The Yonkers City School District, in collaboration with the New York State Education Department, developed a plan to become an information center for the teaching in remote/hybrid learning environments (TRLE), also known as the Rethink K12 Education Models Project for the City of Yonkers. The award of this three-year grant is to rapidly deploy resources to address teaching and learning during remote and hybrid instruction. As a designated center, the Yonkers Public Schools has created this website to provide professional learning resources for schools that are within the boundaries of the City of Yonkers. These schools include the 39 schools within the district as well as the nonpublic schools in Yonkers.

In the first year of the grant, 2020-2021, the focus is on the establishment and deployment of professional development to shift our schools to a blended/remote instructional model. In six focus areas will include:

• Shifting our schools to the Blended/Remote Instructional Model
• Supporting our Students with Disabilities
• Supporting our English Language Learners and Multilingual Learners
• Developing and Supporting Culturally Responsive Education (CRE)
• Developing and Supporting Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
• Working with our Families

The Yonkers Public Schools Rethink K-12 website serves as a portal for communications to the schools and community within the City of Yonkers. Curated within the Professional Learning pages is a video library of professional development sessions that have occurred since March 2020 to address the changes in teaching and learning brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the shifts to remote and hybrid instruction. Within Our Story are some highlights of innovative learning practices that have occurred within the district over the past year and teachers discussing how they have made shifts in their teaching to engage their learners.

This website will continue to grow to include upcoming professional development sessions, resources for English Language Learners, Multilingual Learners and Students with Disabilities, as well as best practices for implementing culturally responsive teaching practices and social emotional learning.

The Yonkers Public Schools will continue to provide a focused, targeted approach to supporting schools as we face the challenges together to provide support for our students, continuous learning opportunities, innovation, and resources and services as we navigate this changing world. Through the Rethink K-12 grant, we continue to collaborate with the New York Department of Education, the SUNY Stony Brook Center for Teaching and Learning, and with local partners to provide responsive and coordinated support.
Moving Forward

During the first year of the grant, the emphasis is on the rapid deployment of professional development that supports the necessary instructional transitions to remote and hybrid instruction. We hope to shine a light on the transformative teaching practices that are occurring throughout our classrooms; to provide exemplars of student learning within this new digital frontier; and to share practices that encourage innovation, interaction, and interconnectedness.

This website will continue to expand to include communications about upcoming programs and to highlight culturally responsive practices and programs, social emotional learning, and innovative learning that our students are taking part in, including our multilingual learners and students with disabilities.