There is no question: Each of us is facing difficult and unprecedented challenges in the wake of COVID-19 and its impacts. In the spring, we launched this collection of resources for educators, families, and students struggling to respond to remote learning across the country. 

We were energized by the innovation, ingenuity, and enthusiasm of people like you who worked tirelessly to address this new reality for the learners they served.  This summer we have continued to listen intently to educators, students, families, and communities as we move forward toward an uncertain fall with urgency, empathy, and humility.

And we’ll keep sharing what we’re learning here and on Rethink Together—a new community space where we can come together to discuss and share our successes and challenges. There you’ll find on-demand videos like:

• “When The School Doors Closed:” A Short-Film Documentary Series from Lee Hirsch
• Using COVID-19 as a Teachable Moment in your classroom 
• A conversation with MIT’s Justin Reich about Thinking Ahead to the Fall
• More than 50 resources on meaningful and engaged learning including anti-racist history and civics
• Over 25 posts with important conversations happening about equity and education

At XQ, “rethinking” education to serve all students is in our DNA. Original thinkers and generous collaborators across the nation and all over the world continue to respond to challenges and work to ensure that all young people get the support they need and deserve—even from a distance.

Here’s a list of resources that we hope will help you to do just that.

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Resources for Reopening: 

School Reopening Plans Offer a Chance to Rethink High Schools

• As schools begin to reopen this fall, it’s important to make sure that we rethink what high school can be. Here are some resources on school reopening and some guidance that puts equity at the core of reopening plans.

5 Resources to Inform School Reopening Plans  

• As always, XQ is here to help! Here is a list of resources to inform your school reopening plans. Learn how to ensure that equity is infused into every aspect of your school reopening plan and check out some of these expert recommendations. 

How Rhode Island Is Using Remote Learning Insights to Rethink High School 

• Rhode Island’s new XQ and Accelerator schools are rethinking high school to respond to a national moment. We tapped into our network to give you a first-hand look at how the state approaches reopening and remote learning to reimagine what high school can be.  

Restorative Justice Resources 

What Is A Restorative Justice Listening Circle 

• There is no doubt that we are living through difficult times. Given that, being an adolescent navigating the stress-inducing world is harder than ever. If you are looking for new approaches to help your students feel heard and understood, check out our piece on restorative justice circles and learn how to host one in your classroom—even virtually. 

Resources for Culturally Responsive Teaching

A Teacher’s Journey Toward Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices

• Are you working to create a more inclusive classroom? Read this article on culturally relevant teaching practices. XQ’s own Curriculum Writer and Designer Ann-Katherine Kimble shares her journey to culturally responsive teaching and the tips she learned along the way. 

Strategies for White Educators Who Seek to Be Anti-Racist

• How can white educators work to decolonize education in their daily work? How can they push anti-racist ideas into practice? We’ve teamed up with Project Wayfinder to offer strategies for white educators seeking to be better allies.

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Community Partnerships

Volunteering Opportunities for Students 

Become a Crisis Counselor

• Volunteering can help you navigate a situation that’s out of your control and practicing empathy is important to be a better support system to your loved ones. If you are looking for a way to volunteer during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Crisis Text Line is looking for volunteers to help man its hotline.

Be a Good Neighbor

• Download VOMO to find local volunteer opportunities during COVID-19. Potential tasks range from supporting local food back to delivering groceries for people with a high risk of contracting COVID-19.

Become a Tutor

• School closures can take the fun, camaraderie, and collaboration out of learning. Here’s a story of two high school students building community and connection through a peer-to-peer tutoring service.

Supporting Your Community during COVID-19

• Our friends at Emerson Collective composed a list of resources to help you better support your community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The list includes volunteering opportunities and ways to support workers on the frontlines.

How School Boards and PTA’s are Handling COVID-19

How Are School Boards Responding to School Closures?

• The leadership, vision, and professionalism provided by school boards can make a huge difference for students, families, and teachers. To keep school boards functioning during social distancing, XQ wrote a list of considerations to keep school boards working during this crisis.

Tackling COVID-19 Together

• Learning how to reach the educational, social, and emotional needs of every student is incredibly important during this transition to remote learning. Here is a list of resources for families, PTA leaders, and educators compiled by the National PTA to support all students.

How to Be a Better Community Member during COVID-19 

How to Support Domestic Workers during COVID-19

• Hand-in-Hand, the Domestic Employers Network, compiled a list of resources on how best to support domestic workers—nannies, home cleaners, and caretakers—who are uniquely vulnerable during this time. The resources include resources for workers as well as fair employer practices.

Supporting Your Community during COVID-19

• Our friends at Emerson Collective composed a list of resources to help you better support your community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The list includes volunteering opportunities and ways to support workers on the frontlines.

Examples of Community Partners Engaging with Students Remotely

How Museums are Engaging with Students Remotely

• Even though museums are closed for the foreseeable future, we looked at how art museums, zoos, aquariums, and other cultural and educational institutions are bringing their collections to young people in new ways.

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COVID-19 and Beyond 

For Families: Resources on COVID-19 

COVID-19 and a Multi-Generational House 

• Generations United wrote a fact sheet for people living in Grandfamilies and Multi-Generational households. These tips include links on how to get free and discounted Wifi and how to adapt to the change in welfare programs.

Resources for Families during COVID-19

•  Common Sense Media created a resource center to help parents navigate a changing home life during COVID-19, which includes discussions on spotting fake news and tips on de-stressing.

COVID-19 Care at Home

•  The National Child Traumatic Stress Network compiled a guide to help families navigate COVID-19 at home, which includes information about the virus and its effects, as well as guidelines for at-home medical care.

How to Support Teenagers and Young Adults

•  While teenagers don’t require the same work as young children, properly supporting them during COVID-19 has its difficulties. Luckily, the Child Mind Institute compiled a list of tips for parents with older children at home

Supporting Students during COVID-19

• Our friends at Emerson Collective compiled a list of resources on remote learning, focusing on how best to support students during COVID-19 school closures.

Resources for Parents Teaching at Home

Resources for Families during COVID-19

•  Common Sense Media created a resource center to help parents navigate a changing home life during COVID-19, which includes discussions on spotting fake news and tips on de-stressing

Resources and Support for Parents Educating at Home

• Education Reimagined included a list of resources for parents and personal reflections from parents in their Distance Learning Resource Center.

Resources for School Leaders Addressing COVID-19 Inclusively 

Address COVID-19 and Protect Student’s Civil Rights

• The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a fact sheet to help school leaders comply with civil rights statutes and regulations as they respond to COVID-19 concerns.

Resources for Education Systems

• Chiefs for Change, an organization of district and state education Chiefs, collected state and district responses to COVID-19, including resources on special needs education.

COVID-19 and Student Homelessness

• As COVID-19 disrupts education, students who are homeless are exceptionally vulnerable to falling behind during this transition. In order to be proactive in this challenge, SchoolHouse Connection curated resources for school leaders to meet the needs of their most vulnerable students.

Resources for Inclusive Learning

• Leading in uncertain and overwhelming times is difficult. Here’s a link to eight key strategies that states can use to foster inclusive principal leadership. The resource list is complete with example actions and aligned resources.

Student Shares All: How to Support Students with Disabilities

• It’s important to support all students during remote learning. XQ spoke with Josh Stern, a student in New York, working to create a more equitable and inclusive educational landscape. Here are his thoughts on how to make remote learning work for all students.

COVID-19 Resources to Help School Leaders

COVID-19 Resources for School Leaders

• The Charter School Growth Fund compiled a list of resources to help school leaders better serve their students and families during remote learning. Included in the list are articles on how to build critical teacher-student interactions and guides and plans for school leaders transitioning to remote learning.

Supporting Students during COVID-19

• Our friends at Emerson Collective compiled a list of resources on remote learning, focusing on how best to support students during COVID-19 school closures.

Guide to Supporting Students during COVID-19

• Instruction Partners curated a “COVID-19 Resource Hub” to help school leaders support students and continue engaged learning during this extended school closure.

Resources on Keeping Your School Safe

• AASA: The School Superintendents Association has compiled a comprehensive list of resources from across the nation on emergency management, school safety, and crisis planning.

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Education Policy 

Education in a Post-COVID-19 World

Early Remote Learning Lessons and the Future of Education

• Solutions during school closures will signal how students will learn in the future. Here are a few examples from XQ schools of successful practices in education that may suggest where education is headed.

How to Maintain Education Equity during COVID-19

• We cannot repeat this enough: COVID-19 school closure will affect students differently. Because of these differential consequences, it’s important to prioritize educational equity during remote learning. Here’s a list of resources and responses to COVID-19’s impact on equity.

What Remote Learning Data Tells Us about the Effects of COVID-19

• XQ’s Managing Director of Data, Research, and Policy Lauren Bierbaum discusses what we can learn from the first data on remote learning and what that data may mean for long-term educational practices.

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Equity in Education 

Resources for Educators to Help Students with Disabilities Effectively 

Take a Class on Supporting Students with Disabilities

• The Friday Institute for Education at North Carolina State offers online courses for educators to help expand educator knowledge related to learning differences and to provide strategies to impact the learning experience of students positively.

Resources for Supporting Students with Individualized Education Programs

• Understood.org compiled a list of resources for educators on remote learning and tips for parents to help with home learning and special education. These tips include discussion on how to support students with anxiety and how to talk to your child about COVID-19.

How to Support Dyslexic Learners

• The Dyslexic- SpLD Trust offers an online tool to provide educators with the knowledge and skills needed to support learners with dyslexia.

Resources to Help School Leaders Better Serve Students with Disabilities 

Forward Together

• Understood and the National Center for Learning Disabilities released a tactical guide that better prepares school leaders to engage and support students with learning and attention issues. The guide focuses on inclusivity in schools and asks school leaders to assess their own school environments.

How to Serve Students with Disabilities during COVID-19

• Additionally, The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued another fact sheet to help school leaders support students with disabilities while properly addressing COVID-19 health risks.

Supporting Students with Disabilities during COVID-19

• Students with disabilities may be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 school closures. In order to help students with disabilities thrive during remote learning, the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools compiled a list of resources to support educators and advocates.

Resources in Spanish

Maneje la Ansiedad y el Estrés

• Consejos sobre estrés y afrontamiento, con consejos especializados para padres, personal de auxilio y personas que han sido liberadas de la cuarentena.

Cómo Hablar con los Niños sobre el Coronavirus

• Guía para padres de niños pequeños y en edad escolar sobre cómo hablarles sobre el coronavirus.

Learning at Home Together

• Colorìn Colorado is an incredible resource for educators and families of English language learners. They offer resources for families on “Learning Together at Home,” and on “Technology at Home.” In response to COVID-19, Colorìn Colorado curated a resource hub for ELL and immigrant families.

Supporting Undocumented Students

Supporting Undocumented Immigrants during the Pandemic

• Immigrants Rising put together a list of resources to help undocumented immigrants navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The list includes everything from legal services to resources on workers’ rights.

Supporting Marginalized Students and Families

• It’s important to recognize how this crisis affects members of the community differently. For undocumented students and families in Texas and New York City, ImmSchools created a guide and compiled resources to help navigate this precarious time.

Building Networks to Serve Students with Disabilities Better

Educating All Learners Alliance

• XQ school, Brooklyn Laboratory High School, and InnovateEDU created Educating All Learners Alliance (EALA), a coalition of organizations committed to resource sharing and community-building that supports the efforts of the education community to meet the needs of all learners during the COVID19 pandemic.

Personalized Learning

• To achieve at high levels, students with disabilities need specialized instruction, support that builds on their strengths and acknowledges their challenges, and a warm and engaging environment. The National Center for Learning Disabilities and UnidosUS offers tips and guidance on building personalized learning networks in this report.

Tools for Customizing Student Supports

• Offering individualized and custom supports and opportunities for students is critical during remote learning. For education leaders looking for help, the Education Redesign Lab at Harvard released a report on how to better support every student at school and at home.

Student Shares All: How to Support Students with Disabilities

• It’s important to support all students during remote learning. XQ spoke with Josh Stern, a student in New York, working to create a more equitable and inclusive educational landscape. Here are his thoughts on how to make remote learning work for all students.

Continuity of Care

Continuity of Learning

• With COVID-19 school closures, it is imperative that education leaders and policymakers think about how to prioritize equity while making unprecedented decisions. To help ensure that the needs of all students are met, the Aurora Institute created an emergency response tool to ensure that students can maintain their learning pathways during external interruptions.

Resources on Educating Students with Disabilities

• Last October, the Center for Reinventing Public Education along with the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools released a report on how to best serve students with disabilities in charter schools. Their list of tips and emphasis on flexibility now seems more important than ever.

Building Levels of Support

• Multi-tiered support systems are necessary to support students with disabilities, especially in times of crisis. SWIFT Schoolwide offers tools, resources, and services on how to build an overlapping network of support.

Helping Every Student Achieve, Even at Home

• The State Education Technology Directors Association compiled a list of resources and tips for supporting students with IEPs or 504 plans during the COVID-19 closures.

Addressing the Digital Divide 

Connecting with Students with Limited Access to Technology

• Marshall Street created a guide to helping schools connect with students who have limited access to technology. The list includes tips on how to get the most out of systems already in use and advice on how to connect with students without device access.

Troubleshooting Wifi

• Crosstown High—an XQ school located in Memphis, Tennessee—created a guide on how to troubleshoot home wireless.

Helping All Students Connect

• Every student needs the ability to connect to remote learning, which means every student needs access to internet services and devices. To help schools meet the needs of all students, EveryoneON has provided a Low-Cost Internet Service Programs Tool Kit as well as a search tool to help families find low-cost computers in their area.

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Health and Wellness

Stories Meant to Uplift Your Soul 

10 Things That Inspired Us amid the Coronavirus Crisis

• If you are looking for something uplifting, XQ compiled a list of ten things that inspired our team during the beginning of school closures.

Stories to Uplift Your Spirit

• StoryCorps is putting some of the most heartwarming stories from their collection in a newsletter. These stories are meant to help boost your spirits and strengthen your faith in humanity.

Remote Learning with A Movie

• It is difficult to create meaningful and engaged learning experiences remotely. Luckily, the Kunhardt Film Foundation is here to help! They compiled resources—lesson plans, viewing guides, and photo archives—to utilize along with the 2019 film True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality.

Supporting Students Experiencing Trauma 

Helping Students Learn during a Global Crisis

• For many students, the COVID-19 pandemic is their first experience living through a global crisis. To help educators meet the emotional needs of their students, the Trauma and Learning Policy Institute provides guidance on how to help traumatized students.

COVID-19 Grief and Loss Resource Kit

• Brooklyn Lab, an XQ school, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. In their efforts to figure out how best to support their community, school leaders created a Grief and Loss Resource Kit to help other schools navigate community loss.

Expert Advice on Student Trauma to Help You Help Students

• Considering the drastic and immediate changes to school life—and life in general—it is vital for school leaders, educators, and students to provide stability and guidance to each other. Here are some tips on how to help students who have and are experiencing trauma.

Resources for Adolescent Mental Health 

How to Support Teenagers and Young Adults

• While teenagers don’t require the same work as young children, properly supporting them during COVID-19 has its difficulties. Luckily, the Child Mind Institute compiled a list of tips for parents with older children at home.

Supporting Adolescent Mental Health

• Adolescents are vulnerable to feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation. Many may be finding that navigating the interruption to their education and social life overwhelming. To help teens and adolescents adapt to this new situation, UNICEF released a list of tips and strategies for teens to maintain their mental health during the COVID-19 Crisis.

Supporting Families of Students with Disabilities

• We know that parents are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. Many are taking on additional roles as teachers, while also juggling their daily responsibilities. To help, the Child Mind Institute is offering telehealth evaluations and treatments for adolescents with ADHD, mood disorders, and anxiety.

How to Talk to Young People about COVID-19

• In times of overwhelming change, it’s important to have an open dialogue within your family. To help foster this environment, the National Association of School Psychologists created a parent resource about how to best approach a family discussion on COVID-19.

Educator’s Voices: Teaching in a pandemic 

Teaching through a Pandemic

• Teaching in times of crisis is incredibly hard. Edutopia surveyed teachers from countries around the world on how they stay grounded during remote learning.

How One High School Teacher Is Staying Connected with Students

• Given all that’s going on in the world, it is important for teachers to reach out to each other, provide support, and work through the difficult emotions that they may be feeling. Here’s a reflection from a teacher experiencing school closures first-hand.

Tips from an Everyday Hero

• Here are some tips and insights on building an inclusive classroom, engaging with students, and staying motivated during school closures and all year round.

Ten Tips for Teacher Self-Care

• As part of a series with Project Wayfinder, we compiled a list of tips to help educators prioritize their mental and physical health and be a better educator.

Social Emotional Learning 

Teaching, Interrupted

• Tips and advice from Edsurge on how to use evidence-based social and emotional learning to support our students and ourselves during COVID-19 school closures.

Social-Emotional Learning and Why It Matters in the Wake of COVID-19

• A go-to guide on social-emotional learning for those wanting to know what it is, how to support it, and why it’s important.

Tackling COVID-19 Together

• Learning how to reach the educational, social, and emotional needs of every student is incredibly important during this transition to remote learning. Here is a list of resources for families, PTA leaders, and educators compiled by the National PTA to support all students.

Managing Stress and Anxiety during COVID-19 

Manage Stress and Anxiety during COVID-19

• The Center for Disease Control released tips on stress and coping. This resource is complete with specialized advice for parents, first responders, and people who have been released from quarantine.

Crisis Text Line

• The COVID-19 pandemic brings with it high levels of anxiety and feelings of isolation and loneliness. But, do not fear too much! Today’s technology keeps us ever-connected and places mental health tools at our fingertips. The Crisis Text Line offers strategies about how to prioritize mental health even if you are feeling anxious and lonely.

Supporting Families of Students with Disabilities

• We know that parents are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. Many are taking on additional roles as teachers, while also juggling their daily responsibilities. To help, the Child Mind Institute is offering telehealth evaluations and treatments for adolescents with ADHD, mood disorders, and anxiety.

Supporting Adolescent Mental Health

• Adolescents are vulnerable to feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation. Many may be finding that navigating the interruption to their education and social life overwhelming. To help teens and adolescents adapt to this new situation, UNICEF released a list of tips and strategies for teens to maintain their mental health during the COVID-19 crisis.

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Meaningful, Engaged Learning 

Media Literacy

Sifting through the Pandemic

• A collaboration between the National Writing Project and Washington State University Vancouver helps students, families, and educators to spot “fake coronavirus news” on the internet.

How to Avoid Misinformation about COVID-19

• The outbreak of COVID-19 brought with it a wave of information and misinformation. To help you sift through the mountains of information, the News Literacy Project created a guide on how to spot misinformation, stop its spread, and identify reliable sources of news and information.

 Tips on Creating Media Literacy

• The COVID-19 pandemic created a storm of resources and news articles. We know that it is hard to sort through all of them, let alone know which ones to trust and which ones to discard. To help, students, families, and educators navigate this online flurry, here’s a list of effective strategies for media literacy.

What’s Working for Educators Teaching Remotely 

Exemplars for Schools in Remote Learning

• Transitioning to remote learning is a daunting task, especially as few examples of successful remote learning exist. Luckily, Digital Promise compiled a list of successful examples from large-scale emergency online learning and identified best practices for remote learning.

Resources for Remote Teaching

• Transcend Education also created a “School Closure Resource Guide” with essential resources for remote teaching, as well as a list of stories from schools navigating closures.

Teaching for Remote Learning: Lessons We’ve Learned So Far

• We compiled a list of examples of what XQ schools have learned during remote learning. We hope the list helps educators and education leaders adapt to a remote lifestyle creatively.

How to Become a Better Remote Educator

A Teacher’s Guide to Remote Learning

• Learning Innovation Catalyst created a guide—complete with tips—to help teachers not only survive remote learning but thrive during school closures.

How to Be a Better Online Teacher

• The Chronicle of Higher Education offers ten essential principles and practices on how to improve your online teaching skills in order to create meaningful and engaged learning experiences.

Guide for Remote Teaching

• Global Online Academy is offering a free new course on Designing for Online Learning, a primer on online teaching and learning to help educators succeed.

Making Virtual Learning Meaningful

• Creating unique and engaging learning experiences online is a daunting challenge. Luckily, Teach For All compiled 12 tips on fostering online learning that is inclusive and community-focused.

Useful Links as We #FlattenTheCurve

• The National Writing Project compiled a list of useful links and resources to help teachers “reduce the hunt” and take care of themselves during school closures.

Learning in the time of COVID-19

• Forbes published a list of useful resources to support learning during the COVID-19 related school closures, including online resources for educators.

Exploring and Experimenting at Home during COVID-19

• The d.school at Stanford University has a K12 Lab that offers workshops, resources, and tools for educators to learn how to teach students real-world applications of creative problem solving and build out their creative confidence.

For History Buffs

How Museums are Engaging with Students Remotely

• Even though museums are closed for the foreseeable future, we looked at how art museums, zoos, aquariums, and other cultural and educational institutions are bringing their collections to young people in new ways.

Visit a Museum Virtually

• Want to escape your house for a moment? Google Arts & Culture has created an online museum consisting of key pieces from 2,500 museums worldwide. The museum is even complete with special online exhibits.

Become an Archivist

• The National Archives offers online volunteer opportunities. You can help tag and transcribe records and help make the archives more searchable and accessible.

Become a Part of History

• In a first-of-its-kind platform, StoryCorps Connect enables you to record an interview with a loved one remotely using video conference technology. The audio file and a photo from the interviews go into our archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Tips for Teaching History

• Facing History and Ourselves compiled a list of resources to help educators teach and utilize history to make sense of the current crisis. There are also resources about how to engage with currents in their lessons while supporting the well-being of their students.

Resources for Students who want to read over the summer 

Access the Library from Your Bedroom

• • Did you know your local library has thousands of ebooks and audiobooks available for download? Libby offers access to your local library’s ebook catalog.

Stories to Uplift Your Spirit

• StoryCorps is putting some of the most heartwarming stories from their collection in a newsletter. These stories are meant to help boost your spirits and strengthen your fail in humanity.

Help Build A Library

• Want to be a part of something big? Help build out BookShare’s library by scanning books or proofreading existing scans. You can help expand a collection of books available for those with disabilities like vision impairments or dyslexia.

Looking for a Reading List During Quarantine? Join the Conversation

• School closures have made it hard for students to engage with each other. Here are some recommendations about how to create a quarantine book club in your school and book recommendations to get you started.

Resources for Student Writers 

Remote Learning Ideas: How to Start a Podcast

• If you are looking for ways to keep students engaged in creative projects during COVID-19 school closures, check out our post on podcasts and project-based learning.

Tools for Student Journalists

• YR Media also has a DIY tool kit that offers journalism resources to allow students to flex their writing and storytelling skills while at home. The tools listed include DIY: How to Be an Ethical Journalist andDIY: How to Make a Podcast.

Writing Together at Home and Online

• It is important to take advantage of this time at home to accomplish creative projects that you have put on the backburner. To help, the National Writing Project has curated a list of resources to help students and families write together at home.

Resources to Help Students Collaborate Remotely

Collaborating in a Remote Classroom

• Learning is a social process, not a solitary one. Common Sense Education compiled a list of tools to help students collaborate, even when they are far apart from one another.

Building Inclusive Collaboration

• It is important to emphasize connection and collaboration during this period of social distancing. But, be sure that this connection and collaboration includes everyone. To help, the ValueAble Leader Project created a free web-based app designed specifically to engage and include students who learn differently.

For Educators from Educators 

Get Set up for Remote Learning

• The Learning Accelerator and GetSetUp created a resource that offers educator-to-educator training on remote learning tools to help teachers navigate how to use tech.

Remember, Learning Keeps Going

• In order to support educators during school closures, Digital Promise created a resource hub, titled Learning Keeps Going, and set up a help desk for educators navigating moving their classes and lessons online.

Connect with your Community

• As educators, it’s important to talk through what’s working and what isn’t. If you’re looking for a place to discuss the struggles and successes of remote learning, join our Facebook Group for educators.

Tools from Teachers for Remote Learning

• We Are Teachers came up with an awesome list of 130+ resources for educators navigating remote learning experiences, including some helpful links on creating remote learning experiences for high schoolers.

Tips from an Everyday Hero

• Here are some tips and insights on building an inclusive classroom, engaging with students, and staying motivated during school closures and all year round.

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School Mission and Culture 

Maintaining School Community and Culture during Remote Learning

Hope Thrives from This High School’s Community Garden

• A story and example of hope, resilience, and community from Furr High School, an XQ school in Houston, Texas.

Bolstering Community in a Time of Crisis

• Communities need to feel supported during moments of crisis. In order to help school leaders support their communities during the COVID-19, Harvard’s Educational Blog, Usable Knowledge, created an easy guide on standards and practices used in education during global emergencies.

Building a Community Online

• Global Online Academy is hosting roundtables with school leaders across the country, many of whom are navigating the COVID-19 related closures and will speak with experts about how to build a community online.

How Schools Ensure Social Connections during Physical Isolation

• The Apsen Institute’s Education and Society Program is hosting a webinar to explore the practical realities and research foundations of how distance learning offers the imperative to re-establish relationships during school closures.

How School Leaders Can support the mental well-being of their schools 

8 Tips from School Leaders to School Leaders on Remote Learning

• In an XQ-moderated dialogue between XQ school leaders, we compiled a list of eight insights to help school leaders best serve all students in remote learning. These tips include personalizing feedback for teachers, creating space to have fun, and establishing support structures for students and educators.

5 Resources to Support the Mental Well-Being of Your School Community

• An XQ curated list of showcase strategies that support the mental of your students, families, and other educators during this pandemic.

Bolstering Community in a Time of Crisis

• Communities need to feel supported during moments of crisis. In order to help school leaders support their communities during the COVID-19, Harvard’s Educational Blog, Usable Knowledge, created an easy guide on standards and practices used in education during global emergencies.

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Smart Use of Time, Space, and Tech

Building Relationships Even during Remote Learning

Building Caring, Trusting Relationships in a Remote Learning World Pt. I

• Maintaining relationships with students and faculty is incredibly important during this unprecedented time. To help, XQ created a four-part series on how to cultivate caring, trusting relationships in remote learning.

Building Caring, Trusting Relationships in a Remote Learning World Pt. II

• Here’s the second installment of our series on how to cultivate caring, trusting relationships in remote learning. This article focuses on answering how pervasive trust and belief in a learners’ ability help students achieve at high levels and how can educators create online learning environments that allow students to take risks and encourage students to learn from mistakes.

5 Resources for Building Relationships during School Closure

• Here’s an XQ curated list of resources on how to maintain caring, trusting relationships from a distance. And remember, just because you’re doing this remotely, doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. You can lean on your XQ fam for support now, and always.

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Youth Voice and Choice 

Amplifying student voice 

Amplifying Student Voice

• Student Voice—a by-students, for-students nonprofit—is organizing rapid response advocacy campaigns and virtual community space to address and discuss the educational inequity intensified by the COVID-19 crisis.

How to Support Student Journalists Remotely

• YR Media updated their in-house journalism and storytelling curriculum to help educators better teach remotely. This collection of lesson plans, activities and resources break down journalism techniques and formats for educators not familiar with journalism.

The New York Times Learning Network

• The New York Times is keeping a page of coronavirus resources to help remote teaching, learning, and thinking. The page will be updated for learning at home and other reliable sources about the global pandemic. They will hold public webinars for teachers and parents on Wednesdays.

5 Ways for Students to Share Their Voice

• Graduation is around the corner and we need to celebrate the Class of 2020! Join us in honoring the high school seniors by sharing their voices and accomplishments.

5 Resources to Empower Youth Voice and Choice

• Here are five resources to help educators amplify student voice and choice. Whether you decide to incorporate podcasting into your lessons plan or add stories of teenagers making a change in the world to a class reading list, there are a lot of ways you can support student voices in the classroom.

Student Voice: Coronavirus through the Eyes of a Student

Student Voice: We Have an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Future

• This pandemic has impacted marginalized communities disproportionately. Read an inspiring student reflection on the need to reprioritize empathy and compassion in the world in order to build a better future.

Student Voice: Racism against Asian Americans in the Wake of COVID-19

• Read an insightful student reflection on how COVID-19 is impacting her life in ways that she never imagined. The reflection grapples with how racism and inequity has appeared during this crisis.

How Coronavirus Is Impacting Me as a High School Senior

• Roxie Richner, an activist, and high school senior, offers some compassionate and wise reflections on ending her high school career during a moment of uncertainty.

Engaging Students in Their Own Education 

Remote Learning Insights: The Role of the Student is Shifting

• Here are examples from XQ schools of how students are taking on new roles during school closures to become drivers of their own education.

Education-saving Toolkits

• In response to school closures, Envision Learning Partners (ELP) created a toolkit to help teachers use performance assessment systems, which allow students to tell the story of their learning. The tool kit is meant to inspire action, save you time, and help you find the opportunity within this crisis to put students at the center of their learning. Additionally, ELP is planning to release a Student Planning Tool meant to help students organize and plan for their virtual defenses or presentations. The chief designers of this toolkit will host a webinar and offer some virtual office hours so that you can ask questions and get support for implementation.

Helping Students Learn Independently from Home

• Our friends at The Learning Accelerator surveyed teachers across the country in order to better understand their most pressing challenges. In response, TLA identified three major components to consider when supporting students in remote learning.

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Are you an educator thriving during remote learning? Do you have ideas about how to best support your students during this time? Send an email to blog@xqinstitute.org.

Check out the Rethink Together Forum to connect with high school students, educators, and families about what’s possible. Here are some hot topics people are talking about on the Forum:

• Find Graduation Info for Your State
• How Are Students Feeling? 
• Explore Your Identity with Ashanti Branch 

VOICES FROM SCHOOL CLOSURES: 

• Celebrate Your Everyday Heroes on Teacher Appreciation Day 
• These “Tutor Teens” Launched A Business to Help Younger Students and Families Learn Remotely
• Hope Thrives from This High School’s Community Garden 

SCHOOL CLOSURE RESOURCES: 

• High School Resources for Remote Learning during COVID-19 School Closures