From the brief: "As the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools in Spring 2020, children, families, and staff in high poverty schools faced the compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial and economic injustice. Historical inequities in access to resources and opportunities for families of color, and families living in low-income environments, have led to a disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on education stakeholders in urban, high-poverty schools.

This brief summarizes:

• Student and family needs during Fall 2020, in light of needs that arose at the outset of the pandemic in Spring 2020

• Challenges that students, families, teachers, and other school staff encountered during Fall 2020

Education stakeholders participated in City Connects, an evidence-based1–4 integrated student support intervention that implements a whole-child, systemic approach to identify student strengths and needs, and provide support for all students in a school. City Connects coordinators, key personnel who work closely with students, families, and school staff in over 70 schools in three states, shared the needs and challenges they observed."