K-12 Resources

Addressing Teacher Shortages

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Wed, 26 May 2021 15:41:00 +0000

To Sustain Education, the Workforce and Economy

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This panel explored how P-12 teachers are essential to not only student learning but also postsecondary education and the workforce – and how teacher shortages can threaten state economies in the long run.

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Calendar dates

06/11/2021 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Effective Summer Learning Programs for Elementary Students

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 13:08:00 +0000

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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How States and Schools Can Use New Federal Relief Funds

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:32:00 +0000

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Federal COVID-19 relief packages have delivered an unprecedented infusion of funding to states and local education agencies, leaving leaders with key decisions on how best to spend the money. Hear from the Southern Regional Education Board and FutureEd about how state and local governments can spend the new funding to support students and schools—and the restrictions that federal law places on spending.

Calendar dates

04/13/2021 - 11:00am

Resource for teaching and learning amid COVID-19

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 20:17:00 +0000

We have compiled resources for educators, districts and states on topics including online teaching, district planning, students with disabilities, school counseling and more.

Resources from Virtual Schools

Virtual Schools in SREB States, links to the region’s statewide online learning sites

COVID-19 Effects on the Teacher Workforce

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:26:00 +0000

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.

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

alan.richard@sreb.org — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 14:07:00 +0000

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.

Addressing Inequity in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond

Kirsten Sundell — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 16:10:00 +0000

[image:11000, image left w40]Given the diverse array of urban, rural and suburban schools and technology centers SREB serves, you might assume that students’ school and classroom experiences would vary more based upon where they live — for example, a student in urban Atlanta compared to a student in rural South Carolina — rather than the classroom or school in which they are enrolled.

We found that this is not always the case.

Ensuring Equity in Schools in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond

K-12 Recovery Playbook

2024 Student and Teacher Surveys

Consider a Virtual+ Approach to Blended Instruction

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 19:58:00 +0000

[image:10975, image w40 left]Since early April, I’ve participated in SREB’s K-12 Education Recovery Task Force, a coalition of state, district and school leaders and educators committed to safely reopening schools. You’ll find our work and related tools, templates and resources in SREB’s K-12 Playbook in Progress.

Promoting Student Collaboration in the Age of COVID-19

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:06:00 +0000

[image:10962, image w40 left]As 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?”

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

alan.richard@sreb.org — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 13:25:00 +0000

“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.”

[image:10810, image left w40] 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.

K-12 Education Recovery Task Force to Serve 16 States

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 13:36:00 +0000

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.

School Counseling and Mental Health

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 17:54:00 +0000

Tips and guidelines for parents, counselors and mental health professionals on talking to children, crisis response, countering stigma and more, from the National Association of School Psychologists

College Admission Process

Career and Technical Education Resources

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 19:27:00 +0000

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

Lab safety from BioNetwork
Cell size and scale from the Genetics Science Learning Center at the University of Utah
Virtual labs by Glenroe, list provided by Biology Corner
Biology virtual labs by the National Science Teaching Association

Chemistry of Life

Cells and membranes:
- Membrane channels from the University of Colorado Boulder
Patterns of inheritance – mendelian genetics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Molecular biology
- DNA extraction from the Genetics Science Learning Center at the University of Utah
- DNA microarray from the Genetics Science Learning Center at the University of Utah
- RNA lab from PBS

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

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research provides a directory of educational games, simulations, and virtual labs related to weather, climate, atmospheric science and the sun and space weather
Environmental science and ecology from Edumedia
Colorado Parks and Wildlife educational resources
U.S. Forest Service educational videos

Geology

Teaching geoscience online Teach the Earth the portal for
Earth Education

Human Anatomy

eSkeleton from the University of Texas at Austin
Zygote body 3D anatomy viewer
Anatomy Arcade
Amrita rodent anatomy from Amrita University
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Biointeractive is an independent science philanthropy that invests in biomedical scientists and science educators to advance both human health and our fundamental understanding of biology
An online examination of human anatomy and physiology from Get Body Smart
Inner Body – view and study various human anatomy systems

Oceanography

Ocean current from NASA
Plate tectonics from the University of Colorado Boulder
Resources for earth science education from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Physics

Phet physics from the University of Colorado Boulder
Amrita physic virtual labs from Amrita University

Electronics, Mechatronics, Robotics and Manufacturing

AllAboutCircuits Videos
Epson SCARA Robot simulation FREE software tutorial from Dunwoody College of Technology
MultiSim (Require software/licenses) circuit design suite tutorial from Dunwoody College of Technology
ToolingU offers online manufacturing courses

Welding

Video from Dunwoody College of Technology

Agriculture

Resources to support agriculture teachers during remote learning from Wakelet curated by Dr. Robin McLean

Business and Marketing

MBA Learning Center for business, marketing, management and entrepreneurship content from MBA Research and Curriculum Center.
Aquilla Social Media Mindset marketing curriculum. In response to COVID-19, Aquilla is making their curriculum free for the remainder of the school year with no obligation to purchase to any school who is shutting down and needs online curriculum. Contact info@aquillaed.com
Full online business courses, such as How to Write a Business Plan, from U.S. Small Business Association.

Engineering and Technology and STEM

COVID-19 teacher resources for technology and engineering education from the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
STEM at Home from Learning Blade
STEM in 30 from the Smithsonian Institution
STEM teaching resources from NASA
ScienceBuddies offers free lessons, activities, projects, videos and other resources for teachers, students and parents
TeachEngineering from the University of Colorado Boulder offers a digital library of more than 1,500 K-12 engineering curricular items aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, such as lessons, hands-on activities and maker challenges
OnShape.com offers free CAD for parts, assemblies, drawings and basic CAM
James Dyson Foundation design engineering resources

Family and Consumer Sciences and Culinary/Hospitality Education

Nai Wang of KP Education Systems co-hosts a high school culinary teachers’ group on Facebook that creates and shares free Bitmoji lessons
Culinary instructional videos from the National Center for Hospitality Studies, Sullivan University
Virtual tours of restaurants and hotels around the world: http://www.virtualfieldtrips.edu.au/vft/index.html
ServSafe offers free videos for culinary students

Health Sciences

Free resources from Anatomy in Clay
Great Diseases online curriculum from Tufts University School of Medicine Center for Science Education
Teaching Tomorrow’s Disease Detectives: Science skills for the problem-based world from the CDC.

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.

Free resources from the Association for Career and Technical Education, including CTE Learn Workplace Skills Tutorials and the Career Ed Lounge for communicating with your peers.
SkillsUSA Career Essentials -This fundamental experiences course provides a comprehensive structure for supporting secondary students in exploring, developing and practicing essential career-readiness skills. This can be accomplished as an online course or a hybrid experience.
Skills to Succeed Academy online multimedia experience for student career planning and exploration from Accenture. To access free modules, visit http://s2sacademy.org and register with ACTE Student Code 04ATgl and ACTE Staff Code 04ATgl9999 (this provides additional resources just for teachers and advisers)
Career planning tools about career pathways and the employability skills required for success in the global economy from the Center for Global Education at Asia Society, ACTE and Advance CTE. All materials are available completely free-of-charge thanks to generous support from PMIEF. For more information, contact Heather Singmaster (hsingmaster@asiasociety.org) with any questions.
Nepris offers virtual field trips and other real-world career exploratory experiences as well as a skills-based volunteering platform for organizations to extend education outreach and build a future workforce.
O*Net’s Interest Profiler helps students decide what kinds of careers they might want to explore
OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) offers online training materials
CareerSafeOnline provides resources and support to teachers in ensuring all students have a chance to earn their OSHA 10-Hour cards
SkillsUSA CareerSafe online safety training
S/P2 provides industry-specific online training in safety, environmental, ethics, HR and soft skills for businesses and career tech schools
Integrate Ethics into Your Classroom materials from MBA Research
Goodheart-Wilcox Learning Companion digital curriculum and activities
Overcoming Obstacles’ Life Skills Lessons for Remote Learning offers educators engaging activities they can use with their secondary school students while they are learning from home. Activities will help students identify their strengths, make better decisions, achieve their goals, develop a positive attitude, respect themselves as well as others, and handle the stress in their lives. To download the free handbook, click here.
Learning Styles Inventories from SREB’s Social-Emotional Learning Webinar
- Learning Styles Online Inventory
- Education Planner Learning Styles Quiz
- Georgia Department of Education Learning Styles Inventory
- VIA Youth Survey (shared by participant)
- Overview of Compass Points
Interest Inventories and Aptitude Tests from SREB’s Social-Emotional Learning Webinar

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

Better Together

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 14:55:00 +0000

[image:10393, w25 image right]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.

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

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 19:00:00 +0000

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.

Keep Next Year’s Teachers on Track

Beth Day — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 23:52:00 +0000

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.

Advice from North Carolina Virtual School Leaders

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 14:54:00 +0000

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.

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Calendar dates

04/02/2020 - 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Advice from Georgia Virtual School Leaders

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 14:42:00 +0000

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.

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Calendar dates

04/01/2020 - 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Distance Learning for Rural Schools During Extended School Closures

melissa.pinsky@sreb.org — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 19:22:00 +0000

[image:10352, image left w30] 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.

What Admissions Professionals Want You to Know

Alice Anne Bailey — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 16:42:00 +0000

Advice for School Counselors and Access Advisers During COVID-19

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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.

Webinar Recording

Calendar dates

04/03/2020 - 11:00am - 12:00pm