What’s the Plan? How K-12 School Districts Are Preparing to Resume and Reopen
As COVID-19 continues to spread, a return to normalcy has been delayed. To share how schools are confronting the challenges of providing instruction during the pandemic, EdSurge and Social Context Labs, a data analytics firm, are monitoring the attendance structures that districts are offering. Specifically, we are tracking policies that districts are publishing and updating throughout the year.
Our data, which covers over 300 districts across geographical and socioeconomic backgrounds, offers a glimpse into trends in how districts are providing instruction. As plans are continually being refreshed, check back regularly for the latest data about what schools are doing during these challenging times.
Below are district policies, based on plans published by over 300 U.S. K-12 districts. This data is refreshed on a regular basis as districts update and publish new plans.
How to navigate the Tableau visualization below (best viewed on a desktop or laptop web browser. If it doesn't appear, refresh the browser):
View overall data from our sample in the first chart.
View district-specific data by state in the second chart. Click on a square to display a link to the policy published by the district.
Data source: EdSurge & Social Context Labs, with support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Salesforce.org and Tableau. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Data are based on reopening plans shared on district websites and social media accounts, and are typically no more than two weeks old. (Note that there can be discrepancies between plans published by a district, and what it is actually doing.)
Our database covers 375 school districts across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. In selecting these districts, we prioritized diversity in the following categories: geography, poverty levels, COVID-19 infection rates, and presence of a reopening plan, among others. See complete methodology here.
We have spot-checked the categorization of district policies, but plans are changing rapidly and we have not reviewed every single characteristic for up-to-date accuracy. We invite readers to let us know via this form of updates to district policies in our database.
How are schools preparing students and teachers for the fall? What patterns have emerged in district reopening plans? How are leaders balancing safety and instructional priorities? Simply put: What will school look like? Here are some trends and profiles.
Our peers and other stakeholders in the education community are also keeping a close eye on what schools and districts are planning. Other efforts include:
Johns Hopkins University researchers have launched a School Reopening Policy Tracker that provides real-time analysis of state-level guidance.
The Center for Reinventing Public Education, a project led by University of Washington researchers, is also tracking district reopening plans as they are published.
The Parabola Project, a partnership between Ariadne Labs and The Learning Accelerator, offers education leaders tools and strategies to minimize health risks while maximizing learning when considering reopening schools.
This EdSurge series is made publicly available with support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. All stories are editorially independent. (Read our ethics statement here.) Social Context Labs, our data partner, received support from Salesforce.org for this project. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
