Phoenix, AZ– Education organization yes. every kid. launched the COVID-19 Playbook, “Opportunity in Crisis,” offering parents and school leaders ideas and solutions to ensure students continue to learn despite ongoing education disruptions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the daily routines of nearly every Arizonan, including all K-12 students in the state. The playbook offers parents with important questions and ideas, encourages school and district leaders to insist on more local autonomy, and urges policy makers to recognize that the impact of COVID-19 on schooling requires bottom-up solutions and not one-size-fits-all, top-down mandates.
“As we move closer to the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, yes. every kid. believes every family and every kid deserves the flexibility and support necessary to address each individual student’s needs,” said Becky Hill, Regional Director for yes. every kid. “The COVID-19 disruptions and the ways in which schools, districts and states have responded, impact every child differently. The needs of each community, school, and family is different, and yes. every kid. is ready to help leaders find solutions that meet the needs of their unique circumstances; and ensure archaic rules and regulations don’t stand in the way of locally developed solutions.”
Policy Ideas in the COVID-19 Playbook, “Opportunity in Crisis” include:
1. Provide funding resources directly to families, via education grants, stipends, or family-directed education accounts to help pay for courses, devices, connectivity, tutoring and other forms of learning as chosen by parents.
2. Create safer, smaller schools for in-person learning through staggered schedules, reimagining when and where the school day takes place, and partnering with community organizations to allow for continued learning.
3. Provide schooling credit for learning, wherever it occurs, through policies that allow students to earn course credit for learning opportunities that take place outside of their main school, including online or in-person, at places like Boys & Girls Clubs, 4H, music lessons, after-school clubs, etc.
4. Distance learning reciprocity to allow students to enroll in online courses/programs approved by other districts and states.
5. When it is safe to do so, allow teachers to offer mini-classrooms or micro-school settings to instruct and remediate students. Directly fund teachers from the state based on student enrollment in programs they offer.
yes. every kid., is committed to uniting with education stakeholders, community leaders and families to unleash the extraordinary potential of every student. yes. every kid. stands for families, educators and all Americans who desire a K-12 education system where every student receives an excellent individualized education, alongside teachers who deserve more freedom and autonomy in the classroom.
For more information and access to the full COVID-19 playbook click here.
About yes. every kid.:
The purpose of education is to help students discover, develop, and apply their unique abilities, establishing a foundation for a life of fulfillment and success. We support education policy that respects the dignity of every student, fosters a diversity of approaches, and is open to the free flow of ideas and innovation.