Meeting the Needs of Highly Impacted Student Populations - Supporting Evidence

Oct 15, 2026

Meeting the Needs of Highly Impacted Student Populations: Supporting Evidence synthesizes key considerations for learning acceleration and recovery, framed as enrichment efforts in summer and beyond. It presents four big concepts—community systems and family leadership, peer interactions, integrated support across student needs, and systemic capacity building—each paired with supporting research. The material emphasizes holistic planning, inclusive social-emotional and academic approaches, alignment across funding streams, and evidence-based educator practices to improve outcomes for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and students experiencing homelessness or poverty.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages3

Reading Time8 min

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MEETING STUDENT NEEDS: DRILLING DEEPER INTO THE BIG IDEAS

Harness community systems and family leadership

Focus on peer interactions

Remember kids receive multiple support services

Be systemic about building capacity

SUPPORTING RESOURCES

Harness Community Systems and Family Leadership

Focus on Peer Interactions

Meeting the Needs of Highly Impacted Student Populations: Supporting Evidence In April 2021, as part of a national convening hosted by the US Department of Education, NCSI was asked to identify key considerations for learning acceleration and recovery as part of enrichment efforts this summer and beyond. Four big concepts were identified by NCSI and then discussed by interested participants. Below are the big ideas as well as the research that substantiates their relevance. | MEETING STUDENT NEEDS: DRILLING DEEPER INTO THE BIG IDEAS | | | | --- | --- | --- | |
Harness community systems and family leadership
• Focus on enrichment for collective impact that leverages education along with Community will and resources.
• Think holistically. This is an opportunity to expand Community partnerships.
• Lean on community partners who have existing infrastructure; and listen to families to inform what would work best for them.
Focus on peer interactions
• Plan for social emotional and academic needs in ways that are supported by research and that center student to student connections.
• Be intentional about inclusion… create heterogeneous settings for mixed student groups.
• Think about Extended School Year (ESY) decision-making. Be thoughtful about data/ rationale, plus inclusion implications. | Remember kids receive multiple support services
• Consider that EL kids are also SWD and who may also be homeless and/or experiencing poverty, for example.
• Plan for alignment across funding streams. Prioritize wraparound services. Plan for cultural and linguistic responsiveness.
• Don’t silo enrichment activities into separate buckets which result in redundancy, competition, and segregation. | Be systemic about building capacity
• Don’t spend the funds all at once. Plan for this summer and at the same time strategically allocate resources for the next four years.
• Be purposeful in increasing educator capacity for data literacy and evidencebased practices.
• Plan for differentiation to meet individual and student group needs. | SUPPORTING RESOURCES Harness Community Systems and Family Leadership English Language Learners • Sibley, E., & Brabeck, K. (2017) . Latino immigrant students’ school experiences in the United States: The importance of family–school–community collaborations. School Community Journal, 27(1), 137–157. Retrieved from [http://www.adi.org/](http://www.adi.org/)[ ](http://www.adi.org/)[journal/2017ss/SibleyBrabeckSpring2017.Pdf](journal/2017ss/SibleyBrabeckSpring2017.Pdf) • Tarasawa, B., & Waggoner, J. (2015) . Increasing parental involvement of English Language Learner families: What the research says. Journal of Children & Poverty, 21(2), 129–134. [https://doi.org/10.1080/107](https://doi.org/10.1080/107)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1080/107)[96126.2015.1058243](96126.2015.1058243) Students with Disabilities • Cohen, R., Linker, J. A., & Stutts, L. (2006). Working together: Lessons learned from school, family, and community collaboration. Psychology in the Schools, 43(4), 419–428. [https://doi.org/10.1002/](https://doi.org/10.1002/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1002/)[pits.20156](pits.20156) • Xu, Y. (2020) . Engaging Families of Young Children with Disabilities through Family-School-Community Partnerships. Early Child Development and Care, 190(12), 1959–1968. [https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443](https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443)[0.2018.1552950](0.2018.1552950) Students Experiencing Homelessness and Low-Income Students • Chow, K. A. (2015) . Against all odds: Examining how parents and teachers help homeless students stay on track academically. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 75(10). Retrieved from [http://gateway](http://gateway). [proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_](proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_)[val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_](val_fmt=info:ofi/f

FAQs

What is the purpose of the enrichment efforts discussed in the document?

The document identifies considerations for learning acceleration and recovery as part of enrichment efforts during summer and beyond.

What four big concepts guide meeting the needs of highly impacted student populations?

The four concepts are community systems and family leadership, peer interactions, integrated support across multiple student needs, and systemic capacity building.

How does the document suggest planning for inclusion and support during enrichment or ESY decisions?

It recommends planning social-emotional and academic needs using research-centered approaches, creating heterogeneous settings for mixed student groups, and using thoughtful data and rationale while considering inclusion implications.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair