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Rolling coverage of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting America’s children and education systems

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Washington State Schools Missed 8,500 Kids for Special Ed Referrals During COVID

Beth Hawkins

NYC Schools Will No Longer Require 5-Day COVID Quarantines, Following CDC Guidance

Julian Shen-Berro

Parent Poll: It’s the Economy — Not Culture Wars — Worrying Them & Cell Phones OK

Amanda Geduld

Americans Have Yet to Accept COVID’s Tragedy — And Are Taking It Out On Schools

Conor P. Williams

‘We Are in a Different Place’: CDC Lifts 5-Day Isolation Guidelines for COVID

Helena Oliviero & Stephanie Lamm

New Study: School Nurses Are Untapped Resource to Combat Chronic Absenteeism

Amanda Geduld

A Reckoning in Cleveland: COVID Cuts Slash Laptops, Summer School, After-School

Patrick O’Donnell

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Redesign the New American High School

Robin Lake

In NYC Schools, Substitute Teachers are Systematically Denied COVID Sick Pay

Teddy Ostrow

Researchers Study Six New England High Schools to Find Path for Student Success

Amanda Geduld

Helping Teens Succeed: We Must Blur the Lines Between HS, College & Careers

Jared Polis

Road Scholars: When These Families Travel, School Comes Along for the Ride

Linda Jacobson

In New Book, Diverse Families Find Broken Schools, Broken Dreams in the ‘Burbs

Greg Toppo

6 Ways Schools Can Better Engage Parents Worried About COVID Learning Loss

Keri Rodrigues

New Report Shows Millions of Rural Students Facing Multiple Crises after COVID

Jerry Johnson & Allen Pratt

Closing Education’s ‘Honesty Gap’: Greater Transparency for Parents After COVID

Aimee Guidera

American Math Scores Fall on International Test — But Many Other Countries Suffered More

Kevin Mahnken

10 Teens Talk Mental Health, AI & What It’s Like to Be a Student in 2023

Cara Pangelinan

Schools Brace for COVID Surge: What New Variants & Vaccines Mean for Students

John Bailey

How States Can Prepare to Aid Families Through the Looming Child Care Crisis

Nicole Norvell

Enrollment Continues to Decline in LAUSD, a Trend Many Large Public School Districts are Also Experiencing

Nova Blanco-Rico & Balin Schneider

More Than Half of North Carolina’s Students Rated Proficient on State Exams

Greg Childress

Many Parents Don’t Know How Kids Are Doing in School: 9 Insights into Pandemic Recovery & Aftermath

John Bailey

Oregon’s New Ed Leader Wants More, Diverse Teachers to Catch Kids up From COVID

Alex Baumhardt

How Schools Can Recover Fully: 10 Insights into Pandemic Aftermath in U.S. Education

John Bailey

Slow Literacy Gains, Long COVID in Kids: 7 Insights into Pandemic Recovery and Aftermath in U.S. Schools

John Bailey

COVID Learning Recovery: New Hampshire Kids Now Learning Faster Than in 2019

Ethan DeWitt

Polarization, Learning Loss, Relief Funds: 7 Insights into Pandemic Recovery and Aftermath in U.S. Schools

John Bailey & Laura Fay

Analysis: State Laws Leave Schools Unprepared for a Post-COVID ‘Fiscal Cliff’

Linda Jacobson

$190B Later, Reason to Worry Relief Funds Won’t Curb COVID’s Academic Crisis

Linda Jacobson & Asher Lehrer-Small

New Indiana ILEARN Scores Show Improvement, but Still No Pre-Pandemic Bounce-Back

Casey Smith

A Season of Scandal Leaves Memphis-Shelby Parents in the Dark on COVID Spending

Linda Jacobson

New NAEP Scores Reveal the Failure of Pandemic Academic Recovery Efforts

Vladimir Kogan

COVID Brief: Billions in COVID Aid Stolen or Wasted, AP Investigation Finds

John Bailey

COVID Brief: School Closures and Learning Loss Connected Worldwide, New Report Shows

John Bailey

COVID Brief: Pandemic to Blame for Increase in Toddler Speech Delays

John Bailey

COVID Brief: Parents Don’t Know How Far Behind Kids Have Fallen in School

John Bailey

COVID Brief: Data Show How Pandemic Hit Student Attendance, Grades, Advancement

John Bailey

The Terrible Truth: Current Solutions to COVID Learning Loss Are Doomed to Fail

Margaret Raymond

Exclusive 74 Interview: Bill Gates Calls U.S. Education a ‘Challenged Space’

Kevin Mahnken

COVID Brief: Ad Campaign Tells Parents Kids Have Fallen Behind in School

John Bailey

COVID Learning Loss: Missouri Scores Show Dramatic Drop in Student Performance

Joshua Parrish

Los Angeles Schools Look to Confront Dire Chronic Absenteeism Numbers

LeeAnna Villarreal

COVID Brief: State Lawmakers Spend Federal Cash on Mental Health

John Bailey

Hochul’s Proposal for Small-Group Tutoring Blocked by NY State Legislature

Asher Lehrer-Small

Less Classroom Time For Students? New Washington Bill Would Trim 4 Hours a Week

Joshua Parrish

Tough Love: Study Shows Kids Benefit from Teachers With High Grading Standards

Kevin Mahnken

In New Graphic Novel, Pandemic Scatters a Vulnerable School Community

Greg Toppo

COVID Learning Recovery: Many Students Still Lag Behind, But Parents Aren’t Aware

John Bailey

Iowa Schools Cutting Budgets, Bracing for 2024 Financial Pain as COVID Aid Ends

Joshua Parrish

‘The Other Long COVID’ Affecting Kids: Missed Opportunities

John Bailey

The Stakes Are Only Getting Higher for Pandemic School Aid Spending

Marguerite Roza

COVID’s Missing Kids: How Connecticut Is Successfully Reengaging Absent Students

Joshua Parrish

Learning Woes: Half of America’s Students Started This School Year Behind

John Bailey

The Final 97 Days of the COVID Emergency: What Changes on May 12

John Bailey

COVID Brief: Few Students Use Online Tutoring Programs

John Bailey

COVID Brief: New Data Reveals Rapid Rise of XBB.1.5 Variant

John Bailey

COVID Brief: More Parents Opposed to School Vaccine Mandates

John Bailey

‘Late-in-the-Game’ COVID Relief Fund Guidance Leaves Some Scratching Their Heads

Linda Jacobson

Teen Brains Changed During COVID, Scans Show

John Bailey

We’re About to Find Out If the Pandemic is Really Over. Are Schools Ready?

Conor P. Williams

Historic Rise in Child Bereavement as COVID, Drugs and Guns Claim Parents’ Lives

Asher Lehrer-Small

Experts: Dismal NAEP Scores Offer Districts Chance to ‘Pivot’ on Relief Funds

Linda Jacobson

COVID Brief: Teachers’ and Teens’ Mental Health Took a Hit During COVID

John Bailey

Virtual School Enrollment Kept Climbing Even As COVID Receded, New Data Reveal

Asher Lehrer-Small

MD is Not VA: Education Issues Playing Out Differently in Governor’s Race

Asher Lehrer-Small

Strong Link in Big City Districts’ 4th-Grade Math Scores to School Closures

Asher Lehrer-Small

COVID Brief: Low-Income Kids Should Get Free COVID Shots, CDC Says

John Bailey

Can Afterschool Programs Help Students With Learning Recovery, Mental Health?

Joshua Parrish

Many Americans Know Little About Updated COVID Boosters

John Bailey

Tests Show Oregon Students’ Proficiency in Core Subjects Declined During COVID

Alex Baumhardt

Come to Class, Win a Toyota: Districts Launch Campaigns to Boost Attendance

Asher Lehrer-Small

‘Inundated With Applications’: No Teacher Shortage at Virtual Schools

Asher Lehrer-Small

COVID & School Recovery: Washington Hopes New Science Curriculum Will Boost Student Engagement

Joshua Parrish

Pandemic Brief: Some Scientists Now See COVID as Less Risky Than the Flu

John Bailey

Why Are So Many Republicans Raising Teacher Salaries?

Kevin Mahnken

COVID Brief: Students and Teachers Face Learning Loss as New Year Begins

John Bailey

Schools Briefing: 20 Years of Student Growth Wiped Out by COVID

John Bailey

Former COVID Data Whistleblower, Now Congressional Candidate With Bold K-12 Plan

Asher Lehrer-Small

‘Too Good to Be True’: NH Gives Students $1,000 for Tutoring — Yet Sign-Ups Lag

Asher Lehrer-Small

Schools & COVID Policy: Modified Boosters Likely Available for Teens Next Month

John Bailey

‘Treat This As You Would Any Illness’: Schools Across U.S. Downgrade COVID Rules

Asher Lehrer-Small

Q&A: Education Reporter Anya Kamenetz on COVID Failures & Students’ Stolen Year

Kevin Mahnken

New Data: Was 2022’s Summer Learning ‘Explosion’ Enough To Reverse COVID Losses?

Asher Lehrer-Small

Tracking Schools’ Pandemic Recovery Funds: Mental Health, Tutoring & More

Joshua Parrish

Gifted Summer Programs Skew White & Wealthy. Not Baltimore’s — And It’s Free

Asher Lehrer-Small

CDC’s New School Guidance Scraps Quarantines, Lifts ‘Test to Stay’ Recommendation

John Bailey

New Research: Summer Learning Boosts Math Performance, College Graduation

Kevin Mahnken

How Norway Cut Student Absences By 25% — And Why The Policy Is No Silver Bullet

Asher Lehrer-Small

CDC Eyes New School Rules on COVID Testing, Spacing, Quarantines

John Bailey

Young Children’s Vaccination Rates May Have Already Peaked

John Bailey

74 Interview: Seeing the Nuances Behind the Chronic Absenteeism Crisis

Asher Lehrer-Small

COVID Classroom Recovery: California Has Spent Little to Address Learning Loss

John Bailey

Student Voice: Pandemic Attendance Crisis is About More Than COVID

Andre Young

How Blue States & Red States Use COVID Relief Funds Differently to Aid Schools

Bella DiMarco & Phyllis W. Jordan

COVID & College: Indiana Enrollment Declines, as Only 53% of HS Grads Continue

Joshua Parrish

Mental Health, Teacher Shortages, Uvalde: Students Talk 2022’s Key School Issues

Asher Lehrer-Small

Paymon Rouhanifard on Boston, Tribalism and the Dangers of COVID ‘Groupthink’

Linda Jacobson

COVID & Schools: Michigan Aims to Invest $280 Million in Large-Scale Tutoring Plan

Joshua Parrish

FDA Recommends COVID Vaccines for Young Kids; 3rd Pfizer Dose May Be Key

John Bailey
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