Looking towards reopening out-of-school time programs in Virginia.

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Subject: Looking towards reopening out-of-school time programs in Virginia.

Looking Toward Reopening

Governor Northam announced on June 9, 2020, that Virginia will begin the gradual reopening of schools in fall. However, it will be varied by local school districts that decide how to operate within one of the phases outlined in the Commonwealth's guidance.

How exactly this will affect out-of-school time programs in Virginia remains unknown. However, what is known is the amount of time youth will spend outside of school will be much higher than in a typical school year. Children will be returning having endured a collective trauma, and disruption of normal life, impacting our most vulnerable students the deepest. The out-of-school time community is needed now more than ever:

To prevent furthering the opportunity gap and COVID Slide.
To support working families in need of care.
To help youth reconnect and re-engage after this period of loss and isolation.
To provide caring adults practicing culturally responsive and trauma-informed care.

While plans remain tentative, programs that have been closed to in-person services must begin the work of planning around what reopening may look like. Below are resources to get this process started.

Resources for Planning to Reopen

The Virginia Department of Education has released their return to school plan, Recover, Redesign, and Restart 2020. Pages 35-36 speak directly to OST programs and were informed in part by VPOST’s contributions on the Return to School Taskforce. Out-of-School Time programs should also take care to review the Centering Equity section.

Afterschool Alliance COVID-19 Recovery Backgrounder is a handout that outlines the support OST programs need for reopening; and provides specific calls-to-action by the audience.

Let’s Talk the Future of Afterschool is a series from the National Afterschool Association focusing on pivoting offerings based on the needs in our current climate. They have developed a Scenario Planning Document that walks out-of-school time programs through identifying and outlining available options. VPOST Leadership Advisory Council Member, Jonathan Melendez was the featured speaker during one of the Let’s Talk the Future of Afterschool chats on planning for reopening.

CDC has released reopening guidelines for schools, camps, and childcare.

This NPR article showcases how the YMCA of the USA and New York City's Department of Education have been caring for tens of thousands of children since March with no reports of coronavirus clusters or outbreaks.

CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) shares a framework with actionable recommendations to help plan for the Social-Emotional needs of youth and adults during the summer and the beginning of the new school year.

All of this information can be found on our Resource Exchange website. We will continue to add information and resources as they become available.

View all Pandemic Response Resources

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Subject: Looking towards reopening out-of-school time programs in Virginia.