The fourth blog post in our ‘back-to-school’ series highlights several best practices of evidence-based progress monitoring that educators can apply to virtual instruction to ensure ongoing progress monitoring continues regardless of the learning environment, be it remote, blended, or in-person. According to author Jennifer Meller, “Such monitoring can, and should, be used broadly to provide feedback to all students but is critically important for students with IEPs to meaningfully update goals, accommodations, and services.”

The third blog post in our ‘back-to-school’ series explores the need for districts to implement a multi-tiered approach to social-emotional learning (SEL) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent recommendation from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Author Lauren English-Mezzino acknowledges that while many districts are familiar with a tiered approach for academics, integrating SEL into a multi-tiered system of support—whether instruction is fully remote, in person, or a blend of the two—may present new challenges for districts.

As schools grapple with increased federal mandates, reduced budgets, and compounding student needs due to COVID-19, Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) has partnered with the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) to offer an extensive bank of individualized education program (IEP) goals and objectives as a support to special education teachers and service providers across the country.

To help educators navigate the unprecedented times of a global pandemic, we recently launched a series of ‘back-to-school’ blog posts featuring actionable insights and free resources developed by a team of special education subject matter experts (SMEs) at PCG. This blog series is based on PCG’s Special Education Reentry Checklist and each post aligns to a core theme from that checklist: Health and Safety, IEPs and Instruction, Communication Planning, and Budget and Finance.