Opportunity Labs Releases Guidance For State, District, and School Leaders To Promote Comprehensive Recovery and Renewal

NEW YORK, Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity Labs announced today the launch of a roadmap to promote student recovery and renewal. The roadmap is designed to spur thinking, planning, and implementation of evidence-based interventions to respond to the continuing crisis and to plan for the work ahead. It was created through the collaborative efforts of health leaders and education experts.

"Communities across the country are still navigating the pandemic, but with vaccinations underway, we have to build on what we have learned and start planning for recovery and renewal.  Returning to full-time, in-person schooling when safe to do so, and providing the social-emotional, academic, mental, and physical support that our children need will be a once in a generation challenge," said Andrew Buher, Founder of Opportunity Labs and a former Chief Operating Officer of the NYC Department of Education, the nation's largest school district.

"Parents and students have to be assured that schools will move forward united in their commitment to comprehensive recovery and renewal," said Dr. Mario Ramirez, former acting director of the Office of Pandemic and Emerging Threats under President Obama, an active emergency room physician, and Managing Director of Opportunity Labs. "That starts with navigating the most difficult moment to date in the on-going crisis while simultaneously planning for recovery, an incredibly challenging task. We hope that the roadmap can be a useful resource during this process."

"There's no question that the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing inequities," said Juliette Heinze, former Executive Director of Knowledge Sharing at the New York City Department of Education, researcher, and Spanish Bilingual teacher, and Advisor at Opportunity Labs. "We want to help our incredible administrators and educators be more intentional than ever before about how we welcome students back to school, focusing on their unique strengths and identifying and addressing their specific needs, so every student can learn at grade level."

"It is incredibly important to think broadly about the effects the pandemic has had on students, not only academically and in terms of physical health, but also on their mental health," said Dr. Meghan Walls, a pediatric psychologist and clinical professor of Pediatrics, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University. "The roadmap takes a whole student, whole school, and whole community approach to recovery and renewal that we hope will inform local work that leads to better mental health outcomes for children."

Opportunity Labs builds and champions lasting solutions that create meaningful opportunities for children.

The guidance can be found at www.roadmap2recovery.org

For more information, visit www.roadmap2recovery.org and www.opportunitylabs.co

Contact:
David Weiner
646-491-0574
[email protected]

SOURCE Opportunity Labs

Related Links

http://www.opportunitylabs.co