The AVID Open Access Back-to-School Toolkit

AVID Open Access is here for you.

Each new school year brings excitement, energy, and anticipation. As teachers, we look forward to seeing a new group of students and starting a new year of learning together. We find value in the relationships we build and eagerly await our chance to make a positive difference in the lives of our students.

At the same time, the first days of school can leave us feeling a bit nervous, uncertain, and anxious. These feelings are natural, especially when we care so much about what we do, and we recognize that there will be challenges along the way. In fact, as this school year approaches, many of us will be facing some of the greatest uncertainties of our careers. What will our classrooms look like? Will we be teaching our students face-to-face or remotely, or will school be some hybrid combination of the two? How will we design with flexibility and change in mind? If we don’t meet face-to-face, how will we connect with our students and families and establish relationships? With all that’s happening in the world today, how will we support our students emotionally?

We also understand the importance of equity in our classrooms. Every student is important, and we strive to provide each of them with the best learning experiences possible. At the same time, we recognize that there will be academic achievement differences that may have been compounded by remote learning last spring. We must identify the gaps and find ways to raise the performance of all students.

At AVID Open Access, we understand these challenges, and we are here for you.

A Back-to-School Toolkit

To help you start the school year, we have developed the AVID Open Access Back-to-School Toolkit. This collection of articles features a special emphasis on remote-teaching-and-learning strategies and includes insights, tools, and tips that you can use in your classroom.

Below, you will find resources that are already available on AVID Open Access. Browse each collection of articles for more detail.

• Start Your Remote Teaching with Confidence: Tips for Your Virtual Classroom
  • Establish Your Communication Plan
  • Choose Your Remote Teaching Platform
  • Choose Your Live Remote-Teaching Delivery Tool
  • Choose Your Self-Paced Remote-Learning Delivery System
  • Design Your Live Remote Classroom
  • Design Your Self-Paced Remote Classroom

• Teach Remote Lessons and Assess Student Progress
  • Deliver Your Live Remote Lesson
  • Deliver Your Self-Paced Remote Lesson
  • Establish a Feedback and Progress Monitoring System
  • Choose Your Live Virtual Feedback Strategies and Tools
  • Choose Your Self-Paced Virtual Feedback Strategies and Tools
  • Design Remote Assessments Students Will Want to Do
  • Design Summative Assessments for a Live Virtual Classroom
  • Design Summative Assessments for a Self-Paced Virtual Classroom

• Support and Empower Your Students
  • Start the Year by Fostering Your Students’ Growth Mindset
  • Structure Student Reflection Activities Effectively for Remote Learning
  • Integrate Digital Focused Note-Taking Strategies and Tools
  • Increase Retention by Engaging Students in Digital Reading and Viewing
  • Incorporate Strategies for Critical Reading and Digital Marking of Text
  • Incorporate Strategies for Critical Viewing of Video and Digital Images
  • Recognize Students and Celebrate Together

• Meet Students’ Social and Emotional Needs During Remote Learning
  • Start the Year by Fostering Your Students’ Growth Mindset
  • Build Classroom Community to Support Your Students’ Social and Emotional Needs
  • Care for Your Students During Live Remote Learning
  • Care for Your Students During Self-Paced Remote Learning
  • Honor and Celebrate Students During Live Remote Learning

• Design for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Learning
  • Address Academic Gaps
  • Embrace Differences and Establish Community

More to Come

In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding even more timely content to help you successfully start the school year. The collections above will continue to grow, and we will be adding new topics regularly. Future topics to look for include: Digital Student Study Skills, Digital Citizenship and Well-Being, and Student Engagement Strategies.

Thank you!

Most of all, thank you for all you do! As teachers, you matter tremendously, and you make a positive difference in the lives of our students! We hope to see you back regularly at AVID Open Access as we continue to publish new content to support you throughout the school year.

Extend Your Learning

• 25 Brilliant Back-to-School Activities That Will Make Kids Excited About Learning (Good Housekeeping)
• 4 Tips for Teachers Shifting to Teaching Online (Edutopia)
• Back-to-School Resources for Parents (Edutopia)