This report offers a framework for districts to use in their preparation to provide quality instruction through distance and blended models. In the wake of COVID-19, “teaching as usual” will be neither possible nor sufficient to meet students’ needs because California’s schools have experienced disruptions to each aspect of the instructional core: teachers, students, and content. Teachers will need to adapt their choice of pedagogy to align with the affordances and constraints of distance and blended learning, which will be shaped by the proportion of instructional time delivered in person, the synchronicity of instruction, and technologies used to deliver instruction. Ongoing assessment will be critical as teachers will need to calibrate their instruction to meet greater and more varied academic needs. Students and families will need regular feedback to improve learning and promote engagement. Educators must anticipate greater student social-emotional needs in the fall and should prepare to provide comprehensive support that encourages student engagement. Establishing strong relationships with students is critical for student learning in any educational context, and it will be essential for educators in the distance context to develop classroom communities through remote relationship-building strategies. Teachers will need familiarity with the prior year’s content because content typically covered in the prior year cannot be assumed to have been delivered, received, or retained. Schools should anticipate significant academic losses for all students, and learning losses are likely to most significantly impact low-income, Black, and Latinx students as well as students who were already struggling in school. Educators should plan to provide high-quality, grade-level instruction with robust differentiated support. The implementation of consistent, quality distance instruction for all students in the 2020–21 school year will depend on the extent to which districts provide educators with the support they need to teach successfully in a distance or blended model. There are four areas that districts an act upon. These, if done well, can serve as the solid foundation on which distance instruction can support student and educator needs: (a) set and communicate expectations about instruction, (b) support educators, (c) develop systems to address greater student needs, and (d) support technology and data to improve instruction.

Executive Summary -- Introduction -- The Instructional Core in the COVID-19 Context.-- Teaching in the COVID-19 Context: Pedagogy, Assessment, and Feedback -- Student Engagement in the COVID-19 Context -- Content in the COVID-19 Context. -- District Considerations for Supporting Learning in the COVID-19 Context -- Supporting Educators -- Strengthening Systems to Address Greater Student Needs -- Technology and Data Infrastructure -- Conclusion -- References -- Authors.