturally relevant enrichment activities and offer balanced summer programming and services, consider
    • libraries and museums
    • community mental health services
    • recreation departments
    • community early care and education programs
• Scale up existing programs that have demonstrated positive impact
• Engage students and families during each phase of planning, implementing, and evaluating summer programming.

References

Using trained educators as tutors.

• Tutoring works best when led by teachers, paraprofessionals, teaching candidates, recently retired teachers, or highly trained tutors who receive a stipend (e.g., AmeriCorps members) and when time for planning and collaboration is provided with the classroom teachers.

Wherever possible, conducting tutoring during the school day.

• Tutoring programs that take place during the school day appear to have the largest effects. Afterschool tutoring programs have also been shown to have positive, although smaller, effects.

Providing high dosage tutoring each week.

• For example, programs that included frequently (e.g. daily or at least three sessions per week) of at least 30-50 minutes work best. The youngest students (e.g., early childhood through 1st grade) benefit from increased weekly sessions.

Aligning with an evidence-based core curriculum or use an evidence-based program and practices.

• Take specific actions to support student learning, including using quizzing, asking deep explanatory questions, spacing learning over time, incorporating worked example solutions with problem-solving exercises, connecting and integrating abstract and concrete representations of concepts, and combining graphical representations — like figures and graphs — with verbal descriptions.

Emphasizing attendance and focused work time during out-of-school tutoring.

• Experts have suggested that after school tutoring programs may have shown smaller effects than in-school programs because less tutoring occurs. However, out-of-school time programs can be effective. To promote the best results, ensure these programs provide high-dosage tutoring.

Resources

• CDE’s High Dosage Tutoring Strategy Guide, a resource for district and school leaders for implementing improvement strategies
• Volume 2 of the ED COVID-19 Handbook, a publication of the U.S. Department of Education
• National Student Support Accelerator, a project of Annenberg at Brown University. Their resources include a toolkit for tutoring programs and program focus resources for schools or districts looking to develop or expand their tutoring programs.
• Strategies to Solve Unfinished Learning: Targeted Intensive Tutoring, a brief document from Education Trust and MDRC staff that highlights best practices for targeted intensive tutoring in the COVID-19 pandemic.
• ProvenTutoring.org, a clearinghouse of research on reading and mathematics tutoring programs established as a project of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University and continued as a subsidiary of the Success for All Foundation. (NOTE: Some reading programs listed on this site may not be approved under the READ Act.)
• A Blueprint for Scaling Tutoring Across Public Schools, a whitepaper that discusses key elements for a national K-12 tutoring program.

Maximize student engagement in school

• ...by encouraging both school-day attendance as well as participation in OST programming.
• Re-engage students through interest-based, hands-on activities, which can be offered both in person and virtually.

Provide academic support for students who need additional help

• ...with school-day learning such as in math and reading, using certified teachers and/or trained staff as well as evidence-based approaches that are aligned with school-day content and practices

Provide targeted instruction based on student needs

• ...as demonstrated by periodic diagnostic/formative assessments of student learning, to ensure students have the opportunity to catch up and keep up in their learning

Provide engaging learning experiences that foster a lifelong love of reading and learning

• ...by offering innovative and creative activities students do not have the opportunity to participate in during the school day

Assess program effectiveness and use results to improve

• ...making sure that OST programs are having the most effective impact on students' learning, engagement, and wellbeing

Attend to student physical health and wellbeing and connectedness

• ...by offering physical health and wellness activities in OST programs as well as a safe and meaningful learning environment where students can make meaningful connections with peers and trusted adults

Engage families in their student's learning

• ...by offering opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children's education, including opportunities for literacy and related educational development.
• Consider including grandparents and engaging families by seeking parental input on hours, structure and offerings, student choice.

Promote community partnerships

• ...to look beyond the school building in bolstering capacity (including staffing) for OST programs to serve as many students and families as possible

Build upon student interests and include self-directed and real-world learning components

• ...such as hands-on activities, project-based and experiential learning, and field trips

Work to provide all students with public library cards

• ...to provide free access to a wealth of online resources (ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, databases), physical collections (books, magazines, audiobooks, films, unusual learning items, digital devices), and in-house computer and printer use.

To best accelerate learning, out-of-school time programs should include evidence-based approaches.

Programs ideally should:

• Target students needing additional support (including using information provided by diagnostic assessments).
• Have certified teachers deliver the academic instruction.
• Engage the students in using experiential instruction that incorporates hands-on activities, project based learning, enrichment, and field trips.²

OST programming can support students' academic achievement by providing a safe, positive learning environment for students outside of the school day.

Benefits include:

• Helping students catch up and keep up academically;
• Keeping students safe and engaged, and keeping students learning when schools are closed or parents/caregivers are working;
• Providing social and emotional support that students need to emerge from this crisis strong, resilient and hopeful;
• Helping schools and community partners provide essential needs (such as food) to kids and families who need it most;
• Fostering a lifelong love of reading and learning;
• Providing connections and wraparound supports to families; and
• Helping families overcome technology challenges and ensure kids have access to learning platforms.³

The most common types of OST activities are:

• Academic support such as homework help, tutoring, credit recovery, apprenticeships/internships/externships, literacy and STEM and the arts.
• Enrichment programming such as physical activities, outdoor activities, the arts, social and emotional learning, and service learning.
• Family engagement activities such as classes for two-generation involvement, parenting, English and GED classes.

References

¹ Center for Disease Control and Prevention

² US Department of Education, ED COVID-19 Handbook

³ Afterschool Alliance

⁴Institute of Education Sciences

Increasing the number of hours of instruction students receive during the school day

• ...(either during nonacademic class periods or by extending the official school day) can be effective for all age groups, types of students, and subject matter.

Extended learning programs are most effective when students are instructed in small groups of 10-15.

Programs that offer 44 to 100 hours of additional instruction have been shown to have an impact on student learning.

Offer time for teachers to collaborate across grade levels

• Educators might need to realign their instructional focus in spring, summer, and fall 2021, and as necessary beyond, to help get students back on track.

• Use high-quality assessments, such as diagnostic and formative tools, that provide timely information to help educators know where to focus learning for particular students. Educators should differentiate instruction without tracking students or limiting the depth and quality of instruction they receive.
• Support educators in using approaches to acceleration that prioritize engaging students and peer collaboration, including through project-based learning and opportunities for students to support each other in their learning.

Resources

The following chart is intended to help support a school-based process to support a positive school climate and culture:

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Tools for Wellbeing and Connectedness

As school and district leaders plan for the  the 2021-2022 academic year, use of an engagement survey or other check-in tool may provide useful information. The list below includes evidence-based resources. While the Colorado Department of Education does not endorse the external resources linked on this page, links are provided  to help school and district leaders identify and evaluate resources. 

Strategies for Wellbeing and Connectedness 

• Build and maintain trusting relationships between staff and students by regularly checking in on each student’s wellbeing, learning about their interests, and helping each student engage in school to find purpose/meaning in their learning. 
• Create space in classrooms or online that will allow for students to emotionally regulate.
• Differentiate learning and allow for different expectations for students, keeping in mind that each student may be at a different point in their understanding and learning.
• Encourage open, respectful communication about differing viewpoints.
• Encourage student voice by inviting students to contribute to  school and classroom rules as well as regularly seek input about the student experience.
• Find a way for each student to fit into the class. Help students find purpose within the classroom and purpose or meaning for learning. 
• Help students rebuild a sense of confidence and competence.
• Monitor for changes in behavior. 
• Provide opportunities for students to improve their interpersonal skills, such as problem-solving, conflict resolution, self-control, communication, negotiation, and sharing.
• Provide predictability and consistency in daily routines to reduce stress and promote positive learning conditions. 
• Support students in developing the academic, emotional, and social skills necessary to be actively engaged in school. 
• Take time to cultivate wellbeing and attend to the increased mental health needs of students and staff by incorporating activities that give students and staff some relief from the daily stress.
• Teach students to be mindful so that they have an awareness of their body -  emotional warning signs, physical sensations that are produced by different emotional states.
• Use effective classroom management and teaching methods to foster a positive learning environment.

• Be aware of students who may have challenging home environments that may be indicative of abuse and neglect. Assess students for abuse virtually and in person. 
• Collaborate across school faculty and staff to make sure no student “falls through the cracks.”
• Communicate regularly with the school community (i.e., announcements, emails, online meetings, video messages, office hours) and encourage the use of student support staff to also reach out to students and families to promote a sense of community and belonging. 
• Consider asking families about their needs connected to social-emotional wellbeing. 
• Consider training for staff on how to identify signs of struggle in students and establish a clear referral process for teachers to report any students who need additional support.
• Create decision-making processes that facilitate student, family, and community engagement; academic achievement; and staff empowerment.
• Encourage the use of specialized support personnel (social workers, school counselors, psychologists) to reach out to students in-person, online, or via telephone.
• Monitor cyberbullying and create a space for reporting of harassment and bullying that takes place online or in school.
• Provide education and opportunities to enable families to be actively involved in their children’s academic and school life.

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• Create clear communication to all staff regarding plans, expectations, reviewing needs, re-engagement, and any policies. When in doubt, over-communicate!
• Create opportunities for staff to engage in self-care as well as to build and maintain relationships with one another that allow for collaboration, idea sharing, and support. 
• Create trusting and caring relationships that promote open communication among administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and communities.
• Educate school staff on strategies to effectively involve parents in their children’s school life.
• Identify, and help students identify, applications that can be used for meditation, calm breathing, and relaxation.
• Implement periodic personal check-ins among staff, faculty, and leadership personnel.
• Provide multiple options whenever possible for staff experiencing an impact on mental health so that their strengths might be leveraged in a different way.
• Provide professional development and support for teachers and other school staff to enable them to meet the diverse cognitive, emotional, and social needs of children and adolescents.

For the longer term, beyond the reopening of the 2021-2022 school year, consider the need for on-going support for the wellbeing of staff and students. 

• Connect with your community health center or local public health facility to determine their ability to share or provide counselors, crisis intervention, or other supports.
• Use United Way’s 2-1-1 to help expand school partnerships with community organizations. United Way 2-1-1 is a free, multilingual, confidential service that connects citizens to agencies and services that help meet the basic needs of students and their families.
• Colorado Crisis Services has a 24/7/365 helpline for anyone affected by a mental health, substance use, or emotional crisis. All calls are connected to a mental health professional who will provide immediate support and connections to resources. Walk-in crisis services are also available. Call 1-844-493-TALK (8255) or text TALK to 38255.
• School Based Health Centers are clinics that offer health services, mental health and other counseling to students in a number of school districts in Colorado.
• The Colorado Suicide Helpline lists contact information for those having or knowing someone having suicidal thoughts.
• Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
• Text telephone (TTY) 1-800-799-4TTY (1-800-799-4889)    
•  For Español: Llama o envia un mensaje de texto 1-800-784-8255, presiona 2

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Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities may experience difficulties with establishing and maintaining relationships with teachers and peers. They may be disproportionately affected by the effects of the pandemic. Educators need to emphasize and assure accessibility to instruction and socialization.

• CDE - COVID-19 and Special Education
• CDE - Serious Emotional Disability/Social Emotional Learning/Affective Needs Resources
• CDE – The Exceptional Student Services Unit offers numerous resources for students with:
  • Autism
  • Deaf-Blindness
  • Hearing Impairments including Deafness
  • Serious Emotional Disability
  • Specific Learning Disabilities
  • Speech Language Impairment
  • Significant Support Needs
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Visual Impairment, Including Blindness
• Serving Students with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Crisis
• Supporting Students with Disabilities at School and Home

Students Who Are English Learners

English Learners (ELs), immigrant students, and students who are migrating may experience equity gaps due to language and income.

• CDE – Resources for English Learners
• Coping with Stress is a special addition to Staying Healthy: An English Learner’s Guide to Health Care and Healthy Living

Students Who Are Gifted

Without proper support and targeted interventions, gifted learners are at risk of underachievement, disillusionment, and disengagement.

• CDE - The Office of Gifted Education offers resources for students who are gifted or twice-exceptional.
• Is Executive Functioning the Missing Link for Gifted Students?
• Myths About Gifted Students
• NAGC COVID-19 and Anxiety in Gifted Children
• Social and Emotional Issues/Gifted Children

Students Who Are Experiencing Homelessness, in Foster Care, or Are At Risk of Dropping Out

Children experiencing homelessness and those in foster care may have a difficult time with social skills due to lack of experience, personal trauma, or other factors. They may be reluctant to form relationships with peers and teachers.

• CDE - McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
• CDE - Student Engagement, Mobility, Dropout Prevention, and Transitions
• CDE - Supporting Students in Foster Care
• Child Welfare Network provides resources focused on wellbeing for children in foster care, and children and families in the Child Welfare system

The external resources below are not endorsed by the Colorado Department of Education. They are included here to help district and school leaders identify and evaluate options for supporting student and staff wellbeing and connectedness.

Connectedness

• Adolescent Connectedness
• Fostering School Connectedness from the CDC describes strategies and actions school administrators, teachers, and school staff can take to increase school connectedness.
• How a Diverse School District Is Using a Strategy Usually Reserved for ‘Gifted’ Students to Help Everyone Overcome COVID Learning Loss
• How ‘Empathy Interviews’ Help Us Cope with COVID
• School Connectedness from the CDC provides links for several fact sheets.

Family Support

• COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families
• Ten Positive Behavior Support Strategies to Support Families at Home

School and District Policy

• Online Learning for Students with Disabilities: Considerations for LEA Policies, Practices, and Procedures (PDF)
• Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students' Needs (PDF)

Students Who are English Learners

• Providing Services to English Learners during the COVID-19 Outbreak
• Distance Learning: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19

Students Who are Gifted and Talented or Twice-Exceptional

• Soothing the Souls of our Gifted Learners
• Twice Exceptionality: A Resource Guide

Students with Disabilities

• Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities
• COVID-19 and Special Education: Colorado Department of Education
• Distance Learning: Challenges Providing Services to K-12 English Learners and Students with Disabilities during COVID-19
• Evidence-based practices for Students with Severe Disabilities
• School Leadership for Students with Disabilities

Wellbeing

• CDE - Wellbeing and Connection During COVID-19
• How Teenagers Can Protect Their Mental Health During COVID-19 gives adolescents strategies for dealing with emotions and making connections.
• Parenting in a Pandemic offers tips to "keep the calm at home."
• Social, Emotional, and Cultural Anchor Competencies from the Center for Reaching and Teaching the Whole Child (CRTWC)
• The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) provides ideas about Helping Children Cope with Changes Resulting from Covid-19

CDE Contacts

CDE staff provide resources, tools, and training on a variety of wellbeing and connectedness topics. Information is accessible in several ways including on the CDE website, during telephone/video office hours, and through email/phone conversations.

A number of new and existing funds are available to support implementation which are summarized in a Funding Matrix Quick Reference Table. A summary of the Funds Matrix Quick Reference Table is provided below.

These federal education relief funds (CARES ESSER I, CRSSA ESSER II, and ARP ESSER III Acts) provide a significant source of funding for school districts. Colorado has been allocated nearly two billion dollars in ESSER Funds from the three stimulus packages from the federal government. At least 90% of funding will go to LEAs based on Title I shares.

LEAs may use funds for implementation activities that are a part of the LEA’s response to, preparation for, or prevention of the spread of COVID-19, are reasonable, and one of the following allowable activities:

• Any activity authorized under ESEA, IDEA, Perkins, or McKinney-Vento (only ESSER I and II), and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
• Other activities to help with the response to COVID-19, including preparedness and response efforts, sanitation, professional development pertaining to responding to COVID-19, remote learning, addressing the impact of COVID-19 on learning, and others.

Applications for funds can be found in the following links:

• CARES ESSER I Application: Applications were due on December 20, 2020 and are now open for revisions through the Post Award Revision Process, until June 30, 2021.
• CRSSA ESSER II Application: Application is open until September 30, 2021 and applications are reviewed as they are received by CDE.
• ARP ESSER III Application: Application is now open! Acceptance and Transmittal Forms, Assurances, a GEPA Statement must be submitted by May 23, 2021 to receive award. LEAs will have 90-days thereafter to develop plans for the use of funds.

• Due Dates and Timelines for ESSER Funds (I, II, and III)
• Chiefs for Change created a ESSER workbook to help districts streamline the planning of their ESSER funds. The workbook may be found here: Chiefs for Change ESSER Planning Workbook v1.0 - Google Sheets.
  • To make a copy for district use, a district can access that option here: Chiefs for Change ESSER Planning Workbook v1.0 - Make a copy (google.com)

Approximately $150 million dollars in federal funds are allocated to districts each year to improve academic outcomes for all students and close achievement gaps.

• Title I, Part A funds can be used to supplement the implementation activities provided to students in Title I schoolwide programs or eligible students in Title I targeted assistance programs.
• Title I, Part C can be used to supplement the implementation activities provided to migrant students.
• Title I, Part D can be used to supplement the implementation activities provided to students in Delinquent or Neglect Facilities.
• Title II, Part A can be used to provide training and professional development for educators implementing activities from the Learning Toolkit.
• Title III, Part A can be used to provide activities that supplement English language development (ELD) programs, engage families of ELs, provide professional learning for educators to meet the academic needs of ELs, and provide additional supports and opportunities for EL students.
• Title III, Immigrant Set-Aside can be used to supplement the implementation activities to support immigrant students.
• Title IV, Part A can be used to support implementation activities that provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for student learning, and improve the use of technology.
• Title V can be used by rural and small districts to support any activities authorized under the ESEA

• Gifted and Talented funds can be used for implementation of specific activities to support Gifted and Talented students.
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds can be used for implementation of specific activities to support students with disabilities required by the students’ Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
• English Language Proficiency Act (ELPA) funds must be used to provide or enhance ELD programs, provide academic and linguistic support to ELs, and provide support to educators instructing ELs.
• READ Act funds can be used for implementation of specific reading activities in support of K-3 students and students with a Significant Reading Deficiency (SRD).

• Leveraging Funds for Student Success Guidance
• CARES Act Overview page with each funding stream and FAQ linked
  • This site provides a continuum of the CARES Act Education funding including information on Nutrition funding, ESSERF Fund, and GEER with an additional link to FAQ.
• CARES Act Expenditure Types vs Funding Sources
  • This contains comprehensive guidance as well as FAQs about allowable expenditure types with topics ranging from technology to professional development.
• Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund
  • The GEER fund provides $44 million for P-12 and higher education in Colorado. On June 4th the Governor announced his plans for the funds.

As COVID-19 continues to affect all areas of education in Colorado, CDE is shifting policies and requirements and providing resources to guide districts, schools, parents and others. This page will continue to be updated with the most current guidance on the topics below. Additional areas will be added as guidance is needed.

COVID-19 Policy Guidance webpage includes current policy and guidance for many areas.

CDE Contacts

Here are some contacts at the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) that may be helpful to you as you are looking at your response plans in light of the evolving coronavirus 2019 / COVID-19 situation: