Left and following pages: Dave Woody for The New York Times. Right: L. Kasimu Harris for The New York Times. 37
L. W. Higgins High School, Marrero, La.
Justin Rush, the school’s head band director, can only teach music history
and theory for now. The students are not allowed to play instruments.kids didn’t have computers, they didn’t have
internet. In a very short period of time we
got out over 50,000 laptops and started work-
ing with our students to get signed up for
free internet programs. But teachers weren’t
prepared, families weren’t prepared. I had
meetings with teachers where they were
working and holding a baby. I mean, none
of us were prepared.
King: Think about the child who was in fi rst
grade last year. My wife taught fi rst grade, and
that’s a crucial year for learning to read. So that
child missed three or four months of school last
spring, and now is coming back for a new aca-
demic year, and maybe the child is in a district
that’s going to off er fully remote instruction or
a hybrid of remote and in-person. The child is
still likely not going to get the regular support
around learning to read that he or she needs.
I’m really worried about where that child is
going to be two years out, three years out, 10
years out.
Shana V. White: Last spring, we had to have
lessons on a learning-management system for
students to access. In the beginning, it was just
kind of like, ‘‘Let students know the hours thatyou’re available,’’ and kids could come and go
as they pleased. About halfway through, when
we realized we weren’t going back, we had set
hours that we had to be online for students
every day. Then more kids came. But I had
several students who never logged in.
Nikole Hannah-Jones: In my daughter’s class
of 33 in New York City, about 10 kids logged
in. I don’t know what happened to the other- And even the kids who were logging on,
I can’t speak to the quality of education they
got in those three months.
Cordova: In Denver, we’re putting a lot of
energy into stronger approaches for remote
learning this year. But I think it’s essential
that, whenever we have conditions that can
provide for safe and healthy in-person learn-
ing, we do as much of it as possible.
Covid is really low in Denver right now,
so the health conditions are favorable. It’s
probably as good as it’s going to get. So we’re
doing a slow, gradual re-entry to bring kids
back safely. We are providing child care to
a small number of working parents, staff ed
by licensed child care providers. And we are
planning to open preschool in September and
also centers where small groups of students —
those with working parents or who may not
have reliable internet access — can participate
in remote learning, with support. The idea is
to provide consistent internet and in-person
adult supervision, from district employees
like paraprofessionals.
Hannah-Jones: Why child care providers or
paraprofessionals instead of teachers teaching?
Cordova: Our child care providers worked
through the summer and are geared up to
go, while we’re training our teaching staff
and making sure that we have the protective
equipment at scale to get going in all our
schools. Working with people to address their
concerns has been huge. You have to check all
the health and safety procedures, and you have
to address the emotional reaction that peopleTrinidad Elementary School,
Trinidad, Calif.
(Following pages) Quincy Kelly, left,
a fifth grader, and Cedar Breed, a third
grader, study in the gym while their mother,
the school’s nutrition director, works to
provide free meals. The school
is currently doing only remote learning.