WE Schools @ home virtual program launched to support student learning across Canada
– New enhanced program gives parents and teachers free turn-key educational resources and daily interactive programming to support well-being, service-learning, and at-home education –
TORONTO, April 3, 2020 /CNW/ - Today WE launched the WE Schools @ home program, as part of its commitment to support parents and teachers navigating the world of distance learning. The WE Schools @ Home program is connected to the long-standing, free service-learning program WE Schools, which is provided to over 18,000 schools across North America and globally.
For parents searching for educational resources to support at home learning, WE Schools @ home offers daily interactive educational programs suitable for all ages, including virtual lessons by grade level that are led by certified teachers and complemented with easy and digestible resources.
Youth-friendly family learning resources that focus on topics such as COVID-19 are available to parents to help young people gain a better understanding of the pandemic. To pro-actively assist youth who are experiencing anxiety and social isolation, WE Schools @ home places a special emphasis on well-being resources, including social emotional learning, service learning and fostering resiliency.
For teachers looking to supplement their online lesson plans (K-12), WE Schools @ home provides free daily interactive and experiential lessons, which are in line with respective provincial learning guidelines. These include lessons on understanding COVID-19—breaking it down for kids, keeping connected through physical distance, using technology for social good, and building well-being skills through social and emotional learning. Teachers will also have access to lesson plans and activities designed exclusively to help enhance curriculum and encourage students to broaden their understanding of world issues.
"We've been inundated with requests from our 18,000 school partners and the families of their students," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "Our emphasis is on social and emotional learning, as we know that youth are experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and social isolation at this time and we must proactively provide support. We are providing turn-key programs to assist students to engage in virtual learning, find community connections, and promote their well-being as a complementary and supplementary program to their school-based distance learning."
Parents and teachers can easily access the WE Schools @ home program online at www.we.org, including the following:
For Families
WE Schools Live
A daily online program to educate, engage and inspire with educators and experts for one hour. Busy parents can feel confident that their children during this hour are receiving positive, educational content. WE Schools Live streams daily on Facebook at 1:00 pm-2:00pm EDT. The schedule is as follows:
- Mindful Mondays – Learn how to nurture your well-being and the well-being of others, including through self-care practices that build resiliency.
- Teacher Tuesdays – Engage with a teacher selected for their incredible pedagogy and charismatic teaching style to captive students.
- Wellness Wednesdays – Learn how you can take care of your own physical health during a time of limited mobility.
- Take Action Thursdays – Service learning comes alive, with action plans to tackle local and global issues even when physically distancing.
- Feature Fridays – Join an interactive episode where WE Schools Live dives into a timely and trending topic in the service-learning space.
Daily virtual lessons featuring a certified teacher
Virtual lessons that students can tune into daily by grade level, led by a certified teacher. Each virtual lesson will come along with additional resources to support parents in homeschooling in an easy and digestible way.
Social and emotional learning tool kit
An online tool kit that includes daily activities to do at home to support well-being and foster empathy, compassion and resiliency.
Teacher support and resources
Interactive and experiential daily virtual lessons
Virtual classroom lessons for students (K-12) that cover myriad timely topics, including staying in the know for COVID-19, using technology to do social good, and building well-being skills through social and emotional learning. Teachers will also have access to lesson plans and activities designed exclusively to help enhance core curriculum.
WE Teachers Hub
Access to our archive of free online resources designed to provide teachers with resources to support their students. The WE Teachers Hub has everything from ready-made lesson plans to professional learning courses that educators can access along with exclusive, virtual learning experiences and a community of teachers around the world. The platform equips educators with tools to address critical social issues with students, starting with trauma-informed resources and professional learning. Click here to access the WE Teachers Hub.
Pandemic – Informed Community Resource: COVID-19
This resource will assist teachers to address pandemic-related trauma. Educators gain a deeper understanding of the topic, relevant context, and explore the pedagogical benefits of trauma-informed teaching.
Teacher Webinars
Weekly webinars every Thursday at 3:00pm-4:00pm EDT to support and build community among teachers in their shift to creating virtual classrooms. Topics will include classroom management in a virtual world, virtual lessons for students, Q-and-A with subject-matter experts in well-being to support students' social and emotional learning and share best practices for learning at home.
About WE
WE is made up of a family of organizations that make doing good, doable, including WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change and ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity.
WE engages 4.2 million young people each year across North America and beyond through its free, yearlong service-learning program WE Schools. Designed to enhance a school or community's existing social initiatives or spark new ones, WE Schools provides teachers with educational resources and action campaigns to encourage students to further their curricular learning and develop social and emotional skills to succeed beyond the classroom. WE Schools operates in over 18,000 schools and is proven to increase academic engagement, civic engagement and college and workplace readiness.
WE enables youth and families to better the world—supporting 7,200+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world.
Join the movement today at WE.org.
Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE
#WE | @WEmovement @WEteachers | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
SOURCE WE Charity
on WE Schools @ home or to request an interview, please contact: Angie Gurley, Head, Communications at WE, [email protected], 416-432-9291; Camila Ossa, Associate Director, Communications at WE, [email protected], 647-459-4460
Share this article