Felicia Hurwitz

As schools across the country closed their doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators sought answers to questions about how to make the most of remote instruction. To support our educators, REL Mid-Atlantic reviewed the existing research to identify promising practices that educators could implement quickly. This review revealed that the existing research base does not precisely address our situation--most studies compare remote learning strategies against traditional face-to...

Many states have adopted kindergarten entry assessments to measure children's development as they begin school. Consistent with recommendations of the National Research Council's panel on early childhood assessment and longstanding professional guidance, most of these assessments tap multiple academic and behavioral domains, including language, early mathematics, social competence and self-regulation, physical health, and motor development. The measures identify areas in which entering...

Chronic absenteeism--defined as missing 10 percent or more days of school--is a significant problem for the nation's youngest students. Although schools and districts face many challenges related to pre-K and kindergarten attendance, several promising strategies to tackle chronic absenteeism have emerged. Strategies to confront chronic absenteeism include visiting the homes of families with chronically absent children and adding buses to transport young children to school. Many distr...

Educators, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Mid-Atlantic region and across the country acknowledge the need to reduce chronic student absenteeism (typically defined as missing 10 percent or more of a school year). Most states include chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school performance under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), reflecting a growing recognition of its importance. Simply put, missing a substantial amount o...