School Closures

Key in keyhole on wood door
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Equity & Diversity Race Is a Big Factor in School Closures. What You Need to Know
Districts are more likely to close majority Black schools, researcher says.
Evie Blad & Ileana Najarro, November 28, 2023
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5 min read
A woman and child walk past North Salem High School in Salem, Ore., on March 31, 2020, which, like all schools in Oregon, was closed at the time because of the coronavirus.
A woman and child walk past North Salem A woman and child walk past North Salem High School in Salem, Ore., on March 31, 2020, which, like all schools in Oregon, was closed at the time because of the coronavirus.
Andrew Selsky/AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Nearly Half of Educators Believe Schools Were Closed Too Long During Pandemic
That's according to a poll conducted last month of teachers, administrators, and district leaders.
Caitlynn Peetz, June 20, 2023
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4 min read
Students in a 10th grade English class at Pelham Memorial High School look outside the windows of their classroom on June 7, 2023, in Pelham, NY., as a yellow haze of smoke from wildfires in Canada blanket the area.
Students in a 10th grade English class at Pelham Memorial High School in Pelham, N.Y., look outside the windows of their classroom on June 7, 2023. Intense Canadian wildfires are blanketing the northeastern U.S. in a dystopian haze, forcing schools to decide whether to call off classes or take less drastic measures, like canceling outdoor activities.
Will Zammit-Miller via AP
Student Well-Being Wildfire Haze and Poor Air Quality: Here's How Schools Are Responding
Children are particularly at risk from smoky skies, forcing school leaders to decide whether to cancel school or take less drastic measures.
Caitlynn Peetz, June 8, 2023
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4 min read
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, is sworn in to testify during a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing on COVID-19 school closures, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, is sworn in to testify during a House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee hearing on COVID-19 school closures, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
Federal AFT Head Weingarten Says Her Union Didn’t Conspire With CDC on School Reopening Guidance
Some Republicans allege the union exercised its influence to keep schools closed longer than necessary.
Caitlynn Peetz, April 26, 2023
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7 min read
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Families & the Community Video Faced With the Possibility of School Closure, Parents Sprang Into Action
Due to financial challenges, a Texas district was considering closing several schools. These parents came together in search of a solution.
Lauren Santucci, March 23, 2023
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4:51
Conceptual illustration of a falling BEWARE DROP sign
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School & District Management Opinion School Closures Are Coming. What Not to Do
Student-achievement growth should trump low enrollment and failing buildings in making closure decisions, write two researchers.
Douglas N. Harris & Valentina Martinez-Pabon, November 28, 2022
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3 min read
Ollie Wright, left, watches as CJ Lanahan, center, and Dan Edick work on creating a snow kicker for a rail, enjoying the aftermath of two days of lake-effect snow, at Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, N.Y., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Ollie Wright, left, watches as CJ Lanahan, center, and Dan Edick work on creating a snow kicker for a rail, enjoying the aftermath of two days of lake-effect snow, at Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, N.Y., Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Libby March/The Buffalo News via AP
School & District Management Photos PHOTOS: The Snow Day Lives in Buffalo After a Massive Storm
After a massive storm dumped up to 6 feet of snow in parts of Buffalo, schools closed and students made the most of the storm.
Jaclyn Borowski , November 21, 2022
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1 min read
Empty classroom of desks.
E+/Getty
Student Well-Being Respiratory Illnesses Force Schools to Close, Hurting Attendance Efforts
Support for students returning from illness is critical.
Evie Blad, November 9, 2022
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6 min read
Illustration of weighing funding against schools remaining open
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School Choice & Charters Federal Funding and Charter School Closures: What the Latest Government Data Show
The Government Accountability Office examined closure rates over 15 years and $2.5 billion of federal funding.
Libby Stanford, October 13, 2022
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2 min read
With only open windows and fans to cool the room down, students enter their non-air-conditioned classroom at Campbell High School in Ewa, Hawaii, on Aug. 3, 2015. Most of Hawaii's public schools don't have air conditioning, and record-high temperatures have left teachers and students saying they can't focus because of the heat. Hawaii lawmakers are saying it's time to cool Hawaii's public schools. A proposal being considered by the House Committee of Finance would fund air conditioning for Hawaii Department of Education schools and expedite the process to get cooling systems installed in classrooms.
Only open windows and fans cooled the room as students arrived at Campbell High School in Ewa, Hawaii, in August, 2015. Most of Hawaii's public schools don't have air conditioning, even as research shows that heat can depress student learning.
Marco Garcia/AP
Student Well-Being Explainer The School Year Is Getting Hotter. How Does Heat Affect Student Learning and Well-Being?
Climate change will lead to more hot school days, and experts say schools are not prepared.
Madeline Will, September 26, 2022
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10 min read
A Black man in jeans and a tan, short-sleeve shirt and navy pants holds a cell phone to his ear with one hand while he uses his other hand to drag a large grey trash can filled with water from a nearby tanker truck across a school parking lot.
Santonia Matthews, a custodian at Forest Hill High School in Jackson, Miss., hauls away a trash can filled with water from a tanker in the school's parking lot Wednesday. A recent flood worsened Jackson's longstanding water system problems, forcing schools to switch to remote learning.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
School & District Management Emergency Readiness Lessons From a District's Water Crisis
District leaders in Jackson, Miss., relied on "muscle memory" to get kids back in remote learning when the city's water system failed.
Evie Blad, September 2, 2022
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7 min read
Image of students getting off of a bus.
E+
School & District Management Race Is a Strong Predictor of Which Schools Will Close Permanently, Study Shows
While enrollment and school achievement are the highest predictors of school closure, racial demographics play a big role.
Libby Stanford, May 26, 2022
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4 min read
Children attend a lesson in a school in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has lifted the restrictions on schools in Russia's capital, students of all grades will to return for face-to-face education after months studying remotely.
Children attend a lesson in a school in Moscow last January. Russian schools had relatively shorter periods of academic disruptions than other countries, a new study finds.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
International What the Research Says Schooling in a Pandemic: How Other Countries Are Doing It
A new study highlights how instruction in 11 countries has changed following pandemic closures and outbreaks.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 24, 2022
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3 min read
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Student Well-Being What the Research Says New Research Shows How Bad the Pandemic Has Been for Student Mental Health
Researchers say the road to recovery will be a long one.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 18, 2022
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4 min read
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