The COVID-19 Pandemic took K-12 schools by surprise, as even schools that had launched a 1:1 initiative or implemented other technology-rich initiatives were only partially able to leverage technology sufficiently to ensure a quality remote learning experience for their students. In this presentation we will build on the collective experiences of the 20+ districts belonging to the K-12 Digital Consortium of Western New York to identify common challenges and complementary ways in which different districts used technology to help address those challenges. Among other things, we will share how different districts tackled the challenge of deploying devices and hot spots to their students, communicate effectively to families, support students' socio-emotional needs during the crisis, and redesign instruction to be delivered remotely.
