Coronavirus

Education news, analysis, and opinion about COVID-19 and its impact on schools and communities
Students are reminded to wear a mask amidst other chalk drawings on the sidewalk as they arrive for the first day of school at Union High School in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, Aug. 24, 2020.
Chalk drawings from last August remind students to wear masks as they arrive at school.
Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP
School & District Management Some Districts Return to Mask Mandates as COVID Cases Spike
Mask requirements remain the exception nationally and still sensitive in places that have reimposed them.
Libby Stanford, May 16, 2022
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4 min read
Trainer Collette Yee walks with Rizzo, a medical detection dog with Early Alert Canines, as she sniffs senior Madison Schoening to detect COVID at Mills High School in Millbrae, California, on May 5, 2022. As part of a pilot COVID-testing program, some students volunteered to be screened by trained dogs before prom.
Trainer Collette Yee walks with Rizzo, a medical detection dog, as she sniffs senior Madison Schoening at Mills High School in Millbrae, Calif., in early May. As part of a pilot program, some students volunteered to be sniffed for COVID by trained dogs before attending the prom.
Ramin Rahimian for Education Week
Student Well-Being Tuxedos, Gowns, and COVID-Sniffing Dogs: A Pandemic Prom
Some schools are turning to highly trained dogs to detect COVID ahead of big events. 
Catherine Gewertz, May 9, 2022
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7 min read
Unvaccinated and vaccinated cutout people with vaccine syringe. Illustration showing 3 out of 10 not boosted.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and Getty
School & District Management From Our Research Center 3 in 10 Educators Haven't Gotten a COVID Booster Shot
Some educators don't believe boosters are worth the potential side effects, or that they need one after having gotten COVID.
Mark Lieberman, May 5, 2022
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3 min read
Stressed and unhappy girl or woman is under a storm of negative emotions with lightning with virus pathogens floating around her. Her head is in her hands.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management 'They Might Look Fine, But They're Not': Educators With Long COVID Share Their Stories
Educators share the painful, debilitating, scary symptoms they've experienced for months or even years after contracting COVID-19.
Mark Lieberman, April 28, 2022
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5 min read
Kathleen Law, a teacher in Oregon, has seen long-term COVID affect her ability to work full-time.
Kathleen Law, a teacher in Happy Valley, Ore., has seen longterm COVID impact her ability to work.
Howard Lao for Education Week
School & District Management From Our Research Center 1 in 5 Educators Say They've Experienced Long COVID
Many educators say they've experienced painful, debilitating symptoms months after contracting COVID. Some may have to quit their jobs.
Mark Lieberman, April 27, 2022
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9 min read
Student Well-Being Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About School Cleanliness and Student Health?
Answer 7 questions to learn about school cleanliness and student health.
April 26, 2022
Face mask hanging on computer screen at an empty desk.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management From Our Research Center What Will Schools Do If Another COVID Wave Hits? We Asked Educators
Fifty percent say their schools would reimpose the mask requirements previously in place.
Evie Blad, April 15, 2022
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5 min read
Student teacher Olivia Vazquez, standing, left, speaks with a student at the Eliza B. Kirkbride School in Philadelphia on Oct. 20, 2021.
Student teacher Olivia Vazquez, standing, left, speaks with a student at the Eliza B. Kirkbride School in Philadelphia on Oct. 20, 2021.
Matt Rourke/AP
School & District Management School Mask Mandates and the New COVID Variant: What to Watch
As a contagious COVID-19 variant causes climbing case rates in some areas, most schools have yet to re-adopt mask requirements.
Evie Blad, April 13, 2022
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6 min read
Conceputal image of school disruptions from COVID-19, from 2020 to 2022.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Getty Images
School & District Management Forever Changed: A Timeline of How COVID Upended Schools
COVID-19 has shaken the education landscape. Here are key milestones.
Laura Baker & Education Week Staff, April 5, 2022
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1 min read
Image of a student holding a mask and a backpack near the entrance of a classroom.
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Special Education Protect Students With Disabilities as COVID Rules Ease, Education Secretary Tells Schools
Even as schools drop precautions like mask requirements, they must by law protect medically vulnerable students, a letter emphasizes.
Evie Blad, March 25, 2022
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3 min read
Teacher Lauren DeNicola talks about the structure of water and the water cycle during a freshman biology class held at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, N.J., on March 10, 2022.
Teacher Lauren DeNicola talks about the structure of water and the water cycle during a freshman biology class at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, N.J., in March.
Eric Sucar for Education Week
Teaching How Schools Survived Two Years of COVID-19
Survey data and one school district's story highlight public education's resilience amid extraordinary loss and change.
Benjamin Herold, March 15, 2022
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19 min read
conceptual illustration of 2 figures being pulled apart to opposite poles
Piranka/E+/Getty
School & District Management Opinion What Is Really Polarizing Schools Right Now?
Masking protocol? Critical race theory? Here’s what national survey data tell us about the state of political polarization.
Heather Schwartz, March 14, 2022
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5 min read
Kindergartener Quinn Bonk helps her classmate Carter Fairley, both 6, as the two color hearts for a craft project together during a Valentine's Day party in kindergarten teacher Julie VanEvery's classroom on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022 at Thomson Elementary School in Davison, Mich.
Kindergartener Quinn Bonk, right, helps her classmate Carter Fairley on a craft project during a Valentine's Day party last month at Thomson Elementary School in Davison, Mich.
Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP
Student Well-Being A New Imperative for Schools: Protecting Vulnerable Kids as Masks Disappear
Relying only on virtual learning or voluntary masking for kids at greater risk of illness from COVID-19 is legally and medically risky.
Catherine Gewertz, March 10, 2022
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6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion School Masking Mandates Are Ending. What Have We Learned?
Researcher Nat Malkus talks about his new database that makes it possible to analyze masking requirements of more than 8,000 districts.
Rick Hess, March 10, 2022
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5 min read
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