Improving academic outcomes for all students requires attending to the social and emotional needs of all students, particularly students who have experienced health, economic, and/or social trauma during the pandemic. LEAs are encouraged to explore and implement protocols for assessing students' social and emotional and academic needs, evaluate resources available, and prioritize actions. The focus should remain on nurturing strong relationships with students and their families to reengage students and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The following activities can support this principle.

Key for tables: Y = Yes, likely to be an allowable use of these funds; N = No, unlikely to be an allowable use of these funds

1. Ensure that all staff are implementing an LEA’s tiered system of supports. Educate families on available student supports.

2. Establish building-level wellness teams to address the SEL needs of both students and staff. Develop protocols for identifying and supporting students who may be experiencing social, emotional, behavioral, and/or mental health challenges.

3. Offer parent education programs, in multiple languages and scaffolded to address different levels of interest/engagement, focused on helping family members be more involved and supportive of their children’s education, including families of students from special populations such as English language learners, special education, and homeless/migrant. Provide training on computer literacy.  Provide childcare coverage and refreshments to encourage families to attend (where appropriate and taking all community health provisions into consideration).

4. Bring in outside consultants with expertise in treating emotional distress and trauma to educate school staff on identifying early warning signs of emotional distress. Develop a home visiting program that addresses students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and the cultural and linguistic needs of students and their families. Pay particular attention to student populations who may be at higher risk for trauma, such as special education, ELs, and/or migrant/homeless students.

5. Work with community organizations or IHEs to provide afterschool and summer tutoring and other academic supports for students.

6. Leverage tools such as the NJDOE school climate survey to gather feedback from stakeholders. Provide survey translations and accommodations to support families with language and literacy needs.

7. Integrate SEL concepts into the academic curriculum:

• Set up teams to review current curriculum sequences to identify areas to better incorporate SEL concepts.
• Work with staff to revise instructional practices and support services to be asset- rather than deficit-oriented and personalized to better meet students’ individual needs.
• Redesign student assessments to emphasize diverse ways of thinking and problem-solving.
• Actively engage students in culturally and linguistically relevant learning experiences.
• Engage family members with SEL concepts and provide information on supporting students at home. Set up processes and identify personnel responsible for using a variety of strategies to connect with family members, such as email/text messages, newsletters, blog posts, virtual meetings, and social media. Ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate engagement with families.

8. Design systems, policies, and procedures that reflect restorative practices or other non-exclusionary disciplinary practices rather than punitive actions:

• Examine current disciplinary policies and data to identify inequities in who is most impacted by the policies and how effective the disciplinary actions are in achieving desired outcomes.
• Work with internal and external stakeholders (such as teachers, administrators, psychologists/social workers, families, law enforcement, and consultants) to develop a set of policies built around positive restorative philosophies.
  • Train teachers/staff on implementing new policies.
  • Collect data over time to assess the impact of new policies and revise as needed.
  • Frame restorative practices within a cultural context.
• Provide educator professional development in identifying and mitigating biases and implementing trauma-informed and healing-centered instructional and leadership practices.

9. Develop a positive behavior intervention support (PBIS) intervention system. Support a team of staff in researching and integrating culturally responsive programs such as the CASEL framework for wellness supports.

Although this resource discusses Federal laws and regulations, it is intended solely to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. This guidance provides a general overview of allowable activities, but whether or not a particular cost can be supported with Federal funds depends on the underlying facts and circumstances and State and Federal rules (e.g. New Jersey Treasury Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Uniform Grant Guidelines, respectively). Therefore, an activity listed in this resource may not be allowable in all circumstances, and conversely, an activity not listed in this resource may be allowable. This guide was created to demonstrate how programs, strategies, or initiatives may be supported with Federal funds. Please note a school or local education agency is under no obligation to use its Federal funds for those programs or activities highlighted in this guide.