Shifting Gears

Abstract

In March 2020, all Ohio school buildings were closed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, leaving districts in crisis mode to complete the school year. This chapter per the authors details how the specialists in world languages and cultures at the Ohio Department of Education, in collaboration with the Ohio Foreign Language Association, were able to quickly and efficiently initiate virtual support for Ohio language teachers during the Spring 2020 school year, lead a summer professional learning series to prepare teachers for remote and blended learning the following school year, and continue virtually supporting teachers throughout the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year. Priorities focused on teachers' and learners' social-emotional needs, high-quality and practical instructional resources that made language learning accessible for all, and a professional learning framework that modeled strategies for reimagining language instruction in an in-person, remote, or blended environment.