As the school year resumes most students in San Mateo County and across the country are returning to distance learning. COVID-19 has upended many aspects of our life, including education. While most schools do not have the resources to safely prevent the spread of COVID-19 indoors, schools should consider utilizing outdoor spaces for instruction, which allows students a level of social interaction that they do not get when learning is online.  The San Mateo County Office of Education has resources to support outdoor learning and has two case studies describing how Grass Roots Ecology and the Marine Science Institute were able to successfully have in-person instruction over the summer.  Read the San Mateo County Office of Education’s updated Pandemic Recovery Framework to learn more about how schools can best plan for welcoming students back to campus.