By The BELE Network
As school has moved to a virtual setting, we’ve begun to see how school systems are adapting and evolving curriculum to fit new learning environments. As education practices change and school leaders work to implement learning models that address the needs of the moment, it’s just as important that we improve how we are engaging with students beyond Zoom attendance and build strong relationships with them in a way that motivates them to thrive and progress.
Research has shown that developmental relationships with teachers, parents, and friends directly and indirectly affect school outcomes. The BELE Network is providing guidance on how teachers can build relationships with their students in a virtual setting and defining student engagement during remote learning that meets the needs of students. Additionally, PERTS launched Co-pilot Elevate, a data-driven professional learning program that elevates student voice to help educators equitably create experiences that support academic and social-emotional learning. …
By The BELE Network
In the coming months, our schools will continue to make decisions that affect the trajectory of student learning and the student experience for countless young people across the country. Instead of reverting to a status quo that never worked for everyone, there are jobs that schools can tackle in order to meet the moment and move forward stronger.
On October 22nd, Transcend Education and the American Association of School Superintendents (AASA) held the first webinar in their “Road to Reinvention” bi-monthly webinar series on how schools can equitably respond, recover, and reinvent in response to COVID-19. …
Turnaround For Children’s Action Pack for School Crisis Planning
By The BELE Network
Turnaround For Children has released a comprehensive suite of tools to build a school crisis plan that supports school leaders and educators as remote learning continues. One of the most important things we can do as we continue educating our students remotely is to stay attuned to their experiences and needs — both academically and social-emotionally. Turnaround’s resource is designed to help educators keep our finger on the pulse of student needs and address the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In their introductory series, Turnaround discusses how a tiered support system can be a helpful framework for creating an adaptive system that meets students where they are and addresses their needs. From there, students experiencing crisis have options, supports, and resources to navigate disruptions to their physical and mental health. You can read more about the rationale and importance of their work in their three-part blog series Responding to Crisis Within A Tiered Supports System: The Importance of A School Crisis Plan, which explores the different tools and implementation strategies that educators can use to craft frameworks of support for their students. …
By The BELE Network
In September, BELE Network Learning Partners, Camille Farrington of the UChicago Consortium on School Research and Dave Paunesku of PERTS, led a webinar explaining the BELE framework and a discussion on how educators can build equitable learning environments, even during a crisis. They were joined by Maurice Swinney, the Chief Equity Officer at Chicago Public Schools, and D’Andre Weaver, Superintendent at DeSoto ISD, who shared real life examples of how they’re prioritizing equity in schools in their district.
For the full video, as well as a recap of the webinar and key clips, read on.
Questions
- What is an equitable learning environment from the BELE Network perspective? …
The BELE Network October Event Roundup
By The BELE Network
As schools, districts, and communities have navigated the return to school we have realized a simple and critical truth — the challenges presented by COVID-19 and racial injustice are not going anywhere anytime soon. The difficulties of remote and hybrid learning models are significant, but we have learned a lot over the past months about how we can reach and support students during COVID-19.
We’ve learned how access to technology and flexible touchpoints for students and educators can help translate BELE best practices to the format of remote learning, and how this subsequently improves student experiences and outcomes during an uncertain and unstable time. We’ve learned how the intersection of multiple crises can affect young people, and how the right support can allow growth during difficult times. …
By The BELE Network
During a time where school leaders and educators are tasked with responsibility to evolve education practices to address the needs of students impacted by global pandemic resources that allow us to take a collaborative and innovative approach to education. Transcend Education and the Christensen Institute, in partnership with education organizations, recently launched The Canopy Project, a free-to-use website that reveals trends in innovative approaches to student-centered learning during COVID-19.
This portal is a search engine for those looking to understand how schools are implementing innovative approaches to learning during COVID-19. Resources include examples of restorative practices, project based learning, and competency-based learning and has a database of 90 different practices that schools or systems can adapt. …
How RISE Colorado is elevating the voices of families and empowering them to lead the charge for equity in education
By The BELE Network
This is a part of our ongoing series on organizations that are amplifying the voices of youth and families who are reimagining schools as inclusive communities and advocating for equitable, anti-racist systems.
During this period of dual crises, with a global pandemic and systemic racism, it’s more important than ever to listen to those directly impacted — our young people and families — and invite them to actively help educators co-design and build back better. …
How the RYSE Youth Center is Centering the Youth Voice to Reimagine School Safety
By The BELE Network
This will is a part of our ongoing series on organizations that are amplifying the voices of young people who are reimagining schools as inclusive communities and advocating for equitable, anti-racist systems.
During this period of dual crises, with a global pandemic and systemic racism, it’s more important than ever to listen to our young people and invite them to actively help educators co-design and build back better.
For this piece, we spoke with Stephanie Thibodeaux Medley, the Director of Education & Justice at the RYSE Center, located in western Contra Costa County in California. …
Rectifying exclusionary discipline practices in schools
By The BELE Network
In schools across the country, girls of color face some of the greatest barriers to educational opportunities. They are often disproportionately disciplined for subjective offenses like being “too loud,” “too assertive,” or “too adult-like.”
But these racial disparities in school discipline are not inevitable. The National Women’s Law Center and The Education Trust have created a guide to help school districts implement intentional and specific policy and financial decisions that can address the legacy of 400 years of systemic anti-Blackness and rectify disparate discipline practices that Black and brown girls are experiencing.
The guide features stories from Oakland, Chicago, and Massachusetts told through the voices of Latina and Black girls, as well as a checklist for policymakers, advocates, and school leaders interested in pushing these conversations in their own districts and states. …
By the BELE Network
This is part two in a series that features the fearless young people, especially Black and Brown youth, who are reimagining schools as inclusive communities and advocating for equitable, anti-racist systems. During this period of dual crises, Covid-19 and systemic racism, it’s more important than ever to listen to our young people and actively partner with them to build truly equitable learning environments.
For this piece, we sat down with Khymani James, a student representative on the Boston Student Advisory Council, and the 2020–2021 student representative on the Boston School Committee, and Rachel Gunther, Associate Director of Youth on Board. …
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