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administrators; the ability of teachers and others to find resources for each other to
enhance remote learning; enhancement of caregiver and school relationships; and
increased availability of virtual professional development opportunities.

Implications for Educators
Although this study’s conclusions may be exploratory, educators should consider
recommendations for implementing evidence-based practices to meet the challenges
and sustain triumphs in schools whether or not they are experiencing a global
pandemic. Therefore, we include recommendations for evidence-based practices
suggested by the Council for Exceptional Children and the CEEDAR Center (2015),
the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (2020), the National
Center on Intensive Intervention (2020), and the Collaborative for Academic, Social,
and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2022a).
The Council for Exceptional Children and The CEEDAR Center (2015) offer
high leverage practices (HLPs) for special education. Among these recommended
practices, HLP #18: Use Strategies to Promote Active Student Engagement addresses
student-engagement challenges. To implement this HLP,
Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies that result in active student
responses. Active student engagement is critical to academic success.
Therefore, teachers must initially build positive student-teacher relationships
to foster engagement and motivate reluctant learners. Next, they promote
engagement. Engagement is facilitated by: connecting learning to students’
lives (e. g., knowing students’ academic and cultural backgrounds) and using
a variety of teacher-led (e.g., choral responding and response cards), peer-
assisted (e. g., cooperative learning, and peer tutoring), student-regulated (e.g.,
self-management), and technology-supported strategies shown empirically to
increase student engagement. Finally, they monitor student engagement and
provide positive and constructive feedback to sustain performance. (Council
for Exceptional Children, 2022, Explore HLPs section)
The Center on Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (2020) and the
National Center on Intensive Intervention (2020) similarly have offered strategies
and practices for meeting the needs of students—in this case, based on Multi-Tiered
Systems of Support (MTSS)—as they returned to in-person learning environments.
These include suggested support for students based on key practices to connect,
screen, support, teach, and monitor—all designed to effect positive and predictive
learning environments where students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic
growth is enhanced. The evidence-based practices from the Center on Positive
Behavioral Intervention and Supports (2020) focused on building and maintaining a
strong Tier 1 foundation of support for all students. The National Center on Intensive
Intervention (2020) focused its recommendations on students with the most intensive
social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs. Tables 5 and 6 provide examples of
critical practices to address challenges and sustain triumphs for students in school
settings.

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