Florida Administrators’ 2020-21 Planning Guide for Reopening Schools

It’s clear that “back-to-school” will take on a whole new meaning this academic year. Whether students choose to return to campus, log in from home, or a mixture of both, your return-to-learn plan should incorporate best practices that prioritize safety and success. Below, we’ve compiled a few resources that align with Florida’s guide for reopening schools.

Utilize Resources from the Florida Department of Education

Coronavirus Information Hub for Schools
Consider this page your one-stop shop for guidance and resources from the state.

Best Practices for Distance Learning
This collection of resources, in part, supports educator professional development in a virtual environment.

Plan for Family Preferences and the Effects on Student Enrollment

Families and teachers possess different comfort levels around the return to in-person instruction. Consider surveying your district faculty, staff, and families to gauge preferences. Their responses will likely call for a program design that leads with flexibility and agility.

By offering customizable digital curriculum, Edmentum Courseware allows teachers to provide, and pivot between, both in-person and virtual instruction. Learn more about the various ways your teaching staff can leverage Courseware by browsing our online curriculum guide.

Additionally, our EdOptions Academy offers fully-accredited learning options paired with a Florida-certified virtual teacher(s). You may pay for only the course enrollments you need with post-pay billing options. Use our virtual learning workbook to evaluate if a virtual implementation is the best option for your school.

Establish an Academic Baseline

Students will begin the 2020–21 school year with greater learning gaps and needs than most educators have had to navigate in their teaching careers. Therefore, assessments evaluating students’ starting points, strengths, and weaknesses are critical for continued learning.

Meeting learners right where they are, Exact Path uses an adaptive diagnostic assessment to identify specific competencies and skill gaps regardless of grade level and customizes a learning playlist unique to each student. Review our step-by-step guide to help develop your own personalized learning plan.

Study Island also offers Florida benchmark assessments to help you assess standards proficiency for specific grade levels and subjects. Each fixed-form assessment is built from your state’s standards and guided by your state assessment blueprint.  

Identify Essential On-Grade Concepts and Skills

Whether instruction occurs virtually or in the classroom, use Study Island to ensure that students are mastering your state’s standards. Study Island offers K–12 formative assessments and meaningful practice to build proficiency with embedded high-stakes test preparation. Use this Formative Assessment Workbook to plan for effective, data-driven instruction.

Address Learning Loss

As a result of COVID-19 school closures, and compounded by the yearly “summer learning slide,” some students will return to school with up to six months of learning loss. Build resources into your plan to help students recover and close the achievement gap. Use our Credit Recovery Program Planning Worksheet to discern how you can set up or enhance your current offerings for those in need. Further, Courseware offers proven curriculum perfect for credit or unit recovery.

It is also well-known that a strong foundation in literacy is key to future academic success in any subject. Reading Eggs offers learn-to-read support for your youngest students. Leverage our Reading & Literacy workbook for even more support in ensuring that students are on track to become successful, lifelong readers.

Prepare for Potential Future Distance Learning

Having a distance learning plan firmly in place will be critical to transitioning from brick to click and back again. Check out our Guide to Extending Learning During School Closures.

Virtual learning comes in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing every variety has in common is the need for parental support to amplify success. This parent guide unpacks eight challenges you may be facing and accompanies them with best practices to help you facilitate learning successfully.

Looking for online programs to help your school or district improve outcomes for all students? Check out Edmentum's suite of K–12, evidence-based assessments and digital curriculum, and see why 8,000 U.S. school districts proudly partner with us.