Accra is Teaming with Schools to Help Students Learn at Home

By Sue Morgan, Accra Chief Program Officer

From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was evident that more and more people would need help in their home to live independently. At heightened risk for severe cases of this new disease, older adults and people with disabilities are safest at home rather than in an institutional setting. Accra caregivers have worked tirelessly throughout this year to keep our clients safe and secure within their community.

As school districts prepared to implement new hybrid and remote learning models this fall, another challenge arose. Students with intellectual and physical disabilities - who typically receive the assistance of paraprofessionals at school to perform the recommendations in the student’s individualized education plan (IEP) - would likely have to learn from home without support.

While e-learning helps stem the spread of COVID-19, it presents significant hurdles for students with special needs. They cannot safely receive support from their typical paraprofessional in the school setting, and following their IEP becomes more difficult without in-person instruction. Fearing that a second wave of cases would require schools to return to distance learning, school districts sought solutions to keep students with disabilities on track at home.

In September, Edina Public Schools (EPS) contacted Accra to see if direct support professionals (DSPs) could assist students with remote learning. EPS and Accra quickly collaborated to create a plan for students with special needs who required additional support with school in the home.

Through this new plan, Accra helps families recruit, interview and supervise the DSPs, while serving as a co-employer with the family. Within a few days, caregivers began assisting students in their homes to get online, navigate between classes, complete their homework, stay on task and manage other organizational tasks.

Impressed by the program’s success, EPS recommended the arrangement with Accra to other school systems. Now, the Minneapolis, Moorhead, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Shakopee, Westonka and West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan area school districts are all teaming up with Accra to meet the educational needs of students with special needs at home.

Accra’s mission is to improve lives by providing individualized homecare services and support to people living at home. Achieving that goal has been more difficult than ever this year. But thanks to our dedicated team of caregivers, resourceful partners like Edina Public Schools and the development of creative new caregiving solutions, we’ve been able to improve the lives of those we serve and help make a quality education possible for students facing the toughest of circumstances.