The Weather Channel television network is now airing new educational content for families with children currently staying at home due to school closures. The coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has forced families across the country to transition to at-home learning, and the network is well-equipped to provide kids with a daily dose of science while their schools and classrooms are closed.

The Weather Channel is now dedicating time during each hour of live programming at :50 past the hour to share educational content. Scientific explanations on everything from how raindrops and rainbows form, to why thunder happens, how to stay safe in all kinds of weather, and more. More info can be found here.
 

Segment examples include:
Soap Experiment with Mark Elliot: Facebook / Twitter / YouTube
Tornado Watch vs. Warning: Facebook / Twitter / YouTube

CONTACT

Sarit Schneider Babboni
101 Marietta St NW, Floor 29, Atlanta, GA
O: 404.334.3545| C: 678.986.0704

As many schools across the country plan for longer term closures in an effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic, IXL is working to support teachers in any way we can. If you are looking for a way to keep your students engaged and learning from home, IXL is happy to provide your school with free IXL access for 90 days. If you click this 90-Day IXL Trial link, you can sign up for access to all of the IXL subjects.

We are also offering a free webinar series with some great strategies for at-home learning, plus some implementation resources and videos that will help you during school closures.

For more information please contact your Connecticut IXL Learning Consultant:

Brad Onken
brado@ixl.com

As school districts across the country are closing or preparing to close as a step toward slowing the spread of COVID-19, JASON Learning offers help for administrators, teachers, students,and parents in their efforts to rapidly transition to remote instruction. We realize that this is a challenging task, made even more so by the circumstances that make it necessary.

JASON’s multidisciplinary curriculum contains a built-in STEM framework for students to learn 21st century skills. As a mission-driven nonprofit, JASON is prepared to do everything in our power to assist by providing our resources and expertise to districts across the country to help ensure that effective STEM teaching and learning continues while schools are closed.

JASON is offering any school district facing closures due to the effects of COVID-19coronavirus free online access to our digital platform and STEM curricula. Access will be made available through the end of April.

JASON will also provide a free series of online webinars to provide additional support to educators using JASON resources to conduct STEM learning activities and effectively manage their students remotely.

To activate district-wide access to JASON’s digital platform, please complete the short online form below. This will allow JASON to quickly configure automatic, “single sign-on” access for all teachers and students in your district, allowing for fast, seamless logins for anyone who wishes to take advantage of our online curriculum.

https://forms.gle/xMdCHTomrkU1M1N56

Our digital library includes hundreds of award-winning online and hands-on activities in science,math, and technology for K-12 students, and our multidisciplinary approach integrates reading and writing skills into every lesson. Videos, articles, games, simulations, and projects can keep students actively engaged. Many hands-on activities are designed to require only basic, easily accessible materials.

Once access is configured for a district, educators and students can easily login using their existing district accounts (Google, Microsoft, etc). Educators can even assign and share JASONr esources directly to their existing Google Classrooms.

JASON takes data privacy very seriously — we do not sell or distribute the personal information of your students or staff. Please see our signed data privacy policy on our website.

WEBSITE

Announcement & Data Privacy Commitment

March 13, 2020

Rethink Ed is Committed to Supporting Social-Emotional Wellness During School Closures

Fear and anxiety about the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to increased stress levels in both children and adults. School closure, abrupt changes in routine and a heightened sense of uncertainty can also have a detrimental effect on the social, emotional and mental wellbeing of students, educators and school staff. As educators work diligently to prepare and implement virtual academic learning plans, it is equally important to have a contingency plan and resources in place for social emotional learning as well. As our nation faces unprecedented school closings due to COVID-19, Rethink Ed is committed to keeping our students learning and providing schools with resources and tools that extend beyond the classroom.

Rethink Ed will provide districts that are planning closures for preventative health measures with a tool kit that will include webinars, whitepapers, tips and strategies for supporting your entire community during this time of uncertainty. We will offer free access to our online Social Emotional Learning Suite through the remainder of the school year. Please contact us for details.

While this is a difficult time, it is important for us all to continue to focus on our physical, mental, and social emotional health and to work on strategies for helping ourselves and others build resilience and community support.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the foundation for managing emotions, having healthy relationships, understanding and empathizing with others, being responsible and safe, and learning to cope with difficult situations and manage our stress, emotions, anxiety, and fear during this unprecedented situation.

Rethink Ed SEL is a comprehensive K-12 online platform that provides many opportunities for students of all ages and abilities, teachers, administrative staff, and parents to develop their social emotional skills. We provide on-demand professional development videos, grade level videos and curriculum that promotes well-being, connectedness and success for all students and adults. We are committed to supporting you as you navigate through this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Diana Frezza
Senior Vice President
diana.frezza@rethinked.com
49 West 27th St., 8th Floor
New York, NY 10001

rethinkED SEL Goals & Objectives

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and its Connecticut State Chapter, Connecticut Education Technology Leaders Association (CTETL), are pleased to collaborate with CAPSS to support the work of current and aspiring superintendents and district leadership teams in leading all aspects of digital learning transformations.

In our previous article we reviewed how best to ensure accessibility for all students. As learning environments continue to move toward digital learning settings, it is critical that schools assure that an equitable, effective learning ecosystem exists everywhere, at all times, for all students. CoSN is pleased to provide school leaders (and all the stakeholders they serve) with five compelling steps to take now to ensure accessibility in the CoSN Critical Focus Area: Issue One Pager on Accessibility.

Today we focus on the topic of leading digital transformations in rural school districts and also on how school district leaders can safely and successfully leverage technology resources during the current COVID-19 national crisis.

COVID-19
CoSN has created a special web page with resources to provide information for school leaders as they deal with this current national emergency: "Responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19)" at https://www.cosn.org/coronavirus . Under the “CoSN Resources” Tab there is a document titled, “Preparing To Take Your Schools Online” and another on “Cybersecurity Consideration in a COVID-19 World”. More resources and papers to come in the next weeks and months.

Leading Digital Transformations in Rural School Districts
More than half of school districts and about one-third of public schools in the United States are in rural areas. Rural districts have unique challenges, ranging from poverty and vast travel distances to lack of affordable internet access. However, along with the challenges facing rural school districts there are also some unique opportunities rural school districts can leverage due to their smaller size and direct impact on their communities. You can learn more and access a copy of the CoSN Report, “Challenges and Opportunities of Rural Districts in Taking the Digital Leap” at https://www.cosn.org/Rural

CoSN, in partnership with edWeb.net, hosts The EmpowerED Superintendent monthly webinar series on topics that are essential for all educators engaged in leading digital transformations. The focus of the April 13, 2020 webinar (5:00 pm ET) is “Leading Digital Transformations in Rural School Districts”. Three superintendents share the strategies they use to maximize the opportunities and overcome the challenges in leading digital transformation within their rural school districts. Each will also update webinar participants on how they are leading learning in their school districts during our current national COVID-19 health crisis. Their stories and expertise have great value for all school leaders. You are invited to register for this free webinar, as well as access recordings of previously broadcast CoSN/edWeb webinars, at https://home.edweb.net/supers/.

If your school or district would like more information about joining CoSN or getting more involved with CoSN, please contact Brian Calvary, CAE, CoSN Director of Membership and Chapters, at bcalvary@cosn.org.   

by CollegeBoard

Dear Colleague,

The health and safety of educators and students are the AP® Program's highest priorities. As schools and communities navigate the challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we'll support AP students with free, optional remote learning and at-home AP testing. These options will give students the opportunity to earn the college credit and placement they've been working toward all year.

The AP Program will invest heavily in solutions that are designed to be as simple and lightweight as possible for both students and teachers—without creating additional burdens for school leaders during this time.

AP Exam Administration
Students remain eager to take AP Exams and have a chance to earn credit and placement. We surveyed 18,000 AP students and 91% indicated they want to complete this important step, urging us not to cancel this opportunity.

The AP Program will invest heavily over the next month in the following ways:

• For the 2019-20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered.
• Some students may want to take the exam sooner rather than later, while the content is still fresh. Other students may want more time to practice. For each AP subject, there will be two different testing dates.
• AP curricula are locally developed and we defer to local decisions on how best to help students complete coursework. To be fair to all students, some of whom have lost more instructional time than others, the exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March.
• Colleges support this solution and are committed to ensuring that AP students receive the credit they've worked this year to earn. For decades, colleges have accepted a shortened AP Exam for college credit when groups of students have experienced emergencies.
• Students will be able to take these streamlined exams on any device they have access to—computer, tablet, or smartphone. Taking a photo of handwritten work will also be an option.
• We recognize that the digital divide could prevent some low-income and rural students from participating. Working with partners, we'll invest so these students have the tools and connectivity they need to review AP content online and take the exam. If your students need mobile tools or connectivity, you can reach us directly to let us know.
• The exam questions are designed in ways that prevent cheating. We use a range of digital security tools and techniques, including plagiarism detection software, to protect the integrity of the exams. Scoring at-home work for an AP Exam isn't new to the AP Program. For years the AP Program has received and scored at-home student work as part of the exams for the AP Computer Science Principles and AP Capstone™ courses.

We'll continue to support students with free resources through exam day. And while we encourage students to wait until closer to the test date to decide, any student already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge.

Information about the reduced scope of content that will be covered on each 2020 AP Exam is currently posted on AP Central®. The specific test dates and the free-response question types will all be posted by April 3. We'll also unlock any relevant free-response questions in AP Classroom for digital use so students can access all practice questions of the type that will appear on the exam.

Daily Online Review AP Classes
Beginning on Wednesday, March 25, students and schools will have access to free, live AP review lessons, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. The lessons will focus on reviewing the skills and concepts from the first 75% of the course. These mobile-friendly classes are:

• Designed to be used alongside work that may be given by schools.
• Recorded and will be available on-demand so teachers and students can access them any time.
• Not dependent on current AP teachers continuing instruction. We know many AP teachers now face challenges that would make that impossible.

The schedule will be posted online today.

Get AP Updates

As we have additional information and resources, we'll update this webpage and share updates by email, the online AP communities, and our social media channels.

We appreciate your partnership and all you're doing on behalf of your students.

Sincerely,

Advanced Placement Program

Connecticut Superintendents and Educational Leaders-
 
Like educators everywhere, we are concerned about the coronavirus’ potential impact on student learning and it is our mission to help affected schools maintain normalcy and continuity during this difficult time. I encourage you to learn about Discovery Education’s Comprehensive Response to the Worldwide Coronavirus Outbreak and our response to Covid-19.
 
Below I’ve provided some important offers and resources to support your schools. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or wish to connect virtually next week.
 
Discovery Education is a company whose mission is to prepare learners for future success by connecting them to the world outside the classroom. We will continue to monitor this event closely and look for ways to help educators everywhere prepare students for success, no matter where they are.  
 
Sincerely-

John David Son
Senior Manager | Education Partnerships
Discovery Education
M. 270.210.0084
Follow me on Twitter

WAYS TO SUPPORT VIRTUAL LEARNING

With the emergence of confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the United States and in communities surrounding Connecticut, Connecticut public school districts should continue planning for the possibility of community spread and responding to concerns regarding COVID-19.  Given the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 outbreak and the information made available to us by public health authorities, it is critical that school districts partner with state and local health officials and regularly consult the latest official guidance as they implement measures to address COVID-19 in their school communities.  The guidance herein is based on the information available as of the date of this publication, including guidance issued on March 6, 2020 by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS).

As we all continue to monitor the latest guidance from public health authorities, it is important for school districts to communicate clearly and regularly with families, students (as age-appropriate), and staff on the preventive steps the school district is taking to minimize the spread of any illness and to prepare for any potential outbreak, should it occur within the school community.

Read Compete Publication from Shipman & Goodwin