School Closures

Empty desks in a dark classrooom
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Student Achievement Longer COVID-Related School Closures Could Hurt Students' Future Earnings
Students who experienced the longest school closures will face lower future earnings and are less likely to go to college, a new study says.
Olivia Rockeman and Nic Querolo, Bloomberg News, October 26, 2021
1 min read
A Brownsville Independent School District bus acts as a WI-FI hotspot for students needing to connect online for distance learning on the first day of class Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in the parking lot of the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville, Texas. The bus is one of 20 hotspots throughout the city to help students have access to their online classes as part of the remote start to the school year due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Several shool buildings in different parts of the country have had to shut down in recent weeks due to a lack of available bus drivers.
Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald via AP
School & District Management Staff Shortages Affect Students, Too. Here's Where Schools Are Shutting Down
A few months into the third academic year in a row disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, at least several dozen school buildings in numerous states have had to shut down due to inadequate staffing.
Mark Lieberman, October 21, 2021
1 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School & District Management Opinion The Consequence of Public-Health Officials Racing to Shutter Schools
Public-health officials' lack of concern for the risks of closing schools may shed light on Americans' reticence to embrace their directives.
Rick Hess, September 20, 2021
5 min read
Image of an empty desk.
Laura Baker/Education Week and kazuma seki/iStock/Getty
School & District Management In Kentucky, 4 Counties Close Schools Over COVID and a New Law Halts Learning for Some
Amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, school leaders are asking state lawmakers for more remote learning days and more flexibility.
Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader, August 26, 2021
4 min read
Yellow school bus parked next to playground and school.
Getty
School & District Management Amid Pressure, S.C. District That Closed Due to a COVID Outbreak to Reopen, Without Masks
The Pickens County School District will reopen after a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases forced schools to close and shift to remote learning.
Lyn Riddle, The State (Columbia, S.C.), August 19, 2021
3 min read
Empty desks in a dark classrooom
Getty
School & District Management S.C. District’s Decision to Go Virtual Following a COVID Outbreak Sparks Angry Protest
At one point parents, including children, rushed the district office's doors and windows holding their signs and shouting, "We want school."
Lyn Riddle, The State (Columbia, S.C.), August 17, 2021
2 min read
A group of school children emerge from a dark tunnel.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images
School & District Management Opinion We Get to Choose What the Pandemic Means to Education
In the past year and a half, hope and heartbreak have lived side-by-side in our schools, writes one superintendent.
Tim O. Mains, August 11, 2021
3 min read
Illustration of teachers working
F. Sheehan/Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion Teachers Were Told to 'Give Grace' as the Pandemic Started. They Did That and Much More
Districts offered little guidance otherwise, writes researcher Lora Bartlett.
Lora Bartlett, July 26, 2021
4 min read
Image shows a courtroom and gavel.
imaginima/E+
Law & Courts California COVID-19 Closures Infringed Private School Parents' Rights, Federal Court Rules
A federal appeals court holds that the state's closure rules for private schools were not narrowly tailored to serve compelling interests.
Mark Walsh, July 26, 2021
4 min read
Collage showing two boys in classroom during pandemic wearing masks with cropped photo of feet and arrows going in different directions.
Collage by Gina Tomko/EducationWeek (Images: Getty)
School Choice & Charters How the Pandemic Helped Fuel the Private School Choice Movement
State lawmakers got a new talking point as they pushed to create and expand programs to send students to private schools.
Evie Blad, July 2, 2021
8 min read
House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., greets Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on June 6, 2018 at the conclusion of a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.'
Rep. Virginia Foxx, the ranking Republican on the House education committee, at a hearing in 2018.<br/>
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal Q&A Why an Influential Member of Congress Wants a National Investigation Into School Closures
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., wants the Biden administration to "put children over unions and science over politics."
Andrew Ujifusa, March 15, 2021
8 min read
Beachgoers take advantage of the sun, sand, and surf as they spend time on Clearwater Beach on March 2, 2021, in Clearwater, Fla., a popular spring break destination, west of Tampa.
Beachgoers spend time on Florida's Clearwater Beach, a popular spring break destination, earlier this month.
Chris O'Meara/AP
School & District Management Avoiding Another COVID-19 Wave: How Schools Are Handling Spring Break Travel
Experts say it’s too early for people to let their guards down this spring break, regardless of their vaccination status.
Madeline Will, March 12, 2021
10 min read
Israel, 5, front, wears a face shield over his mask in a kindergarten classroom, where students are seated at a social distance and a student is tuning in via Zoom on the first day of school at Hillel Academy in Tampa on Wednesday, August 12, 2020. The school's faculty planned a ''Wizard of Oz'' themed welcome to ease students into the new precautions in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Students had their temperatures checked and were asked to wear masks and apply hand sanitizer before entering the school.
Israel, 5, front, wears a face shield over his mask in a kindergarten classroom on the first day of school at Hillel Academy in Tampa.
Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire
Leadership A Note to Readers: Reflecting on a Year of Uncertainty and Grief
School buildings began closing one year ago this week. This is not an anniversary to celebrate, so how should we think about it?
Scott Montgomery, March 6, 2021
3 min read
School & District Management One District's COVID-19 Journey: A Year of Upheaval and Unexpected Insights
The Everett, Wash., school district was among the first in the nation shuttered by the pandemic. Educators and parents share and reflect.
Denisa R. Superville, March 5, 2021
9 min read