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Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together
• Incorporate SEL and mental health support activities into online learning by
employing activities such as wellness checks, discussion circles about important
issues, and lessons that directly address SEL and mental health.
• Consult the multiple support resources related to SEL and mental health that may be
accessed here: COVID-19 Resources for Families and Educators.
• Review and incorporate the Kindergarten through Grade 3 Social, Emotional, and
Intellectual Habits Framework as it represents the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
that form an essential blueprint for college and career readiness to achieve academic
success and social/emotional learning.
After-school Programming
After-school programs can play an important role in providing supports for students during
traditional after-school hours, including days in which students are engaged in remote learning
and not scheduled to be in class. Traditional after-school programs do not need to operate
only after school dismissal and can support families on days when students are not scheduled
for classroom instruction. As schools reopen and parents return to working outside the home,
after-school programs can assist in providing safe places to provide care for students while
simultaneously providing support and assistance to enhance remote learning.
Requirements
• Programs receiving funding from the CSDE through the State After School, Extended
School Hours (ESH) and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC)
programs, consult with the CSDE for individual grant-specific guidance.
• Follow the requirements outlined in this document, as applicable, including but not
limited to requiring the use of face coverings that cover the nose and mouth, and
maximizing social distancing.
Guidance
• Consider the logistics of after-school program space utilization to ensure that social
distancing requirements are maintained and students are exposed to the fewest
practicable number of other students and staff.
• Consider utilization of classrooms for on-site after-school programming that
minimizes students’ exposure to other students and common areas. For example:
staff participating in the after-school program use the same classroom that students
are in during the school day and provide after school care from the end of the school
day until 5 p.m.
• Partner with community-based organizations (YMCA/YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs,
faith-based organizations, etc.) to identify space outside the school to provide off-site
after-school programming.
• Maximize social distancing and limit exposure to other students during classroom
instruction, after-school activities, meals, bathroom usage and transportation.
• Apply the same cohorting recommendations for the school day, when feasible.