Coronavirus

Education news, analysis, and opinion about COVID-19 and its impact on schools and communities

Charts

9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
Young child wearing a mask getting a vaccine.
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Student Well-Being & Movement Explainer Will a COVID-19 Vaccine Be Mandatory for Students?
Early answers to some of the biggest questions about public school students and vaccines.
Arianna Prothero, December 3, 2020
5 min read
President-elect Joe Biden puts on his face mask at a November event in Wilmington, Del.  Biden has promised clear guidance for schools about responding to COVID-19, but he will face political divisions in addressing the issue.
President-elect Joe Biden puts on his face mask at a November event in Wilmington, Del. Biden has promised clear guidance for schools about responding to COVID-19, but he will face political divisions in addressing the issue.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal What Educators Need to Hear From Biden on COVID-19
Consistent, science-based messaging is crucial, but the new administration still faces political headwinds and a skeptical public.
Evie Blad, December 3, 2020
10 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Explainer How Should Schools Quarantine Students Exposed to Coronavirus? An Explainer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is changing its quarantine guidelines for people who had close contact with COVID-19.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 3, 2020
4 min read
030420 CDC Logo File
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Federal CDC Shortens COVID-19 Quarantine Periods. Here's What That Means for Schools
Shorter quarantines after COVID-19 exposure may increase compliance and reduce time out of classrooms.
Evie Blad, December 2, 2020
4 min read
Students are reminded to wear a mask amidst other chalk drawings on the sidewalk as they arrive for the first day of school at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.
Students are reminded to wear a mask amidst other chalk drawings on the sidewalk as they arrive for the first day of school at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.
Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Children Account for More New COVID-19 Cases as the Pandemic Rolls On
A new study in the journal Pediatrics finds more than a half million children have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far in the pandemic.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 1, 2020
1 min read
Matt Richardson teaches his students from Hesston Middle School in the basement of the Cross Winds Convention Center in Hesston, Kan., earlier this month.
Matt Richardson teaches his students from Hesston Middle School in the basement of the Cross Winds Convention Center in Hesston, Kan., earlier this month.
Orlin Wagner/AP
Teaching Profession From Our Research Center Will Teachers Get Priority for COVID-19 Vaccines?
The question has increasing urgency as coronavirus rates surge and more public health experts say keeping schools open is essential.
Catherine Gewertz, November 23, 2020
3 min read
New York Gov. Cuomo holds a press briefing on the coronavirus in Albany Wednesday. Cuomo predicted a “tremendous spike” in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving as he pleaded with people not to be lulled into a false sense of safety over the holiday.
New York Gov. Cuomo holds a press briefing on the coronavirus in Albany Wednesday. Cuomo predicted a “tremendous spike” in COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving as he pleaded with people not to be lulled into a false sense of safety over the holiday.<br/>
Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo via AP
States Seven Governors Stress In-Person Learning as Nation Confronts Rising Virus Rates
Northeastern governors called in-person instruction "the best possible scenario for children" if it occurs with "appropriate protections."
Evie Blad, November 19, 2020
3 min read
Young child wearing a mask getting a vaccine.
E+/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement COVID Vaccine Isn't Ready, But Schools Need to Push Families to Vaccinate Now. Here's How
Schools can lay the groundwork by bolstering immunizations for other diseases, like measles, on the cusp of dangerous outbreaks.
Sarah D. Sparks, November 19, 2020
5 min read
Junior high teacher Angela Andrus attends an Utah Safe Schools Mask-In urging the governor's leadership in school reopening during a rally Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Parents and teachers rallied at the Utah State Capitol Thursday morning to urge schools to enforce mask wearing and to implement other safety policies recommended by health officials as the state prepares to reopen classrooms this fall.
Junior high teacher Angela Andrus attends a Utah Safe Schools Mask-In in Salt Lake City urging the governor's leadership earlier this year as officials prepared for school reopenings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and teachers gathered at the state capitol to urge schools to enforce mask wearing and to implement other safety policies recommended by health officials.<br/>
Rick Bowmer/AP
Teaching Profession Teachers' Rights Under COVID-19: Anxiety Meets Legality
Schools and staff confront a welter of employment laws and regulations when it comes to on-site work under the pandemic.
Mark Walsh, November 19, 2020
10 min read
Parents and students demonstrate during a rally in New York calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to keep schools open. De Blasio announced Nov. 18 that the city would return to all-remote schooling the following day.
Parents and students demonstrate during a rally in New York calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to keep schools open. De Blasio announced Nov. 18 that the city would return to all-remote schooling the following day.
Mary Altaffer/AP
School & District Management New York City Shutters Schools After COVID-19 Rate Crosses Benchmark
The news came as a grim milestone as scores of districts continued to pull back from in-person learning.
Stephen Sawchuk, November 18, 2020
3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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School Climate & Safety Opinion Teaching's 'New Normal'? There's Nothing Normal About the Constant Threat of Death
As the bizarre becomes ordinary, don't forget what's at stake for America's teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Justin Minkel.
Justin Minkel , November 17, 2020
4 min read
Closed due to Covid-19 signs hang outside Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md.
Closed due to Covid-19 signs hang outside Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Schools Are Retreating to Remote Learning as COVID-19 Surges. Do They Have To?
More districts retreat to remote learning or halt reopening, jeopardizing a widespread return to in-person learning in 2020-21.
Stephen Sawchuk & Catherine Gewertz, November 17, 2020
10 min read
Image shows the coronavirus along with data charts and numbers.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States Interactive DATA: 2020-21 State Dashboards on COVID-19 in Schools and Instructional Models
State data on COVID-19 cases in schools and information on the types of instructional models in use during the 2020-21 school year.
November 17, 2020
1 min read
Nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a possible COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y., in July 2020. Pfizer Inc. has announced early results that the COVID-19 vaccine it’s developing with German company BioNTech is 90 percent effective.
Nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a possible COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y., in July 2020. Pfizer Inc. has announced early results that the COVID-19 vaccine it’s developing with German company BioNTech is 90 percent effective.
AP Photo/Hans Pennink
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A A Highly Effective Vaccine Is Likely on the Way. What Does That Mean for Schools and Kids?
Two infectious disease experts weigh in on how a COVID-19 vaccine that’s 90 percent effective, as early results are showing, could change school health and safety protocols.
Catherine Gewertz & Arianna Prothero, November 12, 2020
6 min read