Recommendations for Meeting Student Basic Needs
We have organized our recommendations based on Part IV (Common Expectations of Hybrid and Remote Learning Models) of the recently released reopening framework outlined by the Maine Department of Education. Our recommendations are based on actual work done by districts in Maine from March through June 2020 in response to the mandate to close schools in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. Where possible we have included links to representative examples of innovative practices using the documentation that we collected.
Device, materials and internet access
MDOE Component 4: A plan to equitably provide students with necessary materials and resources to support engagement in lessons.
Two significant challenges for many districts in the Spring of 2020 were a) students’ inadequate device access to support remote student engagement; and b) little or no internet connectivity in student homes due to the price of subscription costs or lack of rural broadband infrastructure. Caregivers working from home and trying to share limited bandwidth with their children also created challenges for many families. Schools cannot solve these issues alone — it is imperative that Maine and the federal government prioritize infrastructure improvement to overcome these access issues which exacerbate COVID-related educational inequity. The MDOE’s distribution of internet hotspots and chromebooks to districts in May of 2020 is a step in the right direction. However, early on in the shutdown in the absence of this infrastructure, Maine districts found many creative ways to respond to inequity in access. From these innovations, we offer the following recommendations around device access and internet connectivity:
Provide information on internet providers offering free or discounted service. While the issue of internet connectivity received enormous attention in the Spring of 2020, it will be just as critical in the coming school year. School districts should work with local service providers to direct families to free and low-cost internet service (and service that is compatible with distributed hotspots). For example, RSU 39 provided this technology options page for caregivers.
Provide information regarding where students and families may access the internet throughout the community. Maine schools provided a variety of ways for students and families to stay connected during the school closure including accessing school wifi in school parking lots, posting links to Network Maine’s Study-from-Car initiative, and communicating places in the community that had opened up their wifi to the public. In some cases, interactive geo-maps were provided showing where students may access public wifi.
- The Brunswick School Department used “traveling hot spots” on busses that were parked throughout the community in locations students could connect to from their vehicles.
- RSU 54 published a range map for public wifi access around their school buildings.
Make clear how students and families can get technical support for their devices. Districts all over the state created technical support pages as part of their school websites where families could report issues that they were experiencing with both devices and internet and receive assistance from district staff. Having a clear form, email address or hotline for reporting these issues will eliminate unneeded stress for families in the context of hybrid and remote schooling. The Augusta School Department established a regular socially distanced drop-in time once a week for families with a technology concern to bring devices to be repaired
Provide parent-specific resources and guides to using the technology and resources provided to students for remote learning. Schools should consider providing tutorials for such platforms, especially if they are adopting them for the first time in Fall 2020. Examples of high-quality tutorials used throughout the state included user guides with accompanying screenshots or screencast video tutorials (See this sample video from the Biddeford School Department on how to log into Google Classroom). Other districts provided handouts intended to introduce and explain resources (e.g. this Google Classroom resource or this handout provided by the Portland Public Schools) that students may have experience with during school but to which caregivers have not been exposed. AOS 98 provided a comprehensive parent resource page that centralized all issues related to internet and device access and both hardware and software support.
Student and family nutrition
MDOE Component 11: A plan for providing student nutrition.
Following the closure of school buildings in March 2020, districts were quick to provide nutrition options for families in the absence of a school-based meal program through either a meal-delivery program utilizing existing bus contracts and bus routes, or through the school-based or community meal distribution sites. Meals were universally available for children ages 0-18, with food service directors often working directly with families to provide alternative pick-up or delivery options if they were unable to pick up meals at the designated meal site times. Moving forward, a major challenge for schools will be the need to devise new processes for food distribution while students are in session. Our recommendations based on district innovations for providing nutrition include:
Recognize diverse family structures and living arrangements for students: Some districts, such as Union 69, were explicit in their communication with families about what to do if caregivers shared custody of students with regard to coordinating meal delivery.
Engage local government or agencies in compiling lists of food resources for families: Superintendents or food service directors should ask their local government/county agencies to compile a list of food pantries/nutrition service for families in addition to providing information about school meal provision for children 0-18 — caregivers are serving as in-home teachers and need food security strategies in the same way that teachers/faculty do to support students effectively. Five Towns CSD, for example, provided a simple but comprehensive list of regional resources. These lists should include the hours and days of the week pantries are operating under COVID-19, and the contact information (phone number/email address) of someone at the relevant agency.
Partner with local social service agencies to provide weekly food boxes at your 0-18 meal pick/delivery sites or through meal delivery using bus routes: For drive thru meal sites, this could be as simple as setting up several additional tables for cars to stop at on a particular day of the week, manned by staff from other agencies. Food service directors could work directly with these agencies to facilitate these opportunities for one stop food (or other basic needs like they did at Bristol Consolidated School — infant formula, toiletries, household items, etc) distribution. For sites doing meal delivery, social service agencies could deliver food boxes and other supplies to the school site and assist in distributing these materials to the buses working different routes prior to their departure. Ellsworth School Department solicited donations from families for shelf-stable goods to distribute with meal deliveries. This work could also be managed by low-risk, healthy parent volunteers or paraeducators, if available.
Work with a local food pantry distribution center to start a food pantry at your physical school sites that will remain open if the school buildings close: This option requires significantly more legwork by the district in recruiting and coordinating volunteers to receive shipments, organizing food, and manning the pantry during its open hours; however, it creates a longer term strategy for local food security for students and caregivers that can continue in a post-pandemic world. Food service directors could support parent-student groups in creating or even managing this resource (such as in Glenburn Schools); however, school leaders need to be aware of previous messaging and stigma regarding food distribution and social service access to destigmatize accessing these supports. One way to do this is to eliminate eligibility requirements as much as possible and encourage use by all families.