Days after we closed all of our school, Uncommon opened back up as a remote learning organization. In New York City alone we were serving nearly 10,000 students in their homes. Our teachers and staff scrambled to survey families about their Internet capabilities, became couriers to get equipment to families, and made wellness calls to students and each other.
In an op-ed for the New York Daily News, Uncommon Schools CEO Brett Peiser identifies three principles that guided the work to transition 20,000 students across a network of 54 schools in six cities.
- Kindergarteners and high-schoolers alike need to know that we are still here for them every day, and not just for learning.
- The system has to be as simple for parents to navigate as possible.
- We can continue to view this crisis as an opportunity to innovate.