What’s the Plan? How K-12 School Districts Are Preparing to Resume and Reopen
As COVID-19 continues to spread, a return to normalcy has become unlikely or, at best, delayed. To share how schools are confronting the challenges of reopening and resuming remote instruction, EdSurge and Social Context Labs, a data analytics firm, are monitoring what districts are planning throughout the fall.
Specifically, we are tracking policies that districts are publishing and updating throughout the year, with an eye on plans for supporting teachers, students and their families. What tools and supports are needed for remote instruction? What training will teachers get? If and when doors reopen, what precautionary measures will be in place?
These are just a few of the many questions that districts are trying to answer. Our data, which covers over 300 districts across geographical and socioeconomic backgrounds, offers a glimpse into trends in how they are addressing reopening challenges. As plans are continually being refreshed, check back regularly for the latest data and stories about what schools are doing during these challenging times.
Below are school reopening policies that have been announced so far, based on plans published by over 300 U.S. K-12 districts. This data is refreshed on a regular basis as districts update and publish new plans.
How to navigate the Tableau visualization below (best viewed on a desktop or laptop web browser. If it doesn't appear, refresh the browser):
Clicking on a policy category in the first chart will display related subcategories in the second chart.
Clicking on a policy category or subcategory in the first or second chart will display a list of districts that have published relevant plans in the third chart.
Clicking on a square in the third chart will display a link to the policy published by the district.
Data source: EdSurge & Social Context Labs, with support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Salesforce.org and Tableau. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Data are based on reopening plans shared on district websites and social media accounts, and are no more than one week old. (Note that there can be discrepancies between plans published by a district, and what it is actually doing.)
Our database covers 375 school districts across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. In selecting these districts, we prioritized diversity in the following categories: geography, poverty levels, COVID-19 infection rates, and presence of a reopening plan, among others. See complete methodology here.
We have spot-checked the categorization of district policies, but plans are changing rapidly and we have not reviewed every single characteristic for up-to-date accuracy. We invite readers to let us know via this form of updates to district policies in our database.
Earlier this week, the Miami-Dade County School Board voted to reopen school buildings for in-person classes next month, gradually allowing students back in by different age groups. With that decision, Miami-Dade will become the largest school district in the United States to offer fully in-person learning, five days a week. Miami-Dade is bigger than most districts, but it isn’t alone. According to our database last updated earlier this month, 135 districts (36 percent) are offering fully in-person classes. Like Miami-Dade County, these districts typically also offer a remote learning option. Read more.
9/17/20: NYC Delays Start of School Year
In New York City, with the planned start of the already-delayed school year just four short days away, the mayor dropped a bombshell today: only a tiny fraction of students would be admitted to school buildings on Monday, September 21. Ensue outcry from teachers, parents and students. The Big Apple is not alone: According to our database, as of two weeks ago, a whopping 23 percent (85 districts) had announced a delay in the start to their school year for in-person, hybrid and remote learning. Read more.
How are schools preparing students and teachers for the fall? What patterns have emerged in district reopening plans? How are leaders balancing safety and instructional priorities? Simply put: What will school look like? Here are some trends and profiles.
Our peers and other stakeholders in the education community are also keeping a close eye on what schools and districts are planning. Other efforts include:
Johns Hopkins University researchers have launched a School Reopening Policy Tracker that provides real-time analysis of state-level guidance.
The Center for Reinventing Public Education, a project led by University of Washington researchers, is also tracking district reopening plans as they are published.
The Parabola Project, a partnership between Ariadne Labs and The Learning Accelerator, offers education leaders tools and strategies to minimize health risks while maximizing learning when considering reopening schools.
This EdSurge series is made publicly available with support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. All stories are editorially independent. (Read our ethics statement here.) Social Context Labs, our data partner, received support from Salesforce.org for this project. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
