Ed Department Releases Return to School Road Map

(from U.S. Department of Education and NPR) The U.S. Department of Education released the “Return to School Roadmap,” a resource to support students, schools, educators and communities as they prepare to return to in-person learning this fall. The plan encourages schools to focus on three priorities: (1) prioritizing the health and safety of students, staff, and educators, (2) building school communities and supporting students’ social, emotional, and mental health, and (3) accelerating academic achievement.

All teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status are encouraged to mask indoors, and adolescents are encouraged to go back to school. "At the end of the day, our educators, their job is to make sure our students are OK," said U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. "We have to make sure that we're following mitigation strategies and creating safe learning environments for students." It's on schools to communicate with hesitant families about the steps they're taking to make schools safe, he said. The Biden administration has also called on schools to host pop-up clinics in the coming weeks. 

More from U.S. Department of Education and NPR