ReSET Tool Kit
Keeping Children with Complex Health Needs
Healthy in School

August 2023

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DEAR COMMUNITY,

 

Since early 2020, we have adapted to an endlessly changing health landscape. The ReSET program’s intentional focus on children with complex health needs and their families has afforded us both privilege and obligation to understand the dynamic impact COVID-19 has had on the health and education of vulnerable populations.

 

One of the most important insights we have gained through these efforts is that the pandemic introduced concepts that many families of children with complex health needs had been wrestling with for their entire lives. How can a parent feel comfortable that their child with a tracheostomy will be safe from illnesses circulating in school? In some respects, the pandemic opened to the door to these complicated realities for all families to experience.

 

We think it is important to consider how these insights should continue to guide our public health and educational systems, even if we (hopefully) never again experience the worst of COVID-19. We know that our communities will continue to experience periods of high activity of transmissible illnesses, including influenza, RSV, coronavirus, and others.

 

We recommend that ReSET’s fundamental focus remain even as the program winds down. Children with complex health needs and their families will always require special attention to ensure they can achieve a safe and inclusive educational experience.

 

Our final ReSET Reader and the accompanying toolkit was drawn from these ideals. As of today, we have many reasons for optimism even if the work is not done. In that spirit, we hope you find these materials constructive now and in the future. And we extend a warm and sincere appreciation for your partnership over the past 3 years.

 

Dr. Ryan Coller, Dr. Greg Demuri, and the ReSET CMC Team

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SPECIAL THANKS to the partners and experts who helped create these resources, including Jean Winter and the School District of Lodi, and Erin Nuthals and Syble Hopp School, Louise Wilson (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction), and Daniel Parker (Department of Public Instruction).