The pandemic has made it clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to education won’t work for getting kids back on track when schools reopen. Educators and school leaders will need to address many effects of the pandemic on students, such as interrupted learning, mass social promotion, and trauma. To mitigate the effects of lost school time and the disparate impact of school closures on students experiencing poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners, educators need to come up with strategies to understand individual children’s immediate needs. The response should avoid a uniform approach to all students and recognize the importance of individualizing strategies for each child. Schools should ensure that each student has an adult navigator who knows them individually and can guide each of them on developing a plan for success and connect them with the necessary academic and social emotional support to get back on track. Identifying and working on individualized success planning for each student can also help school leaders and educators meet individual needs, and it helps them get back on track quickly.
What is Success Planning?
A flexible process is key to success planning, which will be facilitated by an adult navigator, who acts as a student’s advocate, for identifying each student’s needs and providing personalized support. The role of the navigator is to identify needs and then facilitate the creation and implementation of an individualized plan for action. Navigators will gather information both academic and nonacademic, about each student’s status, develop a plan for action, identifying sources of support and resources to address the elements in the plan. The process results in the creation of a concrete plan and implementation strategy that will be revised periodically.
Access to learning:
Computer or device
Reliable internet
Knowing how to access online learning
Identifying other barriers to access (house, childcare, etc.)
Academic progress:
Assessment of on/off track in academic subjects
Plan for academic intervention: summer, tutoring, etc.
Family communication plan
Wellbeing and enrichment:
Assessment of need
Connection to interventions and supports
Enrichment opportunities
What is the navigator role?
The navigator role can be filled in different ways and take different shapes depending on the needs of a school and on the age of the child. The navigator role is to ensure that there is an adult who is responsible for coordinating and implementing a plan for action and support. The navigator gathers data from many different sources, meets with the students and their parents, develops a plan and implementation strategy, and keeps in regular communication with the student and family. High schools could use counselors, homeroom teachers, or advisory leaders as navigators. Elementary schools may use classroom teachers or aides.
What might this look like in practice?
A high school homeroom teacher would check in with each of her students individually at the beginning of the year to review academic program, identify where learning is off track, whether the student has any barriers to online learning, and jointly develop a plan for support that could include tutoring, an after-school program, or buddy stem for kids to support each other.
An elementary school teacher would meet with students and parents to review the assessment of academic progress and nonacademic needs. They would help identify where learning is off track, decide what supports for mental health and summer enrichment would be beneficial, and develop a plan for support that could include tutoring or a referral for mental health services.
What key competencies do success planning navigators need?
Ability to collaborate effectively with educators, administrators, and other school staff
Ability to connect with individual students and match their needs with a proper and necessary support and services
Ability to engage families in the school community, including involving them in the planning process and connecting families to appropriate resources
Meta description: There are many effects of the pandemic on students, such as interrupted learning, mass social promotion, and trauma. To mitigate the effects of lost school time and the disparate impact of school closures on students experiencing poverty, and students with disabilities, educators need to come up with strategies to understand individual children’s immediate needs.
Reference: https://edredesign.org/files/success_planning_rapid_response062420-final.pdf
