Promising Practices Emerge from Expert Peer Review of District Reopening Plans

As school districts across the country braced themselves for the immensely complicated task of preparing reopening and recovery plans amid a global pandemic, CRPE and the Collaborative for Student Success convened experts in emergency planning, health and safety, parent and family advocacy, special education, and school district and state leadership to review school districts’ plans to educate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This brief presents practices that the review panel identified as particularly strong and replicable. We hope that by highlighting promising practices early in the new school year, other district and state leaders may have an opportunity to identify and reproduce those that best serve their needs and help foster an environment where teachers and students can succeed.

Over 100 districts were considered and 20 were selected for panelist review based on their level of comprehension, geographic representation, and variation in size. Using a rubric designed by the Collaborative and CRPE to support district officials, panelists reviewed reopening plans, as well as online communications and resources.