Keep Kids COVID Safe and Healthy
DAVE MCCONNELL, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR AFTERSCHOOL AND EXPANDED LEARNING
Safely operating afterschool programs where young people can learn, play and socialize is a top priority for the 2021-2022 school year.
Foundations, Inc., is proud to support afterschool educators by curating the most helpful content from trusted organizations, including the Afterschool Alliance, the American Camp Association, and the National Summer Learning Association. Resources will be updated throughout the school year as guidance changes. Support for this project was made possible by a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to Foundations, Inc.
Resources and training materials for afterschool, summer learning programs, and camps.
What Does the Science Say About Operating?
What does the science say about operating safe in-person learning experiences for students? This set of resources answers some very specific questions about afterschool programming, such as the current recommendations for physical distancing, and provides guidance for planning and operating out-of-school time programs.
KEY RESOURCES
COVID-19 Information for Community, Work, and School — This page from the Centers for Disease Control provides the most current and updated guidance on operating youth programs this school year.
Field Guide for Camps — This comprehensive document from the American Camp Association serves as a practical toolkit for summer programs and camps to implement specific recommendations by the CDC. While there are some camp-specific elements to this document, much of it is applicable to and extremely useful for all out-of-school time programs.
VIDEOS
CDC Guidance – June 1, 2021 — This clip, from a webinar hosted by the ACA in June 2021 and featuring subject matter experts from the CDC, discusses the background behind current camp and youth program guidance.
Communications & External Practices
We’ve learned a lot of lessons over the past year and a half about the importance of clear communication with parents, stakeholders and partners through COVID-19, but this school year is an opportunity to further develop communication practices and policies. This set of resources is meant to help youth programs develop those policies, and provide ideas on how to effectively communicate with staff, students, families and community members.
KEY RESOURCES
Afterschool & Summer in the Time of COVID-19 — This web resource from the Afterschool Alliance offers policy information, program survey data, webinars, and community learning hubs to assist programs with responding to COVID-19.
ACA Guidance on Communication — This section from the American Camp Association Field Guide provides strategies and best practices for communicating with parents and guardians, staff, and vendors.
VIDEOS
Communicating with Staff about Vaccines — This clip, from a webinar hosted by the American Camp Association in May 2021 and featuring experts from the ACN, covers asking staff about vaccination status.
Testing & Screening
A large part of providing a safe, effective program this school year will involve well-developed processes and protocols for COVID-19 screening. The list of resources outlined here are all meant to support effective screening (and testing) of students and staff at all types of programs.
KEY RESOURCES
Screening Testing Strategies — Testing, when used in conjunction with other prevention strategies such as screening, can help detect new cases and prevent outbreaks. This guidance from the CDC covers scenarios around testing and diagnosis.
Screening Flow Chart — This flowchart offers guidance and next steps for screening children.
VIDEOS
Testing Vaccinated Individuals — This clip, from a webinar hosted by the American Camp Association in May 2021 and featuring experts from the ACN, covers testing requirements for vaccinated staff members.
Temperature and Symptom Checking — This clip, from a webinar hosted by the American Camp Association in June 2021 and featuring experts from the ACN, covers current recommendations for temperature screening along with guidance for checking symptoms.
Physical Responses
How do you plan for all of the operational aspects of dealing with COVID-19? This set of resources is focused on best practices for the safe utilization of program spaces and equipment – cleaning and disinfectants, maintenance and physical space ventilation, housing, aquatic facilities, food services, and personal protective equipment.
KEY RESOURCES
Cleaning, Disinfecting and Ventilation — This general guidance from the CDC covers cleaning and disinfecting surfaces along with ventilation in different types of buildings.
Surface Cleaning and Disinfection Checklist — A checklist for staff to use when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.
TRAINING POWERPOINTS
Cleaning Guidance PPT — Use this PowerPoint, sourced from ACA guidance, as a framework for training staff on cleaning and disinfection recommendations.
VIDEOS
Update on Cleaning Guidance — This clip, from a webinar hosted by the American Camp Association in June 2021, covers current guidance for cleaning and disinfection of shared supplies.
Activity Logistics
A large portion of your planning time for this school year will be spent preparing processes and protocols to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19. But that planning can go to waste if protocol isn’t followed during activities. This set of resources focuses on maintaining safety measures during activities, along with ideas for facilitating fun and engaging activities for students.
KEY RESOURCES
ACA Guidance on Activities — This section of the American Camp Association Field Guide covers safe activity facilitation in a variety of settings – indoors, outdoors, during aquatics, and while on field trips – and applies not just to camps but all youth programs.
Discover Summer — This directory, provided by the NSLA, helps parents and guardians find local summer programs.
VIDEOS
Best Practices for Activities — Use this PowerPoint, sourced from ACA guidance, as a framework for training staff on best practices for safe activity facilitation.
Vaccines
This section and set of resources focuses on program vaccine protocols and how to communicate those protocols to families and staff, along with key information regarding vaccines to stakeholders and the community.
KEY RESOURCES
COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit for School Settings and Childcare Programs — This toolkit from the CDC provides program leaders with ideas on planning for vaccination, communicating with staff, and more.
COVID-19 Vaccine Presentation — This presentation can be provided to staff and answers questions about COVID-19 and vaccines. Also available in Spanish.
SEL & Academic Support
There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel of COVID-19, but our students continue to have questions and concerns about the pandemic. Multiple years of disrupted schooling will have lasting effects on students, and it’s our job to help them navigate a return to normalcy. The resources in this section highlight best practices for talking to and engaging with students on COVID-19 and its effects, along with training for staff on how to have those conversations while supporting learning recovery.
KEY RESOURCES
COVID-19 Resources for Educators & Out-of-School Time Staff and Social-Emotional Health & Learning Resources — This pair of resources from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is focused on helping educators, students, and families explore and practice new ways to feel calm, confident, and connected by building social-emotional skills together.
COVID 19 Handbook — This report from the U.S. Department of Education summarizes current research about and provides strategies for supporting students in schools.
Summer REcharge 2021 — This resource, developed in partnership with the NSLA, Learning Heroes, and National PTA, offers tips for parents and guardians to provide strong summer learning experiences.
TRAINING POWERPOINTS
Refocusing on Social and Emotional Learning — Use this PowerPoint as a framework for training staff on social and emotional learning this school year.
Maximizing Instructional Time — Use this PowerPoint as a framework for training staff on maximizing instructional time through specific management techniques.
