- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Return to School from COVID
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Preparing for a physical return to school is an exciting and overwhelming prospect. As such, the HRDE team has curated resources (organized by theme) to empower our educators and school staff with a wide array of information.
Check out the district wide resources below. Furthermore, we would encourage all teachers to check out our Crisis Webinar on My PLN titled Pandemics & Xenophobia. The recording of this webinar can be easily located using this guide.
District Wide Back To School Resources
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School Health & Safety Readiness Report Card
Find out the safety status of your school
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Return to Campus FAQ
English & EspaƱol
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The Power of Play
As we return to the serious business of schooling, we can't forget the just as important serious business of play. Play contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children, teens, and adults alike. Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. Whether it's Math, Science or Literature, playful learning decreases the stress and anxiety that interfere with learning. We need fun learning and inclusive play now more than ever. Engaging discussions about play can inform our work with students and families.
20 Healing Art Therapy Activities for Kids, Teens and Adults - Studio Director
5 Fiction Writing Tools That Spark Students' Creativity - Edutopia
5 Ways Students Learn to be Loving and inclusive at School - PlayWorks
Play in Crisis - International Play
Video: The Social-Emotional Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic (0:54) - The Genius of Play
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Cultivating An Socially & Emotionally Appropriate Return
As we know, this pandemic and the resulting period of shutdowns has been incredibly hard on everyone, but especially youth. It is critical that educators and school staff are prepared to provide socially and emotionally appropriate environments as they welcome students back to campus. Here are some resources that may help with this task:
Article: How Grief Training is Helping Educators - NBC News
Handbook: Psychological First Aid for Schools, Teachers and Students During a Worldwide Pandemic - North American Center for Threat Assessment and Threat Response
Tipsheet: Support for Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic - National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement
Tipsheet: Support for Grieving Students - National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement
Article & Tips: Why Kids Can't Sleep, and How To Help - NY Times Wirecutter
Article & Tips: A Guide to Keeping Children Safe and Reassured during COVID - CNN Health
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Shutting down Bias, Xenophobia and Racism in the Classroom and At School
Bias, Xenophobia and Racism have been major contributors to the stress youth are experiencing during this pandemic. As we prepare for a physical return to school, it is imperative that our educators and school staff feel some level of comfort in engaging with students on these topics, and shutting down hate in their classrooms and school sites.
Article: Structural Racism is Taking a Toll on Children's Mental Health - CNN
Article: How to Stop the Pandemics of Hatred - CNN
Article & Tips: The Coronavirus Surfaces Fear, Stereotypes & Scapegoating - ADL
Article & Webisode: When Xenophobia Spreads Like a Virus - NPR
Lesson Plan: Protect Yourself and Stand Against Racism - Facing History
Lesson Plan: Coronavirus and Infectious Racism - ADL
Lesson Plan: Diverse Books Matter - ADL
Lesson Plan: The Pyramid of Hate - ADL
Lesson: Teaching the Identity Iceberg - ADL
Tips for Educators: Countering Biased Responses - Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
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Advisory Lessons
The HRDE team has created student-facing advisory lessons for teacher to simply push, and play. Here, we have curated a list that we believe will remain pertinent upon physically returning to school. These lessons are organized by theme, and may provide additional opportunities for teachers and school staff to reinforce some important topics.
COVID-19
Bias
Supporting Ourselves and Eachother
When Your Classmate is Getting Roasted
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Educator Support
The past year has been stressful for most, to say the least. As we engage in a physical return to school, it is important that we utilize all of the tools in our toolbox to support our students, colleagues and ourselves. Psychological First Aid reminds educators to utilize skills they already have to improve support for themselves and others. Please review the Psychological First Aid documents below to brush up on some of those skills.
Caregiver Psychological First Aid for Youth
Psychological First Aid for Ourselves
Furthermore, having to juggle work and financial, childcare, legal or aging loved ones care can sometimes serve to compound the stress we are already experiencing. We recognize that compound stress can really take it's toll on people which is why we want to make sure the Employee Assistance Program is something all educators are aware they have access to. Please click the link below for more information - all employees can benefit from this program, regardless of which insurance provider you have.
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Organizations, references, links, products or services that appear on this site do not constitute an endorsement of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Student Health & Human Services (SHHS) or Human Relations, Diversity and Equity (HRDE), nor should an exclusion of other websites be considered intentional. Opinions expressed are solely those of the host website and not necessarily those of LAUSD, SHHS or HRDE. Any advertising presented is solely the responsibility of the host website and not LAUSD.
