[EdNews Round Up Update] COVID-19 and Education Impacts VI

No one knows better than educators about the importance of staying up-to-date. The spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus, has had major impacts across the U.S., including the closure of most schools and districts nationwide. We stand with you, focused on building school around the student, especially during times where access to quality instruction is restricted. We continue to actively monitor the situation and have a dedicated team in place to help us better respond to the needs of educators and students however we can. In these situations, online learning is more relevant and important than ever, and we want to help so that you can continue to feel supported as you meet your learners' academic needs.

In this week’s edition of Edmentum’s EdNews Round Up, you’ll find the latest news we have gathered pertaining to COVID-19 and the impact on U.S. education. Of course, you can find the latest updates and data on COVID-19 on the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization websites as well as helpful resources. 

Map: Coronavirus and School Closures
EdWeek
The coronavirus pandemic has forced widespread school closures in the United States in an unprecedented disruption of K-12 schooling. Use the map below to see state-level information about school closures.

Lessons In Leadership: Administrators' advice for addressing 5 coronavirus challenges
Education Dive
The pandemic left superintendents and principals grappling with an online learning transition, meal distribution logistics and more. Here's how they're coping.

Just in Time: a Resource Hub on Remote Learning for Special Education Students
EdWeek
Nearly 30 disability rights and education advocacy organizations have launched EducatingAllLearners.org, a resource hub and online network designed to answer questions and provide insight about remote learning for special education students during the coronavirus crisis.

NWEA data predicts students could be up to a year behind in math in the fall
Education Dive
Data released Thursday by NWEA, a nonprofit assessment provider, predicts that because of school closures, some students could be as much as a year behind in math when they start school in the fall, while others would experience a slide more typical of what occurs over the summer.

How Online Book Read-Alouds Can Help Students' Literacy and Connection During Social Distancing
MindShift
Teachers across the nation are turning to digital read-alouds not only to keep student skills sharp, but to forge connections while they’re apart. Instead of gathering around the rug or a “lit circle” for a story like they used to do in class, some teachers are gathering students on the “virtual rug” of a Zoom conference call or Instagram Live to continue reading books to them.

The 3 Biggest Remote Teaching Concerns We Need to Solve Now
EdSurge
The quick move to emergency remote teaching has left educators scrambling to figure out how to use digital tools, online resources, and apps to continue their teaching at a distance.

How Innovative Educators Are Engaging Students Online
NEA Today
When governors and state superintendents closed schools because of the coronavirus, it took teachers and faculty a matter of days—and in many cases a few hours—to move their classes online. Despite the differences between online learning and face-to-face learning, the level of commitment and creativity from educators is stronger than ever.

Education, Interrupted
U.S. News
Teachers who specialize in working with students who have gaps in their education are sounding the alarm about the difficulties posed by traumatic pauses in learning.

How do you manage college online — quarantined with eight people?
The Hechinger Report
Students who lived on campus are trying to keep up their grades at home, some in cramped or emotionally tense living conditions. Adult students who have children are being buried by home-schooling demands. Some students don’t have internet access or the computers they now need to do their coursework. And even without technology problems, catastrophic job losses are plunging some families into economic peril.

Pre-to-3: While some preschoolers learn online, most programs seek stability
Education Dive
Stimulus funds provide $3.5 billion that will help cover the cost of care for children of essential workers, but offer “minimal resources to providers or their staff.”

Schools Ditch Zoom Over Security Concerns
NPR
Some large school districts are discontinuing their use of the Zoom videoconferencing service for distance learning because of security, privacy, harassment and other concerns.

Amid Coronavirus Shutdown, States Tweak Graduation Requirements for Class of 2020
EdWeek
States are moving swiftly to manage the educational fallout from school closures and other disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic for high school seniors, with more than 30 states already having enacted changes to their graduation criteria or guidance on smoothing out the unexpected bumps to students’ K-12 careers.

Four Core Priorities for Trauma-Informed Distance Learning
MindShift
Trauma-informed teaching cannot be simplified to cookie-cutter practices, because what trauma-informed teaching looks like varies for different teachers and students. See what best practices one expert had to offer on a recent webinar on trauma-informed distance learning.

Edmentum Cares

If you are concerned about your students being able to access quality instruction and resources for an extended period of time, we are committed to helping you by providing free access to high quality curriculum, assessment, and educational services through the remainder of the school year. The Edmentum Capacity Assistance Program (E-CAP) helps ensure that teachers can continue teaching and students can continue learning during school closures. Together, we’ll work with you to tailor an implementation plan that establishes the best learning environment for your school or district and sets your teachers up for success in virtual instruction. 

We have also developed a number of free K-12 e-learning resources that are available to you, designed to help as you plan, and in the unfortunate event that your school or district closes. These resources include math, language arts, science, reading and literacy activities from a variety of our online programs, video lessons, access to program specific resources, school closure best practices, live and on demand webinars, and more.