Overcoming the Distance: Promising Practices to Center Equity in Implementing Distance Learning
We know that education is the springboard for success, especially for low-income students, students of color, and students with specific challenges. But the COVID-19 pandemic is changing how the California education system operates. Distance learning has created a difficult situation for students, teachers, and parents.
The California Department of Education has a unique opportunity to innovate as we all confront this crisis. By learning from and bringing to scale promising practices from local districts to our statewide system, we
seize this moment to have a long-term impact on our children’s futures.
The best practices and recommendations outlined in this policy brief provide a roadmap for the California Department of Education:
- Conduct a needs assessment and allocate resources to those who need them most
- Engage parents in distance learning best practices
- Establish a Blue Ribbon Commission to prepare for student success and support educators
- Provide clear guidance on minimum instruction time for all students
- Support historically underserved populations, including Black students, dual language learners, foster youth, and special education students
By following this map, we can retool our system to meet this moment of crisis while also building strong, sustainable practices for the future that center equity at the heart of our education system.
The “Overcoming the Distance” policy brief is one of a series of position statements to support the Californians most impacted by the international health pandemic. California will overcome this crisis by ensuring education policy, budgeting, and democracy issues are informed by those impacted most by COVID-19 – low-income communities of color.