RESC Alliance Resources for Distance Learning
To support Connecticut educators’ work to provide meaningful learning resources to their students and families during these extraordinarily challenging times, the Connecticut State Department of Education has requested that the RESC Alliance assemble on-line resources for this purpose. We understand that districts face many important decisions when planning for how to move forward in this circumstance. To this end, resources have been organized into the 11 different topical categories listed below. While many of the resources apply to distance learning in general, resources in the Instructional Continuity folder are for those who want to conduct normal school business for credit through distance learning. Alternatively, for those seeking to provide teachers, students and families with age-appropriate, engaging content designed to keep students reading, writing and thinking as best they can, the Engagement and Enrichment folder is more focused on those priorities.
We believe the severity of the disruption, equity concerns, and the accompanying stress of the current environment suggest that the Engagement and Enrichment pathway are the preferred route. This gives districts and teachers the flexibility to adjust as circumstances change which, if recent events have taught us anything, is most certainly going to happen. There are staff in each Regional Educational Service Center ready to help you and your district staff think through these issues. Their names and contact information are listed below. Also, if you have resources or district plans that you would like to share with the broader education community, please feel free to do so by forwarding them to these same contacts. As a regional alliance of service centers, we stand ready to help our districts and communities move forward for the duration of this unprecedented event. We are all going to do the best we can.
ACES – Emily Freel, efreel@aces.org
CES – Esther Bobowick, bobowice@ces.k12.ct.us
CREC – Jessica Kazigian, jkazigian@crec.org
EASTCONN – Diane Dugas, DDugas@eastconn.org
EdAdvance – Carly Quiros, quiros@edadvance.org
LEARN – Dr. Sue Iwanicki, siwanicki@learn.k12.ct.us
Links to internet providers and others promising free internet service and strategies for getting families online
Links to content providers that have offered support during the crisis
Enrichment structures to help keep kids active, specific activities, rubrics or other – not for credit but for community engagement and independent learning
Links to social and
emotional learning sites, family counseling, Covid-19 testing, CDC, etc.
Plans and resources from districts that are planning to continue credited instruction with distance learning across the district – more complicated than the previous category