K-12 Resources

Overview

K-12 Resources

SREB is working with states to find ways to help schools as they face the challenges of virtual and face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We’ve been working with educators and school, district and state education to provide resources and guidance for online teaching, state and district planning, serving students with disabilities, school counseling and more.

 

Publication April 20212 pages

Effective Summer Learning Programs for Elementary Students
Research Snapshot

Many districts and states are targeting summer break as the best opportunity to recover unfinished learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the federal COVID relief funds, schools can offer summer learning programs as they never have before. This research snapshot provides a summary of the most recent and relevant research on effective summer learning programs to help providers design programs that will benefit students the most.

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Resources

Career and Technical Education Resources

STEM and career and technical education teachers need to be able to offer hands-on learning experiences in a virtual format. Below is a list of resources compiled by various organizations, including the Technical College System of Georgia, the Association for Career and Technical Education, SREB staff and educator participants in SREB’s CTE in a Virtual Setting workshops and webinars.  This list includes virtual labs, simulations and interactive learning objects that allow STEM and CTE students to engage with and explore the world of science and technology in an online setting.

General

  • Merlot virtual labs (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, Engineering, Math)
  • PHET simulations  (Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Math, Biology) from the University of Colorado Boulder
  • EdPuzzle* integrates with learning management systems and can be used to host teacher videos as well as external videos for instruction
  • CTE teachers who participated in SREB’s CTE workshops recommend Screencastify as a tool for capturing teacher videos
  • Commonlit offers a large library of free non-fiction and disciplinary texts as well as lessons and assessment tools
  • Newsela takes authentic content from the world’s most trusted providers and turns it into learning materials that are classroom-ready
  • KnowItAll.org from the South Carolina ETV Commission offers curricular materials and videos for grades K-13+ in all areas, including CTE. KnowItAll’s Let’s Go series offers 3D VR tours and field trips.
  • DitchThatTextbook offers free e-resources, tools and templates for teachers
  • GetEpic offers a digital library of books and reading resources for educators
  • Wisc-Online is a repository of high-quality free educational learning materials, organized by Career Cluster, that were created by subject matter experts from the Wisconsin Technical College System and Fox Valley Technical College.
  • Google’s Applied Digital Skills curriculum

Introduction to Biology

Chemistry of Life

Chemistry

  • The Virtual Lab is an online simulation of a chemistry lab. It is designed to help students link chemical computations with authentic lab chemistry. Students select from hundreds of standard reagents and manipulate them as in a real lab.
  • Phet chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder:
  • Virtual chemistry from the University of Oxford

Computer Science

  • Cisco Networking Academy
    • CCNA R&S Curriculum
    • CCNA Security
    • Cybersecurity Essentials
    • Introduction to IoT
    • Introduction to Packet Tracer
    • IoT Fundamentals
    • IT Essentials
    • Mobility Fundamentals
    • Networking Essentials
  • DevNet Sandbox makes Cisco’s free spread of technology available to developers and engineers by providing packaged labs we call Sandboxes. There are two types of sandboxes, Always-On and Reservation. Each sandbox typically highlights one Cisco product. Sandboxes can be used for development, testing APIs, learning how to configure a product, training, hack-a-thons, etc.

Environmental Science and Natural Resources

Geology

Human Anatomy

Oceanography

Physics

Electronics, Mechatronics, Robotics and Manufacturing

Welding

  • Video from Dunwoody College of Technology

Agriculture

Business and Marketing

Engineering and Technology and STEM

Family and Consumer Sciences and Culinary/Hospitality Education

 

Health Sciences 

Heavy Equipment, Trade, Industrial and Manufacturing

  • Contact local, regional or national heavy equipment companies and inquire about training materials. Many are working closely with educators to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • How It’s Made has a playlist of heavy machinery and construction videos
  • National Geographic’s Megafactories brings manufacturing giants to life
  • Construction trades online lesson plan from the National Association of Home Builders.  See the directions below for joining the sharing site on Google.
    • 1. Go to classroom.google.com and click “Sign In.” Sign in with your Google Account. 2. At the top of the page, click “Add” (or +), then “Join class.” 3. Enter the class code — 7zqbfqb — and click “Join.”
    • To add lesson plans, go to the “Classwork” tab, click “+Create,” select “Material,” and begin to upload your lesson plan and description.
  • Construction design 3-D modeling software from SketchUp

Cross-Disciplinary Resources, Safety and Career Exploration

Note: Some of the resources below are free and others have offered free access through a certain date.

* SREB does not endorse specific service or technology providers or products.

Blog post Megan Boren, Program Specialist, SREB

COVID-19 Effects on the Teacher Workforce

In April, my mom called me with the news that my high school chemistry teacher, Mr. Metcalfe, who was rounding out his 42nd year of teaching, had died from COVID-19. I knew him from class, of course, but I also went to school with his son for 13 years and his family attended my grandparent’s church.

He was respected, loved and honored for his excellent teaching. His funeral was an all-day parade of cars through the high school parking lot, where community members waved and shouted condolences to his family. My mom said the cars stretched down the street for miles.

Blog post By Shelly Flygare, SREB School Improvement Leadership Coach

New digital tools proving valuable for teachers, students in long run

As a former teacher and principal in New Mexico who now works with educators across the country for SREB, I shared many educators’ concerns when the pandemic forced most schools online.

As the new school year starts, however, I’m discovering that some of the digital tools we’ve learned to use while teaching online can provide new ways for teachers to support students’ academic growth.

Blog post Amanda Merritt, School Improvement Instructional Coach

Promoting Student Collaboration in the Age of COVID-19

elementary aged girl wearing a protective maskAs schools and districts prepare for the new year, student and staff safety is top of mind. Many are buying extra cleaning supplies and developing protocols for social distancing, wearing masks and proper hygiene.

At SREB, we hear daily from teachers and leaders in search of strategies for delivering quality instruction while meeting safety guidelines. They ask:

“How do we reconnect with “lost” students who lacked access to online learning this spring?”

“Will social distancing require teachers to lecture to students sitting in rows?”

Blog post By Shelly Flygare, SREB School Improvement Leadership Coach

Online or Not: Four Actions for Quality Instruction of Elementary Students

“I learned how to support all of my students, no matter what format I’m asked to teach in — even those students I thought we could never serve outside school walls.”

That’s what an elementary teacher told me when I asked her what positives emerged from the shift to remote learning this spring.

As we prepare to enter the new school year, one thing is certain — education is not going to look the same. The uncertainty of these times offers us opportunities to create a better experience for each of our elementary students, especially those with special needs, such as students with special needs, English language learners and students who need Tier 2 or Tier 3 instructional supports.

Webinar
Image of Brian Coleman

Webinar Follow-Up: School Counseling From a Distance
Supporting Students During COVID-19

View the Webinar Recording

Common App logo This webinar, hosted by SREB in partnership with Common Application Inc. (Common App), built on the previous webinar of the same name on how to provide school counseling services virtually. In this webinar, a panel of leading experts in school counseling shared their insights on how they are supporting students’ academic, college/career, and social-emotional needs when schools are closed or have moved to online instruction.

Webinar
Image of Brian Coleman

School Counseling From a Distance
Supporting Our Students During COVID-19

View webinar recording

In this webinar, Brian Coleman of Chicago Public Schools and 2019 ASCA School Counselor of the Year, shared his insights on how to support students’ academic, college/career, and social-emotional needs when schools are closed or have moved to online instruction. Brian stressed the importance of having a strategy first before diving in. Important things to consider are the legal and ethical issues involved, school district policies, and what technology tools your students have access to.

Webinar

Advice from North Carolina Virtual School Leaders
Handling Extended School Closures

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As states across the country manage the COVID-19 global pandemic, districts and schools have been forced to rethink teaching and learning methods as they have moved to digital learning and online platforms. In this  webinar, state virtual school leaders in North Carolina shared resources that could be useful in other states and districts.

Webinar

Advice from Georgia Virtual School Leaders
Handling Extended School Closures

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As states across the country manage the COVID-19 global pandemic, districts and schools have been forced to rethink teaching and learning methods as they have moved to digital learning and online platforms. In this webinar, state virtual school leaders in Georgia shared resources that could be useful in other states and districts as they grapple with extended school closures.

News SREB News Release

K-12 Education Recovery Task Force to Serve 16 States

Leaders from 16 states will serve on a new regional Education Recovery Task Force to help states determine the best strategies for reopening K-12 public schools, providing each student with the support they need, and planning for a possible COVID-19 resurgence and future emergencies, the Southern Regional Education Board announced today.

Blog post Stephen PruittSREB President

Better Together

After weeks of struggling with the fallout of COVID-19 — working remotely, social distancing, helping neighbors when we can — I’m quite sure no one needs to be told that we’re living in “unprecedented times.” That seems clear enough.

Our teachers are coping with a digital environment that most were not trained for, trying to maintain their focus on equity to be sure every child has a chance at a quality education, meanwhile managing houses and budgets and families and concerns about their health, as we all are. It’s more than anyone was prepared for.

Blog post Linda Floyd, SREB program directorDebra Cullen, educational consultant

CTE Centers: Answering the Call for Care Amid COVID-19

Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’” In this unprecedented time of crisis, many are rising to be helpers. All across the United States, healthcare workers are leaving their families and risking their lives to take care of all who are suffering with the coronavirus. Schools and career and technology centers are also coming together to donate much-needed resources and use their equipment to make face masks for those on the front line. 

Blog post Scott WarrenSREB division director
scott warren headshot

Virtual Labs for STEM and CTE Teachers and Students

We know that this is a challenging time for teachers across the country. Many of you have been plunged into the world of virtual learning without a lot of time to prepare. Following sudden school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve had to move quickly to shift your carefully planned lessons online so your students can continue learning at home.  And those of you who are STEM and career and technical education teachers in particular face unique challenges as you work to adapt hands-on learning experiences to a virtual format.  

Webinar
Image of Rick Clark

What Admissions Professionals Want You to Know
Advice for School Counselors and Access Advisers During COVID-19

Signal Vine logo

View webinar recording

The sudden onset and rapid spread of the coronavirus has caused many unforeseen consequences in (and rapid changes to) the college admissions process. In this webinar, Rick Clark, director of admissions at Georgia Tech and nationally-known author, shared the most up-to-date information that school counselors need to know about virtual interviews and campus visits, May deposit deadlines, incomplete high school transcripts, entrance exam testing, financial aid appeals and more.

Blog post Cena DavisSREB School Improvement Leadership Coach

Online Professional Development Support for Educators

woman working at a laptopAs we enter our second and third weeks of school closures and social distancing, I am amazed and proud of our educators. I see school systems scrambling to feed children. I see teachers preparing lessons, packets and online resources. I see principals giving weekly messages, reading bedtime stories online, leading virtual parades and calling every teacher for weekly check-ins. I see heroes. But to be quite honest, I saw these heroes before the advent of COVID-19.

Right now, our teachers need extra support.

News SREB News Release
Do not miss the opportunity to learn and grow from this.

Keep Next Year’s Teachers on Track
Immediate and longer-term policy actions for student-teachers

With colleges and schools closed for COVID-19, state leaders will need to act quickly to keep 60,000 teacher-candidates on track to graduate and enter the workforce in Southern states next year. SREB convened college of education and K-12 leaders from five states to discuss barriers and share ideas, and a new brief recommends short-term policy changes.

Blog post Amanda MerrittSREB School Improvement instructional coach

Distance Learning for Rural Schools During Extended School Closures

As we move further into the COVID-19 crisis, rural schools across the U.S. are struggling with how to continue students’ learning amid school closures. In recent weeks, SREB instruction coaches have been collaborating with educators in our region on how to deliver learning virtually, and we’ve learned about the specific challenges rural schools are facing.