November is National Family Literacy Month and we couldn’t be more excited! Partnership between schools, community-based programs and families is critical in supporting the holistic development of every child and this includes literacy. In the spirit of celebration, community and collaboration, the ExpandED Early Literacy Team wanted to share four ideas for engaging families and supporting literacy development at home during November and beyond.

During the summer of 2020, as the pandemic and racial violence elevated the conversation around equity and equality in education, ExpandED began to reconsider its afterschool STEM curriculum. Was it anti-racist? Did it lift students’ voices? Could all kids see themselves in the activities? The team running STEM Educators Academy (SEA) began reevaluating its program to ensure that it measured up to anti-racist standards. Fran Agnone, the SEA program director, discusses the effort.

Life in the wake of Covid may be returning to a semblance of normal, with students in school and parents heading to work. But experts say that the pandemic is having a lingering impact on young people’s mental health.