The pandemic will decide when schools can reopen. Educators must start building robust online learning systems for next year. We need schools to be realistic about the coming year and use this summer to prepare to address the academic and social-emotional needs of every student virtually. Instead of re-spacing desks, teachers should concentrate on delivering high-quality, content-rich instruction online. Instead of focusing on complicated transportation scenarios, districts can implement innovative new virtual roles for teachers

Since school buildings shuttered across the country in mid-March, some in education have warned that we need to take dramatic steps to address the lost learning time.

Others have argued that the learning losses may be exaggerated, and that school shutdowns didn’t actually set students back all that far academically.

So which side is right? 

Bart Epstein has seen the education space through a previous role in which he helped build Tutor.com, the world’s largest online tutoring and homework help service. He’s also a parent trying to navigate homebound instruction for his two sons.

Indira Dammu discusses three ways that COVID-19 impacts teachers of color and how schools and districts can help.