Are Your Programs READI for the COVID-19 Pandemic?

While equity has been a priority for years, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequities like never before. So how do education leaders focus their efforts to address equity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? As content experts on the teacher workforce for the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, we challenge leaders to ask this tough question because state and district programs often target the needs of all schools, all teachers, and all students when, in fact, the programs are designed in a way that doesn’t cater to schools of greater need. The schools, teachers, and students who need the supports the most are not served by the programs that the state or district has designed.
 
The GTL Center’s READI Framework supports states and districts in flipping the narrative of readiness, taking the onus off of high-need schools, and leading with response and relief programs that are designed to succeed in the highest need settings. We help education leaders ask and answer the tough questions: Are we ready to meet the needs of our highest need schools, teachers, and students?