Supporting Students During COVID-19: Developing and Leveraging Academic Communities of Engagement in a Time of Crisis

Abstract

As school closures require educators to transition to remote teaching, relevant models for supporting students are necessary. This article discusses Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE), a framework identifying two communities to help support student engagement: (a) the course community associated with course or school (teacher, peers, administrators, counselors) and (b) students’ personal community with long-standing relationships (parents, siblings, friends). Within the framework these communities can provide affective, behavioral, and cognitive support in online (remote) settings. Examples from two schools that had to go remote demonstrate application of the framework promoting student engagement and success.