Policy Brief: Opening Schools Safely in the COVID-19 ERA

A Research Brief Identifying School Social Workers’ Experiences and Recommendations:

COVID-19 has presented a worldwide challenge for schools. Issues of safety, isolation, mental health, hunger, housing insecurity, and physical health are all amplified. With calls for systemic change by the Black Lives Matter movement, the question of how to reopen and reinvest in schools that serve under-resourced communities and students of color has gained prominence and urgency. Calls for reinvestment shed light on longstanding and significant systemic opportunity gaps, as well as decades of neglected needs within such schools and communities.

School social workers (SSWs) have long been in these schools battling for racial, social, and economic justice — and making sure that families, teachers, and students have the resources and services they need. Our national study of 1,275 SSWs presents their voices and suggestions in connection with COVID-19, the reopening of schools, online services, and how reinvestment in low-income communities and schools should transpire. Given SSWs’ ecological view and historical commitment to under-served communities, their voices should be heard in planning school reopening.

Click here to view the full policy brief.