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Curriculum and Instruction

Staying Connected: Your Stories

Additional Resources

Staying Connected: How to Submit Your Story

Sharing Your Stories

Connections in Education during COVID-19

We encourage you to share your story.  Your story might be a one-page account, a video, or even pictures showing us how your school, your students, and your community are staying connected. Features might highlight:

  • Reopening plans for the 2020-2021 school year 
  • Social emotional support
  • One-to-one outreach
  • Effective methods for digital delivery of instruction
  • Alternative or creative means of reaching all students
  • Resources to provide remote/home instruction for English Language Learners or students with disabilities
  • Examples of collaboration with a BOCES or other professional organization(s)
  • Developmentally appropriate practices (including play-based learning)
Submission Components

Guidelines for feature submissions:

  • A brief description of the school or district (i.e. elementary, rural, size, etc.)
  • A description of the specific goal(s) of the highlighted practice(s)
  • Outcomes (anticipated and/or unexpected)
  • Contact information for other educators or administrators looking for more information

Stories selected for publication will be published on the Continuity of Learning website.

Submission Instructions

Specific Parameters

  1. Typed stories should be roughly one page in length and submitted as an attached document to an email sent to emscurric@nysed.gov. Please use the subject line "Staying Connected Submission". Documents must be submitted in an editable word processor file format (Word, Pages). 
  2. It is the responsibility of the entity submitting the story to ensure that there is compliance with all relevant copyright and privacy laws.  Responsibility for obtaining any third-party permission(s) if necessary, rests with the entity submitting the story.
  3. By submitting a story to NYSED, you understand and acknowledge:
    • That you have the right to submit the story (you are the author or you have the author’s permission and/or any other necessary third-party permissions);
    • That you have permission from school/district/BOCES administration to submit a story to NYSED for publication; and
    • That you permit NYSED to publish the story in various formats, including but not limited to an electronic newsletter sent by email and on a webpage.  
  4. NYSED retains the right to edit submitted stories for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. If significant editing of content is required, NYSED may correspond to submitter with a request for edits.
  5. NYSED encourages the inclusion of  pictures. Links to videos may be embedded in the story or submitted as the story. The school district is responsible for obtaining and maintaining the appropriate release forms. 
    • Release forms must be signed and retained by the district for all visual and audio content that features people, both children and adults. The release form for children must be signed by a parent or guardian.
    • Release forms must also be signed by the owners of the visual and audio content (photographers, videographers, etc.) verifying that the content may be posted on the website.
  6. If you would like to share files related to your story, please provide a link to your website or a person to contact for more information in the body of the submission email. NYSED cannot post files on its website.
  7. Publication is not guaranteed. If your story is published, you will receive notification via email.