“Remote learning may be able to crack into students’ minds, but I think the pain of this reality is knowing that remotely reaching students’ hearts is not the same.” —Allison Tingwall, principal of Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago. ()

“I was able to drive, live, work without fear. Without the constant fear that I’m going to get deported at any minute.” —Karen Reyes, an Austin, Texas, bilingual special education teacher, after the Supreme Court handed down its decision blocking the Trump administration’s effort to end DACA, the program that has allowed some 650,000 immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children — as Reyes was — to live and work without the threat of deportation. (Read at The74Million.org)

“There are 78 million parents with at least one child in their household under 18. That’s almost a third of the adult population. A parent’s ability to find and keep a job is inseparable from child care and schooling.” —Labor economist Ernie Tedeschi. ()

“I’m doing 300 percent of the planning I usually do.” —Kaitlin Karpinski, leader of Rooted School in New Orleans, on planning for schools reopening in the fall. (Read at The74Million.org)

“This is my great worry. In a moment when we should be investing, we are going to be seeing cuts because Congress apparently feels no urgency … as schools are trying to get ready for what is arguably the most important beginning of a school year that will happen in a lifetime.” —Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat. ()

“I mean, it’s like it’s a lose-lose situation. You have parents that are demanding the schools to open. And then you have parents that are saying, we’re not going to send our kids to school. You have teachers that are saying, we’re not going to go back to work. Districts that are saying, with these budget cuts, we’re going to have to lay off teachers. … It’s just, this is unbelievable.” —Dan Domenech, executive director of the AASA, the school superintendents association. ()

“You can’t be doing this anymore, son.” —Judge Stephen Braslow of Suffolk County, New York, to a 17-year-old at Babylon Junior-Senior High School who allegedly made a homicidal threat on Snapchat. Under the state’s “red flag” law, the district’s superintendent was able to get a court order to search the boy’s home, where police confiscated two pellet guns. (Read at ����Ӱ�� Million.org)

“Thankfully a flute had her number.” —Alejandro Jaime Salazar, band director at Highland High School in San Antonio, on how he found the last of the missing members of his Mighty Owl Band. Educators had been searching for 4,000 students missing during the pandemic. (Read at The74Million.org)

“We ride that seesaw every day — is it a good idea? We’re not taking this lightly. We don’t want people to think we’re being irresponsible by making this choice. We’re trying to do what we feel is in the best interest of the students.” —Bonnie Lower, district superintendent in Willow Creek, Montana, where a small school opened in May to students and staff. ()

“For many schools that serve predominantly black and brown low-income communities, moments like now are why we teach.” —Leslie-Bernard Joseph, chief executive officer at Coney Island Preparatory charter schools in Brooklyn, on teaching students about race and violence in the wake of the riots sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. ()

“They need to do whatever it takes to make sure that they can get learning into the homes of these kids. We haven’t been thinking creatively. If the Department of Health can set up tents in Central Park with hospital beds and air systems and drive-up testing sites, and we can’t find ways to promote internet access for our kids to get online for school, then we’ve failed.” —Nicol Turner-Lee, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation. (Read at ����Ӱ��Million.org)

“This is presenting very much like a common childhood illness, which it is not. This is a novel diagnosis that doesn’t exactly have a name, doesn’t exactly have a timeline, doesn’t exactly have a protocol. We didn’t learn about this in medical school.” —Dr. Katie Schafer, a general pediatrician who has a private practice in Birmingham, Michigan, on a new coronavirus-like strain that largely affects children. ()

“Schools are a mixing cauldron for disease. Kids interacting in close proximity is a really good environment for the transmission of respiratory viruses. Opening them early is not the strategy I would recommend.” —Jeffrey Shaman, one of the nation’s leading epidemiologists, who teaches at Columbia University. (Read at The74Million.org)

“When I am missing two-thirds of my kids each day, there is a ceiling to how well it can go. But I am proud of what we have done and how the school is responding. We’re making the most of a bad situation.” —Jonathan Faber, who teaches English and social studies to recent immigrants at Coolidge High in Washington, D.C. ()

“Normally, we hear mostly from families who are struggling and who are in some level of dispute. But we have heard from a number of families saying, ‘This has really been a blessing for us.’” —Denise Stile Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc., on the surprising number of special needs students who have thrived educationally during the pandemic. (Read at The74Million.org)

“I worry about the two frogs the most. They have the most care involved.” —Mary Pfeifer, New York City teacher, in an email to parents, asking who would be willing to invite classroom pets into their homes during the pandemic. ()

Last week, Denmark became the first major industrialized nation to reopen schools during the pandemic. There were some clear rules: Desks, for instance, had to be two meters (about 6.5 feet) apart, leading to once-luxurious teacher-student ratios of 10 to 1 in many classrooms. Students had to wash their hands once an hour. And parents weren’t allowed inside. “It is a new world,” said , the head teacher at Copenhagen’s Logumkloster District School. “We used to make plans for if there was a terrorist attack here — but never this kind of attack.”

Is Denmark a harbinger of things to come? It will take a while to find out. Most European countries aren’t ready for such a bold move. In Spain, for instance, most children haven’t been outside in five weeks. Schools throughout Asia remain closed. In , where the pandemic originated, schools have yet to reopen in most parts of the country; the capital, Beijing, will see high school seniors return to class next week.

For most of the U.S., that reality is likely months away, and in one of the world’s more famously decentralized education systems, it will entail adjustments that were once unthinkable. “If you think you’re going to keep kids six feet apart during the course of a school day, you’re dreaming,” Dan Domenech, executive director for the American Association of School Administrators, told . In Denmark, the increase in classrooms necessary to facilitate social distancing has translated into teachers doing more. What will this mean in the United States, which was facing a dramatic teacher before the pandemic? Will states ease restrictions to licensure, for example, perhaps setting up confrontations with teachers unions?

If schools require students to wear masks and gloves, there are to contend with, and many states cut back on school nurses in response to previous budget cuts. Finally, many school buildings were simply not built for the rigors of social distancing. The West Contra Costa Unified School District, near San Francisco, has no unused classrooms; gym classes often have more than 50 students, and schools stagger lunchtimes so students can sit eight to 10 kids to a table. “We can’t just build new schools overnight,” Tony Wold, the associate superintendent, told the . “Even if the state gives us more money, where will the teachers come from?”

In keeping with America’s decentralized ethos, the Great Reopening will likely be highly regionalized. President Trump, in his to jump-start the economy, said that sending children back to school is a decision that will be largely left to governors. Already, that plan has sparked confusion: It calls for reopening schools but also maintaining physical distancing and banning groups of 50 or more. California Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped into the breach early, offering up ideas such as staggering school schedules, with some students arriving in the morning and the rest in the afternoon, while rethinking how to handle school mainstays like assemblies and gym. Most state leaders predict that they won’t be ready to move until at least the fall. But officials in — Idaho and Wyoming — have not ruled out opening classrooms this summer.

Top stories

Equity — Philly Students Without Internet Can Do Remote Learning in Parking Lots, District Says ()

Teen Jobs — Children Take to the Fields Following School Closures ()

Unions — Online School Demands More of Teachers. Unions Are Pushing Back ()

Pensions — Report: Teacher Pension Debt Is ‘Crowding Out’ Funding for Education ()

Mental Health — Distanced by Pandemic, School Psychologists Improvise Ways to Connect With Struggling Students (Read at The74Million.org)

‘Social distance’ learning

Technology Shortage Hits Schools: As Remote Learning Jolts Demand for Chromebooks and iPads, Districts Warn Communities’ Needed Supplies Could Take Months (Read at The74Million.org)

Most Illinois School Districts Did Not Have Approved E-learning Plans Before the Pandemic ()

Over a Million California Students Still Lack Access to Remote Learning ()

Analysis: A Month In, Districts and Charters Make Progress on Online Instruction and Monitoring Student Progress, Lag in Grading and Attendance (Read at The74Million.org)

Teachers Need Lots of Training to Do Online Learning Well. Coronavirus Closures Gave Many Just Days ()

Parents and families

What Will Summer in NYC Look Like for Kids? Camps, Pools, and other Programs Face Cuts ()

School Counselors Have a Message for Kids: ‘It’s OK to Not Be OK’ ()

New York Parents Are Stressed Out About Their Children Falling Behind, Survey Finds ()

Educators

Denied a Diploma, April Dunn Made Sure Other Students With Disabilities Had Options. She Died of COVID-19. ()

‘An Unknown They’ve Never Experienced Before’: As Coronavirus Death Toll Grows Among NYC Teachers and Staff, Union Support Team Ramps Up Its Efforts (Read at The74Million.org)

See How Videos Are Bridging the Divide Between Students and Teachers ()

Teach New Content or Review Familiar Material? A Tough Call During Coronavirus Closures ()

Unable to Complete Student Teaching Requirements, Prospective Teachers May Soon Get Reprieve ()

Special education

Some Kids With Disabilities Can’t Learn at Home. Parents and Advocates Want to Know: What’s the Plan? ()

California Should Push Harder for Special Education During School Closures, Disability Rights Groups Say ()

Equity and activism

Many Trans Students Have Been Forced to Hide Their True Selves Because of College Closures ()

For Homeless Students, School Provided More Than an Education. Here’s How They Are Coping Now ()

Schools Transform Into ‘Relief’ Kitchens, but Federal Aid Fails to Keep Up ()

For NYC Students Learning English, Remote Learning Can Come With Steep Barriers ()

Homeless Families Face High Hurdles Homeschooling Their Kids ()

Essays and reflections

The Risks of Homeschooling ()

Forced to Throw Out Their Old College Admissions Standards, Higher Ed Institutions Should Seize on the Crisis to Create Better Ones for the Future (Read at The74Million.org)

Taking Attendance During Coronavirus Closures: Is It Even Worth It? ()

Student Voice: Two Weeks, Five Siblings and One Working Laptop. How I Navigated the Nation’s Largest School System in Search of an iPad and What It Taught Me About America’s Digital Divide (Read at The74Million.org)

Hey FCC, Step Up and Make Sure Internet Reaches the Families Who Need It Most ()

QuotED

“It is so nice to see my best friend again!” —Maja Petersen, a 7-year-old first-grader, on schools opening in Denmark. ()

“There’s a lot of fear now of a different type of unknown, an unknown that they’ve never experienced before.” —Tina Puccio, director of the United Federation of Teachers’ Member Assistance Program in New York City, where more than 60 school teachers and staff have died from the coronavirus. (Read at The74Million.org)

“It almost shows a disregard for the safety of kids, because what seems to be the most important element here is that schools be open to serve their child care function, so that parents can get back to work.” —Dan Domenech, executive director for the American Association of School Administrators, on President Trump’s plan to restart the economy. ()

“Everybody says we hope we return to normal. It’s not going to return to normal anytime soon because the new normal is going to be different.” —Robert Hull, president and chief executive of the National Association of State Boards of Education. ()

“Isolation has been really hard for me. It feels like many things that gave me joy are now gone.” —Jada Bromberg, 16 and a sophomore at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. (Read at The74Million.org)

FLORIDA — Governor Scraps Common Core, Announces New Florida School Standards: Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to unveil new academic standards for Florida students soon. Known as the BEST Standards — for Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking — the new guidelines are meant to “go back to the basics” of math instruction and will include American history and civics content at every grade level, report Emily L. Mahoney and Jeffrey S. Solochek for the Tampa Bay Times. “It goes beyond Common Core to embrace common sense,” DeSantis said. ()

PUERTO RICO — Puerto Rico Opens Only 1 in 5 of Schools Three Weeks After Strong Earthquake: “Puerto Rico opened only 20 percent of its public schools on Tuesday following a strong earthquake that delayed the start of classes by nearly three weeks as fears linger over the safety of students,” the Associated Press reported this week. Just 177 schools have been able to reopen since the Jan. 7 quake. Engineers found at least 50 that were too unsafe to reopen, leaving about 240,000 students out of school. Another 51 schools are slated to reopen Feb. 3. “Experts say that some 500 public schools in Puerto Rico were built before 1987 and don’t meet new construction codes,” and the fixes are estimated to cost up to $2.5 billion, the AP reports. ()

ILLINOIS — Can Chicago Design a Better School Ratings System? Principals, Parents and Teachers Think So: Money, school environment and pressure around test scores were a few of the things that parents, educators and community members discussed at a recent meeting about Chicago’s school ratings system. The district implemented changes to the system in 2019 and now appears to be seeking community input to improve the system further. Critics including Chicago’s teachers union say the current system relies too heavily on test scores and attendance. “Exactly what the school board plans to do with what it learns from its meeting isn’t quite clear — the district is also trying to drum up participation in a citywide survey on the topic and said there would be future public discussions — but members said they would weigh what they heard,” reports Cassie Walker Burke for Chalkbeat. ()

NEW YORK — NYC Spends a Record $28K Per Student, but the State Is Footing a Smaller Portion of That Bill: Gov. Andrew Cuomo has touted New York’s “record-high spending on education during his administration,” but the state has been paying a smaller portion of the bill for New York City schools, reports Reema Amin for Chalkbeat. A new report shows that New York City has been paying a higher share of school funding while the share paid by the state has fallen by more than 11 percentage points in the past 30 years, according to a new report by the city’s Independent Budget Office. ()

TEXAS — New Standards for Charter Schools Likely to Be Adopted by State Education Agency: The Texas Education Agency is expected to approve new standards for charter schools this spring. The new scoring system would have three tiers and evaluate schools on academics, finances and compliance with state rules and regulations. Under the new system, it will be easier for networks in the top tier to open new schools, reports Phil Prazan for Austin station KXAN. Opponents say encouraging charter school expansion comes at the expense of traditional district schools, which could see enrollment decline as a result. ()

CALIFORNIA — Children’s Mental Health a Cause for Concern in Report on California Youth Policies: A new report issued by the Oakland-based nonprofit Children Now gives California a grade of C- for its care of children and young people. The state received a failing grade for youth mental health because of its high ratios of students to counselors, psychologists, social workers and nurses at schools and high rates of depression and mental health hospitalizations among students, reports Carolyn Jones for EdSource. Children Now also pointed out some bright spots, including growth in the share of children who have health insurance and declining suspension rates at the state’s schools. ()

Noteworthy Opinion & Analysis

STUDENT VOICE — I’m a Student-Activist. Stop Turning Us Into Props ()

FUNDING — Blue States Are Burying Damning Data About School Funds. Red States Are, Too ()

STUDENT HEALTH — Why are school nurses disappearing? ()

STANDARDS — People Keep on Saying They’re Killing the Common Core. How Dead Is It? ()

RESEARCH — High School GPAs Are Stronger Predictors of College Graduation than ACT Scores (Read at , )

What Else We’re Reading

IMMIGRATION — The Cheer Team Caught Between Two Worlds ()

IOWA — Teen Voters Could Swing the Outcome of the Iowa Caucuses (Read at , )

MIDDLE SCHOOL — The Outsize Influence of Your Middle-School Friends ()

HIGH SCHOOL — High School Starts at 3 p.m. for These Michigan Students ()

HIGHER ED — Look Who’s Talking About Canceling Debt: How a Fringe Idea Went Mainstream ()

Orange County — Florida Virtual School to ‘Scrub’ Policies after Investigation of Attorney, Orlando Sentinel Reports: The new leader of the Florida Virtual School is updating its policies to make school rules clear to all employees and to provide more oversight of senior managers after a damning investigation of the school’s former attorney, Frank Kruppenbacher. “To address some of the changes that have come up of late,” the school needs a “complete scrub of our policies and our procedures and our bylaws,” said Bob Porter, the new CEO. An investigation by an outside firm found that Kruppenbacher likely made “boorish” comments about female employees, paid his daughter’s boyfriend to investigate a school executive, used school employees for “excessive” work on his other businesses and pressured school employees to hire a certain technology company without going out for bid, among other problems. Kruppenbacher, who resigned from his post as the virtual school’s general counsel in August, has denied the charges and called the investigative report a “smear campaign.” The virtual school is Florida’s only public online school, serving more than 200,000 students with about 2,200 employees. It is funded with $170 million in Florida taxpayer money. ()

Philadelphia — Violence Against Students an ‘Open Secret’ at School for Delinquent Boys: A recent investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer found that serious violence is “both an everyday occurrence and an open secret” at the Glen Mills Schools, a school for delinquent boys located on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The investigation showed that top leaders turn a blind eye to staff beatings of students and insulate themselves from reports while failing to properly vet or train the school’s counselors. When students and their families try to report these attacks, the Inquirer found, staffers say Glen Mills is as good as it gets, and that if students complain, they’ll be shipped off to a state-run facility crowded with boys who are mentally ill or have committed sex offenses. To keep teens quiet, counselors and supervisors threaten the boys with longer sentences. Other Glen Mills staffers have hidden students until their bruises disappear. ()

Los Angeles — Confidential Contracts Outline Consultant Work on Beutner Reform Plan: Outside consultants were asked to develop a performance-based rating system for schools and to shift hiring and purchasing of services from the central district office to local school networks as part of a reform plan by new L.A. schools Superintendent Austin Beutner. Those details were culled from confidential contracts long sought after — and finally released to —Board of Education member Scott Schmerelson. The contracts became a sticking point in the January teacher strike when union leaders raised questions about the direction in which Beutner would take the nation’s second-largest school system. The largest of the contracts, which total $3 million so far, went to Ernst & Young, which specializes in business services and consulting, and the Kitamba Group, whose focus is education. Kitamba’s contract said the company would help the district develop a way for officials to discuss giving letter grades to schools, ranking them on a 100-point scale or assigning them a color to denote their status. Kitamba was also to have developed measures that could be taken when a school fell short of standards. ()

Chicago — Charter School Teachers End Nine-Day Strike: Teachers and paraprofessionals at four Chicago charter schools ended a nine-day strike this week, with many of them winning an 8 percent pay raise and a tentative agreement setting a goal of limiting classroom size to 28 students per teacher. The agreement also ensures full-time teaching assistants in all kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes, and includes a 7 percent pension contribution from the network. The strike started with picketing in front of schools and escalated when dozens of teachers blocked the lobby where the board president of Chicago International Charter Schools, the network that operates the four schools, works. The strike, which included 175 educators serving a combined 2,200 students, was the country’s third charter school teacher strike and the second in Chicago since December. ()

Houston — Despite Takeover Threat, District Continues Superintendent Search: Houston school district trustees narrowly voted to continue the search for a permanent replacement for former Superintendent Richard Carranza, rejecting a bid to suspend the search amid the threat of a looming state takeover and a recently launched state investigation into potential violations of open meetings laws. The 5-3 vote continues the search for Carranza’s successor, which began in September 2018. The takeover threat increased in January, when the Texas Education Agency launched its investigation into potential Open Meetings Act violations by five trustees. Supporters of suspending the search argued the potential for severe sanctions tied to the investigation would limit the pool of candidates willing to come to Houston. If state officials order the district board replaced, new trustees could immediately fire a freshly hired superintendent. ()

Broward County — On Parkland Anniversary, Fort Lauderdale Schools Enact Security Overhaul: A year after the Parkland shooting, the Broward County School Board enacted policies designed to avoid in Fort Lauderdale schools the types of failures that contributed to the deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The board adopted policies that identify when school staff must call for a Code Red lockdown, as well as requiring classrooms to be equipped with places for students to hide from an active shooter. The board’s action was its first meeting since Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans Feb. 13 to seek a grand jury to review how well Broward schools have handled security matters. (

Hawaii — Bills Take Aim at Teacher Shortage With Housing Vouchers: Two bills working their way through the state legislature aim to curb Hawaii’s perennial teacher shortage by creating a housing voucher program for full-time teachers willing to work in “hard-to-fill” schools. The vouchers, which are not to exceed $500 per month, would be provided on a first-come, first-served basis and could be used for rent, mortgage payments for the teacher’s primary residence or a down payment on a residential property. “Personally, I felt that we need to do as much as we can to make sure our teachers live in our community and teach at our schools,” said state Sen. Dru Kanuha, a co-sponsor of both bills. ()

Noteworthy Essays & Reflections

TEACHERS — The U.S. Teaching Population Is Getting Bigger, and More Female ()

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE — Public Education’s Dirty Secret ()

SCHOOL SECURITY — New studies point to a big downside for schools bringing in more police ()

ONLINE EDUCATION — Teacher shortages force districts to use online education programs ()

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE — Analysis — The Future of School Governance: How Will Innovative Education Systems Balance a Need for Experimentation With a Parent’s Right to Make Informed Choices? (Read at The74Million.org)

Quotes of the Week

“I’ve seen people thrown through doors, like it was a movie.” — James Johnson, former Glen Mills Schools student and counselor, on a pattern of staff violence against students at the school for delinquent boys located on the outskirts of Philadelphia. ()

“This is a new and shameful strategy. They are literally going after the reputations and the livelihoods of people who are just trying to do their jobs.” — Greg Richmond, executive director of National Association of Charter School Authorizers. An investigation by ����Ӱ�� found that officials in South Carolina, Georgia and Nevada faced accusations of receiving payoffs and undue perks as they attempted to enforce rules that could shut down for-profit online-only charter schools that posted abysmal academic outcomes. (Read at The74Million.org)

“Let’s just say my phone has rung a lot.” —American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on interest from the expanding field of 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls in courting the union vote. ()

“I cannot imagine that a highly qualified candidate who is rational and sane would come here in the face of uncertainty when they may not have a job soon,” Houston school district trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones, on the search for a new superintendent while the district is under threat of a state takeover. ()

“It’s unfortunate, I think, that it took a federal mandate to get states to shine a light on these students, but the good news is that now it is required.” — Brennan McMahon Parton, director of policy and advocacy at the Data Quality Campaign, on the Every Student Succeeds Act requirement that all states must report how well students in foster care are performing on state tests and how many are graduating from high school. (Read at The74Million.org)