Recommendation #1: Needs Assessment

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

LEAs are encouraged to complete a Needs Assessment to assess community, family, school, and student needs during COVID-19 school closures. A needs assessment is the foundation for any school response/service array and is a continuous process to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of the services for the duration of the effort. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good guiding structure to use as teams gather data, thinking first through the basic physiological and safety needs such as food, shelter, clothing, employment, and medical care, including mental wellness.

Use existing data as part of needs assessment:

  • Teacher report from virtual learning sessions

  • Early Warning System data

  • Free/reduced lunch data

  • Local unemployment data

  • Food bank data

  • McKinney-Vento data

  • Number of COVID-19 cases

  • Number of COVID-19 deaths

  • Parent requests for assistance