School & District Management Photos

Out for Weeks: Schools and Students Amid Coronavirus

By Emma Patti Harris — March 16, 2020 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

An unprecedented number of schools have been ordered to shut down in the midst of fears surrounding the novel coronavirus. Schools have been grappling with big questions around interrupted learning, access to remote learning opportunities, and the negative effects on students, especially those with disabilities or from low-income families.

Many school districts have set up meal services to provide aid to those families either through distribution sites or by bus route delivery. High school sports have either suspended their seasons or games have been played without fans, leaving many seniors in limbo during their final season.

See a collection of photos from around the country that capture some of the disruption these students, schools, and their families are experiencing.

The Scottsbluff section had signs in the seats for their game against Omaha Roncalli during a Class B game of the Nebraska state boys high school basketball tournament at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on March 13, 2020. Crowds were limited to staff and immediate family only due to fears about the coronavirus.
Sara Black, a teacher at Glen Lea Elementary School in Henrico County near Richmond, Va., hugs a student goodbye on Friday, March 13, 2020. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered all schools in Virginia to close for at least two weeks as the coronavirus spreads, a move that follows similar orders in several other states.
Regina Jones, with American Building Maintenance, disinfects a school bus in Vicksburg, Miss., to combat the coronavirus, on Friday, March 13. Students in the Vicksburg Warren school district return from spring break and go to back to classes on Monday.
Parents wait for their children after school was dismissed for an extended closure at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School for Science and Technology in New Orleans, Friday, March 13, 2020. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards closed K-12 public schools across the state for roughly a month and banned gatherings of more than 250 people in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Students wait outside of John Marshall High School in Los Angeles after being let out early following an announcement of a districtwide closure caused by the coronavirus threat Friday, March 13.
A swing sits empty on a playground outside Achievement First charter school in Providence, R.I. The public charter school, like a nearby Catholic school, closed after a teacher who attended the same Italy trip awaited test results for the new coronavirus. But at Achievement First, the two days off were treated like snow days. There were no special assignments, and no expectation that kids keep up their schoolwork.
Servepro employee Joseph Felks cleans chairs and other items at Joyner Elementary School in Tupelo, Miss., on March 11, 2020, as the Tupelo Public School District conducts a cleaning of all its campuses to help combat the spread of the coronavirus while the students are on spring break.
In this photo provided by Anne Marie Canlis, Clementine Canlis, of Seattle, watches an online lecture Thursday, March 12, 2020, after her private school closed for five weeks due to the coronavirus. The Canlis family’s three children, ages 14, 11 and 9, are split between two private schools that are closed for six weeks and five weeks, respectively. Canlis’ husband’s family owns a well-known, award-winning restaurant called Canlis that will close next week and instead open three different options: a bagel shop, a drive-thru burger stand in the restaurant parking lot and a home delivery meal service for cooped up families.
Free groceries are packed for distribution to the elderly at Hope Community Services, Friday, March 13, 2020, in New Rochelle, N.Y. State officials set up a “containment area” in the New York City suburb, where schools and houses of worship are closed within a 1-mile radius of a point near a synagogue where a person with coronavirus had attended events.
Ileana Koons, right, hands Jorge Rodriguez, left, a container of meals to be delivered to students on March 12, 2020 in Bothell, Wash. As schools across the U.S. close their doors to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, some are scrambling to keep meals going for millions of students who need them.
Maria Ochoa and Selvin Jimenez, 10, pick up food at a distribution point in New Rochelle, N.Y., Thursday, March 12, 2020. State officials have set up a “containment area” in the New York City suburb, where schools and houses of worship are closed within a 1-mile radius of a point near a synagogue where a person with coronavirus had attended events.
Custodial staffer Hortensia Salinas uses an Electrostatic Clorox Sprayer to spray disinfectant in a classroom March 11, 2020, at Brownsville Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas. The Brownsville Independent School District made the sprayers available to its campuses as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus.
Pleasant Hill and Hicks High School play the boys’ state championship Class C game in a largely empty Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La., March 13, 2020. Fans were banned from the arena to conform with a state mandate prohibiting large gatherings of people.
The Auburn fan section got creative by placing paper plate faces on the seats during the Class 1C boys high school basketball tournament championship game against Ogallala at Pinnacle Bank Arena, March 14, 2020, in Lincoln, Neb. Crowds were limited to staff and immediate family due to concerns over the coronavirus.
The Scottsbluff section had signs in the seats for their game against Omaha Roncalli during a Class B game of the Nebraska state boys high school basketball tournament at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on March 13, 2020. Crowds were limited to staff and immediate family only due to fears about the coronavirus.

A version of this article first appeared in the Full Frame blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
Better Tools, Not More: What Educators Say About Teaching and Technology
Optimism is up. AI use is rising. Coherence is the next challenge. Hear what the 2026 Educator Confidence Report reveals about the field.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
The Relationship Advantage for Attendance, Engagement, and Achievement
Relationship-building goes beyond back-to-school. Get practical ideas from district leaders and educators to strengthen student connections.
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: Build Campaigns That Engage K-12 Leaders
We’ll share what’s resonating with Education Week’s K-12 audience based on user behavior across platforms and other proprietary data.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Download Fire Drill? Reheated Coffee? You Just Won Principal Bingo!
School leaders, this game is for you.
1 min read
A ghosted bingo card, random shoe, and coffee mug stains in the background with scrapbook-style letters spelling out the word BING and an overhead shot of coffee in a mug that is taking the place of the "O" to spell out BINGO.
Illustration by Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
School & District Management Q&A Principals Are Stressed Out. Here's What's Plaguing Them—and What Can Help
Principal mental health is suffering from ‘work spillage,' a new study finds.
5 min read
Man in suit, collaged with thorny branches in front and behind him.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Canva
School & District Management From Our Research Center What We Know About School Board Members, In Charts
Many school board members are retired and have never worked in education before, survey shows.
1 min read
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21, 2026 : A board meeting at the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 , in Los Angeles, CA. The LAUSD met to discuss a resolution calling for development of a Screen Time Policy setting time limits by grade, including elimination of student digital devices for early education through first-grade, prohibiting device use by elementary and middle school students during passing periods, lunch and recess. The board unanimously voted to approve Board Member Nick Melvoin's Resolution to limit student screen time.
The Los Angeles Unified School District school board meets on April 21, 2026, to discuss whether to develop a policy to limit students' screen time. A new EdWeek Research Center survey shows that many school board members nationwide are retired and have never worked in K-12 education.
Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times
School & District Management The Best Books About Leadership These Educators Have Ever Read. What's Yours?
Critical lessons learned from books (and one TV show) about leadership.
8 min read