Crisis Breeds Innovation: Pandemic Pods and the Future of Education

This report offers the first in-depth look at families’ and educators’ experiences with pandemic pods.
Finding teachers and bus drivers is a big problem, but a different staffing challenge is looming in school districts

The American School District Panel surveyed school districts nationwide to better understand their staffing challenges in the pandemic’s third school year.
Student Support That Meets the Moment: The Need for Clarity and Rigor in SEL

As stress and disruption have intensified for students over the past two years due to the pandemic, so has interest in and spending on social-emotional learning (SEL) in public education. Also mounting in some places is confusion about what SEL is and a lack of clarity about how, exactly, to implement SEL in sustainable, effective […]
How districts can get serious about career-relevant learning, even in the midst of a pandemic

To be successful, new career pathways must include strategies for overcoming hard-wired habits, schedules, outcome metrics, and course offerings all focused on college prep.
Notes from the Field: How students with disabilities experienced the challenges of remote learning

As systems figure out how to recover, schools need to think beyond their usual approaches, such as simply increasing service minutes to help students catch up.
“Creativity requires freedom”: What will it take to create space within our education system to think and design creatively?

How do we help schools prevent “back to normal” inertia and fuel change?
Pods in Action: Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Cleveland came into the pandemic with a history of collaboration among civic organizations and schools.
Pods in Action: Hyde Park Neighborhood Club

During the pandemic, HPNC staff supervised students’ online learning and provided social experiences that were designed to mimic those that students would experience in school in a normal year.
Pods in Action: My Reflection Matters

Initially an in-person, local organization, My Reflection Matters launched its virtual “Village” platform in August 2020 to connect and support primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color families.
Pods in Action: Joanna Rosa-Saenz

When the pandemic closed schools in Denver, an enterprising parent with community connections stepped in to meet immediate needs.