As the COVID-19 crisis response continues, until most children are vaccinated, the need for rapid-response research will most likely continue into the 2021–22 school year. With rolling quarantines, the academic and social emotional impacts are likely to mount. And the cumulative effects are only beginning to be understood and accounted for. This knowledge management work is critical and must continue through the recovery phase of the pandemic. 

COVID-19 disrupted an already tenuous system of support for adolescents, both in and out of school. Disengagement, apathy, and failing grades were common. Lacking support and facing financial stress, many students postponed going to college last year. All this happened on top of existing inequities, which the pandemic deepened and accelerated. In the midst of these and other challenges, school system responses to the pandemic introduced new opportunities:

English language learners represent a large population in K–12 classrooms across the nation and yet states are failing to improve academic outcomes for these students, including college readiness. 

Under current funding policies, school districts are unaware of which resource allocations are associated with improved student outcomes for English Learners. It is important to know which district actions, categories of funding and amounts of spending influence English Learner outcomes, specific to college-ready indicators. 

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