Over spring break, a group of us in POLS began meeting over Zoom, since we missed each other. As the long-term implications of COVID-19 began to crystalize, we considered how our former students, and all students, are impacted. From those initial conversations, a collective desire emerged to support school communities to meet students' social-emotional needs, which deeply influence their academic and life outcomes. 

Plans for a research project emerged, and with the support of Dean Dan Schwartz, we are partnering with schools serving diverse learners and communities to identify individual needs and assist in transitioning back to in-person learning. We hope to identify common areas of concern amongst members of the school community with particular attention to social-emotional wellbeing. We are intentionally concentrating on what comes next, so we’re focused on listening to stakeholder needs while referencing lessons learned by school communities after major disruptive events, such as Hurricane Katrina. 

Joshua Jordan is a master’s student in policy, organization, and leadership studies (POLS) at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. The project team includes Marlee Burns, Lauren Hogan, Eric Saito, Hillary Knudson, Meg Pantell, Clare McLaughlin, Elizabeth Tisch, Alex Kuehn, and Kelly Branning, with additional support from Jen Calder and Maira Martinez.