School Support Update
SUMMARY OF DATES
03/29: YFI Summer internship Application deadlines
03/30: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Webinar: Counting Black Men & Young Black Males in the 2020 Census Webinar
03/31: LAUNCH priority application deadline
DATA SPOTLIGHT
Census 2020
As you may know, the African-American and other underrepresented communities have historically been undercounted during the census. This affects everything from how federal funding is distributed for education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, etc. Census data is also used to draw election districts for your federal & state elected officials. It is critical that every person be counted. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has created a hotline available for people to call if they have a question about the census, or need information on how the census works, or if they find issues in counting that need to be reported. The hotline organizer, Mike Persley, is available to speak about the Census either via online or in person upon request, at mpersley@lawyerscommittee.org, or (202)-662-8341.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is also sponsoring webinars about the 2020 Census. Refer to SUMMARY OF DATES for dates and registration links.
COVID-19 School Closure Information and Resources
Louisiana Department of Education
In response to the statewide closure of school facilities to students to curb the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Louisiana Department of Education today (3/26) released a suite of resources to support school system leaders with academic and workforce planning during this extraordinary time.
The resources, which are now available on the Department's COVID-19 web page, include various distance education models; samples of daily schedules and communication systems; an inventory of instructional materials, most of which have been deemed top-tier through the Department's nationally recognized review process; and guidance on how to identify and manage staffing needs.
Additional LDE Resource Links:
FAQ for K-12 Schools with COVID-19 - Guidance is updated daily by LDE
Additional Distance Learning Resources
Learning Keeps Going, the Edsurge/ISTE resource website for free products and support includes this index where educators can search and filter to find what they need. Already, there are more than 500 tools in our database. Got more we missed? Add yours here.
Remote Learning Resource List from Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools
Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) Curated List of COVID-19 and Distance Learning Resources
Student Opportunities
YouthForce NOLA’s LAUNCH Program
While much is uncertain with the COVID-19 outbreak, LAUNCH is still fully operational. Our staff, while working remotely, has continued to provide a high level of support to our participants using several virtual platforms.
We have also moved recruitment to virtual platforms in order to meet social distancing requirements. Our team is supporting students who have filled out information requests or started applications by. communicating via email, video conference, phone, and text. We will also hold virtual info sessions, beginning in April (dates TBA). Our March 31 priority enrollment deadline is still in place, and we encourage students to complete applications as soon as possible at apply.youthforcenola.org!
If you have any questions about LAUNCH recruitment or enrollment for the class of 2020, please reach out to Emily Ferris at emily@youthforcenola.org!
YouthForceNola Summer Internship Application NOW OPEN!
Fill out your application by March 29th at: apply.youthforcenola.org
Training Opportunities
YouthForce NOLA
After careful consideration for our partners and ourselves in the midst of COVID-19, YouthForce NOLA has made the decision to move several meetings to virtual platforms and have cancelled others. Please refer to calendar invites and communications from YouthForce NOLA contacts regarding any meetings you have scheduled prior to 4/14/2020.
2020 LSU STEM PATHWAYS Virtual Summer Training Institute
Due to the uncertainties of the still rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic, we will be offering this year's summer training for the LSU STEM Pathways in a virtual setting. Clearly, if by the end of May the situation should have normalized to a point that traditional workshops are again feasible, we will add as many optional face-to-face opportunities as possible. We will communicate any of these additional options as soon as we are able to make informed decisions.
Information about the Institute and access to the required registration form is now available at: https://lsupathways.com/
The regular deadline for registering is May 8, 2020.
For those teachers who want to take the training for graduate credit, the deadline for registering is April 15, 2020. Late registrations will be considered if seats are available.
If you have questions, please send a brief email to info@lsupathways.org and we will reply within 24 hours.
Funding Opportunities
Brown Foundation Service Learning Program Funding
Funding for Service Learning: Our Service Learning Award Application is online and available for grades K-12, to all elementary, middle, junior high and high schools in Louisiana and Mississippi.
We highly suggest that all new teachers attend a service learning workshop to learn more about service learning and the application process. See our listing of current workshops, or contact us to tailor a workshop for your school!
Applications for the 2020-2021 school year are due by May 7, 2020 and funds are awarded at the annual Service Learning Event on September 15, 2020.
Learn more here.
Education First - NoVo Foundation: SEL Action Awards
Education First, in partnership with the NoVo Foundation, seeks applications for educator-led and district-level projects that foster social and emotional skills in students in grades PK-12. We will award up to $7,000 to educators for work in classrooms or schools and up to $25,000 for district-level grants to implement an SEL-focused project in the 2020-21 school year.
In previous years, this program has been called the SEL Innovation Awards. We have always believed that educator-led SEL work is inherently innovative, as it puts the tools to build solutions in the hands of the people closest to the challenge. This year, we are renaming the program to the SEL in Action awards to signify that this work is alive, dynamic and ongoing.
We will also award a small, select number of two-year grants. We recognize that effective implementation of any initiative, including SEL practices, takes time. Both educator-led and district-level applicants may choose to be considered for a two-year grant by indicating so in their application and providing additional information as requested in the application.
Please forward this announcement widely to your networks locally and nationwide. We are aiming to fund dynamic, culturally-responsive SEL practices and initiatives in classrooms, schools and districts grounded in values of compassion, imagination and social justice.
The RFP, application and details about two informational webinars can be found here: https://education-first.com/sel-in-action-awards/.
The deadline for applications is Friday, April 10 at 11:59pm PT.
If you have additional questions, feel free to email selinaction@education-first.com.