Giving Compass' Take:

• School administrators need to decide how to provide SEL support for students returning to school as they prepare for re-openings amid the pandemic. 

• Some experts suggest that educators should create a continuum of care that prioritizes mental health. Why will that be critical to academic achievement in the next school year? What kind of resources might schools need to help them best support students during this time?

• Read more about reopening schools during coronavirus. 

Administrators will need a strong and flexible mental health safety plan in place to provide social-emotional support to students as schools reopen, Effective School Solutions CEO Duncan Young and Linda Rosenberg, former president of the National Council for Behavioral Health, write for The 74.

The lack of routine in students’ lives caused by distance learning will continue to cause a range of mental health issues for students. Returning after such a long break will likely trigger anxiety in some, worsen pre-existing mental health disorders like ADHD, and may lead to school avoidance and refusal in others.

Whether students start school in person or online, they will need extra social-emotional support after facing an extended school break and returning with more social-emotional concerns than usual. Schools will become students' main connection to services and resources.

Many superintendents and principals consider SEL and rekindling connections more important than academics when students return. Ithaca City School District Superintendent Luvelle Brown, for example, plans to spend the first month reconnecting students rather than testing them for academic losses. That could also mean reorganizing the school day in a way that prioritizes support for teachers and students as they rebuild relationships.

Read the full article about schools preparing for SEL needs by Shawna De La Rosa at Education Dive.