On a sunny Tuesday morning, students, parents and community members walked atop the bluffs alongside charred foliage and barren lots, back to Marquez Charter Elementary — almost nine months after the Palisades fire ravaged the school site and surrounding region, sparing only three classrooms in its wake. 

For the remainder of the 2024-25 academic year, and for the initial period of this school year, the entire school shared a campus with Nora Sterry Elementary. Now, the roughly 130 children attending Marquez are the first public school students to return to a campus destroyed by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January. 

Even though students are returning to portable structures, the campus’s reopening marked a larger milestone for survivors of the fires. 

“It’s the first thing that’s back in a very serious way,” said Christopher Baffa, a community member whose children attended Marquez but now go to Palisades Charter High School. “We got excited when CVS opened. 
 It’s these little milestones along the way that really get us further and further from Jan. 7.”

Marquez’s recovery

Baffa and his wife tried to remember the lyrics to Marquez’s school song as they returned to the campus Tuesday morning to witness the progress being made. 

He recalled the words “there’s a school on a hill” — and texted his daughter, a first-year student at Palisades Charter High School, currently  to a former Sears building in Santa Monica, for the rest of the lyrics. Other parents in the crowd embraced as they listened to speakers at Tuesday’s press conference. Some held back tears. 

“Every day since, we’ve been writing new pages and chapters in the story of the Palisades’ recovery. Some days left us filled only with sorrow and loss,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park. “But others captured the strength and resilience that only a community like this can summon. And today, in particular, we’re writing a new page, a brighter one.” 

Marquez’s temporary campus, along with the larger rebuild, will cost the district roughly $202.6 million and is slated to be completed by 2028. The rebuilding of all three campuses damaged or destroyed in the conflagration â€” including Palisades Charter Elementary and Palisades Charter High School — will likely cost around $600 million, and will be made possible by a  that was approved by voters in November. 

The temporary campus is home to 19 classrooms, as well as a kitchen, library and play areas. 

Marquez’s enrollment has declined roughly 58% since the fires — from about 310 to 130. And the Los Angeles Unified School District has estimated that three-quarters of the enrolled students are not currently living in the Palisades. 

“It’s not perfect. But, I think not perfect is the beginning of figuring all this out,” said Baffa, whose children attended Marquez. “[The district] figured out a way to get them into a place where they could socialize and see each other every day and have in-person learning, and let’s celebrate that.” 

Beyond Marquez 

Marquez may have been the first to return — but it will be far from the last. 

The Palisades fire devastated roughly 70% of Palisades Charter Elementary and about 30% of the historic Palisades Charter High School. Meanwhile, the Eaton fire  five district-run schools in the Pasadena Unified School District and three of its charters. 

LAUSD’s decision to reopen Marquez, but not the other campuses, came in part from a parent survey, according to district officials, who also said Los Angeles Unified engaged families in multiple town hall meetings. 

Just over 45% of the 66 parents who responded to an April survey said they wanted to return to a temporary facility in the Palisades as soon as possible; 36.4% wanted to return by August. 

Meanwhile, just over a fifth of parents said they would not stay with Marquez if it remained at the Nora Sterry Elementary school campus. 

But David Levitus, the parent of a TK student at Marquez, said parents’ concerns — ranging from environmental risks to longer commutes for those no longer living in the area — seemed much more widespread; 52.4% of parents who participated in the survey noted that the availability of transportation was a factor in their decision-making, along with the timing of students’ relocating and other personal circumstances. 

“There is [nothing] resembling consensus in moving back right now,” he said. 

Parents of Palisades Charter Elementary students, on the other hand, opted to wait for a full return to permanent buildings, in part because their campus has less space to house both a temporary school and the ongoing construction of permanent buildings. 

District officials also said Marquez Elementary was home to more students whose families were returning to the Palisades and that Palisades Charter Elementary was closer to commercial properties that were further behind in their cleanup and demolition efforts. 

Uncertain future in Pasadena Unified

Pasadena Unified, the hardest hit district in the January blazes, has also installed portable structures at various campuses, including Allendale, McKinley, Don Benito, Audubon and Webster, according to spokesperson Hilda Ramirez Horvath. 

The district still does not have a timeline for any potential rebuilds, she added. Without the support of a construction bond, Pasadena Unified will rely on multiple sources of funding, including its insurance carrier, and will look into additional sources of public funding. 

“Everyone’s just so interested in what’s happened to us 
 and we’re just trying to survive,” said Julianne Reynoso, Pasadena Unified’s assistant superintendent of student wellness and support services. “I mean, we’re just still trying to do the job we’re supposed to do every day.”

Reynoso said, “People are coming to school. They feel connected, and that’s a really great opportunity for us to see the trust that people have, no matter what we’ve been through, that they’re willing to still show up.”

was originally reported by Chabeli Carrazana of . .

Ah, a new school year. Crisp backpacks, gleaming sneakers, pressed uniforms and, of course, the collective rage of parents and teachers over school supply lists. How long they are. What’s on them. And who should foot the bill for pencils and paper, but also Clorox wipes and Kleenex. 

This year, though, those conversations, which typically clog up social media feeds as summer rolls to a close, have a new dimension. At a time when prices are creeping back up and public education is witnessing some of the steepest funding cuts in American history, the school supplies debate is a window into how families and workers are faring. 

“It’s not our job to supply all other students’ school supplies,” one mom on TikTok. “We pay taxes for that. The school should be funded to supply pencils and erasers and construction paper.” The video was then stitched together by another creator who added flashing headlines over the mom’s words: “Trump signs executive order to begin dismantling Education Department, raising questions for students and parents.” 

“I don’t have money to help Sally, John, Lucy,” . “Baby, my money, what I spend on for my kids is just for my kids. We don’t have the money to be trying to help other households
I feel like people who are in a position to help, I’m pretty sure they don’t mind helping, but it’s a lot of us that can only do for our kids.”

Teachers have spent the past couple of weeks countering. A middle school teacher in Memphis has for her response to frustrated parents: “Just so we’re clear, I’m expected to take a bullet for little Johnny and his classmates, but little Johnny’s mother does not see it fit to provide for the community with some Clorox wipes, some tissues, maybe an extra pack of pencils — that’s what we’re going with right now? I have to make the ultimate sacrifice for the community — the school — but little Johnny’s mother does not think that she has to make any sacrifices for the community.” 

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the debate is “exhibit A of the defunding of public schools and as a result the creation of a divisiveness that shouldn’t be there.” 

Of course parents are upset, she said. “They pay taxes, they’re like, ‘Why doesn’t the funding cover it?’” Meanwhile for teachers, the pressure is on them to fill in the gaps. “What other employee is told to basically fund their own job?” Weingarten said.

President Donald Trump has made it a priority to dismantle the Department of Education, a move Republicans as far back as Ronald Reagan have been calling for as part of an effort to remove the federal government from education, leaving curriculum and funding decisions to states and local school districts. 

Already, the Education Department’s role isn’t to dictate what is taught in schools but to dole out financial aid to college students, conduct research on education, enforce anti-discrimination laws and fund Title I K-12 schools in communities with the most need. Cutting the department will have direct consequences on discretionary funding at those Title I schools. How much schools spend on school supplies varies by district, but some . 

Since the start of the year, the Trump administration has at the Education Department. Then in June, it announced it would for the upcoming school year, money that had already been allocated by Congress to go out July 1 for summer and after-school programs, as well as reading and math support and other assistance for migrant students. Then, at the end of July, following significant pressure from numerous groups, the administration reversed its decision and released the funds. 

The political ping-pong forced school districts to take money from their discretionary spending budgets to ensure summer school stayed open. That meant dipping into funding for supplies, Weingarten said. 

Meanwhile, teachers, particularly at Title I schools, are going into the year with less support, facing potentially larger class sizes, limited counseling support for students and other challenges. About of teachers already use their own money to cover school supplies and other classroom needs — and those expenses are only going up. 

“Think about those educators who are taking money out of their own pockets, trying to stretch their own family’s budget, and at the same time how they’re feeling about the reality that their students are coming back to school and the schools have fewer resources,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers’ union. 

It’s an “affordability crisis,” Weingarten added — and that’s what’s playing out on social media. 

Inflation has started to pick back up and Trump’s tariffs of 10 percent or more on nearly all countries went into effect on August 1, raising the cost of everyday goods, particularly electronics and clothing. In July, a key measure that looks at inflation without volatile food and energy costs , indicating companies are starting to pass tariff increases on to consumers. have indicated they will start to raise prices, and economists are warning that larger increases are on the horizon. 

All of it is affecting how parents approach back-to-school shopping this year. 

Data from found that families planned to shrink their back-to-school budgets to an average of about $858 from $874 last year. About half of shoppers were starting their shopping earlier this year, specifically to avoid markups from tariffs. During Amazon’s Prime Day event July 8 to 11, sales of school supplies (backpacks, lunchboxes, binders, calculators and kids’ apparel) were up over last year, according to Adobe Analytics. One U.S. News survey from late July found of parents are concerned about rising back-to-school prices due to tariffs. 

“A lot of these more or less low-cost, mass-produced items are just simply not made in the U.S. so there are necessarily going to be price hikes on things like pencils and crayons and backpacks and things we just don’t make here anymore,” said Alex Jacquez, the chief of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, a left-leaning think tank. “We are not going to move pencil factories back to the United States.”

The debate over school supplies is not all happening in a vacuum, either. passed by Congress will reshape family budgets and require families to put more money into health care and groceries — and away from things like school supplies.

“When all of us are feeling squeezed at the grocery store, at the bank, at day care — it’s no wonder that frustrations are boiling over,” said Sondra Goldschein, the executive director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, in a statement to The 19th. “With school starting in the fall, can you blame teachers and parents — neither of whom should be on the hook for such expensive school supplies — for looking at each other and wondering who can possibly afford another hit to their family’s budget?”

Low-income families, predominantly families of color, will feel the squeeze the most both in their own budgets and cuts to school budgets. for the poorest families and Black workers, who have faced the brunt of cuts to government jobs, including many diversity, equity and inclusion positions, have seen in the past four months. 

Ailen Arreaza, the executive director of ParentsTogether, a national nonprofit that works to engage parents politically, said all of it is leading to a sense of uncertainty and instability among parents as the school year begins. 

This, Arreaza said, is what shouldn’t get lost in the discourse: “What we hear from parents time and time again is that they love their teachers. The issue here is not teachers versus parents. The real problem is the slashing of education budgets and the rising costs.” 

This year, many parents are also recognizing that. Now, alongside the angry videos are dozens others like this one that a mother posted on TikTok at the end of July:

“As a parent of an upcoming third grader, nothing has pissed me off more recently than watching all of these parents have to make videos about these mile-long school lists: five boxes of Kleenex, three bottles of hand sanitizers, two the three-bottle Clorox wipes. Y’all want loose leaf paper, pens, pencils, markers, crayons, construction paper, and then have the nerve to say, ‘Don’t put your kid’s name on none of the supplies,’” . 

“But what really takes my anger over the edge is the fact that you did not ask for nothing for yourself, baby. What do you want? As a teacher that is about to have my children from August to May for seven, eight hours a day you can have whatever you like. I’m [the rapper] T.I. You can have whatever you like.”

Just three days before the start of school, Relinda Nakasone picked up her children’s classroom supply list from Lunalilo Elementary and searched the emptying shelves of Fisher Hawaiʻi for erasers, markers and more. Nakasone had waited until her husband got paid to start in on the list for their two children, but the $200 total price tag would be a financial burden for the family.

Nakasone planned to buy as many items as possible, but said she might have to hold off on some until her husband gets paid again. In particular, she said, the prices of hand sanitizer and paper towels seemed to have increased over last year.

“Whatever we’re short on, then hopefully they can cover,” Nakasone said, adding the school often provides students with supplies their families can’t afford. “If not, then they’re just going to have to wait until dad gets paid again.”

Most of Hawaiʻi’s public elementary schools send supply lists to families near the end of summer, requesting students bring staples like backpacks and pencils on the first day of class. But some parents say the pressure of buying everything on those lists is financially draining, especially when they’re expected to contribute communal supplies, like boxes of tissues or reams of paper, and more specialized items like watercolors and recorders for music class.

HawaiÊ»i schools are not supposed to require students to buy things in exchange for a grade or extra credit, according to a  issued to principals over the summer. But the guidance is vague, schools don’t always communicate this to families and HawaiÊ»i has no policies specifying what principals can and cannot request in supply lists, leaving parents feeling pressured to spend big at start of the year.

While campuses serving low-income families tend to keep their supply requests short or do away with the lists altogether, families may find themselves spending more than $150 on supplies at schools in wealthier communities.

When families can’t afford school supplies, it often falls to teachers or principals to fundraise or use their own money to backfill.

In California, the state constitution and  crack down on lengthy supply requests from districts, specifying that schools must provide a free public education and can’t require families to purchase supplies. The HawaiÊ»i Constitution lacks the same protections for students, and recent state efforts to provide schools with more funds for supplies have fizzled.

“It’s stressful financially and emotionally,” Nakasone said. “But then it’s something that we’ve got to do.”

A Range Of Requests

In his strongly worded June 20 memo to principals prohibiting schools from asking students to purchase items in exchange for grades, Superintendent Keith Hayashi made it clear that doing so is unfair to poorer families: “This action can be construed as unequal treatment of students who cannot otherwise afford to bring in certain items or participate fully in these activities due to a lack of finances,” he wrote.

Yet because the memo stayed silent on requiring families to furnish school supplies, principals have discretion in how to handle their lists, leading to wide variation among schools.

At Kamaile Academy in Waiʻanae, Principal Paul Kepka cut down his school supply list so families don’t have to spend more than $25 this year. Purchasing supplies can be a financial challenge for families, he said, especially if they have more than one child attending the charter school.

The school has received donations of backpacks and pencils, Kepka said, and he set aside money in his budget this year to cover hand soap, paper towels and other sanitary supplies that parents often purchase for classrooms elsewhere. While Kepka wants families to bring in whatever they can afford from the school’s shortened list, his main focus is making sure kids have strong attendance records this year.

“The number one thing I need from families is their support to get their kids to school,” Kepka said.

Miriam Webb, a parent of two students at Lincoln Elementary, said the supply list still feels like an expectation, not a suggestion or donation request from the school. While she doesn’t mind contributing classroom supplies, the price of some items — like a $25 backpack from Walmart — came as a surprise this year.

At Kaʻiulani Elementary, Principal Bebi Davis said she tries to keep her supply list minimal, especially since the school receives donations from local businesses and community organizations to support low-income families. While she wants families to pitch in however they can, Davis said she reminds parents that they don’t need to purchase everything from the list if they can’t afford it.

“If they show up with nothing on the first day of school, we will provide it,” Davis said. 

But supply lists at other schools — often located in more affluent communities — are more extensive. For example, Kāhala Elementary’s  includes nearly 40 items, ranging from a set of 12 oil pastel crayons to two types of Sharpie pens. At Walmart, that list would cost families roughly $190, , which runs school supply requests through retailers such as Target and Amazon to estimate their cost.

Catherine Payne, a former Board of Education chair and longtime principal at Farrington High School, said principals are typically attuned to their communities’ needs and will work with families to provide for their children if supplies are too expensive. But principals could use additional guidance from district or state leaders, she said, particularly about finding alternative ways to purchase supplies and communicating their expectations around supply lists.

A Policy Question

At ʻIlima Intermediate, teacher Sarah Milianta-Laffin estimates that a quarter of her students start the year without all of their supplies. While the school stockpiles folders and pencils to fill the gap, Milianta-Laffin said, she’s also solicited donations or used her own money to purchase supplies to help parents who are struggling financially.

Teachers at low-income schools seem to spend more of their own money on supplies, Milianta-Laffin said, especially if parents aren’t able to donate items or fundraise to cover classroom expenses. A  from 2023 found that HawaiÊ»i educators spent an average of $953 of their own money on school supplies. 

“The need outweighs the supply in terms of what our kids are facing in our public schools,” Milianta-Laffin said.

In recent years, lawmakers have introduced several proposals to  for teachers and families, but most efforts to provide free supplies to students have stalled. 

In 2022, the state set aside roughly $800,000 to fund supplies at 20 low-income schools. The one-year pilot reduced families’ financial burden and improved students’ sense of belonging in schools,  the DOE submitted to the Legislature at the end of the initiative. Two principals reported that families transferred to their school when they heard supplies would be free.

Kepka, whose school participated in the pilot program, said Kamaile Academy used the extra funds to purchase supplies in bulk throughout the year. Having the extra support allowed kids to simply focus on their academics instead of worrying about necessities, he said.

But the pilot never became a permanent program. Rep. Justin WoodsonÌę in 2023 to extend it to 2025, but the bill didn’t pass and was never reintroduced.

Woodson said he’s not sure why lawmakers never reconsidered the pilot, especially since it received such positive reviews from families and the education department. Moving forward, Woodson said he would support providing low-income families with free school supplies, but funding could be difficult as Hawaiʻi faces cuts to its federal dollars.

Even in California, districts’ compliance with the provisions of the education code and the constitution likely varies throughout the state, said Julie Marsh, a professor of education at the University of Southern California. It’s not always clear to parents that supply lists are optional, she said.

The state has cracked down on lengthy supply lists for parents. Last year, a  urged schools to stop sending out the lists, arguing that it violated students’ access to free education protected by the California Constitution and pressured parents into making expensive purchases.

“Having a state policy on the books that says this speaks volumes about what’s important, what we mean by free education,” Marsh said. “There’s a lot of other elements that go into learning, and we want to ensure that all students have equal access.”

In Michigan, the state Supreme Court ruled that schools  to purchase their own supplies, since that state’s constitution also protects students’ access to a free education.

Unlike other states, the  does not specify the right to free public education. While the HawaiÊ»i Board of Education could create a policy similar to California requiring schools to provide free supplies to students, it would be difficult for schools to follow this mandate without extra funding from the Legislature, said Board of Education Chair Roy Takumi.

Schools currently have no extra pot of money to buy supplies for their students, Takumi said, although he supports using state dollars to help low-income families afford supplies.

Milianta-Laffin, the teacher at ʻIlima Intermediate, said it should ultimately fall on the state to provide schools with enough funds to cover supplies, rather than shifting the responsibility to teachers or families.

“It is an economic justice issue,” she said. “You see economic anxiety in the families, you see economic anxiety in the schools.” 

According to a survey of more than 3,000 teachers conducted by AdoptAClassroom.org, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform, teachers received a median classroom school supply budget of $200 last school year – an amount that 93% of the respondents said was not enough to cover their in-class needs.

Many teachers choose to subsidize the remainder of the costs, but it comes at a steep price. Out-of-pocket spending among teachers has increased by 44% since 2015, the survey found, with teachers reporting that they spent an average of $860 of their own money on supplies and other expenses during the 2022-2023 school year.

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“Teachers spend their classroom supply budget fast,” Melissa Hruza, Vice President, Marketing & Development at AdoptAClassroom.org, told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ. “Even though they are willing to provide basic items like food and supplies for their students, their ability to pay for it is decreasing.”

One big reason: teacher pay has failed to keep up with the sky high rate of inflation in recent years. Adjusted for inflation, teachers are making $3,644 less than they did a decade ago, according to the National Education Association.

Communities and parents appear to be recognizing the challenges teachers face. AdoptAClassroom.org said its site has received more donations to teachers for the 2024-2025 back-to-school season than last year.

“Comparing July and August 2024 to the same period in 2023, the number of contributions to educators on AdoptAClassroom.org is currently up 13% from 2023 to 2024 so far this year,” Hruza said. “There’s also been a 9% increase in the number of both new fundraisers and total number of teachers with active campaigns.”

GoFundMe has seen a similar bump. So far this year, more than $12 million has been raised for K-12 education on the crowdfunding platform. In 2023, total funds raised for educators reached over $24 million — a 7% increase from the previous year.

“[P]eople don’t always see the hidden costs that end up on teachers’ hands, like providing additional resources for students who can’t afford small items like pencils,” Shawn An, a first-year earth and environmental science teacher at Julius L. Chambers High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ.

To ensure he and his students were fully prepared for this school year, An launched a GoFundMe campaign called A Classroom for Future Scientists, with a goal to raise $1,000. He ended up receiving $1,045 in donations.

“What this funding created is the opportunity for me to bring the basic necessities into the classroom I need to succeed, like organizers and writing utensils to grade with,” An said. “It’s helped me create a space where I can be efficient and to find resources for students to engage in the work we’re asking them to do.”

Lightening the load

To help teachers afford the supplies they need, GoFundMe launched its own fundraising initiative called the Education Opportunity Fund. Since the fund’s launch in 2020, GoFundMe has raised more than $240,000 and has distributed more than 550 grants to teachers in order to help them afford classroom supplies and other educational resources, Leigh Lehman, GoFundMe director of communications, told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ.

“The grants were an additional step to offer help to educators and lighten their load a bit, and there are still grants available for teachers who are in need,” Lehman said.

Grants of can be put toward common classroom items like school supplies, books and class decorations. Funds can also be used for other educational resources or items like field trips, playground equipment, updated technology and extracurricular activities.

Similar to GoFundMe’s grant initiative, AdoptAClassroom.org provides funding through their Spotlight Fund Grants program. This program targets classroom initiatives that address things like social-emotional wellness, Indigenous language, arts, STEM education and racial equity. Eligible teachers can apply for grants of $750 or more on AdoptAClassroom.org.

“People all around the country want to find ways to help more teachers,” GoFundMe’s Lehman said. “They understand there is a gap in funding and that teachers are incredibly stressed.”

Keeping kids engaged

Hana Syed Khan, a fourth grade teacher in New Jersey’s South River Public Schools district, started her own GoFundMe campaign, A Classroom Built on Kindness, in August to support her efforts to make her classroom “as useful, accessible and hands-on as possible.”

Entering her fifth year of teaching at a new school in a new district, Syed Khan knew she had to be more creative with the amount of classroom space she has, materials needed and the resources available.

Her campaign raised $1,920 in funds, which she used to purchase a spin-the-wheel device, a carpet for reading time, books for the classroom library and the classroom staple Better Than Paper.

“The [kids] want to touch everything, and they should be able to. It’s their room,” Syed Khan told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ.

Through sharing via family group chats, her husband’s LinkedIn account, word-of-mouth and other social media platforms, like and , Syed Khan said she “feels fortunate to have set up the fundraiser and leverage community support for her classroom.”

She plans to keep her fundraiser open to donations so she can continue to afford classroom activities and incentives with hopes to keep students engaged through the year.

“Students in this district suffer from chronic absenteeism, which may stem from lack of transportation, parents’ schedule or a lack of motivation for themselves,” Syed Khan said. “Classroom incentives, like parties at the end of the month, are a really big part of what I want to use the funds for next.”

Drawing from his own school experience, An said he understands that many of his students face challenges outside of the classroom. Bringing smaller tools and supplies like writing utensils and paper to class is not the first thing on their mind.

“That can be a real barrier for students to access what teachers are asking them to do,” An said. “Using the donations to directly address those barriers helps students stay engaged to do their best in the classroom.”

He used a portion of the donations he has raised to purchase a rolling cart that allows for easy access to classroom supplies.

An and Syed Khan hope their efforts inspire other teachers to overcome the fear of asking for help. For Syed Khan, it was difficult to find the right words for the campaign and the video she included to go along with it. She wanted to ensure her classroom needs were as clear as possible to potential donors.

“Trying to figure out what to say to grab people’s attention was the most challenging part,” Syed Khan said.

“It definitely wasn’t easy,” she said. “But when people see someone speaking and explaining what the funds will be used for, it can attract many people because they see a real human.”

An experienced similar doubts about asking for help. He credits his family for providing feedback on his campaign narrative and helping him to frame his message.

“My family and I went through a co-writing process to get the point across that this was me, just as a person, asking a personal favor of people who were available,” An said.

GoFundMe currently hosts webinars for educators and education-related organizations to help them learn how to effectively fundraise. They’ve also updated their with tips for teachers to share their campaign and keep communities engaged.

“Seeing more teachers turn to external sources of funding to help support their students’ needs is definitely eye-opening,” An said. “It highlights the fact that not as much care is funneled into education as I think it should be.”

The shift from summer vacation to going back to school can be tough for children and their families. Beyond adjusting to new routines, the transition requires handling a mix of emotions. While some kids might feel excited about new teachers and classmates, others may experience anxiety, sadness or uncertainty about the upcoming school year.

As Delaware’s families and students prepare for the start of the new school year later this month, many districts are still struggling to fill open positions before the summer ends. 

More than 700 job openings remain unfilled at schools statewide, with an average of 41 openings per district, according to the Delaware Schools Consortium, which tracks openings across the state at all but four districts – the Appoquinimink, Cape Henlopen, Colonial, and Seaford school districts choose to do their own marketing.

The shortages experienced in Delaware schools are a continuation of a post-COVID trend, and it has led some districts to make more drastic changes.

Last year, the Capital School District serving the greater Dover area employed remote teachers to videoconference into some classrooms while a support professional managed students due to workforce shortages. In May, Capital district families were given less than  that schools would shift to an entirely remote learning due to a shortage in teaching and transportation staff.

The Capital School District still has , and its same-school retention rates for teachers dropped by roughly 13 percentage points between the 2022-23 academic year. 

Capital School District did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment on its current needs. It is not alone in the need to bolster workforce levels though.

Brandywine sees the same amount of job openings as previous year

As of Tuesday, the Brandywine School District has 73 total job openings, according to the district’s  page. District spokesman William “Bill” O’Hanlon noted that the number of job openings has been slightly higher than normal since the COVID-19 pandemic and that its 17 vacancies for elementary schools and 15 for its secondary schools are similar to where the district was at this time last year.  

Filling in the hiring gaps in the final weeks of summer is crucial because it’s important to ensure that buildings are well-functioning for its students, O’Hanlon added.

“When you have a school that does not have enough staff members to function adequately for student learning, I think that’s a concern for anybody,” he said. “At the end of the day, we want to make sure that there’s enough staff members in the building who are able to teach students.”

Staff at Brandywine usually speak with the administration before the end of the school year about whether they’ll be returning for the coming school year, which O’Hanlon feels gives the district a “leg up” on the hiring process. The district typically begins planning what its staff will look like for a future school year starting in the spring based on what students’ needs will look like for the following year. 

O’Hanlon also noted the importance of looking at other areas besides educators, like cafeteria aids or custodial workers, who aren’t necessarily included when people think of shortages in education.

“If you don’t have enough cafeteria workers, that might mean longer lunch lines,” he said. “Longer breakfast lines might mean students who are going to be in the cafeteria longer and not in the classroom. If you don’t have enough custodians, again, it’s almost like a domino effect.”

Lake Forest experiences better recruitment year

Lake Forest had  as of Tuesday, which is better than normal, especially in the last five years, according to Human Resources Director Travis Moorman. The district also had a same-school retention rate of 54.8% in 2022 and 52.7% in 2023, according to the . 

The Lake Forest School District also uses the Delaware Schools Consortium as its main resource, but Moorman noted although the consortium system is automated, it requires each district to have its own person to manage it. 

One of the challenges Lake Forest experiences with the consortium site is that their collective bargaining agreement calls for a job to be posted for a specific amount of time.

After a job is posted, Lake Forest primarily relies on word of mouth to recruit and employ many people from the community as it is a smaller district. Like Brandywine, the district also begins planning for future school years starting in the spring. In some cases, Lake Forest is able to start hiring as early as April for the following school year. 

In the past, Moorman has utilized regional job fairs as a way to recruit those who may be early in their careers but has seen an increase in recent graduates wanting to return to their home communities to teach.

“I have found, especially since the pandemic, that a lot of kids in college are more interested in staying home,” he said. “I’ll go to Pittsburgh to a regional job fair there. I’ve gone to Kutztown, gone to Millersville University, of course, we go down here to Salisbury and the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, they usually do a combined job fair. But a lot of the kids, even down there at Salisbury, a lot of them are coming from the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, and a lot of them had plans to go back home.”

Given the difficulties in hiring through job fairs, Lake Forest has worked hard to recruit its staff through word of mouth or different connections. 

“Our principals here in the district work really hard on recruiting people through connections and past work experiences,” Moorman said. “It’s really kind of a group effort. And this year, for the first time since the pandemic started, it’s really paid off.”

Woodbridge’s recruiters are its staff

Like Lake Forest, the Woodbridge School District, a small district serving the greater Bridgeville area, focuses on staff connections to help bring in new recruits.

“I would say our staff currently help us tremendously 
 by just discussing their work environment and how they enjoy it,” said Kelley Kirkland, the assistant superintendent at Woodbridge. “Obviously that piques the interest of other people that may not feel the same from wherever they are currently working.” 

Woodbridge has maintained a steady same-school retention rate for its teachers in recent years, with a rate of 56.6% in 2022 and 55.7% in 2023. The district currently has , with two being at the elementary school level and one at the high school level.

Kirkland said the district is in “pretty good standing” with its amount of job openings, especially with teachers returning on Aug. 19. She credits the district’s standing with having a “really good” hiring season this past spring and summer compared to years past. 

Although Woodbridge is seeing a good recruiting year, Kirkland has experienced the stress from trying to fill jobs in the remaining weeks of summer as she previously served as the principal of the high school. 

“At the end of the day, teaching positions are tied to student performance and students that are reporting to our building, so when we have several teacher openings, it’s extremely stressful to think about how we’re going to welcome students back in several weeks, knowing that we don’t have all the positions filled,” Kirkland said. 

Why the shortages?

During COVID, Delaware schools saw an uptick in teachers retiring that exacerbated workforce needs.

The state also has long faced staff competition for new teachers in the region, where traveling out of state to districts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Maryland is easy. As of the 2022-23 school year, Delaware ranked 16th overall in average annual educator pay at nearly $69,000, according to the  by the National Education Association.

However, neighboring states ranked seventh (N.J.), ninth (Md.) and 11th (Pa.) in average pay, offering $5,000 to $7,000 more than Delaware. Those averages are particularly impacted by first-year teacher salaries where Delaware has lagged behind by even more.

In response, Gov. John Carney has prioritized teacher salary increases, starting a proposed four-year investment this year to push starting teacher salaries in Delaware to a minimum of $60,0000. 

Finally, teacher shortages come at a time when state educators are expressing frustrations within schools too.

The Delaware State Education Association (DSEA), the union that represents state public school teachers, recently conducted a survey with its members to determine the main issues of the teacher shortage. It found that seven out of 10 teachers are dissatisfied with their teaching conditions. 

“One of the concerns that does come up from members frequently is concern about student behavior in classrooms, and what we can do to address that,” said Jon Neubauer, the director of education policy at DSEA. “I think, mostly from the perspective of our members, we want every child in our schools to be successful, so we know that if there are behavioral issues that need to be addressed, addressing them only improves academic outcomes for the students.”

In response, the state recently  a Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force that is examining the state of Delaware schools and what can improve from a behavioral aspect.

New programs aim to help

DSEA has been working at the state level to identify programs, supports and resources to encourage professionals to stay in Delaware’s school.

Select school districts in the state — including Appoquinimink, Brandywine, Caesar Rodney, Cape Henlopen, Capital, Colonial, Indian River, Milford, Seaford and Smyrna, as well as Academia Antonia Alonso Charter School, the Las Americas Aspira Academy and Campus Community Charter School — also have access to the students enrolled in Delaware Technical Community College’s Bachelor of Science in education program. 

Students enrolled in the program participate in a year-long residency program, where they gain professional development with a teacher starting at the beginning of the school year.

“It’s a co-teaching experience through the end of the school year, so they see the ins and outs of a school year, and that’s including report cards, parent conferences, field trips, decorating a classroom in the beginning of the school year, to parties, you name it,” said Jill Austin, the program’s director. “All of the ins and outs of the school year are much more beneficial to a student because and you build that rapport, you get to see the growth, the academic growth and the social, emotional growth of your students from the beginning of the school year to the end.” 

Del Tech has been working with external stakeholders and with school districts to establish a good rapport, and the stakeholders have told the college which schools need the program’s residents, Austin said. She also has districts reaching out and asking for more residents as well.

The college is also implementing a “grow your own” program, which allows them to bring in vetted paraeducators for a three-year obligation to complete their degree in three years and become a “teacher of record” by 202, Austin added.

That is especially true this year. A 2023 back-to-school from Deloitte reports that after 18 months of inflation, parents of K-12 students aren’t planning to spend as much on back-to-school supplies as they did last year, due to inflation and a need to replenish their savings accounts after the pandemic. A from World Remit shows that the cost of school supplies in the United States has increased by over 25% compared with 2022. 

Though inflation is the it has been since March 2021, high prices are still stressing shoppers and increasing their reliance on local and national back-to-school drives. The nonprofit organizations that sponsor those drives, in turn, are struggling to meet the growing demand.

’s back-to-school supplies initiative, called Operation Backpack, has been an integral part of their charity for more than 20 years. around the country provide homeless students with l backpacks filled with essential materials like paper, pencils, notebooks, hand sanitizer and water bottles. They prioritize giving top-of-the-line products directly to children and families, rather than schools or teachers, so students won’t have to show up empty-handed on the first day, making them a possible target of bullying or harassment.

Jatrice Gaiter, vice president of external affairs, said the need is increasing.

“There is a paradox here in that the people that need our services, that number is growing substantially,” Gaiter said. “At the same time, the people and the money that we as nonprofits have to provide them are shrinking, because of inflation. It’s just that everything is so much more expensive this year. And making sure that we have enough for people with multiple children, that’s a big issue. These programs often act like everybody has one child. There are people that have three and five and six kids, and we want to make sure that every single child in a family has a backpack.”

The stress is being felt at the local level as well. a nonprofit organization that offers athletic and academic afterschool programs, has been hosting back-to-school supply drives for low-income families for years. This month, the organization had its biggest turnout yet, giving out over 500 backpacks filled with supplies like paper, crayons, notebooks and pencil holders. The event also offered free food, haircuts, health vendors educating community members on health crises in the area and two $250 scholarships donated by local restaurants. 

“The need always increases, because although the state of Florida has a tax-free weekend, which this year had been extended to a month long, on the flip side of that, the cost of living is rising, employers aren’t giving raises,” Shaun Hartsfield, founder and president of HYPE Pensacola said.

Hartsfield said the record-breaking event couldn’t have succeeded without help from other local organizations.

“People’s wages at their job isn’t going up, but the cost of living is going up, so although there’s tax-free, parents still can’t afford them,” he said. “Everybody has to have electricity, so that’s always going to be their priority. With just the cost of living being high, there’s always going to be an increase every year in people needing the assistance that we provide.”

Back-to-school shopping also drains many teachers’ wallets as they use their own money to buy classroom supplies. On average, public school teachers spend nearly $500 without being reimbursed, according to from the National Center for Education Statistics. 

is a nonprofit organization that supports teachers and students in Title I schools where at least half the students are enrolled in the National School Lunch Program. In 2022, the foundation gave more than in free school supplies and classroom resources. But like Gaiter, Michaela Becker, the foundation’s senior director of national network, said inflation is making it harder to help those in need. The organization relies heavily on grants and funding, so when families and foundations have less to donate, the foundation has less to give.

“Costs have gone up for everyone,” Becker said, including for suppliers that contribute to the foundation. Bic, one of its top donors, has seen a rise in the cost to manufacture its products, leaving them with fewer pens to give away.

One of the organization’s biggest initiatives is the Teacher Resource Center in Roseville, Minnesota, where educators can fill up carts with classroom supplies for free. There is also a Supply a Student program, where $25 donations equate to one backpack full of necessities, and a Supply a Teacher program, where teachers receive two boxes of supplies — enough to last a class of 24 students for a semester.

Becker said organizations like theirs are crucial in times of inflation, but the need never stops.

The television host entered the set the way he always did: He changed his shoes, zipped his sweater and spoke directly into the camera. “I’ve just come from the neighborhood school,” he told his TV neighbors. “I’m trying to learn the Greek language, and I have a really splendid teacher.”

On a legal pad, he carefully wrote ČčȔå±è±đ, his favorite Greek term for unconditional love. “There are so many ways — so many ways — of learning things,” he said. “And do you know what the best way is? To have somebody you love help you.”

For Fred Rogers, ČčȔå±è±đ seemed a natural way to start . The whole premise of his program — the very blueprint from which he’d built Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood — was that learning and love are linked. Close, caring relationships, Rogers believed, could accelerate learning, catalyze healing and provide a foundation for children’s success.

Thirty years later, science is proving him right. In fact, amid a lingering pandemic, the still-unfolding horror of Uvalde and skyrocketing rates of and , ČčȔå±è±đ may be more essential in the coming school year than it was when the program aired.

For example: A study calculated “positive childhood experience” scores for more than 6,000 adults, based largely on participants’ relationships. As children, had they felt free to fully express their feelings? Had they felt a sense of belonging at school? Had caring grownups taken a genuine interest in them? The more participants answered “yes,” the more they flourished as adults — even if they’d also experienced trauma.

Another study suggests that even minor efforts can make a major difference. In 2018, that when teachers greeted middle schoolers at the classroom door, student engagement surged by 20% while disruptions dropped by 9%. A simple show of ČčȔå±è±đ had added, in effect, an extra hour of learning to the school day.

Young people themselves now rank close, caring relationships at the top of their list of needs. In a recent report by — a Pittsburgh-based network of in- and out-of-school educators that one of us co-chairs and the other has covered as a reporter — researchers asked students a simple question: How can adults best support you in the school years to come?

The , from safer classrooms to more mental health support to better school food. But what they wanted more than anything was ČčȔå±è±đ: to know the adults at their school would accept them just the way they are. “The best teachers,” said one student, “have promised to be proud of me, even if I mess up.”

The assertion might cause some readers to bristle — proof, in their view, that the feelings of students have trumped more important matters like learning to read and write. (Rogers drew similar criticism throughout his career and.) 

But contrary to well-worn concerns about participation trophies, ČčȔå±è±đ doesn’t mean kids want to be told they’re perfect. It doesn’t mean they want adults to lower the bar. It means only that they want adults to see them — regardless of their achievements or aptitudes or appearance — as human beings worthy of care. They want to feel, as Rogers assured them, that their full, flawed, complicated selves warrant inclusion in the neighborhood. 

That feeling doesn’t replace great learning — it enables great learning.

With that in mind, we humbly offer a Rogers-inspired resolution at the start of another school year: Consider, in all the places where young people learn, how adults might nurture ČčȔå±è±đ for students and those who care for them.

For example, what if every student had an individualized education plan, one informed by and responsive to their interests, needs and dreams? That’s what’s happening in the , not far from Rogers’ real-life neighborhood of Pittsburgh. “Why not ask the kids, ‘What are you interested in?’ and then design their learning experiences around that?” asks Laura Jacob, the district’s superintendent. It’s not easy, she admits, “But my gosh, it’s been so rewarding.”

What if all students had trusted mentors and trained counselors to whom they could turn — and ? What if state legislatures changed the conditions that leave ? And what if politicians, rather than , gave educators the time and tools to earn parents’ trust, whether through or ? 

As a nation, we might be surprised what ČčȔå±è±đ can do.

“You’ll find the people who love you best are the ones you learn the most from,” Rogers said in the Neighborhood. “And the more they teach you, and the more you learn, the better feeling you have about yourself and the world we live in!”

Here’s to more of that much-needed feeling in the school year to come — for students and for every splendid teacher.

Each weekday, more than half of the K-12 students in the U.S. – – ride a school bus. Until very recently, nearly all of these ran on diesel fuel.

Nationwide, diesel-powered school buses produce of carbon dioxide emissions. They also generate that are harmful to children’s health – especially . Studies show that exposure to diesel tailpipe emissions and can lead to increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits.

Shifting to cleaner buses is especially important for low-income students. Across the U.S., ride the school bus, compared with 45% of other students. School buses often while they are loading or unloading, which exposes children directly to exhaust fumes.

I study issues at the intersection of , including sustainability and equity in transportation. While electrifying school bus fleets requires big investments, I believe the evidence makes clear that it will more than pay off over the long term in health and economic benefits, and I am encouraged to see public and private investments moving in that direction.

Early movers

Decisions about switching from diesel to electric school buses typically lie with cities and school districts, although state governments are getting involved. As of , 415 school districts or contracted fleet operators had committed to deploy 12,275 electric school buses in a wide range of settings, from large cities to rural counties, across 38 states and lands of two Native American tribes.

California, a in clean vehicle policy, acquired its first electric school buses in 2014. Now the state is spending nearly US$70 million to to advance its climate and air-quality goals.

Another notable case is Montgomery County, the largest school district in Maryland, which is and building five charging depots. The district serves a diverse population of .

In Virginia, the utility company Dominion Energy that it would provide 50 electric buses for 16 school districts across the state as one of its initiatives to reduce pollution and promote sustainability. Dominion is paying for infrastructure costs and absorbing the cost difference between a diesel and an electric bus.

The biggest obstacles: Funding and space

As Dominion’s gesture suggests, converting bus fleets isn’t an easy step for many school districts. An electric school bus , of a diesel bus.

But electric buses have , so they save districts an estimated $4,000 to $11,000 per bus per year compared with diesel versions. That can make the costs of electric buses comparable over their lifetimes.

Electric bus motors have about 20 parts, compared with 2,000 in a diesel engine, and require far fewer maintenance steps such as regular fluid changes. And because many of their mechanical systems, such as braking and steering, are similar to those in diesel buses, electric buses are relatively easy to service, especially in districts where both bus types operate.

Charging stations also require money and space, especially in areas where bus routes are long and battery range is a constraint. Most buses now on the market have ranges of about to (160-190 kilometers) on a single charge.

In a 2013 study, analysts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reviewed school bus drive cycles in Colorado, New York and Washington and found that the average school bus was typically in operation for . Driving distance averaged about 32 miles, (50 kilometers), with some buses traveling over 127 miles (200 kilomaters) daily.

School districts need places to charge buses easily and efficiently, especially between morning and afternoon routes. Building this infrastructure, especially as diesel buses continue to operate concurrently with growing electric fleets, can pose a challenge in school districts where .

Buses as power sources

At the same time, charging infrastructure can make school bus fueling and management more efficient. Today’s allows districts to plug in a bus whenever it is parked at the depot but have the bus charge only when needed. Chargers can be programmed to function at times of day when energy demand is lowest and power is less expensive.

Manufacturers are introducing buses equipped with that can send stored electricity back to the grid when they are not in service. During summer months, when many school buses are not in use and power usage often peaks, utilities soon may be able to call on school districts to make charged buses available to help ease demand load. These buses can also during power outages and emergencies.

In a 2022 study, researchers at the University of North Carolina analyzed how the state’s utilities could use school buses with vehicle-to-grid charging to manage peak power demand while taking the buses’ schedules into account. They estimated that a fleet of 14,000 buses could on an average winter weekend day in North Carolina, reducing utilities’ dependence on natural gas and avoiding up to 1,130 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per day.

Cleaner air is likely to pay off in improved student performance. In a , researchers found that 2,656 diesel buses in Georgia – adding new components to reduce the buses’ emissions – was associated with positive effects on students’ respiratory health, and that districts with retrofitted diesel buses experienced test score gains in English and math. Since even modernized diesel vehicles still generate air pollutants, shifting to electric buses would likely produce even larger increases.

Spreading the benefits

Federal and state agencies are moving to speed up the transition to electric school buses. The American Rescue Plan, enacted in 2021 to provide economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, included for school districts in underserved communities, Tribal schools and private fleets serving schools that purchase electric buses.

In March 2022 the Environmental Protection Agency for 23 electric school bus replacement programs and associated charging infrastructure in 11 states. And New York state’s includes a nation-leading requirement that all new school bus purchases must be electric starting in July 2027, and that all school buses in service must be zero-emission by 2035. The budget allocates $500 million in potential state funding for school bus electrification as part of a larger environmental bond act, which will be on the ballot in November 2022.

Riding the iconic yellow school bus is a formative experience for millions of kids across the U.S. If more districts make the shift away from diesel, I believe it will become a greener and healthier trip and a step toward the zero-emissions future our nation’s children deserve.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The second grader, who lives with her mother, father and two older siblings in Tacoma, Washington, was excited to return to class, though she was worried about having a new teacher. 

“Back home,” in Ukraine, her mother, Anastasiia explained, “elementary students have the same teacher from first through fourth grade.”

But Virsaviia’s fears melted after just a few hours.

“I like my new teacher,” said the little girl, sitting in the family car as her father drove her and her sister to Elmhurst Elementary on the second day of school last week. “I liked my class and my new friends.” 

Virsaviia’s brother, Illia, 11, felt the same: The sixth grader, who moved up to middle school this year, was thrilled to have Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking students in his English language classes. And middle sister Yeva, 9, was elated to have the same 5th-grade teacher this year as her big brother did for the few months the siblings were in school last year. Not only did Illia speak highly of her, Yeva got to meet her during a spring parent-teacher conference. 

“She was excited to see her (again),” her mother said. 

But underneath the joy that accompanies the start of the new school year is a painful uncertainty about the future. Virsaviia’s parents worry daily about their immigration status, their ability to work and about the family they left behind.Ìę

They and others with strong ties to Ukraine wonder when and how the invasion, now in its seventh month, will end. 

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ has been keeping pace with expats since last winter and with Virsaviia’s family since meeting them at a refugee camp in Tijuana, Mexico in April: They were among more than who fled the country since the invasion began Feb. 24. 

Another 7 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and are living in areas prone to conflict, unable to leave because of security risks, battered infrastructure and a lack of money and information about how and where to head for safety, according to the United Nations.  

More than had been killed by early August and more than 7,400 others have been injured, the UN reported. 

The Zaporizhzhia power plant, located inside a city that has become , is currently being monitored by while Ukraine’s armed forces, bolstered by volunteers, held by the Russian military. 

Marta Hulievska, a rising sophomore at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, has been worried about the power plant ever since war began: It’s located in her hometown. 

The history major is anxious about her parents’ recent decision to reunite there after months spent apart. Married for 21 years, they were eager to live together again.  

“Sirens go off every hour,” she told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ earlier this summer. “My dad ignores them: If you would go to the bomb shelter every time the alarms go off, you would not be able to function.”

Hulievska, who spent her summer in New York City working as an intern at a human-rights focused organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie, worries whether her father, a 57-year-old attorney, will be called up to war. 

“So far, he has not gotten any documentation about it,” his daughter said, speaking of the draft. “But it happens kind of randomly. It’s always in the back of our minds.”

And her parents’ financial situation is dire. The Ukrainian by the end of the year. Hulievska has been sending them money for several months. 

She isn’t sure when she will see them again, though she does plan to participate in a three-week study abroad program in Berlin in December. Hulievska hopes her mother and sisters, who are free to travel outside Ukraine, will join her. If they make the trip, it will be their first visit since she left for college. 

Wartime restrictions mean her father will not attend. Men in his age group are prohibited from leaving the country. And no one knows when — or how — the invasion will conclude. 

Her parents remain divided on the topic.  

“My mom feels it will end soon, which helps her to not panic,” Hulievska said. “But my dad is pessimistic. Whenever I talk to him about coming back to Ukraine, he thinks I might not be able (to).”

Yana Lysenko, a graduate student at New York University, wasn’t willing to wait any longer. Her boyfriend lives in Odesa, which is partly why she headed back to the country in late August. She was so worried about alerting her parents to her plan that she told them only after she bought her plane ticket. It took two days to enter the beleaguered country. 

“It was an exhausting trip,” she said in an Aug. 26 email from Ukraine. “I flew to Warsaw and then Moldova Saturday-Sunday, rested in Moldova overnight and then crossed the border via bus to Odesa on Monday night. Things are much calmer here currently than I expected. I’ve heard a few sirens over the past few days, but no attacks from what I know on the city itself.” 

Lysenko, working toward a Ph.D. in comparative literature and Slavic studies, longs to volunteer. 

“I’ve done a bit of inquiring and there are a lot of different opportunities, although I’m really leaning toward those that help prepare meals for people in need within the city, as well as those that help the elderly,” she wrote. “People are really struggling. Prices are very high for food and basic necessities right now, so I’d like to help the most vulnerable groups in that way.”

But vulnerability isn’t confined to those who remain in-country. Anastasiia Puzhalina and her family, who’ve been living in Tacoma for the past four months, have relied on the goodness of strangers as they navigate life in the United States. 

They currently live rent-free with an elderly man whom they met through their church. A recent widower who lost his wife to COVID, he enjoys their company. 

“He is an amazing man,” Puzhalina said. “His grandkids are almost the same age as our children, so this is such a great blessing for our family.”

He pledged to help them until they can live on their own but it’s a difficult position: Puzhalina’s husband worked for years at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and she sold clothing online. They’ve always supported themselves. 

They’ve applied for Temporary Protected Status and employment authorization but neither has come through yet. Right now, they’re surviving on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANIF. 

The uncertainty makes it difficult to plan for the future: Puzhalina has no idea where they might be in a year.

“It depends on what status we will have,” she told The74. “I am praying for the end of war, but I can’t see the end yet. If the war does end, I think our Temporary Protected Status won’t be extended and we will have to leave. I don’t think we have any path to legalization. I think we will use this time as much as possible to help our family in Ukraine.”

Puzhalina’s parents still live in Chernihiv. Her father is not allowed to flee and her mother wouldn’t go without him.

Their daughter’s concern extends well beyond their physical safety. 

“It’s not just about the danger of being hit by a missile, but about inflation, the lack of work, the price for groceries, of fuel, for everything,” she said. “It is a really bad situation in Ukraine.”

Despite these fears, the family’s stay in America has been marked by many bright spots — particularly for the children, who spent the summer swimming in a backyard pool, visiting a local rock-climbing center and camping. 

Illia, who months earlier in Tijuana expressed worry about making new friends in America, has since forged a strong bond with a boy at school. The relationship has greatly improved his ability to speak English. 

And the children aren’t the only students in the family. Their mother has spent the past few months learning to drive. 

She’s already passed her written exam and will soon sign up for the road test. 

“It’s very challenging,” she said, “I never had to do it in Ukraine: We lived in a 100% walkable place. The big test, I’ll take it when I will feel more confident. I had never been behind the wheel before.”

Will things be different this fall? So far, it looks to be the case.

Schools have been opening up across the country with relatively low fanfare in the first three weeks of August. Our regular review of 100 large and urban districts finds that all those that have started classes are in-person. None have reported closures due to COVID outbreaks. It appears that perhaps students are settling into something like the old sense of normal.

However, this is not a normal year. It follows a school year of multiple unanticipated virus surges, ongoing changes to health and safety policies, and dramatic reports of chronic absenteeism and staffing shortages. 

While students and families are eagerly anticipating a simpler start to this year, it’s not clear that they are receiving adequate information about what to expect should another deadly variant arise.

Our review finds that just 55 have shared updated handbooks or websites that outline health and safety policies for the 2022-23 school year. Of those that have published information, it’s clear that districts are jettisoning many of the protective measures that they endorsed just months ago.

As of the third week of August, just one district in our review has a mask requirement in place. In Louisville, Kentucky, has kept a mask requirement in place, dependent on the community infection rates. Masking is required for students and staff until the county is no longer in the red (high) level. The district updates its masking status at the end of each week on its website. 

In Pennsylvania, has adopted a similar approach, linking its mask policy to community COVID levels. At the time we recorded our data, the district’s community infection level was “medium,” which allowed individuals to remove masks while participating in performances so long as they take weekly COVID tests . The infection rate has since risen to “high,” meaning that, like Jefferson, Pittsburgh now requires everyone to wear a mask in schools.

All other districts in our review have removed ongoing mask requirements. A small number —  four — do mandate them for specific circumstances.

In Nevada’s and the, staff or students returning to school after a confirmed positive COVID diagnosis must wear a mask. Individuals in Clark County who have been exposed to the virus are required to mask up as well. In Virginia, requires masks but allows parents to opt out on behalf of their children, and South Dakota’s will require students showing symptoms of the virus to move to an isolated area of the school building until they can be picked up and taken home. While they wait, anyone who comes in contact with them is expected to wear a mask. 

Fewer districts are also requiring vaccinations this school year, with 10 maintaining strict policies for their staff — just a third of the number that mandated staff vaccinations just six months ago. 

All the districts requiring vaccinations in 2022-23 had a mandate in place the previous school year. Most, like and the, are continuing their policies from last year. Others, like Maryland’s, have shifted their rules over time. 

Montgomery County alternated between requiring vaccines for all staff and allowing regular testing in lieu of vaccination last fall, and landed on a policy that allowed employees to opt out and undergo weekly testing. This fall, it is opening the school year with tighter language that states: “MCPS currently requires staff to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination or documentation of a medical exemption.” Employees who request an exemption must undergo regular testing.

does not require employee vaccinations, but all staff must undergo weekly testing. It is the only district in our review that has adopted this strategy.

Just two districts in our review require COVID vaccinations for students. mandates them for students 12 and older, and requires students to be vaccinated if they participate in high-risk extracurricular activities or sports. Several California districts scaled back student vaccine mandates planned for July 2022 after the state. 

No district has a policy in place requiring testing for all students. 

Signs in these first weeks of the academic year look positive that schools are moving toward the most “normal” start to a year since the virus took the country by surprise in early 2020. 

As paint an increasingly grim picture about the toll the pandemic, school closures and continuing operational uncertainty in schools took on learning, attendance and staff morale, this is welcome news. CRPE will release a comprehensive “State of the Student” report in September, compiling more data on student learning and well-being since the pandemic’s start and highlighting potential solutions for the road ahead.

While masks, testing and vaccines remain important strategies for containing the virus’ spread, district leaders appear to be giving them less priority than last year. This suggests they recognize that the public has grown more tolerant of COVID and less willing to accept measures designed to stop its spread. In other words, district leaders appear to be calculating that the political and logistical costs of keeping last year’s safety measures in place do not outweigh the value of a normal year with fewer disruptions.

That does not mean districts can afford simply to return to pre-pandemic ways of doing business. Families, staff, and students need continued clear communication about what to expect as schools return to traditional schedules and expectations, and they deserve to know what to expect if rising viral caseloads or other unanticipated events threaten the stability of yet another school year.  

This year presents an opportunity for public school systems to regain families’ trust. Some districts are taking this to heart, sharing clear and careful plans for the future. Sadly, others have already fallen silent.

But what graphic novels should your kids pick up when they’re ready to graduate from Dog Man (or perhaps aren’t even yet at that reading level?). The choices are dizzying, and without any recognizable characters from your own childhood to serve as a guide, it can be hard to know where to start. That’s where we come in. During the pandemic, my then-6-year-old son and I found ourselves reading tons of kids’ graphic novels together, and we set up a little table outside a local playground to sell selected volumes to neighborhood families under the name We later launched a , sending out picks for the best kids’ graphic novel of the month along with a zine that we publish to kids across the U.S., and last October, we opened a in Brooklyn.

Our entire selection is carefully curated. We break it down into categories such as Funny Ha Ha, Life on Planet Earth, Early Readers, Superheroes, True Stories, Adventure & Mystery, Fantasy and Gamer Comics. To serve customers beyond New York, we have a , an alternative to Amazon that supports independent bookstores across the country. 

Since we love making both lists and recommendations, we’ve put together some for your favorite young readers in grades K through 5:

Kindergarten

by Mika Song

The newest book in Mika Song’s Norma and Belly series is a total delight. Virtually every panel of her playful watercolor and ink drawings will bring a smile to your face, and the writing is perfect for early readers.

First Grade

by Dan & Jason

A spirited and comedic sword-and-sandal adventure featuring a precocious girl named Barb and a yeti named porkchop. Like action? Like fantasy? Like laughing? You’ll love Barb. Created by the fertile minds of Dan & Jason (Blue, Barry and Pancakes).

Second Grade

by Aoife Dooley

This kinda-sorta-but-not-really autobio comic by Irish comedian Aoife Dooley, who has autism, is wildly entertaining and incredibly illuminating about what it’s like to be a kid who doesn’t know they’re on the spectrum. It’s a fresh and welcome take on the “graphic novel about a kid who doesn’t fit in” genre, that is both sincere and funny as all get-out.

Third Grade

by Liam Walsh

If we told you this is an incredible sci-fi adventure set against the backdrop of 1950s America and the polio epidemic, you might think that sounds a bit too 
 heady. So instead, we’ll describe it as Tintin meets The Iron Giant. New Yorker cartoonist Liam Walsh brings his A game to this book, using lively visual storytelling to breathe life into a compelling cast of characters. 

Fourth Grade

by Max De Radegues

The first graphic novel for young readers from Belgian cartoonist Max De RadeguĂ©s is a perilous adventure full of mystery and youthful derring-do. Twin siblings Stig & Tilde are set to participate in a local tradition whereby 14-year-olds have to survive on an island together for a full year — but an accident leaves them stranded on the wrong island. A page-turning survival story ensues. 

Fifth Grade

by Paul Pope

Perhaps one of the best graphic novels ever made for young readers is this 2013 hidden gem by acclaimed artist Paul Pope. If you like a good boy-versus-monsters tale and are ready to have your eyeballs explode, try this. 

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If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is that we never know what will happen next. Thankfully, we have had a year to glean what might work to keep children physically and mentally healthy in this new, new normal. After a summer that felt like a break from pandemic living, it may be time to recommit to strategies that keep children healthy and keep schools open. The following are five recommendations for children under 12.

First, continue to do what we already know works—vaccinate family members who are eligible, wear masks in indoor spaces and when in close proximity to others, maintain physical distance, practice regular handwashing, and stay home when sick. Find a mask or two that fits your child well and purchase backups so that they can switch throughout the school day (see guidance and ). Keep in mind, the mask that is most effective is the mask your child will wear.

Help children to recognize when they may need a mask break (i.e., playing with their mask, repeatedly pulling it down) and teach them to ask their teacher for one just as they might ask to go to the bathroom.

If you do not already, model mask wearing, hand hygiene, and distancing for children and talk about them in a way that does not imply that they are annoying or ineffective. Make these things fun by playing games, singing songs, or making up to remember them and to avoid making them stressful or anxiety-provoking. Similarly, share positive messages with your children about how taking these steps helps them and others in their community, especially those who are more vulnerable.

Second, take the time to familiarize yourself with your school’s procedures for health screening, testing, quarantining, and case reporting. Make the completion of the health screener part of your daily routine. At-home temperature checks can also be an effective means of early detection. Reacquaint yourself with the of COVID-19 and call your family’s pediatrician if your children are experiencing any of them.

Third, in the context of optimizing immune support for your children and family, it is important to examine your child’s diet to make sure they are getting the right nutrients. Recent studies have explored a possible link between vitamin D deficiency and risk for COVID-19, however, it is important to know there is no research suggesting that taking extra vitamin D would be helpful to those with sufficient levels. Most kids can get the right amount of vitamin D from 10-15 minutes of sun exposure a few times per week. During the winter months, or when children do not spend much time outdoors, vitamin D needs to come from food sources (e.g., whole milk, eggs, yogurt, fish, fortified cereal, mushrooms) or supplements. Different amounts of vitamin D are recommended based on a child’s age, therefore, if you are concerned that your child is not receiving enough vitamin D, ask your pediatrician if a supplement is recommended.

Fourth, have a plan for testing in case your child is a close contact of another individual with COVID-19 or she/he begins to exhibit symptoms consistent with the virus. Understand local quarantine recommendations and know what your local school, day care, or workplace requires with respect to the type of test (i.e.,  in order to return to work and school. Become familiar with your local testing options and how long it takes to get results in the event that you need proof of a negative test.

Fifth, think twice about where you take your children until the Delta surge has subsided. Avoid unnecessary trips to crowded indoor places whenever possible and shift activities outside as much as you can.

Unfortunately, even with extensive planning and preparation, there is still the possibility that even vaccinated family members can contract COVID-19. Have a plan ready for where each family member might be able to isolate if they can do so safely. When this happens, talk to your doctor and reach out to your support network for help with food and supplies.

Finally, be conscious of how you talk to children about the virus. Empower them to keep themselves and others safe without overwhelming them. Be calm and reassuring. Allow children to share their fears and acknowledge that those feelings are normal. Let them know that the more precautions we take, the safer we will be.

“This moment is what we’ve all been working for,” Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter said during an opening press ceremony at P.S. 25, a bilingual elementary school in the Bronx.

She implored families to get vaccinated so that children could safely learn throughout the pandemic and be “in the places where they’re loved by their principals, superintendents, teachers and parents — and the whole school community is wrapped around them.”

Porter was later joined by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona for a meet-and-greet with students and classroom visits at P.S. 121 Throop in the Bronx. Cardona, along with educators from across the country, was in New York this morning to host a “Coronavirus and the Classroom” town hall on the Today Show.

Thanks, for joining us at PS 121 for ! We are excited to welcome students back to school communities where they can learn and grow socially, emotionally, and academically.

— Chancellor Meisha Porter (@DOEChancellor)

One P.S. 25 parent wished she had been made aware that her child’s school would be the first stop on the DOE’s tour, feeling confronted by a swarm of press just after a night shift. Chancellor Porter and the DOE’s team went on to welcome students throughout the city’s five boroughs, including visits to a school vaccination site and soccer practice at two Queens high schools Monday afternoon.

In late August, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced all participating in “high-risk” sports are required to get one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by their first competition. Though there are not yet COVID-19 vaccine mandates for any other student group, all NYC school employees are required to get at least a first dose by Sept. 27 — staff cannot opt into weekly testing as an alternative, making it one of the country’s strictest vaccine mandates.

Last week, an arbitrator ruled that members of the with certain medical or religious exemptions must be offered non-classroom assignments while other UFT staff who refuse vaccination can either resign by Nov. 30 or be placed on unpaid leave through September 2022. The union represents most of the city’s 73,000-plus educators and other school personnel.

As the Delta variant surges, the city estimates that just about two thirds of New York youth over 12 are vaccinated. As a part of the DOE’s efforts to monitor and prioritize student safety, a mandatory must be completed daily by anyone entering school buildings.

The site temporarily this morning, likely due to surges in traffic across the city. Some schools turned to paper surveys to try and get students inside more quickly and alleviate crowded sidewalks, but parents and others were frustrated by the tech failure.

It’s the first day of school and I’m seeing first-hand from parents that the health questionnaire app is down! Luckily paper health screenings are being provided but this is going to add another burden to parents and students on an already fraught day.

— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer)

And though Mayor de Blasio dubbed today’s return “joyous” during the press gathering at P.S. 25, for some parents, it was anything but. Discouraged by the in-person only model, loosened guidelines and vaccine ineligibility for children under 12, NYC parents threatened to strike and others have opted for alternative schools where virtual learning is still an option.

Fourth-grader Catherine Camila Estefens was one of P.S. 25’s earliest arrivals, patiently waiting for her classmates to find their line and join her along the school’s fence. A student at the bilingual school since pre-K, she is not among the thousands still seeking virtual instruction.

Estefens said she hated feeling isolated and is particularly excited to get back to in-person math.

“I’m happy because we don’t have to be in the house [any] more. I have no siblings, so I’m mostly alone,” she said.

Her peers huddled together in the schoolyard, hugging their teachers for the first time in over a year and a half. Some cried, having to face a school day without their family or at the reality of finally reuniting with friends. Here are some moments from their historic return:

All photos by Marianna McMurdock for ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ. 

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: What was the atmosphere like in the community during the peaks of anti-Asian hate and COVID-19?

Alice Hom: During the pandemic, our school had 30 percent of our students in person, so about 70 percent were remote, full time, the whole year. And a lot of that, I believe, did have to do with the fear of COVID-19 … but also with the anti-Asian sentiment mid year, parents did express fear of traveling on subways and buses … and were concerned about the safety of their kids, both health wise and physically.

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ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: How did you combat the negativity during the heightened times of hate?

Alice Hom: Around May, when we had our celebration of Asian Pacific month … our district, district 2 had a whole initiative where all the kids wore buttons that expressed love, peace, and prosperity. The kids also wrote on ribbons about what their hopes and dreams are. We displayed that around the school to create a positive environment for families. And during the summer, during the summer program, a few more of the remote families did come back partly to get the kids reacclimated with their peers, and to psychologically get ready for next school year.

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: Could go into specifics of what you are anticipating for this upcoming school year? Are there any anxious parents? Or does it just seem like everyone’s like returning back and excited?

Alice Hom: I think there’s still, especially with the Delta variant, there is that hesitancy … one parent was expressing that, there should be still a remote option for families. And that they’re very nervous about the illness, especially since the elementary school kids are not being vaccinated yet. And they were asking about masks and, and teachers being vaccinated. We’ve tried to address their concerns, and I spoke to that parent and said many of the teachers in my school that I know of are vaccinated, and we are getting ready for full in person. And we are going to continue masking. Everyone is required to have the mask, and we will do the social distance. We’re trying to figure out how to safely have lunch periods, when the distance should be larger and kids are unmasked. But that is our goal to have kids back in the fall.

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: Are there any concerns in terms of anti-Asian hate as schools return in the fall?

Alice Hom: We are going to address it, I mean, district 2 is focusing on, being culturally responsive, providing education and talking about racism and how to address those kinds of discrimination. And things like that. So, that is something that is being addressed both for Asians as well as the Black and Hispanic population … We are going to use videos and books for the kids to bring their own ideas about how they’re feeling. That’s really what we’re concentrating on at the beginning of the year, to have them talk about what their fears are, what their concerns are, and just to talk about what are the best ways to keep themselves and your family safe and healthy.

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: Do people still feel safe to be a little more hesitant? Do you think that sense of community was lost?

Alice Hom: I think there are a lot more cautious families in the neighborhood, there has been crime (against) the community, so we’ve had a lot more awareness. And many of the schools in our district have contacted our local precinct in order to have them Zoom and talk to the parents about safety tips. A lot of our staff members and family members got those whistles, and we distributed them out to people who wanted them. I think there is much more consciousness and vigilance that many of our families in the area have shown.

ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Alice Hom: The Asian community is a strong community and has contributed so much to America, and especially in education. So there needs to be more collaborative and positive media and social media to address their contributions, but also to address their concerns in a way that is not derogatory or not looked down upon.

At some campuses, it’s the end of a long silence, with students eager to socialize, reconnect with teachers and resume in-person learning.  

Scanning photos from the past month, between the familiar sights of dropoffs, new backpacks and community reunions were jarring reminders that this new school year is far from normal. First-day photos revealed vaccination events, chaotic health screenings, emotional send-offs, doctors at “meet and greets” and protesters convening close to campuses. Parents posted back to school photos, but captions were often tinged with concern. One parent’s update how her son bonded with a peer over nervous parents — that he found someone “who also has an overprotective mom who cares about Covid.”

Below, some of the more memorable photos we found, of what it’s like to return to school in the fall of 2021:

Lead Image: Orange County Register / Getty Images