REOPENING SCHOOLS DURING COVID-19

In many cases, schools are where students feel safe, eat healthy meals, enjoy active play and receive critical health services. By putting in place resources and programs to support the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC), schools can reopen with a strong start. We know, as school leaders, you are on the front-line of this crisis.

Well-Ahead is here to help by connecting you to a curated set of resources, training opportunities, and technical assistance to support the whole child during COVID-19.

Strategies to Support the Whole Child While Reopening

Preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Schools

LDH COVID-19 Resources		Children's Hospital of New Orleans Tools
Louisiana Department of Health FAQs LDH’s COVID-19 Community Testing Centers Guidance and Resources PPE Requests Emergency Order: School Reporting and Data Sharing COVID-19		Summary of COVID-19 School Services About COVID-19 And Kids Keeping Your Family Safe Resources For Parents School Reopening Support Testing For COVID-19 Visiting Our Hospital And Clinics

Health messaging for children to prevent the spread

20 SECONDS OR MORE: A video by HipHop Public Health to encourage washing hands in English.
20 SEGUNDOS O MÁS: A video by HipHop Public Health to encourage washing hands in Spanish.
COVID-19 information for kids, by kids: A video by Children's Hospital New Orleans.

Frequently Asked Questions from School Systems

Louisiana Department of Health FAQs: Please note that the school-related questions are located half way down the FAQs page.
LDOE's Strong Start FAQs: This page is being continuously updated. All new/updated information is highlighted throughout this FAQ.
Children’s Hospital Return to School FAQs: Schools and parents can submit questions and should receive a response within 24 hours. Children's Hospital is working closely with the Louisiana Department of Education to make sure answers to any guidance inquiries are posted to LDOE FAQ.

Safe Schools for Students with Chronic Health Conditions and Special Healthcare Needs

RESOURCES FOR SCHOOL NURSING

Resources for Students with Chronic Conditions

Keep Kids Safe and Active: Physical Activity and Physical Education During COVID-19

PE TEACHER RESOURCES		PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RESOURCES
SHAPE America COVID-19 Resources page includes school systems to create a plan for physical education, take home resources, at home fitness, distance learning resources and more! FitnessGram: The Cooper Institute is compiling a list of free resources for physical education and physical activity for students, parents and teachers who are practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. GOPHER: Teachers share how they are using Gopher’s My PE Packs provide students of any age and ability level their own set of equipment to use in any setting. OPEN PhysED: Resources, training, lesson plans for teachers. All resources are free, but an account login is required. Fit Five: The Special Olympics provided Fit 5 videos and Fitness Cards to support programs looking to expand their fitness programming and initiatives.This is a great way to support inclusion in PE!		For classroom physical activity, visit Go Noodle. This program provide free movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. Available for free at school, home, and everywhere kids are. Schools can also purchase GoNoodle Plus for a school wide subscription. It is important to note that Go Noodle does not serve as a replacement for physical education. Playworks provides tips for recess in 2020 – 2021 school year. In addition, the Peaceful Playground has developed a suite of free and for purchase resources to support Covid-19 6′ Distancing Playground. ASPEN Project Play: Youth sports are ordinarily a gathering place for millions of people at thousands of sites across the country. Project Play, an initiative of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, is continuing to develop resources that help leaders, coaches, and parents adjust to the impacts of COVID-19.

More than Education: Social, Mental, and Emotional Health

Resources for Schools:

A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) refers to a systemic, prevention-focused framework for addressing student needs through the integration and continuous improvement of systems and services. CASEL’s District Resource Center helps school districts make social and emotional learning (SEL) an integral part of every student's education.
LDOE Guide for Implementing Student and Staff Well-Being: This a 2-page document with sample scripts, Schedule for Well-Being Support, Parent Consent Forms for Universal Screen and much more!
LDOE Guide to Supporting the Well-Being of Student and Staff: This 3-page document provides concrete steps for schools systems and school to implement.
LDOE Diagnostic and Screener Guidance: This 5 page document provide supports to school systems as they administer a screener or diagnostic assessment to students and communicate each student’s readiness with parents.
Gov. Edwards Provides Social and Emotional (SEL) Learning Courses to LA Students Statewide: Middle and high schools across the state now have access to social and emotional learning (SEL) courses at no additional cost to schools. The office of Governor Edwards is providing rich and relevant SEL curriculum through Edgenuity, in partnership with Purpose Prep™, that covers a variety of topics for students in grades 6–12.
How to Help Families and Staff Build Resilience During the COVID-19 Outbreak: This resources provides three ways we can affect experiences and the balance of the resilience scale.

Connecting to the Community Resources:

LDH Regional Services for individuals who would like to learn more about the behavioral health services toward suicide prevention in their areas.
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Behavioral Health COVID 19 Behavioral Health Information: This page include information for parents and the general public.
Louisiana ACE Initiative: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term given to describe all types of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic childhood experiences. The Louisiana ACE Initiative is a network of child-focused organizations dedicated to creating a common understanding of ACEs within Louisiana communities and educating the child- and family-serving workforce.
Mental Health First Aid Course: Many organizations in Louisiana can provide mental health first aid training. The Mental Health First Aid Course educates participants on the symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and substance use disorders. Each section is introduced and explained followed by instruction on how to help individuals experiencing a crisis. To be connected to an organization that can provide training please email wellahead@la.gov.

Safe Practices for Meal and Snack Programs

RESOURCES FOR CHILD NUTRITION DIRECTORS AND STAFF

LDOE Child Nutrition Division created a list of Meal Services by Parish During COVID-19 and provides information on each parish meal options.
Louisiana Fit Kids’ COVID-19 Resources page provides links to USDA guidance, guidance for Child Nutrition programs, and information on waivers.
Well-Ahead developed the Eat to Win materials to encourage students to each fruits and vegetable, so that they're eating to win at school and in life! These resources can be used during classroom meal service or non-traditional meal service.
LDOE Nutrition Services shared three new resources for school system’s Child Nutrition Program.

Need Help? Connect with COVID-19 Support Contacts

Virtual Training

Emily Pineda, Well-Ahead Louisiana

COVID-19 Policies and Standards for Schools

Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE)

COVID-19 Technical Support for Schools

Children’s Hospital New Orleans
504-837-7760

Safe Practices for Physical Activity and Physical Education

Stephen Guccione, LDOE

Support the Emotional Well-Being of Students

LDOE, Division of Well-Being

Safe Practices for Meal and Snack Programs

LDOE, Division of Nutrition Services

Virtual Trainings for Reopening During COVID-19

Self-Paced Trainings

Well-Ahead Louisiana, in partnership with Louisiana Department of Education, has launched a self-paced virtual training to help your school open safely. Click here to register for the trainings on Moodle!

Registration Instructions:

In the white box labeled Is this your first time here?, click Create new account.
Follow the prompts to read and accept the MoodleCloud Policy and MoodleCloud Cookies Policy. (Click “Next” at the bottom of each page and check the boxes when prompted.)
Complete your profile, username and password. Usernames must be lowercase and can only include the following punctuation: underscore (_), hyphen (-), period (.) or at symbol (@).
You will receive an automated email from Well-Ahead Louisiana with a link to confirm your new account.
Please use JOIN as the self-enrollment key for all the courses listed below.

Course
COVID-19 Mitigating Strategies Objective: Learn strategies for how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as assessing and isolating students, faculty and staff. Audience: School system lead for COVID-19 Registration is now open! Use JOIN as the self-enrollment key. Register Here
Supporting a Healthy Immune System for Students with Chronic Diseases During COVID-19 Objective: Training on the role a healthy immune system plays in improving the effects of stress on the body and supporting students diagnosed with chronic diseases such diabetes, hypertension, ADD/ADHD, obesity, asthma and much more. The training will include behavioral modifications for students to strengthen their immune system. Audience(s): School nurses, school-based health nurses, parents, and faculty and staff caring for children during the school day Registration is now open! Use JOIN as the self-enrollment key. Register Here
Integrating Classroom Physical Activity During COVID-19 Objective: Learn how to incorporate physical activity in school while implementing social distancing practices and in the event of school closures. Audience(s): Classroom teachers, physical activity leads, school system staff Registration is now open! Use JOIN as the self-enrollment key. Register Here
Cultivating Positive Learning Environments: Social Emotional Learning Practices for Teachers Audience(s): School-based personnel and school system leaders Objectives: Attendees will learn about the eight dimensions of health. In addition, the course will walk attendees through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how the hierarchy relates to supporting health and wellness for educators. Lastly, attendees will learn strategies for supporting overall wellness and reducing burnout. Developed by: LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center (SREC) Registration is now open! Use JOIN as the self-enrollment key. Register Here
Health and Wellness for Educators Audience(s): School-based personnel and school system leaders Objectives: Attendees will learn about the eight dimensions of health. In addition, the course will walk attendees through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how the hierarchy relates to supporting health and wellness for educators. Lastly, attendees will learn strategies for supporting overall wellness and reducing burnout. Developed by: LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center (SREC) Registration is now open! Use JOIN as the self-enrollment key. Register Here
Safe Practices for Meal and Snack Programs The LDOE Nutrition Services leads training for Safe Practices for Meal and Snack Programs. For more information, contact childnutritionprograms@la.gov. Audience(s): School food service professional
Challenges of Implementing Oral Health Interventions in Schools During COVID-19 Audience(s): School nurses and school-based health clinic staff Objectives: Attendees will learn about challenges that school based/linked oral health programs are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be able to identify innovative classroom strategies that can be used to educate students on how to maintain good oral health at home. This training will also provide participants with information on school based/linked oral health intervention programs and educational materials available to schools statewide. Developed by: Well-Ahead Louisiana and Children’s Hospital New Orleans Registration will open in February!

Course

COVID-19 Mitigating Strategies

Objective: Learn strategies for how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as assessing and isolating students, faculty and staff.
Audience: School system lead for COVID-19