Advancing Equity

Connecting students with the support of social-emotional learning during COVID-forced school closings

Picture a high schooler who is deeply engaged in his remote learning community. He actively participates in synchronous class sessions, turns in daily assignments, uses asynchronous resources, attends student-led affinity groups, meets one-on-one with his counselor and concludes his days with a yoga and mindfulness activity.

The same student, a 16-year-old African American who helps raise his younger siblings while his parents, both frontline workers, are away, attends Open School East in Portland, Ore., an alternative community-based nonprofit high school for students who struggle in traditional schooling environments.

The COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to “reimagine education” through remote instruction. But as Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, warns, “This is not just a matter of providing access to technology and open learning resources. It will also require maintaining effective social relationships between families, teachers and students — particularly for those students who lack the resilience, learning strategies or engagement to learn on their own.”

In our pursuit of alternative models to support hybrid learning and technology integration, we also should integrate outreach and family engagement to support students from underserved communities. We just might find exemplars, and hope, where we would least expect them.