Post-Pandemic Success in Education: Helping Schools Catch Up, Keep Up, and Get Ahead

Schools across the nation have closed their doors in response to the recent spread of coronavirus and district administrators are facing unprecedented challenges that will require innovative solutions. Through this global crisis, ESS is committed to continuing as an active partner and resource for school districts as they deal with the effects of this pandemic. We are here to help America’s schools catch up, keep up, and get ahead.

Catch Up

Spring is one of the most crucial times for a school district. There is much work to be done bringing the current year to a close while simultaneously planning for the year to come. Districts across the country are losing roughly two months during this crucial period when there is still so much that needs to happen to ensure the best possible educational experience for their students.

Districts will likely need to catch up when students return in the fall. This will include making sure they are appropriately and sufficiently staffed for the year to come. There will likely be little time to spare for recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training new substitute teaching staff.

Districts’ doors may be temporarily closed, but ESS doesn’t stop working on their behalf. As an ESS partner, districts are able to rely on a company that provides them a full-service substitute program that recruits, hires, and hosts virtual orientations and onboarding events, even while schools are not in session. As a result, administrators will be able to refocus their time and energy catching up on other mounting responsibilities and plan for the futures of their schools.

Student success will depend greatly on a district’s ability to hit the ground running when students return. With ESS, districts can be sure they will have a comprehensive, fully managed program in place from day one.

Keep Up

The world will likely look different on the other side of the pandemic, and schools will need to adapt to a variety of new challenges. It is hard to predict what measures they will need to take in the future in order to keep up with changes to compliance regulations and curriculum. Schools will need a substitute management program that is flexible and able to adapt to their evolving needs in order to drive student achievement no matter what challenges are thrown their way.

When schools reopen, it is very likely significant changes will need to be made to the typical fall curriculum to ensure students can get caught up after being away from classroom-based instruction for so long. Teachers will need to adjust to new curriculum to keep students on track. Substitutes must be prepared with the industry’s leading teaching strategies and trained to adhere to lesson plans. The beginning of the school year will be crucial for student success and it is imperative learning days continue even when a teacher is absent.

In a post-pandemic America, we can be sure that employees will be much more cognizant of how sicknesses spread and will likely be encouraged to err on the side of caution and take sick days rather than risk spreading infection. For school districts this means more absences will be occurring than they see in a typical school year. Now more than ever, it is important for school districts to have a large pool of highly qualified substitute talent ready to meet this increase in demand and properly trained to support student learning. Districts can’t afford for student achievement to be put on hold when a substitute takes a teacher’s place.

Several schools around the world reopened for students as early as April with a number of safety measures in place that could serve as a predictor for how American school districts may go about resuming operations. Among these are measures like smaller class sizes, staggered schedules, and an extended school year to make up for lost days. Steps like this are also likely to drive demand for additional long-term and substitute teaching staff as smaller class sizes and staggered schedules will require more classes taking place throughout the school day. An extended school year will also mean existing district staff will be even more likely to use vacation time or sick days. These possibilities for the future of American schools further highlight the need for highly qualified, well prepared substitutes ready to advance student learning in the regular teacher’s absence.

District administrators will be stretched thin in the coming months, taking on additional responsibilities and enacting sudden policy changes, and won’t have extra time to dedicate to formulating an effective staffing strategy to meet the increased need. Many school districts will need administrative relief to overcome these challenges and best support student success in the upcoming school year.

ESS’ proven 24/7 recruiting strategies have come through time and time again for our district partners. Each absence is met with a qualified substitute employee, even when there is a sudden spike in demand, ensuring continuity of student learning. Our dedicated management teams assigned to each district we serve take on the administrative burden of day-to-day management of the substitute program, including daily placements, training, evaluations, payroll, discipline, and hands-on supervision. Freed of these responsibilities, administrators can focus on what matters most−the success of their students.

Get Ahead

With so much going on right now, looking ahead may not seem easy, but school districts should use this time to plan for when they can safely reopen and what measures they need to take to keep students safe while ensuring academic learning continues even during an event like this one.

In the event class sizes are reduced, districts may find themselves strained for physical learning spaces, unable to accommodate additional classrooms within their building. Schools should have a contingency plan in place that includes remote learning capabilities. Virtual classrooms will offer a solution that provides students access to the same education and curriculum virtually.

ESS, through its Proximity Learning division, offers solutions for live online instruction that bring educators to students even when they can’t share the same space. Utilizing ESS’ online instruction capabilities, highly-qualified educators can track student progress in real time and use that data to create individualized feedback, provide tutoring, and offer supplemental support tailored to each student’s learning needs on an individual basis.

In uncertain times, it pays to have a partner like ESS ready to help America’s schools catch up by offering administrative efficiencies, keep up with an ever-changing educational landscape, and get ahead, ready to face the future confident that quality learning and student achievement will continue no matter what. Ensuring students stay ahead academically after an extended absence will make a huge difference when it comes to driving success in their education. With ESS, districts can rest assured each absence will be met with a qualified substitute teacher prepared with the most comprehensive training to actively engage the student learning process.