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Many school communities feel overwhelmed by the work in front of us. Transcend's aim is to help ease the load through tools and guidance you can immediately use as you prepare for the fall and beyond.

Below you'll find a playbook of these tools and guidance to help you develop a Recovery to Reinvention Plan. You can access these materials in one complete set through the "Full Playbook" button, or in smaller pieces through the additional buttons below. The Playbook is best used in Google Docs.

We recommend you take on your Recovery to Reinvention planning in two phases. First, lay the foundation by grounding in your vision, constraints, and guiding principles for planning, as well as establishing your Recovery Leadership Team.

Then, build on this foundation to complete 8 key components of your plan for the coming school year. These are loosely in order of how we'd recommend you build your plan, although you'll probably need to loop back to earlier components as later ones become clearer. Depending on your timeline and the needs of your community, you may also choose to jump around or focus on a smaller subset of these components.

To further support you, we've built out sample Recovery to Reinvention plans at both the elementary and middle/high levels. We also encourage you to leverage examples in the Library of School Designs and Resources as you get into planning, so that you aren't building from scratch.

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Many school communities feel overwhelmed by the work in front of us. Transcend's aim is to help ease the load through tools and guidance you can immediately use as you prepare for the fall and beyond. Below you'll find a playbook of these tools and guidance to help you develop a Recovery to Reinvention Plan.

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June 19 Coronavirus Updates: Reopening Update

Dear Families:

What a year it's been. Last fall, very few of us could have imagined these last few months. Seattle was one of the first communities in our country to face this global health crisis - a crisis that disrupted everything familiar in education and in our personal lives. We rose to the challenge quickly, adjusting to a completely different learning environment, under conditions that were full of unknowns and at times scary. While battling one health crisis, another long-standing pandemic - anti-Black racism in America - was coming into full light for the nation and the world.

Amid the confluence of these two crises, parents and educators worked hard to support children. We tried to buffer them from the fear of COVID-19 while calling out and challenging the horrific acts of systemic racial injustice. We balanced changes in our work conditions, schooling from home, and managing our own feelings of loss.

The good news is, through it all children learned. It wasn't perfect. There wasn't a handbook for teaching during a pandemic, but as we close the chapter on 2019-20, we can say with confidence that together we did our best. Students have seen teachers, parents, community members, and friends step up to help. They have witnessed the delivery of close to 900,000 meals, 25,500 technology devices, and thousands of educators who went above and beyond. Students themselves should be celebrated. They led marches and called for social change - they put their learning into action. We have lived our values during a historic moment. This might be the greatest learning of all - that together we CAN make change. As we close out the 2019-20 school year, we want to share these messages from our graduating class of 2020. Our students give us great hope that a more just and loving future is within reach.

As we wrap up this school year, we have been planning for 2020-21. We hope that at the start of the new school year, King County is in Phase 4 of the Governor Inslee's reopening plan. If we are, in alignment with public health agency recommendations and the governor's plan, school will resume as normal and students, who choose to, will return to face-to-face classroom instruction. Unfortunately, we don't know what will happen over these next few months, so a contingency plan is needed, including how we will address a potential resurgence of COVID-19 in our community.

Four engagement teams of just over 100 participants that included students, parents, educators, school leaders, community partners, and central office administrators have been meeting to develop priorities for school in the fall - responsive to safety measures required for each phase of re-opening and the experiences of our students and families furthest from educational justice.

The engagement teams worked together to understand the operational and budget constraints, public health and safety guidelines, and feedback gathered in a recent staff, family, and leadership survey. Common values and priorities emerged from the four groups and leadership team, you can view them on our Planning for Re-Entry announcement webpage.

These values and priorities resulted in a model framework. If King County is in Phase 2 or 3 this fall, some type of in-person, part-time instruction will be provided for all K-12 students with the option of 100% online, remote learning for families who aren't ready to send their students back to school buildings. Regular in-person instruction will resume when we are in Phase 4.

100% online learning will be provided as an opt-in option for any family that does not want to return in person. This option will also be available in the event buildings remain closed through fall or close abruptly due to a resurgence of COVID-19. Online learning will be high-quality and consistently provided with clearer expectations and accountability for instruction and assignments. Online learning will be provided on a reliable schedule that includes live instruction, video lessons, and small group supports, etc. Over the summer months, educators, school leaders, and a digital learning task force will prepare for delivery of these enhanced supports.

A blended model with some in-person learning for all K-12 students and some remote, online instruction. This scenario is highly dependent on public health guidelines and if we are in Phase 2 or 3 in the fall. It was determined by the Reopening Leadership Team with input from the engagement teams that while the hope is to provide in-person class time for everyone, social distancing guidelines may require a phased in approach or starting with smaller student numbers. In doing that, priority would be given to students of color furthest from educational justice, students who require in-person therapy, students who receive Special Education services or IEP supports that can't be delivered online, students who receive services as English Learners, and students supported by McKinney Vento - students experiencing homelessness or unstable housing. Teams also expressed interest in providing additional in-person instruction for K-3 students and students in transition years - sixth grade and ninth grade. The schedule for a blended model, part-time in person and part-time remote learning, is yet to be determined. The in-person schedule is dependent on the physical capacity of our buildings. We are exploring partnerships with community organizations to increase space capacity.

A full return to in-person classes. A full return to regular instruction will require we are in Phase 4 and that we follow guidelines of Public Health. While we are hopeful, this scenario is unlikely in Fall 2020.

Next week, families will need to complete an Intent to Enroll questionnaire to hold a place in their program selection. Families will be asked to indicate if they plan to enroll in the 100% online learning option for the fall or want the in-person option program. Depending on responses, in-person K-12 instruction frequency will be determined. Please look for an email early next week from Public Affairs with more details. This information will be critical in helping us finalize plans for next year.

We know the uncertainty for next school year is stressful and there are still a lot of unknowns. Staff and the Seattle School Board will be working diligently to provide additional answers and details in collaboration with educators and school leaders over these next few weeks.

Next steps: On June 30, a detailed Fall Reopening Plan will be presented to the School Board during a public work session. The plan will reflect the values and priorities surfaced during the recent engagement, the model framework outlined above, an analysis of our buildings' physical capacity, and adherence to Public Health guidelines.

If you have feedback on the model framework or Fall Reopening Plan you can submit your comments and questions on our Let's Talk online form. This data will be shared with the School Board Directors.

Office of Public Affairs

Learn More About Fall 2020 Planning

Visit our Fall Student Reentry Scenarios and Planning webpage for more information.

King County, Washington State, and National Health Resources

The Washington State Department of Health has established a call center to address questions from the public. If you have questions about what is happening in Washington, or how the virus is spread, please call 1-800-525-0127.

Phone lines are currently staffed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m, seven days a week. Please note that this call center can not access COVID-19 testing results. For testing inquiries or results, please contact your health care provider.

Living our Values: Resources to combat racism, bias, and discrimination

Our community values are tested in times like these. We must continue to be united and support each other as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) becomes more widespread. In schools, we will continue to demonstrate compassion and care as our greater community navigates this global health situation.

We are aware of reports that some of our Asian students have been targeted and discriminated against in connection to COVID-19. This is unacceptable and contrary to our values of racial equity and social justice. In SPS, we are committed to welcoming, safe, and inclusive schools, and we do not tolerate hate speech or acts of discrimination.

Help us prevent discrimination or stigmatization by sharing accurate information. COVID-19 infection is not connected to any race, ethnicity, or nationality. Misinformation about coronavirus disease 2019 can create fear and hostility that harms people and makes it harder to keep everyone healthy. Public Health Seattle and King County has provided resources to address and prevent.

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Dear Families: What a year it's been. Last fall, very few of us could have imagined these last few months. Seattle was one of the first communities in our country to face this global health crisis - a crisis that disrupted everything familiar in education and in our personal lives.

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What MDE is using for planning

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Return to School Roadmap | Where Public Education and Public Health Meet

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A roadmap of essential actions to help district and school leaders plan and implement a safe, efficient, and equitable return to school.

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Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities

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Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities

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Several articles listed in publications section.

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Accessibility

Greer, D., & Deshler, D. (2013). Looking at online learning through the accessibility lens. Better:Evidence-based Education, 5(3), 16-17. http://www.betterevidence.org/issue-13/looking-at-online-learning-through-the-accessibility-lens/

Parents, Families & Students

Teaching Online

Online Learning Environments

Basham, J., Smith, S., Greer, D., & Marino, M. (2013). The scaled arrival of K-12 online education: Emerging realities and implications for the future of education. Journal of Education, 193(2), 51-60.
Abstract: Dramatic increases in K-12 online education for all students, including those in traditionally underserved populations, necessitate a reconceptualization in the way educators plan and implement instruction. In this article the authors examine the complex array of variables and implementation models that must be accounted for during the pivot from a purely brick-and-mortar educational system to one that makes use of both virtual and blended environments. The authors call for enhanced emphasis on instructional goals and design principles, rather than the capabilities of available technology. They conclude that educational leaders and researchers must play a role in three key areas: using technology to enhance the accessibility and usability of curricular materials to meet the needs of different types of learners, advancing the understanding and practices of in-service and pre-service teachers through preparation that focuses on online learning, and fostering collaboration between educational researchers and technology innovators and developers to build a research base that will inform K-12 online education.

Greer, D., Crutchfield, S., & Woods, K. (2013). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning, instructional design principles, and students with learning disabilities in computer-based and online learning environments. Journal of Education, 193(2), 41-50.
Abstract: Struggling learners and students with Learning Disabilities (LD) often exhibit unique cognitive processing and working memory characteristics that may not align with instructional design principles developed with typically developing learners. This paper begins with an explanation of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and underlying Cognitive Load Theory and Baddeley's Theory of Working Memory. A review of five empirically supported design principles based on these theories (redundancy effect, modality effect, split attention principle, worked samples, and expert reversal effect) and of cognitive and memory characteristics of students with LD prompts questions for further research. Implications for computer-based and online learning environments are discussed.

Administrative Perspectives

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Greer, D., & Deshler, D. (2013). Looking at online learning through the accessibility lens. Better:Evidence-based Education, 5(3), 16-17. http://www.betterevidence.org/issue-13/looking-at-online-learning-through-the-accessibility-lens/ Basham, J., Smith, S., Greer, D., & Marino, M. (2013). The scaled arrival of K-12 online education: Emerging realities and implications for the future of education. Journal of Education, 193(2), 51-60.

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The Blended Learning Environment: A Viable Alternative for  Special Needs Students

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The Blended Learning Environment: A Viable Alternative for  Special Needs Students

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The Blended Learning Environment. A Viable Alternative for Special.pdf

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THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL

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THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL

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What will school look like this fall?

I've published two previous posts about it:
Could These Be Visions Of What Our School Year Might Look Like In The Fall? Here's What The Next Fall Could Look Like For Students & Teachers In California
Today, NPR ran a long story about 9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen.
THIS ADVICE FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, WHICH IS WHY PROBABLY MOST WON'T FOLLOW IT
How will COVID-19 change our schools in the long run? is from Brookings.

Under pressure to reopen this fall, school leaders plot unprecedented changes is from The Washington Post.
CA GOVERNOR SAYS WE MIGHT START SCHOOL IN LATE JULY STATISTIC OF THE DAY: UPCOMING BUDGET CUTS WILL DEVASTATE SCHOOLS WORRYING STATISTIC OF THE DAY: TEACHING NEXT FALL IS GOING TO BE RISKY FOR A LOT OF US ARE 800,000 OF US OLDER TEACHERS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO TEACH IN A PHYSICAL CLASSROOM NEXT YEAR?
The coming storm: big budget cuts, rising costs for California schools is from Ed Source.

7 students in a class? Not practical, school operations officials say is from Education Dive.
IT'S GOING TO BE A NEW CLASSROOM WORLD IN THE FALL - HERE IS WHAT I THINK IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE
A Few Schools Reopen, But Remote Learning Could Go On For Years In U.S. is from NPR.
NINE LONG-TERM CHANGES I THINK THE DISTANCE LEARNING CRISIS WILL - & WILL NOT - BRING TO OUR SCHOOLS THOUGH I'M NOT SURE I FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS PROPOSAL FOR OPENING SCHOOLS, IT DOES SOUND INTERESTING
As Europe Reopens Schools, Relief Combines With Risk is from The NY Times.

Testing students for coronavirus in the fall is a big unanswered question is from The L.A. Times.
SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO HAVE A BIG PROBLEM GETTING SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS NEXT YEAR CDC RELEASES GUIDELINES FOR REOPENING SCHOOLS - I DON'T THINK OUR DISTRICTS ARE GOING TO FIND THEM MUCH HELP ONE ADDITIONAL CONCERN I HAVE ABOUT THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR
School Superintendents Dismiss White House, Will Follow Leaked CDC Guidance on Reopening is from US News.

Split classes, outdoor lessons: what Denmark can teach England about reopening schools after Covid-19 https://t.co/JcSO0yAE8H

- Guardian Education (@GuardianEdu) May 17, 2020

When can kids go back to school? Since the severity of the outbreak varies so widely across the country, there isn't likely to be one answer, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress on Tuesday. Here are some of the core questions that could affect the timeline. https://t.co/WWGj5aHyLB

- New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) May 16, 2020

Back at school, French kindergartners learn social distancing. pic.twitter.com/LCvp1BMZ1Z

- Eleanor Beardsley (@ElBeardsley) May 13, 2020

NEW: Plan submitted by Fairfax County (Va) Public Schools shows images of potential "social distance" classrooms for the fall pic.twitter.com/svTXvP67ST

- Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 18, 2020

How feasible are school reopening plans for fall? is from Education Dive.

Not sure I entirely agree with this teacher's perspective on the fall, but it is certainly far more persuasive than divorced from reality plans being offered by many ed reformers and think tanks https://t.co/25fpdDk3cZ

- Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) May 19, 2020

Students at @dcpublicschools may only go to in-person classes 1 day a week next year. Document obtained by @nbcwashington details options considered by @MayorBowser A: 1 day a week B: 2 days a week C: 1 full week every 3rd week. Class size reduced to 10 students @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/Op4a0wkXOF

- Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) May 19, 2020

CDC OFFICIALLY RELEASES EXTENSIVE GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL RE-OPENING
Schools face prospect of layoffs, furloughs as state budget shrinks is from CAL Matters.

Reopening Schools in the Context of COVID-19: Health and Safety Guidelines From Other Countries is from The Learning Policy Institute.

I'm sure there will be more!

I'm adding this post to The "Best Of The Best" Resources To Support Teachers Dealing With School Closures.

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The Best Posts Predicting What Schools Will Look Like In The Fall

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What will school look like this fall? I've published two previous posts about it: Could These Be Visions Of What Our School Year Might Look Like In The Fall? Here's What The Next Fall Could Look Like For Students & Teachers In California Today, NPR ran a long story about 9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen.

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Divide each classroom into 2 groups of students...let's just call them Group A ( 15 students)  and Group B ( 15 students) right now.

Week 1:  15 students in Group A attend school Monday through Thursday onsite in the classroom.  Group B students are learning online from home.

Week 2:  Group A moves to virtual learning, while Group B is onsite for Monday-Thursday.   Here's the scientific benefit that reduces exposure and therefore disease:   The virus takes an average of 3 days to incubate, so time in a group setting is reduced to effect that.  But in addition, any student who is exposed to the virus is automatically isolated from their class, due to remote learning for a total of 10 days:  Friday of their onsite week, two weekends, and a Monday-Friday.

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The coronavirus epidemic is a formidable foe, but it is not unbeatable. By scheduling our activities intelligently, in a way that accounts for the virus's intrinsic dynamics, we can defeat it more rapidly, and accelerate a full return to work, school and other activities.

Uri Alon and Ron Milo are professors of computational and systems biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Eran Yashiv is a professor of economics at Tel Aviv University and at the London School of Economics Center for Macroeconomics.
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some . And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Opinion | 10-4: How to Reopen the Economy by Exploiting the Coronavirus's Weak Spot

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The coronavirus epidemic is a formidable foe, but it is not unbeatable. By scheduling our activities intelligently, in a way that accounts for the virus's intrinsic dynamics, we can defeat it more rapidly, and accelerate a full return to work, school and other activities.

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How 6 countries are opening up schools again, with temperature checks, outdoor classes, and spaced out desks

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How 6 countries are opening up schools again, with temperature checks, outdoor classes, and spaced out desks

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Schools across the globe have closed to stem the spread of the coronavirus, impacting 1.4 billion students.

In a handful of countries, including Israel, Japan, Denmark, and China, where risks have declined, schools are beginning to reopen.

Schools are taking a number of precautionary measures, such as mandatory temperature checks, holding classes outside, and spacing desks and tables apart.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, schools across the globe closed their doors to help slow the spread of the disease, a decision that has impacted 1.4 billion students worldwide.

It will still be months before schools reopen in many countries. But in a handful of places, where infection rates have dropped significantly, schools are starting to hold classes again. They're taking a number of precautionary measures to do so safely.

On Sunday, school reopened in Israel for children with special needs, students in first through third grade and juniors and seniors in high school. Classes were already underway in Norway, Japan, Denmark, China, and Taiwan.

Children went back to institutions that have adjusted to a new reality. Staff members are taking students' temperatures at the door. Some schools have closed playgrounds, and are spacing desks in classrooms a safe six feet apart. When possible, teachers are holding lessons outside and in small groups.

In the US, many schools will remain closed for the year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued preliminary guidelines, which include closing cafeterias, canceling sporting events, and field trips.

The US, and other countries, will likely also take cues from Denmark, Japan, Norway, China, Israel, and Taiwan. Here's what they're doing to keep their students safe.

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How 6 countries are opening up schools again, with temperature checks, outdoor classes, and spaced out desks

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Schools across the globe have closed to stem the spread of the coronavirus, impacting 1.4 billion students. In a handful of countries, including Israel, Japan, Denmark, and China, where risks have declined, schools are beginning to reopen. Schools are taking a number of precautionary measures, such as mandatory temperature checks, holding classes outside, and spacing desks and tables apart.

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Scotland eyes outdoor learning as model for reopening of schools

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Scotland eyes outdoor learning as model for reopening of schools

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Outdoor learning could offer a template for socially distanced schooling across Scotland, according to practitioners who believe the coronavirus pandemic could push parents and teachers to embrace the benefits of education in the outdoors.

While Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned that schools may not re open until August, the Guardian understands that local authorities are exploring how using outdoor space could optimise physical distancing.

Scotland's children's minister, Maree Todd, said: "There are a growing number of fully and partially outdoor childcare settings in Scotland. This model could have many benefits for maintaining physical distancing and minimising risk of transmission as part of the transition from lockdown back into early learning and childcare and school. While specialist outdoor nurseries are well attuned to the needs of children spending all day outdoors, other establishments are considering how to adapt their practice to enable more time to be spent in gardens and playgrounds."

The outdoor experience is already a part of Scotland's "curriculum for excellence", while many councils have ambitious plans to expand outdoor learning as they meet the Scottish government's commitment to a near-doubling of funded childcare this year.

Scotland's educators and policymakers have been acting on a growing weight of evidence about the exponentially positive impact of learning outdoors on everything from eyesight to risk assessment to resilience, but now practitioners are convinced their experience could offer a model for returning to school.

Since lockdown began, a number of outdoor nurseries across the country have become childcare hubs for children of key workers. Zoe Sills, who manages the Earthtime forest school nursery in Elgin, said: "When you've got the natural world at your fingertips, you don't need so many toys, which means fewer surfaces where the virus can be passed on." Each child is given a bag containing their own paintbrush, crayons and glue stick, then encouraged to spread out and find their own space to do crafting activities.

Cameron Sprague, a senior team leader at Stramash nursery, Fort William, which is likewise now acting as a childcare hub, said: "It's always been the case that infection control is easier outdoors: we never have the situation where one kid gets chicken pox then a third of the school is off."

Outside space allows for social distancing to happen more naturally, added Sprague. "The weather has been on our side, so the children can play freely outside. We have rolling snacks and lunches to avoid them clustering together, and handwashing every hour."

"This might be the way that outdoor learning gets pushed forward, but it's about so much more than infection control. Teachers do need support to do this: there are not many things you can't teach outdoors, you just have to think creatively."

Kenny Forsyth, the chief executive of Stramash social enterprise, which runs outdoor nurseries across the Highlands, suggests that the answers to the challenges posed by coronavirus are already embedded in outdoor settings.

"If you have an indoor nursery with four walls and a square metrage per child defined by the local council, then the number of children who can come back will be limited by social distancing. You can manage and control infection risk better outdoors, and we are a better option, especially at the time of year. The biggest single issue is that there are not enough of us to go round." Forsyth estimates that less than 1% of nursery age children in Scotland all-day all-day outdoor nurseries.

Practitioners are also keen to underline that outdoor learning is a specialism that requires training and expertise, rather than something that can be immediately transposed into conventional schools that have widely varying amounts of outdoor space available.

"It is a significant challenge to expect the indoor national establishment to suddenly understand how to deliver all-day outdoor provision," said Forsyth. "But it would be a tremendous outcome for the country if the benefits of the outdoors became embedded in all schools."
Topics

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Scotland eyes outdoor learning as model for reopening of schools

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Outdoor learning could offer a template for socially distanced schooling across Scotland, according to practitioners who believe the coronavirus pandemic could push parents and teachers to embrace the benefits of education in the outdoors. While Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned that schools may not re open until August, the Guardian understands that local authorities are exploring how using outdoor space could optimise physical distancing.

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Schools Are Opening Worldwide, Providing a Model for the U.S.

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Schools Are Opening Worldwide, Providing a Model for the U.S.

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Administration & Leadership

Children are returning to school in countries that are weeks-or months-ahead of the U.S. in battling Covid-19. Here's how it's happening.

Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report setting out guidelines for opening child-care programs, day camps, and K-12 schools-or the report leaked, depending on who you read.

The guidelines break school reopening into three phases-each with incrementally more relaxed rules, if infection rates are sufficiently low-but the big picture provides some good news: the recommendations reveal a path forward for schools to reopen, albeit with restrictions.

High-touch surfaces, toys, drinking fountains, and school buses should be cleaned frequently, the CDC says; playgrounds and cafeterias should be closed or used in staggered shifts; field trips should be canceled; health screenings and body temperature checks for adults and students upon arrival should be considered; cloth masks should be mandatory for staff; and good air circulation throughout the school should be a priority. If someone in the building is later confirmed to be sick with Covid-19, the CDC writes, you might consider closing the school for one or two days to allow for cleaning.

Already a few U.S. states with low case and fatality rates-Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming-have quietly announced reopening dates for some schools or school populations this year (students with IEPs, for example), though final decisions in Montana, for example, are left up to the local districts. Most of the country's K-12 schools will remain closed until at least the fall.

Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Taping off social distancing markers in preparation for reopening school, Heppenheim, Germany.

In parts of Western Europe and Asia, though, where Covid-19 touched down weeks, and in some cases months, earlier than in the U.S., the threat from the virus has gradually diminished-and schools have reopened to welcome students and teachers into classrooms. Reports from major news publications indicate that even with the strict new rules, children and teachers are generally happy to be back, but the reopenings have not been without controversy: In Denmark, some parents have protested, reported Patrick Kinsgley for The New York Times, and in Tel Aviv some teachers have pushed back over health and safety concerns, wrote Steve Hendrix in The Washington Post.

A recent article by Business Insider's Emily Cavanagh peeked inside the equivalent of K-12 schools operating around the world, from Taiwan to Denmark, China, Norway, and Israel, and looked at the common safety precautions in place. We also looked at recent coverage from The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, NBC, and The New York Times to get a better picture of the state of schools internationally.

Drop-Off and Entrance Protocols

We've been hearing about staggered start times, or alternate day attendance, ever since California Gov. Gavin Newsom broached the topic in mid-April, as reported in the Los Angeles Times.

In Israel, as some schools began to open as the country's infection rate declined, staggering arrival times has reduced the crowding that often occurs as buildings open, The Washington Post's Hendrix reported. Other schools are increasing the number of school entry points to cut down on congestion.

Meanwhile, in Denmark, where many schools have been open since mid-April-it was "the first country in the Western world to reopen its elementary schools since the start of the coronavirus pandemic," according to The New York Times 's Kingsley-there's another big change: Parents aren't allowed in the building.

Temperature Scans For All

Teachers, students, and parents are subject to temperature scans at the door-and in some countries, several times throughout the day-often from temperature guns that measure heat coming off the body, though there are concerns about the reliability of these devices outside carefully controlled health-care settings.

Photo by Luo Yunfei/China News Service via Getty Images

Checking a student's temperature in a classroom in Haikou, China.

The CDC guidelines recommend that schools develop protocols for isolating and transporting potentially sick adults or students: Schools should "identify an area to separate anyone who exhibits Covid-like symptoms" and set up "procedures for safely transporting anyone sick home or to a health-care facility." In Shanghai, special isolation rooms have been set aside to separate people suspected of having the virus from everyone else, according to Business Insider 's Cavanagh.

Protecting the vulnerable is crucial. In Israel, teachers and other school staff over the age of 65, and anyone with underlying health concerns, are encouraged to stay home, The Washington Post 's Hendrix reported. The CDC mirrors this guidance: "Protect and support staff and students who are at higher risk for severe illness, such as providing options for telework and virtual learning."

Social Distancing Lives On

Social distancing throughout school is being enforced: In Denmark, Israel, and Norway, desks "are spaced six feet apart, which is the official recommendation for effective social distancing," noted Cavanagh. Playgrounds, gym classes, school libraries, and even teachers' lounges are closed in some countries.

Communal lunches are barred, in most cases, which is consistent with CDC guidelines: "If a cafeteria or group dining room is typically used, serve meals in classrooms instead. Serve individually plated meals." In some schools, students are assigned seats in the cafeteria, which are arranged three feet apart. Buffet-style grazing is out; food is often plated and served individually, to reduce the obvious channels of transmission.

Small groups of students are often kept together for the whole day-social mixing is discouraged-and are sequestered in a single classroom to avoid congregating in hallways. In Denmark, many classes are conducted outdoors or in outdoor tents, where social distancing measures are easier to accommodate, according toCNN, NBC, and others.

Sanitize, and Then Sanitize Again

Many, though not all, schools require masks for adults and students, and hand washing and sanitizing are frequent. "In Denmark, schools have installed handwashing stations outside of the buildings and students have to wash their hands at least once an hour," Cavanagh writes, while in Norway classrooms, toys, and frequently touched surfaces are now sanitized twice daily. In another safety measure, notes Kingsley about Danish schools: "Tea ladies have the new task of touring the school with disinfectant, cleaning each door handle at least twice during school hours."

Contributing editor Sarah Gonser provided additional reporting for this article.

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Schools Are Opening Worldwide, Providing a Model for the U.S.

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Administration & Leadership Children are returning to school in countries that are weeks-or months-ahead of the U.S. in battling Covid-19. Here's how it's happening. Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report setting out guidelines for opening child-care programs, day camps, and K-12 schools-or the report leaked, depending on who you read.

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Orderly hallways, 12-person classes. Berkeley schools could be unrecognizable in the fall

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Orderly hallways, 12-person classes. Berkeley schools could be unrecognizable in the fall

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Anyone who's been to Berkeley High knows a defining feature of the school is its suffocatingly crowded hallways, where thousands of students shove past each other, sprint to class or linger behind for too long, shout over their friends' heads, cluster around fights and perform elaborate dance routines to ask someone to prom.

"Single-file one way, up the sides," is how BUSD Facility Director John Calise described the high-school hallways of the future.

Orderly passing periods may sound implausible, acknowledged BUSD staff during a virtual town hall Wednesday evening, but they're among the "risk reduction practices" that will likely be necessary should students be permitted, in some form or another, back on campus in August.

"We do believe school will not be back to normal in the fall," Superintendent Brent Stephens told a few hundred digital attendees at the meeting. "It's likely to be a very bumpy year."

There is no explicit guidance from the state or federal government on how schools should reopen, he said, but California officials have told districts they'll need to plan for social distancing.

"This requirement poses a real challenge for schools," Stephens wrote in a new "planning overview" document for fall reopening.

That initial outline suggests the Berkeley school system could be completely restructured next year, with staff and students alike performing a massive logistical feat in order to simply go to class.

BUSD will likely divide students into fixed cohorts, or "bubble groups," with each only coming to school on certain days or for partial days. Maintenance workers would clean classrooms in between each session, possibly using a speedy electrostatic method.

"We imagine that every time a new group enters into a space, that space should be thoroughly disinfected," Stephens said.

Staff have analyzed the capacity of each BUSD facility to determine how many people could fit inside while staying 6 feet apart. Classes could safely hold up to 12 students, according to BUSD, meaning elementary classes would be cut in half and grades 6-12 would be reduced to an even smaller fraction. Cafeteria tables could sit five students instead of 16. School buses could carry 174 passengers instead of 852 on one morning run, perhaps one of the greatest practical challenges and a blow to a district famous for its busing program.

Students ages 13 and up may need to wear face coverings, and shared equipment like books, basketballs and pianos could get locked away.

At the town hall, which included an interactive portion for participants, one attendee commented on how difficult it will be for children to maintain social distance.

Stephens agreed, saying the task would be most challenging for the youngest students but damaging for high schoolers as well, "many of whom love a good hug in between classes."

The superintendent said he's worried about the high-pressure environment the new rules could foster, encouraging students to tattle on each other or breeding lasting "hang-ups" around touch and interaction.

One participant asked whether reopening such a limited, bare-bones version of school is even worth it, or whether distance learning should continue until campuses are fully safe to reenter. Staff didn't address that question, only handling the comments that got high ratings from other viewers. But since schools closed, plenty of parents have been pushing for a quick return to anything resembling normalcy. Many work full-time from home or need to leave the house for essential jobs, and are struggling to make sure their children get an education and stay safe while the adults are busy.

School, "we're hearing loud and clear," said Stephens, that school "represents an important form of child care."

BUSD is looking into providing child care either after school or during the workday while only some cohorts get to go to class.

Staff floated the Berkeley Adult School as a potential site for new classrooms or child care. People who've been pushing for years to convert the property into a K-12 site will applaud that suggestion, but for the many adults who rely on the school to learn English or pursue their GED, a shift to online courses could be tough.

One commenter received a high rating from other participants when they noted that not all BUSD students come from homes they can safely leave to attend school. They might live with immunocompromised or older family members. That participant suggested a survey of families to figure out the most appropriate course, as it will differ depending on the child. BUSD has already surveyed staff and students and will convene advisory committees of community members, educators and principals, to plot out the first months back at school. May has been packed with public meetings on distance learning and fall 2020 too.

There are risks to keeping kids home as well. Early data has indicated that school closures have exacerbated disparities in access to, and participation in, online courses.

Rough data reported by Berkeley teachers during the third week of distance learning showed that already-vulnerable student groups were not participating in distance learning at high levels. While somewhere close to 20% of all students were not participating, nearly a third of all special-education and black students were missing out. A full 40% of homeless students were marked as not participating, as were 29% of students from low-income families.

For children at critical development stages, missing months of school could be especially harmful.

Some of the disparities may be attributed to the "digital divide" that has been thrown into relief during the pandemic. While BUSD has distributed 2,500 Chromebooks to students and staff, families were still collecting the computers and WiFi hotspots well into the distance learning roll-out. At the town hall, a teacher commented that educators need better home "set-ups," and another commenter pitched an on-call tech-support crew for flummoxed parents.

One commenter said they're all for some kind of return to campus, even if paired with ongoing remote learning, if only to restore consistent, live interaction with teachers and peers.

In the meantime, one person proposed, give kids more hands-on home assignments: cooking, nature education, construction.

With all the uncertainty around the fall semester, Stephens has promised one thing: it will begin, per usual, in late August.

"Gavin Newsom created quite a stir in California when he mused from the podium that schools might be able to open in July," the superintendent said.

Summer school will be expanded this year, with extra sessions and broader eligibility. But with BUSD preparing to carve chunks out of its budget and grappling with how students can safely use school bathrooms, an August opening will already be a serious undertaking.

Natalie Orenstein is a reporter at Berkeleyside.

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Orderly hallways, 12-person classes. Berkeley schools could be unrecognizable in the fall - Berkeleyside

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Anyone who's been to Berkeley High knows a defining feature of the school is its suffocatingly crowded hallways, where thousands of students shove past each other, sprint to class or linger behind for too long, shout over their friends' heads, cluster around fights and perform elaborate dance routines to ask someone to prom.

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9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen

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9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen

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Three-quarters of U.S. states have now officially closed their schools for the rest of the academic year. While remote learning continues, summer is a question mark, and attention is already starting to turn to next fall.

Recently, governors including California's Gavin Newsom and New York's Andrew Cuomo have started to talk about what school reopening might look like. And a federal government plan for reopening, according to The Washington Post, says that getting kids back in classrooms or other group care is the first priority for getting back to normal.

But there are still many more unknowns than guarantees. Among the biggest, says Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, is this: "Is it safe and healthy for my kids to pack them into that classroom?"

Here are nine key ideas - drawn from interviews with public health experts, education officials and educators around the country - for what reopening might look like.
1. Stepped-up health and hygiene measures
"A school building is not what you would call an ideal place in the middle of a pandemic," says Michael Mulgrew, the head of the New York City teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers. So the first order of business, he says, is "How do you make sure there's a plan in place to make sure the people walking in are not spreading anything?"

Ideally, he says, this is accomplished by widespread and frequent testing for the coronavirus. But Mulgrew also points to the safety measures being taken right now at the city's 100 "regional enrichment centers" that provide child care for front-line workers. These include wearing masks, temperature checks, hand-washing, frequent sanitization and social distancing rules enforced even for very small children.

Other countries that are already moving to reopen schools may offer lessons for U.S. educators.

Denmark reopened schools, for lower grades only, on April 15 after a four-week shutdown. At the Copenhagen International School, children line up in the morning next to traffic cones spaced 6 feet apart. There are only 10 students to a classroom, with just one teacher. Specialists, such as the art teacher, offer their lessons remotely via video chat. And just five children are allowed on the playground at a time. Ida Storm Jansen, the school's communications director, says they have made up a new game called shadow tag to play while staying 6 feet apart - "tagging each other's shadow so they're not touching."

Kids are creative, she says: "They figure out ways to do things."
2. Class sizes of 12 or fewer
Maria Litvinova, a researcher at the Institute for Scientific Interchange in Turin, Italy, has modeled how school closures reduce the spread of illness. She argues that without treatments or a vaccine, "there is no such thing as 'safe' reopening."

Still, in an attempt to balance safety with the impact on families and the economy, she also recommends reducing social contact by putting children in the smallest groups possible. Assuming there is sufficient testing and contact tracing to reduce the spread of infection, "it's better if that student's been in contact with one group of 15 students versus 100 students."

Based on the typical size of a classroom in New York City, 12 would be the most children you could accommodate while maintaining social distancing, says the UFT's Mulgrew. At the International School in Denmark, they are grouping kids in classes of 10.

Lily Eskelsen Garcia points out that her membership has been asking for smaller classes for a long time. "The doctors say 39 sweaty bodies in a classroom is not healthy and safe - by the way, it never was. But in this case, it might spread an infection that kills people."

Serious cases of coronavirus among children are rare. Eskelsen Garcia says she's concerned not only for the health of children, but also for the health of her members, which include teachers, custodians, food service workers and school support staff. In New York City alone more than 60 educators have reportedly died from the coronavirus, and NPR has found accounts of educator deaths in 13 other states.
3. Staggered schedules
Reducing class size this drastically would probably mean staggering schedules. By way of example, Mulgrew suggests that one group of kids might attend school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday one week, then Tuesday and Thursday the following week. Others have discussed morning and afternoon shifts.
4. Younger kids first?
Denmark reopened its day cares and primary schools first. Norway started with kindergartens, and Israel with special education kindergartens. Mulgrew says opening New York City's elementary schools first might make sense, because they are more likely to be within walking distance for families, and because those students are normally with one main classroom teacher, meaning fewer changes to existing scheduling and staffing. On the other hand, the researcher, Litvinova, points out that the younger children are more likely to be "putting their hands and their mouths on their face" and, therefore, potentially spreading infection.
5. New calendars
To make up for the learning lost while schools are closed, there have been suggestions of starting school sooner, or continuing through next summer, or both.

"This situation is going to be like what is often called the summer slide, but on steroids," Virginia's superintendent of public instruction, James Lane, told NPR. "I think there will be opportunities for us to discuss different ways to approach calendars." This means, among other things, renegotiating union contracts. And while districts are rewriting calendars, Litvinova says, they should probably prepare for having to close schools again when and if outbreaks recur, until there is a vaccine.
6. Different attendance policies
Schools can open up, but some parents might still choose to keep their children at home. In Denmark, a Facebook group called "my kid is not going to be a guinea pig" reportedly has 40,000 members.

Melissa Thomasson, a health care economist at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently published a paper on the educational effects of the 1916 polio epidemic in New York City. The start of school was delayed by weeks to slow the spread of what was called "infantile paralysis." According to Thomasson's research, even when schools did reopen, about 200,000 of the city's 829,000 registered students stayed home out of fear of spreading the disease. And the city announced a policy of "leniency" for absences during this time.
7. No assemblies, sports games or parent-teacher conferences
Students can't mix in large groups, and parents probably won't be allowed in school buildings either.
8. Remote learning continues
Every expert NPR spoke with predicted that the need for remote learning would continue because of staggered schedules, schools prepared to close again for future waves of infection, and many students needing remediation. And that means training and support for teachers, and equipment for children.

Eskelsen Garcia of the NEA says the equity issue is acute: "What we've been telling [political leaders] for years is the digital divide is hurting children. It's hurting entire communities. To have broadband, a tablet or a laptop is not to play video games. It is as essential as indoor plumbing. It is what you need to succeed. And now it's been laid bare."
9. Social, emotional and practical help for kids
Developmental experts say disruption from the pandemic constitutes an "adverse childhood experience" for every American child. When schools reopen, says Virginia's James Lane, ameliorating this trauma will be at the core of their mission.

"I also think that there is a need for us to focus on social and emotional learning for students," Lane says, "and not only how we can provide the academic support, but how can we provide the mental health support and the wraparound supports for students when they come back, to help them recover and bring back that safety net of schools."

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9 Ways Schools Will Look Different When (And If) They Reopen

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Three-quarters of U.S. states have now officially closed their schools for the rest of the academic year. While remote learning continues, summer is a question mark, and attention is already starting to turn to next fall. Recently, governors including California's Gavin Newsom and New York's Andrew Cuomo have started to talk about what school reopening might look like.

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Four K-12 Education Models That May Gain Popularity During COVID-19

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Four K-12 Education Models That May Gain Popularity During COVID-19

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Education during the pandemic.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

In just a few weeks, U.S. education has dramatically changed. Schools have been closed for the academic year in most states, and some districts have already canceled their foray into virtual school-at-home this spring, ending the school year early. With more than 50 million U.S. students at home with their families, engaged in varying degrees of quarantine schooling, questions emerge about how long this will last and what education may look like post-pandemic. Most families will be eager to resume their previous routines, returning to school and work as soon as it's allowed, likely with strong social distancing measures in place. But some families may be curious about K-12 education models that favor personalization, small group learning environments, high-quality virtual programming and other innovative alternatives.

While most of us have been forced to work and learn from home for the past two months, separated from our colleagues and community, some employers and employees are finding that working from home has its benefits, including higher productivity gains and lower costs. A recent Brookings Institution report reveals that we "may see a more permanent shift toward telecommuting" continuing long after the pandemic ends. Similarly, some students are finding that they prefer this pandemic distance learning experiment over traditional schooling. Additionally, a recent survey by EdChoice finds that more than half of respondents have a more favorable view of homeschooling as a result of the pandemic, suggesting a rising openness to different K-12 learning models. As parents experience a growing cultural embrace of teleworking that can create more workplace freedom and flexibility, they may also look to grant this freedom and flexibility to their children, seeking educational options beyond a conventional classroom.

Here are four K-12 education models that will likely get increased attention over the coming months:
Forest Schools
Forest preschools and outdoor early childhood programs were already gaining traction prior to the pandemic. The New York Times reported last summer that "nature-based preschools have seen a tidal wave of interest in recent years," pointing to survey data from a national organization that represents nature preschools and forest kindergartens. These programs prioritize ample outside time, natural play and exploration, typically with small class sizes and enthusiastic educators who enjoy helping children to learn in and from nature in all kinds of weather.

As conventional schools implement social distancing measures that may include staggered attendance to keep class sizes down and avoid over-crowded school buildings, some families may look to full-time programs that already focus on small groups and outside learning. Christine Heer, M.Ed. and Lisa Henderson are the co-owners of Sprouts, the first licensed farm and forest kindergarten in Massachusetts. They explain that their program is held almost entirely outdoors and already provides adequate space necessary for safe interactions between children and teachers. Heer expects that programs like Sprouts will become a model for other early childhood programs coping with reopening amidst the pandemic, as well as a magnet for parents exploring other educational options.

Heer explains: "COVID-19 is now forcing communities to look at new ways of offering safe, healthy options for education at all levels and we are convinced that programs like ours will attract the attention of parents and educators as we reconsider how to bring children back into childcare and preschool settings in a safe, stress-free way." Henderson adds: "We will be making some slight adjustments when we return to Sprouts, like creating a hands-free hand washing station and keeping lunch boxes in individual backpacks instead of mixing them together in a crate. We believe that nature-immersive programs are the perfect fit to address the stress-free, healthy environments we will need to provide for families."
Microschools
The push toward smaller, less institutionalized learning environments may also be a boost for the burgeoning microschool movement. Microschools usually operate out of homes or local community organizations and typically have no more than a dozen K-12 students, of varying ages. Often microschools operate as hybrid homeschool programs, where young people are registered as homeschoolers but attend a microschool either full- or part-time, taking classes and engaging with teachers and mentors. Sometimes microschools operate through state charter school programs, such as Arizona-based Prenda, a fast-growing network of in-home microschools that is tuition-free for Arizona residents. New microschool models may gain momentum as parents seek a consistent, in-person learning environment for their children that emphasizes personalization and small class sizes.

If history offers any lessons as to what might happen when schools reopen, it's possible that many parents may continue to keep their children at home, at least in the short-term. NPR recently highlighted historical research by health care economist, Melissa Thomasson, who found that when New York City schools reopened during the 1916 polio epidemic, approximately one-quarter of the city's schoolchildren stayed home, prompting the city to temporarily loosen its compulsory attendance laws. If this happens during our current pandemic, neighbors may decide to form their own in-home learning co-ops, taking turns caring for and educating each other's children while balancing their own work schedules. Well-regarded homeschool programs, such as Oak Meadow and Clonlara, could see a bump in sales as parents look for curriculum guidance beyond, or in addition to, virtual learning, and new curriculum offerings could emerge to meet growing demand.
Virtual Degree Programs
By necessity, the pandemic has introduced many parents and children to the possibility of virtual learning. While we may all clamor for face-to-face interaction again, we are likely more comfortable with online connections and learning and working remotely than we were prior to this stay-at-home experience. Some students are finding that they prefer online education, and parents may be curious about virtual learning options going forward. Many states offer tuition-free virtual public school options, such as those provided through K12. Some colleges and universities are beginning to offer rigorous online programs for high school students that combine earning an accredited high school diploma with college credits, giving young people more autonomy and flexibility in their learning, while helping to defray college tuition costs.

Affiliated with Arizona State University, ASU Prep Digital is a fully online, accredited high school that incorporates college credits into its curriculum. The online school is tuition-free for Arizona residents, and the full-time accelerated program for out-of-state students costs just under $7,000 a year. Supporting the expansion of education choice mechanisms, such as education savings accounts, vouchers and tax-credit scholarship programs, can help more families to opt out of their assigned district school and select other education options that may otherwise be financially out-of-reach.

New online learning programs will also likely sprout during and after this pandemic, as parents and students become more at ease with, and supportive of, virtual education. One virtual school startup, Sora Schools, is already seeing more interest in its nascent, project-based program that serves high schoolers across the country. "We've actually been growing a lot in the last couple of months," says cofounder Indra Sofian. "Recently we've had many conversations with parents who are not prepared to fully homeschool their children and parents who were concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their students' schooling in the fall. We're currently projecting to enroll at least 50 students based on our current growth rate by the fall." As many investors shift their portfolios toward edtech startups during the pandemic, it is likely that online education options and virtual learning tools will continue to expand in the coming months.
Homeschooling
Even though pandemic homeschooling is nothing like the real thing, the finding that parents have a more favorable impression of homeschooling now than before is a strong signal that at least some of them will choose the homeschooling option even when schools reopen. A recent informal survey conducted by Corey DeAngelis of the Reason Foundation found that 15 percent of parents say they will choose homeschooling when schools reopen. If these parents have warmed up to homeschooling under these difficult social distancing circumstances, just wait until they can actually leave the house, go to the library and museums, gather with friends, take community classes and so on.

Images have started to appear of what back-to-school looks like in some countries as children return to school. Some parents might be turned off by the idea of their children wearing masks and face shields all day, as well as learning in spread out classrooms, and may choose homeschooling, at least until the pandemic ends. With more parents likely to continue teleworking post-pandemic, job flexibility may also allow for more learning flexibility, as parents discover that they don't have to be the ones teaching their homeschooled children but rather connecting them to both in-person and online tutors, mentors, classes and other resources.

COVID-19 has disrupted much of the way we live and learn, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Forest schools, microschools, online learning programs and homeschooling will likely become increasingly popular in the coming months, as parents search for other education options beyond their local school. While some private schools are shutting down as a result of the pandemic, unable to cope with the economic shock, this can be a great time for visionary entrepreneurs to create more nimble K-12 learning models that give parents and learners the high-quality, flexible and safe academic environment they want.

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Four K-12 Education Models That May Gain Popularity During COVID-19

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COVID-19 has disrupted much of the way we live and learn, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. These four K-12 education models will likely gain popularity over the coming months, as families look for new options.

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Micro-School Network Expands Learning Options

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Micro-School Network Expands Learning Options

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Prenda's vision is empowered learning.
Photo: Prenda

Technology has the potential to decentralize K-12 education and make it more learner-directed, upending a top-down system in favor of individual autonomy and self-determination. But the technology can't do this alone. It requires a learning environment that fosters creativity and curiosity, using digital platforms and supportive adults to facilitate exploration and discovery. The entrepreneurial educators at Prenda, an Arizona-based network of micro-schools, think they have uncovered the right mix of powerful technology and warm, nurturing learning spaces that could help to transform education.

Like many education innovations, Prenda began with a parent who was looking for something better for his child. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kelly Smith sold his software company in 2013 and moved back to his hometown of Mesa, Arizona where he began hosting weekly, after school computer coding clubs for his eight-year-old son and other children at the local public library. The enthusiasm for these clubs swelled, and before long Smith was supporting code clubs in libraries across the country, reaching over 10,000 children in 30 states. "The energy of these code clubs was astonishing," Smith recalls.

Smith estimates that he personally worked with about 2,000 children during his time of running the code clubs and he was increasingly fascinated by his observations about how people learn. "Learning is a very different thing when a human being wants to learn something than when a human being doesn't want to learn something," says Smith. "I would watch these kids come to the club complaining about how much they hated school and how they were bad at math and then I would see them figure something out in computer programming that was much harder than anything their teacher would ask them to do."

He began to see the importance of free will and choice in learning. Smith continues: "My experience and my kids' experience in traditional education is that it was things done to you against your will. You may do fine, some kids do fine, but you're not really going to learn unless you choose to learn. There is this agency, this humanity, at the bottom of it. It may sound fluffy but it's a profound insight."
The Micro-School Movement
Smith started to wonder what would happen if school were like his coding clubs, fostering agency and eagerness for learning, without coercion. In January 2018, he launched Prenda to create the type of school he envisioned. Prenda is part of the larger micro-school movement, an educational shift occurring over the past decade in which entrepreneurs and parents create intimate, mixed-age learning spaces, often in homes or local organizations. A blend between homeschooling and private schooling, micro-schools retain the curriculum freedom and schedule flexibility characteristic of homeschooling, while relying on paid teachers to facilitate the classroom experience. Micro-schools are typically a fraction of the cost of a private school and educate no more than 10 to 15 students at a time. Prenda, for example, caps enrollment at about 10 students per classroom with one teacher, or "guide" as they call them, and costs $5,000 per child per year.

Prenda began in Smith's home with seven children spanning kindergarten to eighth grade, with a focus on self-directed learning tied to mastery in core academic subjects. As the children's excitement for learning grew and more parents became interested in Prenda, Smith built an integrated software platform to support and scale his emerging model. The software emphasizes three broad, daily categories of interaction and introspection: Conquer, Collaborate and Create. In Conquer mode, the learners set daily goals for mastery in basic skills, such as reading, writing, math and other core subjects. The students use various online learning programs, including Khan Academy, No Red Ink and Mystery Science to build competency, and the Prenda software helps to track their progress against their personal goals. In Create mode, the learners work on individual projects, while Collaborate mode emphasizes group projects, Socratic group discussions, and critical thinking and reasoning skills in core subject areas. The Prenda software buttresses these activities by offering resources and a structured framework for the guides, as well as tools and transparency for students and parents.

Today, Prenda micro-schools operate in 80 locations throughout Arizona, serving about 550 children. Smith expects to expand Prenda beyond the state, and double its enrollment, within the next year. He attributes Prenda's massive growth over the past few months to the rising number of parents who are looking for alternatives to conventional schooling. Smith says: "It turns out that there are a lot of parents who are asking: Is the traditional approach to education going to do it for my child? Maybe their kid is doing fine, getting good grades, but in their eyes parents see the love of learning draining out of them." Most of these parents are not interested in full-time homeschooling or some other unconventional path, says Smith, but the Prenda micro-school model offers the best of schooling and homeschooling. According to Smith: "I think the real reason we have been able to scale so quickly is that we are able to offer something that parents have been looking for."
Prenda San Carlos School
Some of those parents include members of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. Located in a rural section of the state, the education options available to the children on the reservation are limited. The reservation's public schools consistently receive "F" ratings with the Arizona Department of Education, and student proficiency scores are strikingly poor, despite annual per pupil spending of nearly $17,000 in 2018, or about 70% more funding per pupil than Arizona's average of $9,900. Two private, religious schools on the reservation provide alternative options for some Apache children, but most families have no choice but to send their children to the failing public schools or leave the reservation. For Jeremiah Cota, a tribal member, this was unacceptable. In August he helped to launch two Prenda classrooms on the San Carlos reservation using borrowed church space. The school currently serves 22 students, with the goal of expanding to meet mounting parent demand.

Cota, who grew up on an Arizona Apache reservation, says that many parents in tribal communities are frustrated by their limited options. At an information session he hosted at the San Carlos reservation before opening Prenda, more than 200 parents showed up, concerned mostly about ongoing bullying and safety issues in the public schools. They were also frustrated by a lack of academic rigor and a curriculum that lacked cultural relevancy. "Parents thought their only other option was to send their children off the reservation, but we can do this here in our community," says Cota. "We can have ownership. We can have a world-class education that's culturally appropriate, that's within our own context."

The flexibility of the Prenda model allows for both academic rigor and a culturally appropriate education. For example, daily individual and group projects at the Prenda San Carlos School involve bringing in guest speakers from the reservation or doing hands-on exploration of the tribal lands. "We are very connected to our land, our wildlife, and we want to continue to teach children how to preserve and protect our land," says Cota.

Prenda's accessibility and expansion have been abetted by Arizona's robust climate of education choice. For instance, many of the children participating in the Prenda San Carlos School use funds available to them through Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account, an education savings account (ESA) available to many tribal members, as well as other eligible children throughout the state. For Prenda students who are not eligible for an ESA in Arizona, they are able to access Prenda through the state's Sequoia Charter School network, which supports hybrid learning models.

"Arizona is leading the way in school choice and charter schools," explains Cota. "It's crucial we keep this going. Without this flexibility, we couldn't do this." He is optimistic about the growth and replicability of the Prenda model to serve many more students, including those who have historically had limited access to education choices. "It gives hope and empowerment to these communities," says Cota.

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Micro-School Network Expands Learning Options

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Technology has the potential to decentralize K-12 education and make it more learner-directed, upending a top-down system in favor of individual autonomy and self-determination. But the technology can't do this alone. It requires a learning environment that fosters creativity and curiosity, using digital platforms and supportive adults to facilitate exploration and discovery.

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Half-Time High School May Be Just What Students Need