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Quality Choices

Schooling Covid-19: Lessons from leading charter networks from their transition to remote learning

Gregg Vanourek
Foreword by:
Michael J. Petrilli
8.25.2020
8.25.2020

Last spring, the Covid-19 pandemic upended routines for over 56 million students and challenged more than 3.7 million teachers in over 130,000 schools nationwide to continue educating kids in an online format. This transition to “virtual learning” was understandably trying for all educators, schools, and districts, but some managed to do far better than others.

Authored by Gregg Vanourek, this report summarizes key actions taken by leading charter school networks that were able to transition quickly and effectively to remote learning:

  1. Achievement First
  2. Denver Schools of Science and Technology
  3. IDEA Public Schools
  4. KIPP DC
  5. Noble Network of Charter Schools
  6. Rocketship Public Schools
  7. Success Academy
  8. Uncommon Schools

How did they manage the transition from in-person instruction to remote learning? What enabled them to respond as they did? What worked well, and what didn’t?

Drawing on interviews with school leaders, educators, and parents, this report distills major lessons learned and offers concrete recommendations for how to significantly improve the remote learning experience for all students, teachers, and families in the critical months and year ahead.

Among them:

  • Create and enforce a typical school day for students, with a mix of live and recorded lessons and independent student work.
  • Prioritize student health and wellbeing and reach out to individual students and families on a regular basis.
  • Lean into a team approach to teaching and instruction, centered around a common curriculum.

As we enter a new school year, other charter, private, and traditional public school leaders and educators could and should follow the lead of these charter networks in the critical months ahead. We have no choice but to get better, faster, and fairer at remote learning for the sake of the “Covid Generation.”


Policy Priority:
Quality Choices
Topics:
Charter Schools
Curriculum & Instruction
Governance
Teachers & School Leaders
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Gregg Vanourek is one of the Fordham Institute's founders and a leading expert on executive leadership development.

In The Media

How Big Charter Networks Made the Switch to Remote Learning

8.25.2020

Charters Were Quicker to Provide Instruction, Regular Contact During Closures, Reports Say. But That’s Also How They ‘Keep the Kids,’ One Expert Explains

8.25.2020

Two National Reports: Charter Schools Successfully Transition to Remote Learning in the Spring

8.25.2020

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