Coronavirus

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

Charts

Illustration of Covid-19 impacting 3 years of school
9 Charts That Show the Lasting Effects of COVID on Schools
Key data on some of the move consequential changes, five years later.
View Charts
Image of a young boy in a pediatrician's office.
Geber86/E+
Student Well-Being & Movement FDA Says Vaccine Benefits Outweigh Myocarditis Risks. Here Are the Facts
Heart inflammation is one rare side effect of the children's vaccine for COVID-19, but the risks are relative.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 26, 2021
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3 min read
This October 2021 photo provided by Pfizer shows kid-sized doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Puurs, Belgium. The vaccine appear safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in 5- to 11-year-olds, according to study details released Oct. 22, 2021, as the U.S. considers opening vaccinations to that age group.
Kid-sized doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. An FDA advisory committee has recommended that the vaccine be approved for emergency use in 5- to 11-year-old children.
Pfizer via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 Clears Hurdle to Emergency Approval
But some members of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel raised concerns that schools may prematurely mandate the vaccine for younger children.
Arianna Prothero, October 26, 2021
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4 min read
Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran speaks alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, rear right, Fla. Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., left, state legislators, parents and educators, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, at the Doral Academy Preparatory School in Doral, Fla.
Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran speaks alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, rear right, Fla. Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., left, state legislators, parents and educators, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, at the Doral Academy Preparatory School in Doral, Fla.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
Federal Dept. of Ed., Florida Continue to Battle Over Ban on School Mask Mandates
Federal officials say they’ll intervene if the Florida Dept. of Ed. goes ahead with sanctions on districts with mask mandates.
Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, October 26, 2021
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2 min read
Ticket number 937 sits on a COVID-19 vaccination at the drive-thru vaccination site in the Coweta County Fairgrounds on Jan. 14, 2021, in Newnan, Ga.
A ticket number sits on a COVID-19 vaccination at the drive-thru vaccination site in the Coweta County Fairgrounds in Newnan, Ga.
Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Federal White House Outlines COVID-19 Vaccination Plans for Kids 5-11
The Biden administration will rely on schools, pharmacies, and pediatricians to help deliver the COVID-19 shots to younger children.
Evie Blad, October 20, 2021
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3 min read
Image of a stethescope, teddy bear, and vaccine syringe.
Milena Khosroshvili/iStock/Getty
Families & the Community How to Talk to Parents About COVID-19 Vaccines: 3 Tips From Scientists
The National Academies of Science has new guidance for schools on encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 19, 2021
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4 min read
Illustration of syringe tied to stick
Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Minnesota Offers Kids $200 and Scholarship Drawings to Get Fully Vaccinated
Minnesota is offering 12- to 17-year-olds who get COVID-19 vaccines a $200 reward and a shot at $100,000 worth of college scholarships.
Christopher Magan, Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.), October 19, 2021
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2 min read
Image of a mask being held by two hands.
sestovic/E+
Student Well-Being & Movement Ohio Mom Gets Ordained to Sign More Than a Hundred Mask Exemption Forms for Students
An Ohio mom says she cares if someone dies or gets sick, but that forcing kids to wear masks to protect others is "psychological warfare."
Jeremy P. Kelley, Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio), October 19, 2021
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3 min read
Magdalina Estiverne poses for a portrait at her home in Orlando, Fla., on October 2, 2020. Estiverne graduated from high school in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Orlando, Fla., student Magdalena Estiverne poses for a portrait in 2020, four months after her high school graduation.
Eve Edelheit for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Layoffs, COVID, Spotty Internet: A Fla. Student Persists in College
Bouts with COVID-19 were just the latest challenges to face class of 2020 graduate Magdalena Estiverne and her family.
Alex Harwin, October 18, 2021
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2 min read
Diego Cervantes, 16, gets a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the First Baptist Church of Pasadena on May 14, 2021, in Pasadena, Calif.
Diego Cervantes, 16, gets a shot of the Pfizer vaccine at the First Baptist Church of Pasadena last spring in Pasadena, Calif.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
School Climate & Safety Can Districts Legally Mandate Student Vaccines? No, Two New Lawsuits Claim
Two large California districts are being sued over policies requiring vaccinations for schoolchildren by the end of 2021.
Stephen Sawchuk, October 15, 2021
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5 min read
Students line up to enter Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City, N.J. on April 29, 2021. Children are having their noses swabbed or saliva sampled at school to test for the coronavirus. As more children return to school buildings this spring, widely varying approaches have emerged on how and whether to test students and staff members for the virus.
Students line up to enter Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City, N.J. on April 29, 2021. Children are having their noses swabbed or saliva sampled at school to test for the coronavirus. As more children return to school buildings this spring, widely varying approaches have emerged on how and whether to test students and staff members for the virus.
Seth Wenig/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Saliva Test May Predict COVID-19 Severity Among Children, Research Finds
With cases of COVID-19 among children rising, there is an "urgent need" to understand which children are at greatest risk of severe illness.
Sarah Gantz, The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 2021
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2 min read
In this April 1955 file photo, first and second-graders at St. Vibiana's school are inoculated against polio with the Salk vaccine in Los Angeles. Tens of millions of today's older Americans lived through the polio epidemic, their childhood summers dominated by concern about the virus. Some parents banned their kids from public swimming pools and neighborhood playgrounds and avoided large gatherings. Some of those from the polio era are sharing their memories with today's youngsters as a lesson of hope for the battle against COVID-19. Soon after polio vaccines became widely available, U.S. cases and death tolls plummeted to hundreds a year, then dozens in the 1960s, and to U.S. eradication in 1979.
In this April 1955 file photo, 1st and 2nd graders are inoculated against polio with the Salk vaccine in Los Angeles.
AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Schools Helped Defeat Polio and Diphtheria With Vaccine Efforts. Can They Do It With COVID?
Decades of decay in public trust has made it harder for institutions like schools and the medical community to rally support.
Andrew Ujifusa, October 8, 2021
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13 min read
Illustration of medical staff administering coronavirus vaccine
RLT Images/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement COVID Cases Among Children Are Declining. Has the Back-to-School Surge Peaked?
Federal data show COVID-19 cases declining among school-age children as their vaccination rates begin to rise.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 7, 2021
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4 min read
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Nov. 30, 2020. A program announced by Arizona's Republican governor last month to give private school vouchers to students whose parents object to school mask requirements has seen a surge of applications, with twice as many either completed or started than can be funded with the $10 million in federal coronavirus relief cash he earmarked for the program.
A program announced by Arizona's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in September earmarks federal money to give private school vouchers to students whose parents object to public school mask requirements.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
Federal Don't Use Federal COVID Aid to Undermine School Mask Rules, U.S. Treasury Tells Governor
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey violated the intent of COVID aid programs by using them to discourage school mask mandates, an agency letter says.
Evie Blad, October 6, 2021
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2 min read
An employee of a new Lufthansa coronavirus quick test center shows the test devices at the airport in Munich, Germany on Nov. 12, 2020. Lufthansa starts the first test runs for comprehensive Covid-19 antigen rapid tests on selected routes between Munich and Hamburg.
More schools in the United States are using rapid-antigen tests, similar to the one shown in this photo, to minimize the need for home quarantines after staff and students are exposed to COVID-19.
Matthias Schrader/AP
School & District Management 'Test to Stay': New Approach Keeps COVID-Exposed Students in Class
More schools are adopting "test-to-stay" programs to keep students who are close contacts in school and minimize disruption to their learning.
Catherine Gewertz, October 6, 2021
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7 min read
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