This fall, PCG’s Education team in New Jersey was honored to partner with NJ Spotlight to publish a series of articles about rising to challenges in education as schools pivot between remote and hybrid instruction.

The fourth blog post in our ‘back-to-school’ series highlights several best practices of evidence-based progress monitoring that educators can apply to virtual instruction to ensure ongoing progress monitoring continues regardless of the learning environment, be it remote, blended, or in-person. According to author Jennifer Meller, “Such monitoring can, and should, be used broadly to provide feedback to all students but is critically important for students with IEPs to meaningfully update goals, accommodations, and services.”

The third blog post in our ‘back-to-school’ series explores the need for districts to implement a multi-tiered approach to social-emotional learning (SEL) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent recommendation from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Author Lauren English-Mezzino acknowledges that while many districts are familiar with a tiered approach for academics, integrating SEL into a multi-tiered system of support—whether instruction is fully remote, in person, or a blend of the two—may present new challenges for districts.

Over the summer, state education agencies required local school districts to create “re-entry plans” to outline how students can safely and equitably return to school in multiple learning environments. These plans primarily focused on supporting the majority of students but offered minimal, if any, support on the unique needs of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). That’s according to an article authored by special education subject matter expert (SME) Matthew Korobkin that was published by eSchool News on September 25, 2020.