The COVID-19 pandemic forced the nation’s urban school districts to close their schools in mid-March. Now those same school systems are knee deep in planning for the reopening of schools in the fall.

To assist them, the Council of the Great City Schools has released Returning to School, a series of reports featuring recommendations on various aspects of reopening schools this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.

To prepare these reports, the Council assembled working groups comprised of veteran senior administrators from the nation’s big-city public school districts who work in areas such as transportation, research, academics, bilingual education, mental health and special education. 

The first report, Assessing Language Proficiency During Extended School Closures, was released in May and addressed how urban school systems should provisionally screen students for English Language Learner status when the district cannot otherwise conduct an in-person screening.

Since then, the Council has released an additional six reports focusing on the areas of facilities, transportation and security; social and emotional learning; students with disabilities; research, data, and assessments; instructional challenges; and finance.   

The latest report, Financial Issues in the Reopening of Schools During the COVID-19 Crisis, deals with budget and revenue issues. A working group of senior managers with extensive experience in financial management in urban education developed recommendations for financial strategies that would help districts remain financially viable, while allowing them to continue their focus on student learning.

“The Council is releasing these reports developed by our various COVID-19 working groups to help big-city school systems think through issues, large and small, that are emerging with the pandemic and that they will face as they plan for reopening,” said Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. “Our 76-member school districts are facing the same unique challenges, so it is our hope that these reports will help them as they develop their own strategies and plans.”

Here are the reports in the Council’s Returning to School series.

• Financial Issues in the Reopening of Schools During the COVID-19 Crisis
• Addressing Unfinished Learning After COVID-19 School Closures
• Ensuring a Data-Driven Approach to Reopening Schools After COVID-19, Recommendations for Research and Assessment

• IDEA Best Practices During the COVID-19 Crisis

• Addressing Mental Health and Social-Emotional Wellness in the Covid-19 Crisis- A Resource Guide for School Districts
• Operational Issues in the Reopening of Schools during the COVID-19 Crisis
• Assessing Language Proficiency During Extended School Closures

The Council will continue to release reports in other areas in the coming months.