Important Covid-19 Resources

Testing

1. What Is “Test to Stay” and Can It Limit Covid Quarantines in Schools? – Results from a CDC study conducted in Utah suggested the Test to Stay strategy could keep more students in class, but concerns remain about rapid test accuracy.
   September 7, 2021 – Tech & Learning
   https://www.techlearning.com/news/what-is-test-to-stay-and-can-it-limit-covid-quarantines-in-schools?utm_source=SmartBrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EDAE705D-DA25-4606-A952-76D10DFA2839&utm_content=4BAA24A0-0589-437D-86A3-FBB9E87F01FD&utm_term=f74fd8c0-393b-4156-8c39-3a839afd9a94
2. Testing for COVID-19 at School: Frequently Asked Questions – School-based testing for COVID-19 isn’t easy. Here are some key questions and answers to consider.
   March 16, 2021 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/leadership/should-schools-test-students-and-staff-for-covid-19/2021/03
3. Going Back To School:  A guide to set up an effective and efficient process for testing in your K-12 institution
   https://bdveritor.bd.com/content/dam/bdveritor/pdfs/BD_Veritor_Playbook-Back2School.pdf
4. Putting safety first: COVID-19 testing in schools – Are schools ready to offer a post-pandemic place to learn?
   April 9, 2021 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/sponsor/bd/putting-safety-first-covid-19-testing-in-schools
5. Schools have begun mass testing for covid-19. But hurdles and uncertainties remain. – Scientific unknowns, access and logistics are barriers to routine screening.
   September 14, 2021 – Science Insider
   https://www.science.org/content/article/schools-have-begun-mass-testing-covid-19-hurdles-and-uncertainties-remain
6. CDC Recommends Shorter Covid Isolation, Quarantine. What This means For Schools – Clear and concise descriptions of the CDC recommendations for infected students and staff required to either Quarantine or Isolate make this a must-read article for school administrators.
   December 28, 2021 || Updated January 3, 2022 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/leadership/cdc-recommends-shorter-covid-isolation-quarantine-what-this-means-for-schools/2021/12?utm_source=enl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=savvypr&utm_content=bigstory
7. Omicron and Schools: Resources to Manage the Next Covid Wave – This article is a guide to help school administrators make critical decisions around school operations, instruction, and the health and safety of students and staff, amid the omicron surge impacting schools throughout the nation. The article is drawn from relevant reporting Education Week has recently done.
   December 21, 2021 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/leadership/omicron-and-schools-resources-to-manage-the-next-covid-wave/2021/12

Masks

1. U.S. schools with mask requirements are seeing fewer outbreaks, the CDC finds. – Two studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide additional evidence that masks protect children from the coronavirus, even when community rates are high and the contagious Delta variant is circulating.
   September 24, 2021 – The New York Times
   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/health/schools-mask-mandate-outbreaks-cdc.html

COVID-19 Mitigation Guides

1. Interim Cleaning and Disinfection Guidance for Primary and Secondary Schools for COVID-19 : This NYS DOH bulletin provides specific guidelines for hand and respiratory hygiene and for cleaning and disinfection. The bulletin also provides a list of high-risk locations in the school building that warrant regular cleaning and disinfection as well as examples of frequently touched areas in the school that may require being disinfected multiple times during the school day.
   https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/08/interim-guidance-schools_0.pdf
2. School Re-Opening in the Era of Covid-19 – The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Schools of Public Health and Medicine released an online educational series that aims to guide school and district officials nationwide, of best practices to reduce COVID-19 risks when they decide it’s time to have students and teachers return for in-person learning.
   Johns Hopkins Consortium for School-Based Health
   https://schoolhealth.jhu.edu/covid19_resources/modules/

1. Trauma-Informed Schools During COVID-19 Infographic – This engaging infographic gives important information, practical ideas, and proven strategies to develop action steps to support trauma-informed practices, in both distance learning and in brick and mortar schools.
   Infographic Provided By: 321 Insight
   https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-321_Insight_TraumaInformedSchoolsCOVID.pdf
2. Supporting Student Mental Health Now and in the Future – The coronavirus pandemic has taken a significant toll on students’ mental health as they cope with stressors at home and anxiety and uncertainty about the future — including what their school year will look like. Now, as students go back to school — whether it’s in-person, online or a hybrid model, we must make sure students are getting the mental health support they need. Schools must have the right tools and technology to stay on top of wellbeing concerns — from suspected abuse to anxiety and depression — even if students aren’t physically in classrooms. This article discusses student anxiety and depression and what schools should consider to successfully address such students’ needs.
   October 22, 2020 – The Journal
   https://thejournal.com/Articles/2020/10/22/Supporting-Student-Mental-Health-Now-and-in-the-Future.aspx?Page=1
3. What Shouldn’t Return to ‘Normal’ When Schools Reopen – This EdSurge article includes several school superintendents’ thoughts and recommendations about what the “new normal” should include and exclude in school operations. The  superintendents identified practices and policies forced on schools by the pandemic that should become common practice when schools adjust post-pandemic.
   November 10, 2020 – EdSurge
   https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-11-10-what-shouldn-t-return-to-normal-when-schools-reopen
4. 4-Ways Covid-19 Could Alter Long-Term Curricular Approaches – This article discusses many district leaders’ opinions about the likelihood that the shifts made over the past several months to accommodate all options, both at the administrative and academic levels, are likely to remain after the pandemic wanes — and that these changes are for the better.
   November 18, 2020 – Education Dive
   https://www.educationdive.com/news/4-ways-covid-19-could-alter-long-term-curricular-approaches/588199/
5. Want to Improve Learning Outcomes? Give Students More Time – An extended school year, multiage classrooms, and other strategies can address learning loss, says Penn Graduate School of Education dean.
   March 11, 2021 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-want-to-improve-learning-outcomes-give-students-more-time/2021/03
6. What’s the Best Way to Address Unfinished Learning? It’s Not Remediation, Study Says – A new study suggests acceleration may be a promising strategy for addressing unfinished learning in math after a pandemic year.
   May 24, 2021 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/whats-the-best-way-to-address-unfinished-learning-its-not-remediation-study-says/2021/05
7. How School Districts Can Get Better at Virtual Recruiting – The article discusses virtual recruiting, a relatively uncommon method for hiring in school districts before the pandemic, but now a critical tool. Through the unpredictable waves of the pandemic, savvy recruiters have learned a whole new way of doing their job: targeting, vetting, interviewing, and offering jobs to candidates—without ever meeting them in person. 
   January 7, 2022 – EdWeek
   https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-school-districts-can-get-better-at-virtual-recruiting/2022/01?utm_source=enl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=savvypr&utm_content=uptospeed

1. ED COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1: Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools
   https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/reopening.pdf
2. Ventilation in Buildings
   https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation.html
3. ED COVID-19 Handbook VOL. II 
   https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/reopening-2.pdf