During this unprecedented time, Teach For America Houston is focused on immediate steps in the short term to help our community stay healthy, as well as the long-term implications of this ongoing situation. 

As we all know, this is a rapidly changing and fluid situation. As public health officials gain a better understanding of the scope of the virus we will continue to revisit our practices and guidance. 

Based on the most recent information and guidance from local health officials regarding COVID-19 in our area, this is the most current information we can offer.

Our Local Schools 

Teach For America Houston partners with eight local school districts. Each have individual plans and practices in place. Please follow the guidance of your individual school district. Links to partner district information are listed below. 

• Aldine ISD
• BakerRipley Promise Community Schools
• Fort Bend ISD
• Houston ISD
• KIPP Texas: Houston
• Klein ISD
• Spring Branch ISD
• YES Prep Public Schools

Each district is regularly updating information via these links so please check with them as needed. 

Our Houston Regional Office

Our emergency management protocol, in any situation, is to align our office closures with local school districts. That said, the TFA Houston office is closed to regular and special events usage through the remainder of May. This includes professional development sessions led by MTLDs, alumni, and our partners. 

Our regional staff members are working remotely, so feel free to reach out to them for support or questions as needed.

Upcoming TFA Sponsored Events

At this time all TFA sponsored events will either be postponed or converted to virtual format. We are still working through the options for the remainder of our events for this school year and will update the list below as decisions are made. At this time we know: 

• The 2020 Light Up the City Benefit Dinner, scheduled for April 2, 2020 has been POSTPONED until the 2020-2021 academic year. We will update with a new date once we have it. 

We fully acknowledge that this unfolding situation has had various impacts in our community both in terms of the anxiety individuals may feel for their own health, their family’s health, and the health of our students and the ways in which reporting about this matter has fueled racist and xenophobic stereotypes about different communities.

Please know that this is a very fluid situation and we are monitoring events closely. As we receive new information we will continue to update you via this site.

Resources

• Resources to support students and communities during the coronavirus outbreak. (nationally curated)

• Regional resources for our Houston network and communities. (regionally curated)

Learning Resources

• Zoom: How to Use Zoom for Online Learning: Zoom offerings and resources for educators in response to the pandemic.
• The Together Pandemic Parent: Seven Strategies to Plan, Prioritize and…Plan?!
• Khan Academies Learning Schedules: These schedules are meant to be templates that you could adopt as-is or copy and modify to better suit the needs of your children, classroom, or district.
• Amazing Educational Resources: See an lengthy list of education companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings.
• Kahoot Resources: Kahoot! offers free access to all features to support distance learning in schools affected by COVID-19.

Tech Resources

• Comcast Announces Comprehensive COVID-19 Response to Help Keep Americans Connected to the Internet: The internet provider is offering Xfinity WiFi hotspots for free across the country, will not disconnect service for people who cannot pay their bills, and more. 
• Local nonprofit Comp-U-Dopt is giving laptops to families in need :Their mission is to provide technology to students who need it most, and they understand the need is greater than ever. They offer computers to families without a device at home free-of-charge, but registration is necessary. 

Health and Wellness Resources

• Psychological Tips for Managing Coronavirus Concerns
• Talking to Teens and Tweens about Coronavirus: Experts offer advice on how parents can help adolescents get the facts straight and be prepared.
• Psychological Tips for Children and Adolescents' Emotions: Here are some ways to help children and adolescents to understand and cope with related emotions. 
• Coronavirus: Fostering Empathy in an Interconnected World: This activity aims to cultivate students' empathy for those who face bias or discrimination stemming from COVID-19 by inviting them to reflect on the words of those affected. 

Other Resources

• Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus The spread of COVID-19 has become racialized, so it’s critical that educators understand the historical context and confront racist tropes and xenophobia from students and colleagues.
• Coronavirus doesn’t discriminate — let’s separate the myths from the reality: Five ways that educators can combat anti-Asian sentiment
• Forbes: “Stop Using the Coronavirus as an Excuse to be Racist”: COVID-19 has been the topic of global conversation for the last month, causing mass hysteria and worldwide panic. The frenzy that COVID-19 has caused has unsurprisingly sparked more xenophobia and racism. 
• Fighting Against Bullying and Racism from the Coronavirus: Amidst fears of the novel COVID-19 virus, incidents of bullying and racism against the AAPI community have been on the rise. Let’s stay together and fight the viruses of xenophobia with facts, prevention and treatment.

This is a non-exhaustive list of resources. It will be updated as more information becomes available. The resources linked have not been fully vetted, and their inclusion is not meant as an endorsement from Teach For America.